should teacher's bonuses be given on popularity polls?

Answer 1

Absolutely not! Some really great teachers are not especially popular with the kids, and some really crummy teachers are. The teachers aren't there to entertain the kids, they are there to teach. And putting bonuses on a popularity basis is not fair to the teachers who are taking their job seriously and have the students' best interests at heart. If they want standup comedy, go to a comedy club, but don't expect to have a stand up comic teach you math.

Answer 2

Of course not! Are bonuses in other professions given on popularity polls?

Bonuses should be given based on some sort of evaluation, and honestly I'm not sure what this is, but it should be done by someone who is capable of performing a solid, objective evaluation. Good grief, our teachers have enough to put up with, without trying to be popular just to get paid!

Granted, there are teachers out there who just plain shouldn't be teaching; either they lost their love for teaching long ago, or they never had it in the first place. However, these teachers are the minority. Really great teachers - some are on this board - should be compensated according to their ability. They should also be allowed to mentor new teachers, to pass on their experience and skills.

If they are compensated in this way, then not only do we stand a better chance of keeping the really great teachers, but we also stand a better chance of having new teachers "grow into their shoes" as it were. If we turn it into a popularity contest, then our schools really will be done for. No teacher worth their salt would want to stay and put up with such a thing - I know I sure wouldn't!

Answer 3

Quality is not judged by popularity (elections included). After all, if we voted with our wallets, the Big Mac would be among the 'best foods' in the world.

If we tied salaries or bonuses to popularity, then we could be encouraging our teachers to be popular first and effective second. They would be discouraged from putting red marks on tests and would be encouraged to give artificially high marks.

Imagine if we paid umpires and referees by their popularity? You'd have some pretty unusually officicated games!

An education is more than a game.

Answer 4

what bonuses are you talking about?

never seen one.

What I have seen is increasing demands on my time. I have seen me spending 100 dollars per month on classroom supplies out of my own pocket. I have seen administrations come and go. I have seen a mayor fight for control over my specific school, leaving us to wonder what is going to happen. I have seen new teachers leave the profession in the first year. I have seen a 20 percent turnover rate in my school.

So if you are suggesting I get a bonus, thank you that's nice, but I got alot of other things to worry about.

Answer 5

Against the flow I say yes - in part.

I agree that "being popular" is not part of a teacher's job, but engaging students is.

A good bonus scheme would take the results of a popularity poll, correlate that to student achievement and use the combined result as a proxy for the teacher's ability to engage the students.

Without engagement, we teachers are just stuffing students full of "knowledge". Unless we engage them in their learning, they are being "schooled" instead of educated.

Too many kids hate school. Too many kids disengage, fail, drop out. It's time for teachers to get off their high horses and understand that our system is in crisis. Frankly, a clown who amuses the kids while teaching them math and keeps them in school a few years may be doing a better job as a teacher than a dry bore who teaches algebra perfectly but turns all the kids off math.