Teacher strike in suburban Philadelphia begins today

[glenn1]

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Excerpts follow:



While many children in the region said goodbye to summer break yesterday, students in two local school districts will get an extended vacation because of teacher strikes that began today.

Teachers in Bucks County's Bensalem School District and Montgomery County's Colonial School District began picketing today to protest proposed contracts that they say do not offer them adequate compensation. The strikes would affect classes for 11,800 students.

"The district's refusal to abandon their failed merit-pay plan that purports to measure teacher effectiveness is a major block," Greishober said. "They are offering less than a cost-of-living raise, and they want us to pay more for a less-comprehensive health-care package.

A first-year teacher was paid $34,455 under the previous contract; the top pay level was $80,120.

 

[vi edit]

<< Earlier, Greishober said the major sticking point was the district's merit-based pay plan, which gives its 355 teachers bonuses based on student performance. He said teachers want the district to drop the plan. >>



You know, I try my best to support teachers, but this just screams "I'm lazy and want to be paid reguardless of how well I do at my job".

Yes, I understand that there are many things that would have to be worked out to make the program fair both to the students and the teacher, but there are also very reasonable ways to implement this as well.

We don't know what sort of amounts these bonuses were, but the general tone I get is that improvement of teaching is not a top priority.

 

[iamwiz82]

<<

<< Earlier, Greishober said the major sticking point was the district's merit-based pay plan, which gives its 355 teachers bonuses based on student performance. He said teachers want the district to drop the plan. >>



You know, I try my best to support teachers, but this just screams "I'm lazy and want to be paid reguardless of how well I do at my job".

Yes, I understand that there are many things that would have to be worked out to make the program fair both to the students and the teacher, but there are also very reasonable ways to implement this as well.

We don't know what sort of amounts these bonuses were, but the general tone I get is that improvement of teaching is not a top priority. >>



you could look at it both ways. What if a teacher gets 7 kids who have decieded they do not want to learn, and the teacher loses his/her bonus over it.

When i was in elementary school, my district went on strike. That was a LOOOOOONG summer. I believe it was 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[Gusfo0]

Why couldn't they have done this when I was in school!

 

[vi edit]

iamwiz82, your example is one of the few reservations that I have of the proposed system.

Here's the catch though - currently, what incentives do the teachers have to at least make an attempt of getting those students involved and active? None. Now, under this proposed plan, there will be at least some sort of incentive to make that teacher go out of their way to get the student involved and participating in the classroom.

It might be a bribe, but at the least, it's a way of rewarding the teachers who go proactive in the education of students who normally would be ignored.

 

[yobarman]

Haha Neshamity High School sucks, go ROCK!


Actually who cares, I graduated last year. Screw BOTH SCHOOLS!

 

[classy]

<< Tecaher strike in suburban Philadelphia begins today >>



? Whats a tecaher strike?

 

[Texmaster]

I agree that teachers need to be paid more however, accountability Must follow. For instance, teacher's unions can't go nuts because a math teacher needs to be able to READ to become a teacher much less a math degree.

The teacher's unions are so corrupt they don't want any standards for teachers just more money and that is plain wrong.

 

[astriy]

heh, I actually went to Bensalem High School for 2 years like 7 years ago.

 

[glenn1]

<< ? Whats a tecaher strike? >>



Point noted