Posted on 07/17/2012 9:59:37 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration unveiled plans Wednesday to create an elite corps of master teachers, a $1 billion effort to boost U.S. students' achievement in science, technology, engineering and math.
The program to reward high-performing teachers with salary stipends is part of a long-term effort by President Barack Obama to encourage education in high-demand areas that hold the key to future economic growth — and to close the achievement gap between American students and their international peers.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Musta heard Chicago is running a little low on funds and his peps (the union teachers) want their 30% raise.
What does Obama know about math, science and engineering?
Absolutely nothing.
$$$ for unions.
Why do teachers need to be rewarded?
These are government employees who are paid well with great benefits.
“Wine is for laughter, and a feast maketh merry, but MONEY answereth all things.”
... I think that’s the lesson here.
Having worked now for the past 14 years in several schools districts, here’s how the federal money will be spent:
40% for the administration of the program by the feds
12% for equipment, including computer software which will prove to be out of date by the time it is implemented and fashionable electronics that will be dumped into the classroom on the second day of school to a teacher who has not been trained in its use
20% for specialists in the district working with technology who are not in the classroom
12% for liability insurance and other fees associated with a government agency (the school district) using software and computer equipment
16% for health benefits and pensions for the teachers and the administrators in the district
After the first few years, the teachers told to implement the curriculum (determined by a committee somewhere else in the state) will finally learn and understand what they’re doing, at which time the government will have already moved on to the next problem of the day.
Of course, the greatest irony is that many of the students in these classes are reading and writing at a level far below their grade, so most of this initiative doesn’t matter.
You have no idea how much teaching talent and student achievement is quashed by the unceasing interference from state and federal officials. Getting rid of tenure, the union that supposedly represents me, and vouchers (or privatization) would be best, but I probably won’t live to any of those things put in place. Year-round schools, too.
Sorry for the cynical outlook. I’ll get over it. It’s been cold and cloudy up here.
My first thought as well. I would bet $$ that he has never had more than HS algebra, and barely passed that.
Physics? Don't make me laugh.
I have a lawyer younger brother that loves to brag about never taking another math or science course after HS. Some sort of liberal badge of honor I suppose. Does not prevent much preaching on all sort of liberal hot topics that might actually require a smattering of science to have a clue about...........
“Teachers selected for the Master Teacher Corps will be paid an additional $20,000 a year and must commit to participate multiple years.”
Heh. Where’s the caption for “It’s not Fascism when we do it?”
They will get extra points for coming up with ways to take global warming and Muslim history and weave them in with U.N. Agenda 21.
Well, don't be. You risk decertification by the Universal Society of Cynics. In fact, consider yourself decertified.
My thought exactly.
The anti-Christian, Mooslimb loving, Marxist proves over and over that his only two constituents are government workers and union workers. He probably thinks he’s a fiscal genius when he pays off both with one bribe.
Let me know how many recipients are white vs. black.
Isn’t it sooo cooool the way the MSM breathlessly reports this like Obama is digging into this own pockets? What a guy!
The fact that is is taxpayer money is sort of mentioned beside the point, isn’t it?
They will get extra points for coming up with ways to take global warming and Muslim history
I was actualy thinking more along the lines of the aplication of title9 to those exact 3 fields that was just announced couple few days ago, as in men need not apply. I don’t think rain and thunder happen at same time by coincidence
112 days before the election and this puke comes up with this. For crying out loud, another billion for votes.
Merit pay? The teachers’ unions are against merit pay.
So long as they take it out of his pension fund.
I’m surprised he doesn’t offer subsidies to countries that hire the most number of American mathematicians, scientists and engineers that he’s unemployed.
One cannot have a good grasp of Judeo-Christianity without a fair grounding in science. They compliment one another.
Your giving him to much credit. it’s obvious by the way he is spending money that simple addition and subtraction is beyond him.
I bet you have to be a black teacher as well.
I bet you have to be a black teacher as well.
Why?
Very successful teachers didn’t get there on their own.
They drive to school on roads they didn’t build..
Teach in schools someone else constructed..
Use the internet they didn’t invent..
Teach from books they didn’t write..
No, I think we need to tax teachers to pay their fair share.
You're right about that, but I think it is really performance pay that they're against. They don't want someone looking over their shoulder to see if they're actually teaching what they're supposed to.
This extra pay will probably be based on some touchy-feeley survey that they can manipulate to their benefit.
“complement” ... but you are right, certainly from an historical perspective.
....with union approval of course.........
If this ever gets close to happening, the NEA will file suit claiming this violates their contracts and demand that all its members should get the same money as these “master teachers”.
This is just election season BS from the Master Teacher himself.
When it comes to high school and college money...I personally don’t think a single cent ought to go into operations or administrative cost from the federal government. If the federal government wanted to kick in some renovation or maintenance money...fairly cut around each of the fifty states...maybe. Schools ought to be run strictly by the county or district...with all funding coming via the county or state bucket of cash. The minute you involve the federal guys...it’s just money being soaked up by the union operations.
The best education On Earth is only worth a Billion Dollars? How about 10 Billion,Or 100 Billion,come on Obumbo,cheapskate
Right you are!
Great - and all these engineers, scientists and mathematicians will emigrate to find jobs - as all of the largest and most successful tech companies continue to ship jobs off-shore.
Dean Kamen likes to run around the country, soliciting funds for his ‘competitions’ and promising kids that degrees in science and technology will assure they will always be in demand. In the meantime, tens of thousands with PhD, MS and BS degrees in Pharmacology, Biology and medicine have lost their jobs as bio-research has moved out of the US to countries with more attractive tax and investment policies. Thousands of IT techies are un- or under-employed, as cheap H1B’s get their practical experience here and jobs stream off-shore. One of the largest and most successful IT firms on the east coast, once an icon of US creativity - now has over 70% of its employees located outside the US - including multiple major R&D labs in China, Asia, South America and Europe.
Just another billion borrowed dollars being pissed away by the Kenyan Kommunist Klown to no good purpose.
A plague on him.
The concept of rewarding teachers for performance conflicts with the current public school model of “no child federal dollars left behind”.
Thank you for the correction. I’ve my 1957 Webster’s New World right next to me, but think I know enough to not pick it up. Oh, the arrogance....
When your only strategy is to overwhelm the system, the more ways you can think of to piss money away, the better.
Her first science fair attempt produced two fifth (5th) grade students whose projects outscored hundreds of sixth (6th), seventh (7th), and eighth (8th) grade competitors, (including first place) in our Region -- and qualified for State competition.
Her reward? She was laid off at the end of that year for "lack of seniority".
As a Latin teacher, I object.
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