What Value Does Society Place on Quality Education?

How do most industries reward exceptional performance? Higher wages and bonuses, right? Some industries even reward failing performance and reward senior employees just for being there. Why should teaching be any different?

There is a New York City charter school that is trying out increasing teacher salaries to match that of what similar professionals would earn. Teachers will be paid $120,000 a year in an attempt to demonstrate that teacher salaries have a far greater positive impact on the quality of education than small class size. This is not to say that giving this kind of salary to just anybody with a teaching certificate will net the gains sought. Rather by offering this salary, a school is able to draw a higher caliber of talent and some people with families to support could afford to teach where before it involved holding down a second job or opting to stay in a more lucrative field.

I have a belief that society does not place such a high value on teacher compensation for several reasons. Primarily, the public is very familiar with education. We all went through school, personally known teachers, and think we have a good idea of what a teacher does. Unlike doctors and lawyers, we all have experienced schools and therefore the perception is there is no mystery to the job...how to teach appears to be common knowledge. Society does not pay a premium price on jobs that are thought to be common knowledge. Jobs that if given sufficient time and motivation one could do themselves just as well as the next person.

Another reason I feel teaching has gotten a bad rap and compensation had stagnated is the way some (and I mean few) teachers work an act. They do not act professionally, they do not dress professionally, and they do not represent the industry well. There are lawyers and doctors who fail to act professionally and they are generally put out of business once enough clients are fed up. Bad teachers are not easy to get rid of and the standards for assessing a teachers work are not consistent.

I hope the NYC experiment works and demonstrates that higher pay does yield higher quality education. I believe it should. Teachers who are not over tired from working two jobs I am sure not only feel better but work better. Drawing into the classroom America's best and brightest will produce more bright students who have the skills needed to succed.