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Obama and Vouchers

Submitted by David Justin Lynch, Feb 25, 2008 10:23

Teachers, like everyone else in private industry and in government, need to be held accountable individually for their performance. Accountability is nothing new in education - schools grade, or otherwise evaluate, students, don't they? To tie a teacher's earnings to her/his effectiveness is just as proper as rewarding good students with good graces. Of course, there are teachers that need help to do better, and they should get that help. But those who don't have what it takes need to find another job, just like private industry. Seniority and tenure schemes aren't available in the oil industry, in telecommunications, in advertising, or even in law or medicine---why do we need them at school? And let's pay teachers a decent wage so we attract and retain good people into the profession. Pay a new teacher what a recent college graduate makes in private industry. Pay a highly skilled veteran teacher with graduate degrees what a comparably skilled person would make in the private sector. My wife is a retired elementary teacher with a Master's Degree. If she worked as such in our local schools, she would make 50K or so. But she doesn't because she can make twice that or more in sales. That is because the better she is at selling, the more she is paid. Simply put, her company holds her ACCOUNTABLE. The teacher's unions have to change their thinking, or they will become simply irrelevant, and more part of the problem than part of the solution.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Opposing vouchers while sending your own child to a private school is incredibe hypocrisy. It's simply a question of choice.... [MORE]	james jones	Mar 2, 2008 21:23
Ms. McDevitt's comment underscores the way that those on the right and the left talk past each other on this... [MORE]	Steve Staneart	Feb 25, 2008 22:26
Well, in his effort to appeal to conservatives more, Sen. McCain takes one more smart step (though, for all I... [MORE]	Chris Baecker	Feb 25, 2008 17:42
You're wrong about this parent of schoolchildren... and nearly all the parents of schoolchildren whom I know. And you're absolutely right... [MORE]	Bill Bensen	Feb 25, 2008 13:13
The fact that the obama children attend private school is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to... [MORE]	David H Werdine	Feb 25, 2008 12:31
In your quote, Obama does not say that he supports vouchers. He would support them if there is evidence that... [MORE]	srw	Feb 25, 2008 10:49
You miss his point entirely. The point he makes is that while he is not in favor of vouchers now,... [MORE]	Hilary McDevitt	Feb 25, 2008 10:32
Teachers, like everyone else in private industry and in government, need to be held accountable individually for their performance. Accountability...	David Justin Lynch	Feb 25, 2008 10:23
Obama and Farakhan? Wow!!! Who would have tought! lol [MORE]	jasper	Feb 25, 2008 10:08
Obama has called for merit pay of teachers, an act of political courage which neither Hillary nor McCain has matched. Calls... [MORE]	mnjam	Feb 25, 2008 10:02
There is no racial inequality in school funding as you seem to suggest. There is, however, economic inequality in some... [MORE]	MildlyAmused1	Feb 26, 2008 08:47
That his campaign says, "Throughout his career, he has voted against voucher proposals and voiced concern for siphoning off resources... [MORE]	Lew Waters	Feb 25, 2008 02:30
Talk is Talk. Obama vigorously opposes school vouchers for poor or middle income parents who want the ability to send... [MORE]	Larry M	Feb 25, 2008 20:22

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