Posted on 06/08/2003 1:10:50 AM PDT by chance33_98
Official: New law may scare teachers away
PIERRE (AP) — A school superintendent expressed worry that a new federal law that requires "highly qualified" teachers in every classroom might reduce the number of students entering the profession in South Dakota.
Jim Holbeck of Clark raised that concern Tuesday during a meeting between Gov. Mike Rounds and most of the state's school superintendents.
The meeting centered on the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal law that focuses on student achievement and improvement. The law requires that all students be taught by highly qualified teachers.
Holbeck said South Dakota has a teacher shortage that limits the number and the quality of applicants for teaching positions. Adding to the requirements to be a teacher might discourage young people from entering education programs.
"You try to pick the best candidate, but there are fewer numbers of candidates," Holbeck said. "What's going to happen with the number of people getting into education?"
Rounds had opened the discussion with an observation that people don't go into teaching for the money but for the opportunity to make a difference in children's lives.
Even so, he agreed that young people consider the cost of college and the income they will need to make a living. But he said it isn't the state's place to set salaries.
"I'm not going to get into the battle of trying to tell every school district what they should pay," Rounds said.
"I'm not going to tell you what you have to provide for a teacher salary."
He said he will urge schools to emphasize salary policy in their budget decision.
"Are we going to be finding we have to make a decision on a teacher because (the applicant) meets the letter of the law but might not be the best one to put in front of the kids?" Holbeck asked.
Melody Schopp of the state Education Department said the agency is working with the universities to make sure course work is available for teachers to achieve the highly qualified standard.
College students normally obtain their Bachelor's degree after 4 years, and if they want to be a teacher must select both a teachable major and minor. That takes care of two requirements.
To become a teacher they have to pass a state certification test -- which I have taken in Michigan, and I can tell you this: my cat could have passed it.
"A Highly Qualified Teacher has obtained full state certification or licensure"
"A Highly Qualified Teacher has demonstrated subject area competence in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches What on earth is so tough about these requirements?"
The basic problem is point 2. There are many well-educated professionals (particularly with a math/science/engineering background) who would LOVE to teach--but the state certification requirements mean jumping through so many ridiculous hoops as to render them being able to get a teaching job virtually nil.
Being able to teach is NOT rocket science, but the "education professionals" set up the requirements as though it were.
Thanks for the tip. Now I can put my cat to work and have her earn her keep instead of free-loading. Granted, she'll have to work on her attitude a bit before next semester ;-)
I beg to differ with you. Teaching is a skill that every "teacher" does not have. Mastering subject matter is far easier than mastering teaching skills. Designating someone "teacher" doesn't necessarily make one such.
Gasp!
What a novel concept.
Just try rejecting an applicant one time, based upon that, and watch the lawsuits fly!
The descriptive term "teaching profession" has become somewhat of an oxymoron.
Which is my point. A "degree in education" and/or the "courses in education" required for certification are essentially worthless to the actual act of teaching.
They are nothing more than "beans" for the "bean counters" and a means for the educational unions to restrict the supply of teachers in order to boost wages.
Far better to concentrate on getting individuals with the academic credentials in the actual SUBJECT MATTER to be taught.
Give the prospective teachers the skill in classroom instruction by having them serve an apprenticeship with other classroom teachers for a year or two, and then turn them loose.
Teacher certification is a phony requirement intended to restrict the supply of teachers. By restricting the supply, you drive up the prevailing wage for those in the profession. That's why the unions are such vitriolic opponents of alternative certification programs.
Big BUMP for that, varon. An expert is not necessarily a teacher. A teacher needs to be an expert, a communicator (kids, parents, admin), a disciplinarian, and a faux parent.
Not at all easy. Not at all for everyone. It is true that people (that I know) don't teach for the money or the vacations or the perceived security. They choose to do it for other reasons.
Agreed.
Vacations and benefits make teaching worthwhile in most places.
I'll beg to differ some more. When I hear what is being passed off as curriculum these days, I don't believed they are very well versed in either.
A article from our local rag related to my earlier post:
Teachers' pay measures up to other professions
By Brent Killackey
By Brent Killackey Racine Journal Times
RACINE - Are teachers, as a profession, underpaid? Not according to Richard Vedder, a professor of economics at Ohio University.
In the education journal "Education Next," Vedder writes that teachers are not underpaid relative to other professionals.
Relying on data from the National Compensation Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which computes hourly earnings for workers, teachers earn more per hour than architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, registered nurses, editors and reporters.
Elementary school teachers earned $28.79 an hour, secondary school teachers earned $29.79 an hour and special education teachers earned $29.97 an hour, according to 2000 Bureau of Labor Statistics information cited by Vedder.
