The teacher quality bandwagon has a new passenger. Bill Gates recently announced another big schools initiative that includes $500-million for studying "new ways to measure teacher performance and link it to tenure and salaries," according to this piece in Fortune Magazine.
Gates didn't mince words when he unveiled his plans at a private forum in Seattle. "We need to give all teachers the benefit of clear standards, sound curriculum, good training, and top instructional tools," he said. "But if their students still keep falling behind, (the teachers) are in the wrong line of work, and they need to find another job."
The story said that line got the most applause (from a crowd that included U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Washington, D.C., schools chief Michelle Rhee). Here's more on all this from the Seattle Times and from the New York Daily News.
Ron Matus, State Education Reporter
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Get inside the world of Florida education with St. Petersburg Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek and the rest of the Times education reporting team. We'll bring you up-to-date information about the latest education trends, fads and news and dig deep into Tampa Bay area school issues.
Yah. Kids who don't want to learn or can't learn or won't even come to school for various reasons will sabotage anything you attempt to pay for.
Posted by: KC | December 03, 2008 at 01:56 PM
As a professional with knowledge of how the software industry developed, I advice teachers to take the comment from whom it comes, a college drop-out that made his fortune by stealing others ideas.
Allow teachers time to prepare and teach rather then using them as foot soldiers that have to do all sort of administrative tasks, act as social service providers, and implement any wild idea school administrators come-up with to make-up human resources shortages due to budget restrictions. Only then will a plan to measure teachers could work, by measuring a teacher from the way it teaches, not the school or students him/her works.
For the time being give me for Christmas a decent pay raise, good students willing to learn, parents that are proactive with their kids education, good school administrators, and a working instructional technology system. What, is it to much to ask for Christmas?
Posted by: Insider | December 02, 2008 at 06:15 PM
OK Mr. Gates you're on.
Pay me $150,000 - $200,000 a year.
You interview and pick the kids.
You set up the pre-test and the post test.
You spend at least 3 days a week on campus. Monitor the school any way you like.
Get down and dirty with the curriculum.
Commit to this for 5 years. Let's see your stuff. Lead on Digital 1!
Posted by: Timmy! | December 02, 2008 at 05:56 PM
The SpringBoard crap being pushed in Hillsborough is thanks to Bill Gates. So as you can see... he doesn't know much about education at all. How can anyone MAKE someone learn? Many "problem" schools aren't full of bad teachers, but full of bad students who are victims of bad parents. I teach my heart out, but there will always be F students. That is the TRUTH. Bill Gates can't and won't fix anything. He will just run teachers out, which we are short on too. That's why schools are hiring people who aren't teachers, which further compromises the quality of education.
Posted by: WHHAATTT??? | December 02, 2008 at 05:00 PM
Rit-Dee:
just because Bill was a genius super nerd who invented software he thinks he is qualified to comment on teacher quality.
everybody's an expert when it comes to education!
Posted by: | December 02, 2008 at 03:20 PM
Really Mr. Gates? So I assume that teachers will be able to perform as well as your Windows programs...will they be able to completely go through as many changes/ evolutions as your programs. Fix your programs first and then tell teachers how to do thier job...Vista is garbage...are you going to quit your job and give all that money back?
Posted by: Rit-Dee | December 02, 2008 at 12:17 PM