Mr Gates- I am very impressed…

Mr Gates- I am very impressed with the work that you and your wife have accomplished through your foundation. And because of this I was amazed at your comments that were made at the National Governor's Conference. In the Dayton Daily News it was stated that you believed class size caps should be removed and the best teachers should have more students in their rooms. With the money saved by having fewer personnel, these teachers could be paid more. As a teacher of 19 years this goes against what we know works. With smaller class sizes I can give my students more individualized attention. Many students need this one on one help. As a chemistry teacher, I cannot imagine having more than 24 students doing a lab. In terms of safety, this would be unacceptable. I read on your website, your comparisons to China's educational system. I do not think this is a valid comparison without also pointing out the external motivation that students in China have. If our students had to achieve a certain score to attend college-that would definitely be a motivation. But do we want our children to feel this overwhelming pressure? Yes there are areas in our educational system that needs improvement. But increasing class sizes will not do this.

I am a National Board Certified teacher and that process was one of the best things that I did to improve my teaching- watching myself and analyzing my teaching was very beneficial. But as a teacher in Ohio, there is no longer an incentive to renew my certificate. Why would I personally pay $1100 to renew this certification when there is no incentive?

In the article it also stated that teachers should not be paid for years of experience and graduate degrees- before we start dismantling this system, why don't we have system established for merit pay.

View Original Article

Blogged with the Flock Browser