Fwd: questions

[Nick Roy]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: D. Stinson <dstn...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, May 18, 2011 at 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: questions
To: Nick Roy <nickro...@gmail.com>

Hello Nick,

 

1.  Successful teaching requires collaboration between teachers, not competition.  Teachers need to share information, not conceal it in hopes they have the secret formula that will get them merit pay.  The fact is, if a student is successful with me in mathematics, that really also depends on the success the teacher in the previous course had with the student.  That teacher and I both make the difference.  And, of course, the teacher before that as well as after this.

 

2.  Merit pay is also hard to determine.  For example, I teach students who are planning to take an Advanced Placement exam.  They do very well with me.  I also have students in another class who have failed MCAS.  They have a difficult time with me.  Do I deserve merit pay because the AP students do well or do I deserve to be fired because the MCAS students are underachieving?  I am the very same teacher in both cases.

 

3.  Monies like this can always potentially corrupt the system as favoritism is always a liability.

 

4.  I would like to see all the money some wish to award teachers believing merit pay is a good solution instead go to students who are at risk in order to incentivize the students.  For instance, students who have poor attendance might be motivated to attend better if at the end of a term they knew they might to receive $100 if they succeeded in being absent no more than two days of the term.

 

5.  There are no "bad" students.  There are students with difficult life situations.  Good teaching is always necessary but not sufficient for successful learning.  But if a student is hungry, or absent or not an English speaker, for example, that student cannot learn on a level playing field in the same way as a student who is well cared for, regularly present, and reads and writes English at grade level no matter how good the teaching is.

 

I hope this is helpful.  Good luck with it all.  Respectfully, Mr. Mehlenbacher (room C-18)

On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 7:14 AM, Nick Roy <nickro...@gmail.com> wrote:

1.  What is your opinion on merit pay for teachers?

 

2.  Can teacher merit pay be accurately measured?

 

3.  Do you think it would cause corruption?

 

4.  Mery pay may incentivize teachers, but how will it incentivize students?

 

5.  What if teachers get assigned "bad" students, then how do you judge their performance?