Lately I have been wondering what it would be like if I could negotiate my individual salary with the school district rather than having to rely on a 32 step salary schedule. Do you think it would motivate teachers more if they knew that their individual performance directly impacted their income?

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any non unionized worker is in this predicament and it doesn't work out well for them. Remember we don't produce a good so therefore there are no profits. The only budget item is your salary, so that means without protections when cuts need to be made it's from your salary. States with good teacher protections and unions pay the highest wages like my district in Ma. Look to the southern states to see the examples you are looking for

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I would also negotiate to use my curriculum of preference and assessments.

likesmart

I developed my own kindergarten curriculum that had EVERYONE test OUT of Title 1 support, with the Title 1teacher reporting to my principal that whatever curriculum I was doing the principal needed to back me 100% with it! Some of the highly expensive, over-rated curriculums aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on!!! Let us do what we are taught to do! Looking at the education of today vs. what our parents were educated with— I see a far smarter group of the older generation ba today’s with all its computer and facilitator status (does anyone hold a facilitator degree or license?????! All of mine state TEACHER!!!! This is what happens when we let government become too powerful in society!!!!!

likeupliftingfunny

I’d assume that certain subjects would get more, which I think is unfair. Because I teach music and not a core subject I’m already looked at as unimportant. I’d hate to see that mentality reflected in my paycheck

likesmart

That is a good point. Specials teachers provide such integral instruction, though! I think it's hard to measure, though, which would be tough when basing salary off of. Still, it could be quantified. Our district makes a way with Marzano to observe and provide feedback to every certified teacher. Would be nice if that came out in our paychecks.

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Salary based on “performance” is a huge challenge at best. There are too many factors out of our control which do control our student performance.

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This is true.

I am on my districts negotiation team. Trust me you wouldn't want to do this alone. You think you have more bargaining power because you are a good teacher but in actuality you one have power in numbers.

Individual bargaining only incentivizes good teaching if the administration makes that their priority. It is just as likely that they will prioritize their friends or family members or the person they find more attractive. It would also mean that crossing an administrator could cost you your livelyhood.

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Prior to going into teaching I would have agreed that merit pay is helpful in driving performance. We all know some teachers who are simply awesome and should be paid for it. We also know of a few who are barely earning their keep. The problem that I have seen since being in teaching is that it's extremely difficult to set up a system that would fairly evaluate teachers for these purposes. For example, in our district we have a 1-4 evaluation scale. 1 - poor, 2 - needs improvement, 3 - good, 4 - excellent (or something like that). Evaluations are based on about 40 individual observable issues that are scored 1-4, then the total is averaged out. At one point the large elementary school had a majority of their teachers rated as 4's, while the high school only had a single teacher with that rating. Realistically this was probably more representative of the evaluators than a general superiority of the teachers in one school vs. another.

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Absolutely! It's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we want to be treated as professionals, not factory workers, but we need the protection of a union. We'd like to think that good teaching would be rewarded, but the reality is that "good" teaching is so subjective, that a uniform pay structure is mandatory.

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My brother worked in a private parochial high school for 7 years . There was no union, no steps snd lanes. He was assigned to sub everyday during his prep. He was required to coach 2 sports a year. He was required to get his own health insurance and set up his own retirement plan with no funding from the school in any way. So without unions who negotiate our contracts that include all that , we’d all be doing the same as my brother did. He’s a public school teacher now. It’s was the biggest raise he ever got making the move.

likesmart

I am pro-union. I've been teaching for over 30 years, and have maxed out on my salary scale, but I am 100% certain that if teachers had to negotiate their salary with the school district that I would be making substantially less than I am today. The union has fought to keep health insurance premiums affordable (I'm sure the district would have passed on the entire cost to employees otherwise), they have fought for adequate sick leave, and they have stood as a line of defense against personal attacks from power-hungry administrators. I acknowledge that there are some teachers who do little and still reap the rewards of the union, but I wouldn't give it up. Look at how as union membership has been in decline over the years, wages have stagnated. In states that lack a union or have weak unions, teacher wages are substantially less than in states that have stronger unions. Don't kid yourself into believing that things would be better. We already have enough evidence to show how workers are negatively impacted in the private sector.

likesmart

I don't think the problem is unmotivated teachers.
I also think performance benefits when teachers collaborate and trust each other.

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Your union, if you have one, needs to negotiate a compacted salary schedule which will reduce the number of steps to reach maximum salaries more quickly. You do not want to individually negotiate your salary!

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Exactly. But changing to a system where each teacher negotiates their own salary would divide teachers, rather than unite them. The districts would love it, because they would be able to say "take it or leave it", only risking the loss of one teacher. With the teachers united, they risk losing ALL of the teachers.

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I'm sure your administration would love it. As others have noted, merit pay doesn't incentify teachers; there are just too many factors beyond our control, and too many opportunities for administration/school board abuse. Plus, you'd create a system where, instead of collaborating, teachers would be competing with each other for the best students, and not willing to help each other out.

likesmart

There is much more I could say... but I'd never give up my union-negotiated benefits, pay and protections!

likesmart

I do think collaboration and trust lead to better outcomes. I also just think it makes sense that if teachers were incentivized to improve professionally and pedagogically, students would benefit.

It may be the case that there are no apathetic teachers, but knowing that teacher evaluations and student outcomes could positively impact my salary would cause me at least to maintain my sense of urgency and my eyes on the goal of literacy and proficiency among my students.

In some of the reading I've done it seems school districts are using an incentive program for teachers who choose to opt in, on top of the salary schedule.

I just have problems with systems that increase pay systematically regardless of worker quality.

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Your sense of urgency doesn't matter a whole lot in the face of chronic absenteeism, students who don't speak English and don't have school supports to learn, and students who come to school tired, hungry, and unprepared. This is a systemic issue that willnot be solved with merit pay.

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I do not think it would matter much because education is not the top priority in most school systems.

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I think it would be political and teachers who work hard and don’t expect more would get less.

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Maybe, but that might take an act of Congress.😮

I wish I could neg. down the number of preps.

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