The Lack of Merit in the Merit Pay Debate

by David Yancey, FA, AFT 6157 President

A famous quote from history warns us to “beware those who come to you with simple solutions to complex problems.” The argument that merit pay will make better teachers and improve education provides us with the latest example of this quotation.

Those advocating merit pay as a way to solve the “problems” in public education are the same types that advocated “three strikes and you’re out” as a solution to crime in our society and we can all see how that worked out; there are more people in jail for longer periods at increasingly greater costs and no reduction in crime or violence on our streets.

Not only is the concept of merit pay a simplistic approach to the problem of developing good teachers, it is also an attack on unions. It is a tool used by politicians and business leaders, and it creates in the public’s mind a false choice on how to solve the real issues in public education.

Instead of doing the hard work of teacher training and development, including positive and constructive evaluation of a teacher’s performance to promote professional teachers, it is easier to point to the so called “outstanding teacher” and give these teachers more money. It creates a false sense of solving both issues. It looks like they care about teachers/students, and it also undermines the work of unions to guarantee that people are treated fairly and equitably. Make no mistake the motives of these advocates are not pure nor are they well intentioned.

The work and the results of educating our students cannot be placed solely on the shoulders of teachers.

Teaching is hard work and the vast majority of teachers strive to be outstanding. But hard work by the teacher is not the whole answer. It is not that simple. Furthermore, the effort of the classroom teacher is not the only critical part of the educational experience of our students. There are many other important factors involved in this process. One of the most critical is the preparation of the student themselves. How much help/support has the student had in previous educational settings. How much family support is available and what is the environment within the home toward that student’s education. What learning differences have been identified or even considered and dealt with to ensure the student has all the learning accommodations they need to be successful.

The concept that it “takes a village” to educate our children is fitting.

The idea that a teacher alone makes a difference in the educational process has been and continues to be narrow and uninformed. Bright students and those with learning differences require very different kinds of support to be successful and no one component or member of the “educational village” can do it alone. We need a concerted effort to ensure that the whole system, from teachers to parents to proper funding of schools is operating together to give our students the educational experience they deserve.

The other aspect of this idea of merit pay is aimed at undermining the strength of teacher’s unions. Without unions, then administrators in schools and business owners in the community would not be concerned with equity, fairness and equal treatment of their employees. What little rights workers have today didn’t come out of the great sense of conscience of the employer. It came from the hard work of those who fought to win collective bargaining rights relative to wages and working conditions. Reasonable wages and benefits didn’t come the employers sense of compassion and fairness; they came from the collective voice of unions.

Even those not in unions benefit from the fight for fairness and adequate wages led by unions.

Without a union, there would be administrators who would be unrestrained in their abuse and mistreatment of people based on their particular sense of what is right or wrong; and believe me salaries would be much lower.

Don’t be fooled by the straw man argument of merit pay! It is simply not the answer.

We need a much broader approach to support our students and their education. We need adequate school materials and technology, student evaluation for those suspected of struggling with learning differences, more parental participation in their children’s education and lastly, community support for families that are struggling to survive in a difficult economy. Add those things to the many good teachers we already have and that will improve our students education.

The problems we face in education today are complex and require real commitment to find a solution. We need to forge stronger relationships with our educational colleagues to allow us to have a decisive voice in this debate. We need teachers that are given the professional support they require and the respect they deserve and we can make education work again in this country for all of us.

Merit pay sounds good initially but “Beware.”