In comparison, architects earned $23.22 an hour; editors and reporters, $24.81 an hour; civil engineers, $27.35 an hour.
On the local scene, a teacher in the Racine Unified School District in 2003 made an average of roughly $33 an hour, based on the average salary and average hour requirements in the contract.
Comparing teachers to other professions in term of salary isn't fair, according to Greg Reischl, a world history teacher at Park High School.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers assume an average workweek of just under 40 hours for elementary and secondary teachers.
"Teachers are putting in a lot of hours outside of class," Reischl said, noting there's papers to grade and future lessons to prepare. Some teachers come early, stay late and put in weekend hours. "Our work doesn't stop at 3 o'clock."
"I look around at the teachers in our department and we're taking home hours of work," said Tamerin Hayward, chair of Case High School's social studies department.
Hayward said the perception that teachers work 9 to 5 - 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in this case - just doesn't follow the reality of the job.
William Schalk, president of the Racine Unified Board of Education, agreed.
"Teachers work 7 or 8 hours a day, but then they have lesson plans they work on at night that other professions aren't required to do," Schalk said.
As Board of Education president, Schalk sits on the opposite side of the bargaining table as teachers, but he was sympathetic.
"I do feel that we need to do better in paying our teachers in Racine Unified, but the revenue limits and the QEO (qualified economic offer) has hindered us in making that possible, to the degree I feel necessary to adequately pay the teachers," Schalk said.
Under the state-mandated QEO, a teachers' union can't take salary and benefit disputes to arbitration if a district offers a combined salary and benefit package that increases 3.8 percent. School districts in Wisconsin also operate under revenue caps, limiting the amount of property taxes that can be levied.
Teachers aren't unique among public-sector employees, who typically find lower pay but greater job security.
"Public-sector employees are underpaid when you compare them to their counterparts in the private sectors," said Frank Johnson, Unified's director of employee relations. "The reality of the situation is they are public employees, and as public employees funds are limited."
From one perspective, Wisconsin values its educators by a willingness to bear a greater relative tax burden to pay above-average pay and benefits to teachers.
Teacher compensation, which includes salary and benefits, runs above the national average, according to National Center on Education Statistics numbers cited by Dale Knapp, research director at the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Average wages in Wisconsin run 10 to 12 percent below the national average, he said. These wages are used to pay state and local taxes.
"Because total (teacher) compensation is above average and being paid for by wages that are below average, the tax burden from that higher compensation here is a lot higher than in other states," Knapp said. "Not that they're overpaid or underpaid; it takes a bigger chunk of the paycheck to pay for the teacher compensation here than other states."
Marna Krueger, arts specialist at Brown Elementary School and a teacher in Unified for 25 years, said she felt she was paid adequately when compared to other teachers.
"Compared to other professionals who have the education I have, and the requirement of continuing education hours, then it becomes an iffy subject," she said.
At the same time, Krueger said she didn't become a teacher for money.
"Salary isn't my big concern," she said. "I don't do the job for the salary. I do the job because it's what I was called to do."
Ann Henkes, arts specialist at Gifford Elementary School, doesn't feel the current contract environment - tied to the QEO and revenue caps - fairly recognizes the contributions of teachers in society.
"I certainly don't feel overpaid," Henkes said. "When I picked education as a career, I knew I wasn't going to get rich."
Henkes, who holds a master's degree in education plus 12 additional credits, has been teaching in the district since 1977.
"I love my job and I am dedicated to students, but I'm not an indentured servant," Henkes said, expressing dissatisfaction with current Unified contract offers. She said the QEO and revenue caps have contributed to being treated in an insulting way in contract negotiations.
Over the years, Henkes said, she gave up raises.
"We weren't even keeping up with the cost of living," she said.
"I'm not going to apologize for what I'm making as a salary now. I don't feel I'm getting rich."
Hayward, who has taught in Unified for 24 years, said she worried about pay for new teachers.
"Starting pay is really bad," she said. In Racine, starting pay is $28,318, according to district officials.
It's hard to draw people into the field when they can find other opportunities that offer far greater starting salaries, particularly with the level of education and requirement of continuing education needed to teach, Hayward said.
"I don't see how we're going to draw people into the field, given the salaries that we've got," said Reischl, who has taught in the district for 27 years and holds a master's degree plus 24 credits.
Reischl said the QEO has saved taxpayers money, "but the chicken is going to come home to roost real soon because you're not going to get quality coming in.
"I never expected to be a millionaire, but I do think we haven't been paid our due. The bottom line is where is society putting its priorities? "If society wants a good school system, society needs to foot the bill for that."
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