I guess that I should want to participate in a merit raise program for teachers. Without blowing my horn here, I can say that my program measures up well with any in the state. We have a lot of cool plaques on the wall. Probably more than 50% of the teachers think they are in the upper half of the teaching profession, optimistic bunch that we are. So, it would therefore follow that teachers would be lining up to vote for merit pay. Why then are teachers so thoroughly against merit pay? Is it that old "union" mentality? Oh wait, there is no collective bargaining in Georgia education. Raises are granted as election favors only.

The reason we are against merit pay is because we know that there is not a fair way to implement it. There is no bank of evaluators who can determine who is doing a good job. Should it be based on test scores? Festival ratings for chorus? Should the coach's salary be based on the football team's record? You might say that administrators should be the ones to decide. They are the bosses. This idea makes teachers laugh out loud.

Now I've been evaluated many times by many administrators. I've never gotten anything but the highest marks in any category. However, reading over their remarks, it is clear to me that they have no idea what I'm doing. How could they know if I've chosen the best literature. There are no guidelines (and rightfully so since each choir's ability is different each year). They don't know anything about choral rehersal techniques, about warm-up exercises, or the best ways to teach sightsinging. They don't even know if we sing well in concert. I've heard them praise the most awful performances with "Wasn't that wonderful?" or "Aren't our student's talented?" The answer to those questions in those cases was "no." Is the state going to hire real experts who might come in and spend a couple of days or better yet, a week, watching and listening, examining the routine, monitoring student progress? That might be somewhat fair. Though it would be difficult to tell who gives extra time and energy to help students and the school function well. It would be hard to determine who is a pain in the neck to work with. And really, for a week, or a day, or for twenty minutes (which is what our observations really are), we can all put on a pretty good show.

Ocassionally you can spot a bad teacher. The classroom is in chaos. The top teachers also stand out. There are probably 10 in a school. But 80 % of the faculty are difficult to tell apart, even by experts. Most of the bad teachers get driven away because they can't get in control and they hate teaching. So the experience thing really does count. Over time you achieve mastery. The right wing gives no account for experience. My guess is that they want an experienced surgeon when they are having that heart surgery though. No first year man in that case.

I'll admit that merit pay sounds nice. It trips off the tongue. It's impossible to implement.

I love the new thing in Georgia. They were paying 10% extra salary to teachers who became national board certified. It was a lot of work to be certified--almost like getting another degree. What's more, only about 50% of the people who did all the work were actually approved for certification. Ugh. That's not a good degree program. But now the state has wised up that they are actually having to pay out some significant dollars to folks so they threw a wrench in. Now if you want the money you must transfer to a "failing" school. No one is doing that program any more!