Is teacher pay more important than the other variables for a good education?

[cmoneyr]

We should tax those teachers at a significantly higher rate because they are the rich that have an unfair advantage over the rest of us. They are not deserving of that pay and thus it must be taken away from them by our glorious government and distributed back to the other teachers who do not make as much!

Oh you, you're just a barrell of laughs aren't you?

[cmoneyr]

I always thought it was the students effort that had the biggest effect on the quality of his/her education. And while it would matter the quality of the teacher, that variable, IMO, has the smallest effect on learning.

-keep.

Quality of the teacher has the lowest effect on learning...excuse me....HAHAHAHAHHAA. For that matter, why do we even have teachers? Can't we just put all the kids in the classroom with a security guard to keep them in order and have the kids teach themselves?

[Stormin]

Paying a person more doesn't guarantee performance. But on the other hand, it should attract a greater pool of teachers to choose from. Chances are that you may attract better teachers that may now be willing to relocate. But it will still be up to the school board to choose good teachers. Paying a lot of money doesn't guarantee performance.

[alaskaguy]

There are only so many variables that a school district can control; teacher pay, class size, curriculum content, building, etc.

I can see a school district being successful if they have "good" teachers but lack some of the other variables, but doubt that a school district can be successful without "good" teachers regardless of how small class sizes are, how much is spent on school facilities, etc.

Teachers may not "teach for pay" but many of the best teachers leave when they realize that they can earn considerably more from other occupations.

[HandSanitizer]

If I sent my kid to Private they would do good b/c if I was paying college tuition type of money for a 9th grader, I would woodshed beat them if they were doing bad. I would be upset if they performed bad at any school, but if I was paying extra money....that might set me off.

I think small towns (Bondurant) this whole theory gets thrown out the window. Its almost a combination of private and public together. Parents are forced to deal with their children where in big schools kids get lost and its easier to "mail it in" as a parent.

[bos]

Quality of the teacher has the lowest effect on learning...excuse me....HAHAHAHAHHAA. For that matter, why do we even have teachers? Can't we just put all the kids in the classroom with a security guard to keep them in order and have the kids teach themselves?

Or learn it all on the internet or from dummy books. I had teachers that were horrid and some that were great. Who do you think I learned the most from? The student is responsible for taking what the teacher gives and run with it. But if the teacher doesnt teach what is proper or basics, the student wont have a clue.

[Phaedrus]

I have to say that to me, the classroom experience was pretty much a waste of time. I learned most everything from individual effort and research. (You know, from reading books.) Though my grades were pretty bad, due to not paying attention in class, I still covered all the bases, as my interests drew me.

But all sorts of people learn differently. YMMV.

[bos]

I have to say that to me, the classroom experience was pretty much a waste of time. I learned most everything from individual effort and research. (You know, from reading books.) Though my grades were pretty bad, due to not paying attention in class, I still covered all the bases, as my interests drew me.

But all sorts of people learn differently. YMMV.

I had a hard time paying attention in classes were the teacher was just going through the motions and not really wanting to be there. That is where I had a hard time being motivated. Some of the best grades I had were classes where the teacher was captivating and enthused about their subject even if I had no interest in it.

[tigershoops31]

Paying a person more doesn't guarantee performance. But on the other hand, it should attract a greater pool of teachers to choose from. Chances are that you may attract better teachers that may now be willing to relocate. But it will still be up to the school board to choose good teachers. Paying a lot of money doesn't guarantee performance.

Exactly...and not even just attracting the better teachers, if teachers were paid decently, more smart and talented people that would make great teachers would decide to become teachers so we will have better teachers all the way around. My wife is planning to get her teaching certificate now after a couple of years in the business world, and never would have considered it if I hadn't been making at least decent money as a teacher (although she's always thought it would be fun and that she would be good at it).

[CYdTracked]

Interesting story. First off teachers are grossly underpaid for what they do. Second, I know there is a side debate on who has the biggest impact on how well a student does and I think the teacher is the 1 person that works with the student the most in a day and is the 1 consistent presence. A good teacher can motivate a student to do well where some parents may not and teaching methods are a big thing as well.

