Obama is right on Merit Pay

-



Reasons to agree:



  1. We should reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. 


  2. “ Teachers are extraordinarily frustrated about how their performance is assessed. And not just their own performance, but the school’s performance generally. So they’re teaching to the tests all the time. What I have said is that we should be able to get buy-in from teachers in terms of how to measure progress. Every teacher I think wants to succeed. And if we give them a pathway to professional development, where we’re creating master teachers, they are helping with apprenticeships for young new teachers, they are involved in a variety of other activities, that are really adding value to the schools, then we should be able to give them more money for it. But we should only do it if the teachers themselves have some buy-in in terms of how they’re measured. They can’t be judged simply on standardized tests that don’t take into account whether children are prepared before they get to school or not.” ~ Barack Obama, 2007 Democratic primary debate on “This Week” Aug 19, 2007





Background





Q: As president, can you name a hot-button issue where you would be willing to buck the Democratic Party line & say, “You know what? Republicans have a better idea here?”


A: I think that on issues of education, I’ve been very clear about the fact--and sometimes I’ve gotten in trouble with the teachers’ union on this--that we should be experimenting with charter schools. We should be experimenting with different ways of compensating teachers.


Q: You mean merit pay?


A: Well, merit pay, the way it’s been designed, I think, is based on just a single standardized test--I think is a big mistake, because the way we measure performance may be skewed by whether or not the kids are coming into school already 3 years or 4 years behind. But I think that having assessment tools and then saying, “You know what? Teachers who are on career paths to become better teachers, developing themselves professionally--that we should pay excellence more.” I think that’s a good idea.


Source: 2008 Fox News interview: presidential series Apr 27, 2008


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You should write the Life History of your Grandmothers Gwendolyn Higbee Matheson (Mom's Mom)

-
Image
This is my mom's mom's life history. Also check out the ongoing projects for my   dad ,  mom , and   and  dad's mom .  Typed by Michael Laub, from a photocopy of the original that Gwendolyn typed on a typewriter. Comments by me in parenthesis Henry Gordon, Gwendolyn Higbee, And LaVane Matheson   It must have been a sad day when I was born. I was the fifth child in less than nine years, and arthritis had made mother ( Sarah Ann Jones ) a cripple long before that December 5, 1891. She was bed-fast most of the time until she died early in 1895 (10th of March) when I was a little over 3 yrs. old. Five little children had to be parceled out with relatives, and it fell to my lot to live with Grandmother Higbee. So you see I went to live in a large home that had already housed many children and where no more were to come. (click below to read more)
Read more

You should write your father's Life History

-
Image
Best reasons to agree : +6 Its hard to understand yourself very well without trying to figure out parents. Your kids will want to know about their grandparents. If your kids become famous, biographers will want to know about your family.  Writing about your parents can be a fun activity that brings your family together. Its a good way to remember stuff.  A well rounded person can have fun, work hard, relax, and also find time to write about their experiences, or document what they are doing, or did.  You can't just do stuff all the time... you also have to reflect... going through the process of gathering stories, photos, and memories allows you to process, and look back... Best reasons to disagree : -1  Every time you spend doing one thing is time you can't spend doing something else.  Score: # of reasons to agree: +6 # of reasons to disagree: -1 # of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0 # of reasons to agree with reason...
Read more

The Art Institute of Chicago is Better than the Denver Museum of Art

-
Image
Best reasons to agree : +1 The Art Institute of Chicago is bigger, and bigger museums are better. the second largest art museum in the United States, after the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art Institute of Chicago has over 260,000 works of art. You run out of things to see when going to the Denver art museum, because it doesn't change very often. Best reasons to disagree : -1 Its less expensive to stay and park in Denver, in 2012 parking was $28 in Chicago and $4 in Denver.  Images that agree : Coffin and Mummy of Paankhenamun, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22 (c. 945–715 B.C.) Cartonnage, gold leaf, pigment; human remains Ancient Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife gave rise to the complex art and science of mummification. This vividly painted Mummy Case was the innermost of a series of shells that housed the body of a deceased person. The hieroglyphic inscriptions and painted scenes identify this mummy as Paankhenamun, a doorkeeper in th...
Read more

It is worth the effort that caring for animals takes in order to keep them part of our lives -0.5

-
Image
Killer whales should not be kept in captivity. Reasons to agree : Over seas zoos are cooler, because they let you have more of an experience with animals Our pets put up with our kids playing with (tormenting) them. See video below for proof. Cats are good on a farm for killing mice. Dogs are good for scaring away possums  raccoon  and field mice.   No one's house needs to be so clean that they don't have animals.  Having animals can help you prepare for your death, and the deaths of those you love. Animals usually have a shorter life span than we do. We don't talk about death enough. It is true that the sun will burn out, and we are the only species that has a chance to escape this earth, but we will be lonely if we can't take any other species with us. Animals experience human emotions .  Reasons to agree :  Pets are a mess. Pets shed. Pets poop and pee in your house or in your yard. Pets ki...
Read more

