As a current teacher I have many views and opinions on the teachers falling under the controversial issue at hand, Teachers being paid based on a new evaluation system as well as their student achievement.
A part of me hates the idea, then the other part of me says yeah I am with it, I see why they are doing this. On one hand you have some dedicated teachers who will go over and beyond to make sure their students are learning in a safe cohesive environment. On the other hand you have teachers who clock in, go inside of their classrooms and sit behind their desk all day every day. I am not saying that this teacher is ineffective; all I am saying is this teacher appears to be lazy and unmotivated. Anybody that knows me knows I am a person who speaks my mind and have no reservations when it comes to something that I am passionate about. Those teachers that sit behind their desks, drinking coffee, emailing their friends all day, texting, playing games on their phones gives teachers like myself a bad name. Please do not get me wrong; we all have those days when we give the students an assignment that allows us some “me time” in order to get grading caught up, respond to pertinent emails and such. However, if you are having “me time” all day every day then this is a problem. Do I agree that our work load is great? Yes, of course I do. Do I feel underpaid and unappreciated? Yes, of course I do. However, it is not those kids who decide our pay, it Is not those kids who told you to get your degree in education, it was YOU!! So as I researched the pay for performance dilemma, I felt a little compelled to write this blog and give my teacher friends as well as teacher strangers a viewpoint from people who are not in education.
Your students deserve the best and of course it is very hard some days when those same few students that are disrespectful, rude, insubordinate, and unmotivated walk into your classroom with the same drama. If you know like I know you better document, buzz the office and have those jokers removed. I am not saying that my students will make gains in order for me to meet my performance requirement, but one thing is for sure….I DID MY JOB WITH NO RESERVATIONS!!!