Looking back I can see where some of the teachers and professors I had were lacking in some things. In high school especially, the math teacher I had for my first 2 years retired and I was doing just fine till the next guy came then my grades took a noticible dip. I was even putting in more effort than I had with the first teacher I had, I even came in before school started many times to get extra help but for some reason the way he taught math compared to the previous teacher I just could not grasp it nearly as well. This also put me at a disadvantage in college as I failed my first math class, mostly because some of the finite math we didn't even touch or was not taught well to us so I was completely lost while most people in the class thought it was easy because they had it in HS already. On top of that the prof was terrible and I know several people who thought the same. The next semester I took it with a different prof and got a B and felt I actually learned something from him as I was so lost from the first time around it was still new to me most of the time.

Had a calc class I dropped in college because I was so lost in that class as well. The prof would spend half his class talking about proper way to turn in homework it seemed like and the sad thing is it was a long tenured prof teaching this so I know he knew his stuff. Took the class at DMACC and a HS math teacher there taught the material way better than this college prof did. Again, felt like I was actually learning something not getting confused and lost in it. That's why I'm a believer that good teaching is the most important aspect of education. If the students are not connecting and getting lost in the material then the methods the teacher is using are ineffective. There were classes I'd study way more for than others just because I felt like I was not getting anything from lectures yet there were others I felt that the lectures were the best thing I could use to study.

[CloneAggie]

I had a hard time paying attention in classes were the teacher was just going through the motions and not really wanting to be there. That is where I had a hard time being motivated. Some of the best grades I had were classes where the teacher was captivating and enthused about their subject even if I had no interest in it.

And that teacher should get paid more than the teacher just going through the motions. Does that not make sense to people?

[keepngoal]

Quality of the teacher has the lowest effect on learning...excuse me....HAHAHAHAHHAA. For that matter, why do we even have teachers? Can't we just put all the kids in the classroom with a security guard to keep them in order and have the kids teach themselves?

two worst teachers I have ever had and both times I had at least the 3rd highest score in the class.

I was motivated.. so the quality of the teacher didn't mean a thing. I wasn't there for a show and popcorn.. the information I needed was in front of me ... in my textbook.

Why do you think so many are getting thier first degree via the Internet and correspondence these days... they (the students) are motivated.

I truly love the arguments that we need to have others give for us to take, FIRST, before we even try.

-keep.

[CloneAggie]

two worst teachers I have ever had and both times I had at least the 3rd highest score in the class.

I was motivated.. so the quality of the teacher didn't mean a thing. I wasn't there for a show and popcorn.. the information I needed was in front of me ... in my textbook.

Why do you think so many are getting thier first degree via the Internet and correspondence these days... they (the students) are motivated.

I truly love the arguments that we need to have others give for us to take, FIRST, before we even try.

-keep.

It is good that you were motivated. Unfortunately, do you think all students were like you? For some of them, it takes a teacher to inspire and motivate them to live up to their potential. Hence, we need good teachers to be able to do this. If these students never become motivated, where will they end up?

I view it as a "pay now or pay later" type of thing. We can pay now for better teachers to have a higher educated population to push the country forward, or we can pay later by supporting people that, because they weren't properly educated, are unable to support themselves. As a country we're never going to "kick them to curb" ... we will support them in some way or another. And before this comes into a personal responsibility discussion ... maybe good teachers can help in this regard too. Good teachers teach personal responsibility.

[keepngoal]

oh sure there are kids that need that push... That is why I think parents are the next best thing to help a unmotivated or struggling kid who can't do it for themselves.

The teachers, should be the last step in an attempt to help, yes help, a kid succeed.

-keep.

[ahaselhu]

In my experience there are a lot of teachers who have to take 2nd jobs to make ends meet. If teachers can focus on teaching, they'll likely be happier and more productive, and it could result in the students being more engaged and motivated.