TMAO brought my attention to these prepared remarks of California Democratic Congressman George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. TMAO quotes this line:

Even with all of these changes, we will not meet our national goal of closing the achievement gap until and unless we close the teacher quality gap.

While I strongly agree there’s a “teacher quality gap,” my first thoughts ran to the major reasons for that gap: lack of respect (socially, professionally, and politically), and inadequate compensation. When I read further in the notes, though, I was pleased to see those reasons mentioned:

I have heard from so many teachers who feel they are no longer viewed as critical partners in an educational system but merely an instrument to satisfy a minimum attainment goal.

As a nation we are not offering teachers the respect and support they deserve today, and as a result we are facing a very real teacher shortage crisis. Particularly in urban and rural communities, in subjects like math, science, foreign language, and for children with disabilities and children learning English, we must hire, train, and retain excellent teachers.

TMAO has addressed these needs before:

More talent will yield better results. And talent is attracted to two things: 1) challenge, and 2) prestige.

This is a complicated, multi-faceted job requiring an array of skills to do well. It should be discussed and compensated as such.

The solution isn’t as simple as that, of course: attracting qualified physics teachers is a different task from attracting qualified English teachers, and increased pay without enforcing teacher quality (or addressing concerns about tenure) won’t solve the problem, either.

However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t remedy the salary problem.¹ And just in case I sound like I’m complaining overmuch about salary, here’s some anecdotal evidence: I just accepted a job as a consultant for a government contracting agency.² I’ll be working from home most of the time and doing some traveling for training purposes (all of which will be paid by the company, including daily expenses). While my work as an educator certainly applies to what I’ll be doing, I have little direct experience. However, I’ll be earning about 25% more at this job than I did as an educator with nine years of experience, three degrees, and national certification. (And the 25% is as a consultant; I understand the percentage would be greater, with excellent benefits, were I to accept a full-time position.)

Until we, collectively and politically, learn to value education as much as entertainment and oil, I fear we won’t attract or retain the kind of talent necessary to truly bring nation-wide, cross-curricular educational improvement.

Image: Money by TW Collins

1. Too often, I read discussions of teacher salary that say something like: “increasing teacher salary alone won’t fix the problem,” and then move on, as if that settled the issue. As a result, teacher salaries are never increased. That’s like coming on a wounded hiker who has a broken leg and a deep puncture wound in his side, saying, “Well, splinting the leg alone won’t solve the problem,” and then entering a discussion of how the trails should be better-maintained. [back]
2. For those interested, I’ll explain more about this decision and my plans in an upcoming post, but that post won’t be in the “education” feed. [back]

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