RE: Rewarding Teachers

Behethland opines:

I don't think anyone would argue that good teachers should be rewarded. The problem is in how you determine who's good and who's bad. We're talking about a job where the fruits of your efforts may not be realized until years later, when the student takes what you say and teach to heart. Test scores can't do that. And teachers in lower-income or special needs schools aren't going to get the caliber of student that a suburban school gets. I can remember some really sad cases when I was in elementary school. Children who couldn't stay awake during the day because their parents kept them up all night fighting. When a child like that does poorly on end-of-year tests, is isn't because the teacher failed them.