"When our educators succeed, I won't just talk about how great they are; I will reward them for it," Mr. Obama said. He listed several cases in which districts could give teachers a salary increase, including if they serve as mentors; if they learn new skills, and if they "consistently excel in the classroom."
Here in Pennsylvania, there is a major dis-incentive for teachers to excell and for administrators to address various issues of incompetence, teacher misconduct, etc: it’s called tenure. Short of a teacher committing murder or having an affair with a student, it’s almost impossible for a tenured teacher to lose his or her job.
Merit pay would be bad for teachers who don’t care, and great for those who excell in their job. As it stands now, a teacher who puts in their time and does the minimum required gets the same raise and pay as a teacher who excels.
By doing away with tenure, that would go a long way towards fixing the problem of failing schools and low quality education.
If Obama’s lips are moving he is lying. He sees his approval numbers falling so he comes out and throws a couple bones to the conservatives by saying he is in favor of merit pay and charter schools. He knows the congress and senate will never go along with that. Besides, they are state issues, not federal. Of course some union leaders would be receptive to it, they know it won’t happen.