Teacher Quality

The number one factor of a student’s performance is the quality of teacher that is in the classroom with that student. This is a proven fact. Good teachers produce good results even with students that come from less than ideal situations. So why don’t school and school districts just hire better teachers to improve the results of their students? Well here is where some pretty large problems occur. First is teacher pay. This is the most important factor in a school district attracting good teachers. Good teachers want to be paid well. Why shouldn’t they? All teachers have at least a 4 years college degree and most have more. The problem is that in most school districts all teachers are paid the same amount according to the level of education they have obtained and by how much experience they have (number of years spent teaching). So what is the reward for teacher A to do a good job when teacher B is paid the same thing to a less than adequate job? There is no reward or incentive for teacher A to continue to excel so teacher A either learns this and begins to drop off in performance or, now here is an insider secret, becomes an administrator. Good teachers are often encouraged to become administrators. Yes, school districts need good administrators but not at the expense of losing good teachers. Why do teachers want to be administrators? Simple, more pay and even sometimes less time spent at school.

Also, less and less people are looking at the profession of teaching as a valid career. Why? Because they can earn more by doing other things in the private sector. What will break this cycle? Perhaps one day when a new school is built and there are not even enough applications from people to fill the openings. Truly nobody goes into the teaching profession with dreams of getting rich, but there certainly must be something done to attract good people into the teaching profession and to keep the good ones in the profession. With out some serious changes, the teaching profession will continue to draw in and retain mediocre teachers and the good ones will continue to find other careers in which they are not only rewarded with proper compensation but also with the acknowledgement and respect they deserve.