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English III
December 6, 2013
Neglecting the purpose of educators
It is disturbing that public education is highlighting educators quality as one of the most
important schools input in educational production. This is the latest surge of interest differs from
earlier waves in several key respect. It is a flawed idea that teachers compensations should be
based on the performance of students, because this does not help in any way to improve
education. It is a disgrace for our teachers to be paid on how well their students perform; for it
not only degrades the teachers teaching skills it also reflects on teachers livelihood. The merit
pay system began in the eighteen hundreds. Merit pay is a pay increase based on goals or
achievements set by an employer, rather than a pay rate based on a union contract or a define pay
scale for a position. Merit pay typically involves the supervisor meeting with the employee to
discuss the employees work and to award an increase or a bonus based on performance.
Educators should not receive their pay according to how students perform because it leads
to failing in education; it increases the competition between educators and may lead
educators to leave the education profession.
Educators should not receive their pay according to how students perform because it
leads to failing in education, however like all public workers, teachers should be paid at a level
commensurate with the market value of their skills, which represents the compensation needed to
attract and retain a given set of workers. But comprehensive assessments of teacher
compensation--covering salaries, fringe benefits, and job security--are uncommon, which are
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more likely to lead in the failing of education (Richwine par 30). Many teachers pay to get their
education so they can share their knowledge with their students. There are teachers who work
longer hours just to ensure that their students receive information that is essential towards their
education even though they are much underpaid. For such reason it is believe that teachers feel
that they are unappreciated, overworked and now that the government is enforcing the law that
they should be paid according to how well students performs. It adds on more problems to the
ones they already have. Many teachers strive for excellent so that students can be well preparing
for the world ahead. As a matter of fact subjective evaluation by supervisors can also be
notoriously unreliable, sometimes encouraging teachers endeavoring to meet demands and
expectation of the supervisors, not necessarily effective teaching strategies .Which is a major
criteria that can lead to the failure in the educations systems of today (Henry 1). Although this is
a major crises teacher face today teachers continue to put forth more effort in what they do. Most
teachers believe that students are there priorities and they deserve to have the chance of learning.
Even though teachers put in all the hard work to ensure their student are on task they still do not
have a compensation that rewards their hard work. We can all agree that teachers should receive
the best composition there is for all their hard work they put into their students. When the
test scores became the measure of quality this was now the common practice -
the scores become the goal, not critical thinking, not creativityand certainly not advanced levels
of learning. Nevertheless teachers deserve to be appreciated, well treated and should not be pay
for how students perform because it is not the teachers fault if a student does not want to learn or
perform task that are required of them, all the teacher can do is to encourage and work with
students so that they can also strive for excellence (St. Petersburg par2).
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It is clearly shown that teachers should not be pay according to how students perform
because it leads to failure in education it also increases the competition between educators. In
fact as a result, student test scores should play a supporting rather than a lead role in teacher
evaluations. Any credible performance pay plan is going to require more effective evaluations of
teachers in classrooms--multiple evaluations by multiple evaluators and based on multiple
indicators of how well teachers plan, teach, test, manage, and motivate (Thomas 99.)
Nevertheless most teachers try to the best of their ability to ensure that their students succeed. By
doing this it also increases the competitive rate among teachers. Due to the pay for performance
teachers are engage in competition amongst themselves because every teacher wants to achieve
the best. In fact the pay for students performance system is starting to highlight the fact that
because of this system teacher get involve in competition so that they can be the best. It is not
only an absurd idea but this system is degrading the level of teachers quality in schools. Many
people become teachers because they love to communicate and interact with students others want
to become teachers because teaching is a profession they believe that will enable students to
have a bright future. It is not fair that teachers who work long and hard hours to ensure that
students get the essential knowledge that is required of them to be paid less than doctors and
laws, because without teachers there would be no doctor or no lawyers. If the competitive rates
amongst teachers continue to increase the moral staff will continue to sink which will lead the
education system to fail (Henry). However it is disagreeable for teachers to be competitive with
each other, because of the pay for performance system. Teachers are sometimes forced to engage
in competitive activity with one another. Teachers need to be recognized not only by their
students and staff members but also by everyone around them, because they are not place to
teacher but to inspire their students and everyone around them.
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Nevertheless the pay for students performance plays a huge role that emphasizes the
fact why teachers tend to leave the educational profession. Many teachers say that they are
annoyed with the new system that is put into place, which states that teachers should be pay
according to how well students perform in the classroom. While this is true teachers who work
over and above their line of duty are taken as suckers by some teachers. Too many teachers
have the philosophy, Why work more when for the same pay you can work less?
(Aubin15).Though many may believe that teachers should work less because they are paid less it
is not right to behave in this manner for they need not only to look out for themselves but also for
their students. For instance if there is no educators to educate students then how will students be
provide with the necessities that are essentials for learning. The federal government should
mainly focus on teachers pay. This system does not only emphasizes the teaching economy is
failing but it places teachers, administrators and students at risk of losing the teachers if they
leave the educational profession which not only punishes the students but deprive them from a
brighter future.

