School districts across the state
and nationwide are increasingly forced to demand
accountability from their teachers because lawmakers in
Springfield and on Capitol Hill are demanding just that
for the success of their job, teachers must also be
accountable for their job -- providing our students with
a quality education.
The cost of a quality
education continues to escalate. Yet, funding for
education is not keeping pace with those costs and
student test scores are stagnant. In some cases, student
test scores are declining, pushing them further and
further behind national and international norms. For
example, more and more high school graduates are enrolled
in remedial education courses at our two-and four-year
colleges. Where's the accountability for them to survive,
let along succeed, in our global marketplace? Without
accountability, increased funding and higher test scores
remain a goal and only a goal. Surely, this is not a way
to ensure that our students receive quality education.
I commend the NEA for
having the foresight and courage to address this issue
and propose a solution -- an incentive that would reward
teachers with exceptional skills. When good teachers are
rewarded, better students are the outcome. We live in a
competitive society. Isn't it time to introduce that
spirit of competitiveness to our educational system?
Despite the NEA falling
just short of linking teacher pay with student
performance, they were successful in passing a measure
offering the use of bonuses based on additional
certification by the National Board for Professional
Teachers. Though this is a lofty goal to enhance the
educational standards of teachers it cannot be a cure-all
for the ailments afflicting our system. More teacher
training doesn't automatically raise teaching ability. We
need to have individual evaluations of student's skills
and reward those teachers who have demonstrated the
ability to hone those skills. Exceptional teachers
produce exceptional students. Students are the product
being produced. Therefore, the better the student
performs means the better job that was done by the
teacher.
Mary Nolan
Trustee, Moraine Valley
Community College
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