Education Secretary Arne Duncan told an audience Monday at the Aspen Institute's Innovation Economy Conference that America has fallen behind in education. "We've lost our way in education in this country," he said. "In the most recent study of 15 year old’s math performance we were 31st internationally. That’s not who we think we are but that’s the reality."
Interviewed by journalist Gwen Ifel of PBS' NewsHour program, Secretary Duncan said that what's needed is "transformational change not just incremental change."
One way in which Mr. Duncan hopes to accomplish this is by dramatically raising the pay of certain teachers. "Teachers in areas of critical need Math, Science, Special Education, and foreign language should be paid more," he said. "I think great teachers should be paid more to work in historically under served communities like inner city urban or rural. Not all these jobs were created equally. In education we have had lots of disincentives for great talent to go where it’s needed most and very few incentives."
Mr. Duncan said that the Obama Administration has allocated $3.5 billion for school improvement grants that can be used to top-up teacher pay in Math and Science. He said that teacher's unions which once hindered such practices are now supportive
Will Norwalk's BOE create such a program for teachers? I wonder what the reaction of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers would be to difference in pay not based on tenure but on the subject that a particular teacher teaches?
What do you think? Should Math teachers be paid more than English teachers?
You can see Secretary Duncan's full interview below.
American Students in the Global Classroom from Innovation Economy on Vimeo.
Monday, November 30, 2009
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Go Arne Go!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the BOE doing to support the Sec. of Education's agenda. Seems to me nothing.
We have a lame duck superintendent and the permanent central office staff our equally uninterested.
Duncan says that non-winners of Race to the Top can get funded in the second round, but what about school districts that don't even want to compete?
I understand the importance of math, science and world languages, but the weakest area on the CMT in many districts, especially urban, is literacy. Reading is the most fundamental of skills, one that is required for all of the above, and yet the U.S. Department of Education doesn't include it among the areas of greatest need.
ReplyDeleteAs for differentiated compensation, it is impossible to justify paying a physical education teacher the same rate of pay as that of a physics teacher or of a calculus teacher or of a first grade reading teacher. Differentiating compensation will result in a protracted fight by the unions unless there is a different way of doing it, e.g., special grants paid to the "most important" (however that might be determined) teachers. However, we are making a mistake if we overlook the importance of teachers in other specialty areas.
No! Math, science, and world language teachers should not be paid more than English teachers. Literacy is crucial for success in the other subjects, and English class is where students apply and expand upon both their written and spoken command of the English language. Without the building blocks of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar, as well as skills such as critical thinking that are enhanced through the analysis of literature in English class, I think it would be that much harder for a student to learn science facts, understand scientific theory, work through math word problems, etc. I do, however, agree that teachers should be paid more to work in historically under served communities like inner city, urban, or rural, regardless of what subject they teach.
ReplyDeleteI find it difficult to understand how the Sec'y of Educ fails to recognize the importance and sheer volume of the work which is produced daily by high school English teachers who are diligent in their instructional practices. The work load of these teachers is staggering. There must be respect for the sheer number of hours devoted nightly to the volumes of pages of novels and literary criticism that must be read and analyzed each evening to be primed for daily lessons in the high school English and AP English classroom. These teachers also respond thoughtfully and individually to each student's essays--usually going home with stacks of essays to be assessed from multiple classes each weekend. Because most of these teachers value the revision process, this paper load is a revolving door as they encourage their students to improve their drafts and resubmit their work. How could the Sec'y of Education devalue the yeoman's work of this group of teachers who are dedicated to the literacy needs of our nation's young people? The teachers who embrace this job as professionals should be lauded for their diligent efforts in developing our students into literate young adults who can meet the challenges of the 21st century as competent readers of complex texts and effective communicators who are empowered through their ability to speak and write clearly and powerfully. It is a shame that the Sec'y of Education would propose an idea that creates division between teachers as they will be forced to compare their relative value to that of their colleagues. We should be focused, instead, on the importance of each discipline's role in producing a well-rounded and educated individual. We do not teach part of student, we teach the whole student--a person who must be able to meet the learning demands of each content-area as he or she successfully navigates throughout each and every classroom and corridor in the high school building throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with many of the previous poster's points, all teachers' responsibilities are not equal. I watch our elementary gym, strings, and art teachers walk out the door promptly at 3:05 daily (the end of their contractual day), while most of the classroom teachers are working until 5. The situation in the morning is comparable. They are usually free during data team meetings, since no one has found a legitimate role for them to play, so that leaves Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings their own. Open house and conference nights are theirs as well to do paperwork or tidy their rooms, since they have no presentations to make.
ReplyDeleteWhile we must teach the whole child, the stakes are not as high for some in the profession and the pressure and accountability are not comparable. A classroom teacher must prepare whole and small group reading, math, and writing lessons daily. Don't forget social studies and science, because those are critical. One weekly whole group lesson for each grade certainly entails a lot less work. I think differentiated pay is an idea worth looking at.