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This graph represents the annual income educators received from the year nineteen sixty-
nine to two thousand and eleven. It also emphasizes on the estimated amount of pay educators
received in the public school system and the way in how the pay range move in a different way
between that period of time.
Since teachers are not getting paid as much as they should they seem to have to find other
ways to pay for things. Educators are paid at a minimum wage and teachers are becoming
frustrated so they are selling grades to students to pay off DUI fines, which are now causing a
disturbance between teachers and the government. For one this shows how teachers seem to
become so stress to the point where they would turn to alcohol, by turning to alcohol it gets them
DUIs. By getting DUIs means they would have to find a way to pay their debt, and since there
pay is not good enough there are some teachers who figure what better way to get some money
than to sale grades. So if a child in the class is not passing he/she can buy herself/himself an A so
they could pass. It is so sad to see were our education is going today we have very little teachers
who even care about a childs education because there having personal struggles at home.
Although teachers face many crises they are successful in spite of overwhelming odd. Teachers
do not only meet the academic need of their student, but they also meet the social and
psychological needs. Teachers are not only there to teach students but they also play a significant
role on their students everyday life. Imagine what would it be like if there were no teachers?
Teachers do an amazing job, mostly by being there every day to educate and inspire their
students in many different ways. A school life without a teachers guidance and instruction is
like wasting precious time of the day just to sit in a classroom to watch the four corners of a wall.
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For instance if in the near future teachers were to leave their teaching profession and there were
no teacher, then students will have no choice but to return to stage one. For teachers not only
limits, but they also teach possibilities. For without the full potential of educators then there
would not be many doctors or nurses, because teachers are the most important aspect of our
society because they not only prepare students to survive, but they teach students how to flourish
and reach their full potential in a world that is growing increasingly complex and is growing very
rapidly by the minute. Every day the society and the world benefit a great deal from teachers,
some benefit are either directly or indirectly from what they do and contribute toward them.
Teacher are the basic fundamental in a students school life, they are a living role model for
students, so if there were no teachers the educational economy will sink leaving students no
choice but to find other means to get their education. So why pay teachers less when they can be
paid a proper salary and still do a perfect job, for they deserve to be treated and paid very
because they are the inspiration and the sensation of education. So let society give a huge hand in
the air for teachers because they are worth it.
Pay for students performance is critical for the teaching economy. Teachers are not
receiving the proper pay which represents their teaching skills, their ability to relate to their
students and their education level. Hence, allowing educators to receive their pay according to
the students performance leads to an injustice in the education system. This leads to unhealthy
competition among teachers which has the potential of causing dedicated well, intent teachers to
leave the profession all together. This has the potential of causing a ripple effect, first the
students will not be taught for the purpose of educating them it will be to increase said teachers
pay, next the American student will be far behind those in other countries and finally, teachers
that love to teach for the betterment of the child will begin to be faded out and it will become all
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about receiving a pay check. Checks and balances that are put in place to ensure our educational
system runs smoothly believes that paying teachers based on the students performance takes
away from the actual art of teaching. My belief is that a teachers pay should not reflect the
performance or lack of performance of their students. Every child does not go to school to learn.

Works Cited
Aarons, Dakarai I. "D.C. Teachers Ratify Contract With Pay for Performance." Education Week
9 June 2010: 4. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
"The Teacher Goes Job-Hunting." American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose.
Vol. 3: 1920-1929. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 169-72. Primary Sources. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|CX3490200473&v=2.1&u=mchs11357&
it=r&p=GVRL.primary&sw=w&asid=e3926bac5baa26bf7abe209da810e39b>.
It is a primary source because it a article boased on how teachers are unpaid.
"Estimated Average Annual Salary of Teachers in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by
State: Selected Years, 1969-70 through 2010-11." Estimated Average Annual Salary of
Teachers in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, by State: Selected Years, 1969-70
through 2010-11. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
"Merit Pay for a New Generation" N.p., n.d. Web.
Richwine, Jason, Et Al. "The Compensation Question: Are Public School Teachers Underpaid?"
Education Next 12.4 (2012): 68+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
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Stout, Lynn. "'Pay for Performance' Pitfalls." Los Angeles Times 2013 apr 12: A.17. Web. 4 Oct.
2013. <http://sks.sirs.com>.
"TEACHER MERIT PAY A FLAWED IDEA." St. Petersburg Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 16
Mar. 2009: 14A. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2013
Toch, Thomas. "The Perils of Merit Pay." Phi Delta Kappan Vol. 99, No. 2 oct 2009: 99-100.
Web. 4 Oct. 2013. <http://sks.sirs.com>.
"Florida Teacher Sold Grades To Students To Pay Off DUI Fines, Debts." CBS Tampa. N.p., n.d.
Web. 09 Jan. 2014.









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