Trampolines are not too dangerous and are good for kids +2

-
Image
Reasons to agree : +7 Their is little risk of falling off a trampoline if you have netting. Trampolines are no more dangerous than football. Trampolines are perhaps no more dangerous than swimming pools, but they are much less expensive, and take less maintenance.  Trampolines with netting on the side are not too dangerous.  Kids jump on beds. You can't stop kids from jumping on stuff. Cars are dangerous, and we aren't going to stop driving cars are we? Obviously its not that simple. For instance, cars are more important than trampolines. But it is not required that you drive to unimportant places. Therefore, you can compare the danger and importance of driving to a park to jumping on the trampoline: both are recreational activities with some risk. The question is how much risk? How important is the activity? Obviously, a trampoline derives its importance as a form of recreation, and so you can't answer the question without first asking yourself ho...
Read more

You should try to convince your kids to not use drugs

-
Image
Best reasons to agree : +5 Drugs addiction will often kill you. Drugs addiction often causes people to live on the street.  Drugs will often cause you to steel from and lie to your family. Drugs will addict you. Addiction takes control of your life. It is bad to loose control of your life. In general most parents should tell their kids not to use drugs. Obviously there is a right and a wrong way to do it. You should wait until they are the right age, but not too long. If you are struggling with your kids, and they have no respect for you, perhaps you should find someone that they respect more.  Best reasons to disagree : -5 All kids will rebel to some degree against their parents. This is a natural process of finding yourself, and creating your own separate identity. By telling your kids not to use drugs this creates a situation when they will have a physiological or emotional reason to do the opposite.   Telling kids not to use drugs only...
Read more

My kids enjoy visits from their grandparents

-
Image
Images that agree : Friday Morning Walk around the block.    Grandma didn't get as many hugs last time. She is very happy this time    Ali also likes her Grandpa.    Phis is doing better staying in his stroller. Stupid camera strap. Phil's shoes were wet from yesterday at the duck pond so he went for his walk in in PJs and shoe-less.
Read more

You should go to the Illinois Train Museum in Union IL +2

-
Image
Background : Before James loved animals, he loved trains. He spoke about them all the time. In particular was a train movie we got from the library that he must have watched 30 times. I ended up driving up their with James on day, and Megan stayed home. Best reasons to agree : +3 Kids like trains.  The Illinois Train Museum has lots of trains.  Trains are cool. Trains are some of the biggest things that people will see move. Trains have changed a lot over time. Trains used to be very important to our county's development. Learning about trains will also allow you to learn a little about what our grand parent's lives were like. Best reasons to disagree : -1 Union Illinois is 59 miles from Chicago. It would be cooler if it was a little bit closer.  Score: # of reasons to agree: +3 # of reasons to disagree: -1 # of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: +0 # of reasons to agree with reasons to disagree: -0 Total Idea Score: +2 Don't like the...
Read more

Its alright to let your young kids chase geese +5

-
Image
Reasons to agree : +7 Young kids will never catch geese. Geese can bight back. They have sharp teeth.  Geese are overpopulated. For instance here in Chicago they put chemicals on eggs to prevent them from hatching, because their are too many, and they poop everywhere and create environmental problems. The lack of predators have allowed geese to overpopulate.  If you eat meat you are guilty of more violence against animals than chasing geese.  Geese may get chased by wild animals. They are violent against each other. They rape ducks (google it, it is a fact). You can't apply people ethics to animals. Animals chase each other. Cats chase mice and play with them. If you don't want animals tormented you will have to kill all cats.  Its cool to watch birds fly. Letting kids chase birds until they fly gives kids an awe, and an experience, and an appreciation for animals. It is possible to love animals, and hunt them, as native Americans taught us. Chasing...
Read more

Poetry can be the best way to motivate yourself

-
Reasons to agree : +1 People have spent time to put important life lessons into poetry, that are well said enough that they tell a story or hold a truth that is more powerful than just stating the belief as a summary, or cliffs notes version of the poetic statement. For instance to me the Palace by Rudyard Kipling tells me that when people look back on the wreck of your life, that they won't just see your permanent long lasting improvements that you made, but that they will also see what you tried to do, and that that can be good enough, perhaps. That idea is much better explained in his story / alagory / poem, printed below for your ease of use. Come Let Us Anew by Wesley should be motivating to most people Reasons to agree : +2 Its nice to think that you can start again.  It may be depressing to think about how fast life is passing, but it is true, and so you need to deal with truths. Reasons to disagree : -3 Its depressing to think about how fast live moves. You do...
Read more