Should a teacher pay depend on her subject?

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rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
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I know some think this isn't right, and that some teachers are teacher more complex subjects and deserve a higher pay, what is your take on this.

Yes, tougher subjects should mean higher pay. Art teachers, PE teachers, etc don't really have to do lesson plans like someone teaching History would. Workload is less. Plus as schools move to merit pay, you can really offer merit pay to someone who teaches a subject that is not tested for NCLB crap.
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
8,444
1
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Why pay fail teachers more money or require higher and higher degrees when it just leads to failure?
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/nati...scores-are-lowest-theyve-been-40-years/57208/

Coming in with an average SAT reading score of 496, 2012's graduating seniors have the dubious distinction of having attained the worst reading score since 1972. (For those test-takers of a certain age and test-taking history, "reading" is actually that part we knew as "verbal.") Regardless of what you call(ed) it, "The average reading score for the Class of 2012 was 496, down one point from the previous year and 34 points since 1972," reports The Washington Post's Emma Brown, gleaning numbers from the College Board, the organization that administers the test.
 

CycloWizard

Lifer
Sep 10, 2001
12,348
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DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,606
166
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www.slatebrookfarm.com
This is the inevitable result of the "no child left behind" mentality. When all teaching is to the lowest common denominator, very few are raised above that bar. Education policy is going in the exact opposite direction that all available scientific literature suggests.

I'm very much in favor of grouping students by ability. But, there's plenty of literature to suggest that the lower students don't learn quite as well. Let me be politically incorrect for a moment: Boo hoo. Those lower students AREN'T going to be the astrophysicists of tomorrow.

Quit with the nonsense of "every child must go to college in order to succeed! We need them all to take the same courses!" Most other countries figure out, "college track... or career/trade track" by the time kids are in 9th grade. But, awwww, it wouldn't be fair to take away a kids chance at being a doctor in 9th grade.
 

StrangerGuy

Diamond Member
May 9, 2004
8,443
124
106
I'm very much in favor of grouping students by ability. But, there's plenty of literature to suggest that the lower students don't learn quite as well. Let me be politically incorrect for a moment: Boo hoo. Those lower students AREN'T going to be the astrophysicists of tomorrow.

Quit with the nonsense of "every child must go to college in order to succeed! We need them all to take the same courses!" Most other countries figure out, "college track... or career/trade track" by the time kids are in 9th grade. But, awwww, it wouldn't be fair to take away a kids chance at being a doctor in 9th grade.

How sad we have to label a fact in life as politically incorrect.
 

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,240
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What utter nonsense. People at a university require PH.D and CC all require Masters. K-12 only needs a bachelors degree, with some classes for a teaching credential.

The so called classes they must take each year is just a few classes over the summer, like 2 weeks of classes. I actually have family members who are teachers.

alot of this is wrong. You can teach in college with a bacehlors degree, even at a major university, like the one I work at. You wont be a professor, you will be adjunct staff or something like that, but you are teaching college classes

the so called classes they have to take can be a wide variety. some conferences and workshops will count towards credit for sure. but college classes will also do that.

I beleive the state of new york requires a masters degree by the time you want to renew your teaching certification for the first time, which is 3 or 4 years after its first issued

I have a bachelors not related to the IT field and yet was talked to about teaching a class at my local CC where I took some classes

Ok, thanks Teach.

A 2 year certification, a 4 month internship and a background check would be more than enough for K-9 grades.

yes all these complaints about shitty teachers and your solution is to lower the bar

though it would flood the market even more than it already is causing more competition, but the issue is bad teachers with tenure...

No K-12 teachers only need to be proficient in the subject they are teaching. Most classes are not taught by graduate students, most are taught by professors. T.A may lead discussion sessions or labs, but they do not teach the classes.

depends on the major, and the school.

when I was in business, all the big classes were really taught by the grad students, the professor would lecture and not really take the questions, and the onus was on the grad student running you lab section to actually teach the material. but IMO the person interacting with you and the material is the teacher, not the guy on stage stroking his ego for 50 minutes a week :D


when I transferred to a smaller state school(from ~30k undergrad to 10k undergrad) every class was taught by a professor
 
Feb 6, 2007
16,432
1
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I'm very much in favor of grouping students by ability. But, there's plenty of literature to suggest that the lower students don't learn quite as well. Let me be politically incorrect for a moment: Boo hoo. Those lower students AREN'T going to be the astrophysicists of tomorrow.

Quit with the nonsense of "every child must go to college in order to succeed! We need them all to take the same courses!" Most other countries figure out, "college track... or career/trade track" by the time kids are in 9th grade. But, awwww, it wouldn't be fair to take away a kids chance at being a doctor in 9th grade.
The world needs ditch diggers too.
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
8,444
1
0
The State of California could easily save a Billion dollars if they paid K-6 grade teachers what they're actually worth. About the same $$ as we pay check out clerks.
 

CycloWizard

Lifer
Sep 10, 2001
12,348
1
81
I'm very much in favor of grouping students by ability. But, there's plenty of literature to suggest that the lower students don't learn quite as well. Let me be politically incorrect for a moment: Boo hoo. Those lower students AREN'T going to be the astrophysicists of tomorrow.

Quit with the nonsense of "every child must go to college in order to succeed! We need them all to take the same courses!" Most other countries figure out, "college track... or career/trade track" by the time kids are in 9th grade. But, awwww, it wouldn't be fair to take away a kids chance at being a doctor in 9th grade.
This. And what StrangerGuy said. Education in this country is a joke. Educators and even state/local administrators have very little say. It's all coming straight from the top. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely fits anyone and we end up with a huge, expensive mess. I guess that sums up my feelings about most things the federal government is attempting to do at this point.