Education Push Includes Merit Pay (Obama betrays teachers unions)

WSJ-online ^ | 3/10/2009 | LAURA MECKLER

[SonOfDarkSkies]

President Barack Obama laid out his "cradle to career" agenda for education Tuesday, including a controversial plan to boost pay for teachers who excel.

In a speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Obama said he backs the idea of merit pay for the best school teachers.

"It is time to start rewarding good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones," he said. Teacher unions have strongly opposed bringing such a system to public education. But in his talk, Mr. Obama said the time has come to do just that.

He said, "too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching with extra pay," and the resistance has continued "even though we know it can make a difference in the classroom." (See the full text of Obama's prepared remarks.)

The merit pay proposal would significantly expand a federal program that increases pay for high-performing teachers to an additional 150 school districts.

[nmh]

Don’t get excited.

Perhaps MERIT pay will happen but it will go to those that are the most LIBERAL.

[A_Former_Democrat]

OK what’s the catch?

[Mojave]

What’s Obama’s measure of merit?

[ronnyquest]

Minority, woman, gay, etc. Those are all the merits Obama is concerned about.

[SoFloFreeper]

So the teachers who tow the liberal line will be considered “the best”. NEA evaluators will be the ones, no doubt, who choose the “best” teachers.

This is a head fake by Obama.

I won’t fall for his lies. Ever.

[Mojave]

Maybe a “bilingual” bonus as a sop to the La Raza crowd.

[Ann Archy]

oh PUL-LEAZE! This “bone” is boob bait for the bubbas to latch onto, so the spinners can say he’s not a LIBERAL!!

[SonOfDarkSkies]

This article caused me to wonder, if he'll betray the teachers unions, maybe he will abandon "Card Check" when push comes to shove.

While he'll be an awful President, there might be some hope that he won't absolutely destroy the securities markets.

[maggief]

WASHINGTON—In a major speech on education, President Obama On Tuesday will push merit pay for teachers and upgraded “data systems” to track student and teacher performance. Money for that will be provided through the Obama stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/03/obama_to_push_for_merit_pay_fo.html

[CindyDawg]

Why are all the articles opening up, except for the 1st one under breaking? Anyone else having a problem?

[ronnyquest]

Bilingual? They’ll pay more for Spanish-only speakers.

[snowman1]

There should only be one criteria, the end result of their class performance.

[kabar]

Immigration, legal and illegal, is what is hurting K-12 education the most. And the highest school drop out rates are among Hispanics and blacks, which not so coincidentally have the highest rates of out of wedlock births.

[kabar]

And year after year, a stubborn gap persists between how well white students are doing compared to their African American and Latino classmates.

He left out Asians. And aren't most Latinos white?

[The Electrician]

Nothing that ODumbo says or does can be taken at face value. There will be a ‘catch’, guaranteed. Socialists and other liars often bastardize conservative language and ideals to sell a program, with the intent of subverting the voters’ intent once the program has been put into place...

[Kenny Bunk]

The Union will say who merits the pay.

This is just Obama speech.
"I am taking the troops out of Iraq," "Iam closing Guantanamo," etc. "I am assuring the poor that the Sun will rise tomorow and we have a plan to make sure it continues everyday, this is not a partisan issue, and I cannot understand why the Republicans are against this."

[Pietro]

"OK what’s the catch?"

Just another way to increase spending on education.

end o' story

[barb-tex]

Latino is not a race, the correct term is “spainish surname” and they are classed as “white”. If yo daddy be named Jones and yo mammy be named Lopez, you could miss out on a lot of Obama Largess. The national Teachers Unions make a convenient whipping boy, but the teacher is like a soldier on the front lines who is given defective ammo and weapons and is blamed for the defeat. When you have the likes of Teddie, et al, writing the curriculum, it makes little difference of good teacher, or bad teacher. Policy determines how hard you can grade. If they would lay off the teachers, and beat on the politicians, something might change.
barbra ann

[cherry]

just because barry throws out one good idea it doesn't mean he'll act on it....there are no such things as bad teachers according to leftist if they are good card carrying communists, I mean teachers.....

and besides..."merit" pay for teachers will just be an extra add on for any little thing they think they accomplish.....like getting the kids to bring a pencil to class.....