I want to thank everyone for using twitter to let me know you received the message about class. . .only a few people didn't post.
This week: I will first answer questions about any current assignments that you are juggling (Inspiration, Classroom 2.0, etc.). Tonight, we will get a first-hand look into the CSUSM Web 2.0 Tools for Education Wiki and discuss the page that you will create! I would also like to see if there are any questions as to how to embed assignments into your blog. . .Don't forget that each assignment/artifact that is posted on your blog should have an appropriate, descriptive title and the NETS that it is addressing (also in the title). You will also give a brief description of what the artifact is in the body of the post.
Please note: the comments after each blog while fun, are also part of your attendance/participation grade for the class. It seems that there are a few people who are not posting comments. . .
Journals 9 & 10: I want you to use articles from the newest L&L, which hit the Net this weekend, for journals 9 & 10. Remember to use proper citation for the post. . .also, journal 10 is extra credit!
This week's Question: Do you think teachers should receive merit pay? If so, how do you propose it be accomplished? (There is a current gubernatorial candidate who is proposing merit pay for teachers)
Posts
I do not support merit pay for teachers based on student performance on standardized test scores, even with the "value added" approach that Arne Duncan proposes. Any merit increase for teachers should be based on teaching ability, not testing performance. There is no fair and impartial means of awarding merit pay for teachers. The process requires human judgment and should involve nomination by a professional colleague or the school principal. I would hope that a principal is capable of determining which teachers might deserve merit increases based on their teaching ability, not the testing achievements of their students.
ReplyDeleteI feel that teachers should be paid based on their own individual performance, not students achievements. I feel this because some students do not test well, and standardized testing is not necessarily the best for students. I have taken a course on education and it seems to be the consensus that testing takes away from valuable teaching time and creativity.
ReplyDeleteNO. Mainly because I know that I would lose out. I teach severely handicapped students. hows is my merit pay going to work. I think before they do that they should look to get rid of bad teachers.
ReplyDeleteI do not support merit pay. I do believe there needs to be a system in place for teachers who do well, but a merit pay system is not the way to go. Who is going to decide which teachers are doing well and which aren't? Judgment is very biased and this can turn into a favorites system with teachers sucking up to the administrators rather than focusing on the students.
ReplyDeleteI don't think merit pay is a good idea especially when a lot of students don't take standardized tests seriously. A teacher should be evaluated based on teaching skills not on the results of standardized tests.
ReplyDeleteI don't support merit pay because I feel that a teacher should not be paid based on how their students perform on a standardized test. I know many students didn't try or give their full effort in standardized testing, and some students are bad test takers, so how are the results accurate or a reflection on the teacher's performance in a classroom?
ReplyDeletei know think its a good idea bc many students dont carea about tests
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with that because the teachers should not be penalised for the students doing poor in class especially if it is because they struggle with that particular subject, or they are just not good at taking tests. I know when I was in school, I always did really bad when I took tests because I panicked under pressure of taking the exam, but my class work was always A grades, so the exams is what brought my grade down. Therefore the teachers should not receive merit pay. If the students are responding well and the teacher is improving the education of the student then that is when they should be rewarded, not just for the test results, that just seems silly and inpraticle.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that teachers should be paid based off of student performance. Some students could have great teachers and still not test well. I also do not completely agree with standardized testing because I do not believe those tests show the ability of each student.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe in merit pay for teachers based of students standardized test scores. I think that tests scores of students do not necessarily show a teachers teaching ability. I do think that exceptional teachers should get acknowledged for their hard work but I should be based off their teaching ability not the scores of their students.
ReplyDeleteI do not think merit pay is a good idea because many students do not care about the testing (I was one of them). I think the teachers should be evaluated by their performance and abilities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of you merit pay based on standardized testing is a horrible idea. I know I didn't care about those standardized tests when I was in high school, I figured they were just practice tests.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think merit pay is a good idea. Teachers should be judged based on their performance, not on the standardized tests the students take, because the students dont care and it is not a relfection of the teacher.
ReplyDeleteAlthough i understand the opposition to Merit Pay, for many years teachers have shown discontent about the not receiving much recognition or prestige as other professions, Merit Pay can be a step closer to receiving more respect from those who have refused to value the importance of teaching. Living in a capitalist society, where everyone seems to honor the value of dollars, offers a posibility to some teachers to feel encourage to do their job or at least part of the job. Like every decision in life, this will also bring consequences and we have to be ready for our success and failures. Maybe other types of ideas will have to be implemented in order to succeed, however the major decision is are we willing to take the risk or should we continue with our current system.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree. It is very unfair that teachers get paid based on a students performance and standardized testing!
ReplyDeleteI don't support Merit Pay for teachers. I think that teachers should not get paid based on students scores. Not all students are good taking exams, myself included. Teachers are a great factor in students success but not entirely. First, and most important is the fact that everyone learns at different levels. In school there are both good and bad teachers and students but merit pay is not the solution. I do feel that when a teacher fells a student he or she fell himself or herself as well because he or she felt somewhere in their teaching; either at motivation or patients or somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Kathleen on this one. Merit based on standardized tests should not be a factor, but based off the effectiveness of the teacher in communicating the information to the students and the students being able to relate to the material.
ReplyDelete