Thursday, September 15, 1983 The Pendulum
Other Opinion
Page 5
Teachers cant be graded
Merit pay advocates don’t understand educational process
By Daniel Feinberg
Since the publication of re
cent studies of the deficiencies
of American education, and
the political exploitation of
this by President Reagan,
much political and editorial
comment has been directed at
the problem. Most of the com
mentary, by the President and
by others, suggests that the dif
ficulties can be remedied by a
system which identifies and re
wards “master” teachers and
others by using merit pay. Re
cord Editorial Page Editor
Giles Lambertson added his
voice to the welling chorus in a
July 16 column.
The problem with most of
these well-meaning sugges
tions is that neither President
Reagan nor any of the other
advocates of the merit pay
principle have the slightest
understanding of the educa
tional process. Mr. Lambert
son, by comparing education to
Sears-Roebuck’s classifica
tions of goods as “Good,” “Bet
ter” or “Best,” implies that the
community will choose only
the better or best teachers,
thereby reducing or eliminat
ing the poorer ones and up
grading educational perform
ance. The truth is that the mat
ter is far more complex.
Let’s agree that among
teachers, like everyone else,
we find some excellent ones,
many average ones and a num
ber of poor ones. But how does
one distinguish among them?
Consumers can distinguish
good merchandise from poor
by using it. But the “product” of
teaching is the student’s ability
and accomplishment after exp
osure to the teacher compared
with what it was before.
Measuring the product will
prove quite difficult if not im
possible. Why? Because what
students gain from instruction
is not only knowledge, which
can be measured on a test, but
also attitudes, beliefs, toler
ance, expanded outlook, sensi
tivity to others — in short, all
those things other than know
ledge which make us human.
And more often than not,
these represent the most last
ing impressions of teachers on
pupils. Ask yourselves what
elementary teachers you recall
with affection and why. Was it
because they drilled you hard
in the three Rs?
Furthermore, what a student
brings to class often outweighs
what a teacher can do. A stu
dent who is unruly, mentally
deficient, disturbed, or who
comes from a home deficient in
attention to learning will not or
cannot learn well. Hence, good
teaching is determined in large
part by good students, and it is
nonsense to reward teachers as
if their efforts alone counted.
The merit pay proposal over
looks this and says, in effect, if
the pupil learns, you’re good; if
he doesn’t, you’re bad. By anal
ogy, if you put Richard Petty
into a clunker of a race car, is
he thereby a poor driver?
The evaluation of perform
ance is a necessary condition
in any enterprise. But the eva
luation needs to be based on
something more than mere pre
judice or uninformed opinion.
We can judge good or poor
workmen by the quality of their
output; managers are judged
by their profit performance;
salesmen are judged by their
sales. But for teachers, the
quality of the product is
psychological, not visible or
measurable, and often
emerges years later.
Yes, teachers vary in quality,
just as do editorial writers.
Some write good sense, others
poor sense and still others non
sense. How do you judge them?
Others have pointed out the
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divisiveness and morale prob
lems arising out of merit pay.
When teachers doing the same
job see one of their number
selected as “superior,” they
will react, as humans do, with
resentment. Besides, who is to
determine which teacher is
better? The administrators?
This will surely open the door
to favoritism.
Some teachers may even cozy
up to the principal and offer
sexual favors for merit pay.
Such practice is not uncommon
in business. And business is
what Mr. Lambertson would
have education emulate!
But another possible con
sequence may occur: our
schools may become resegre
gated — by social class and
race. It is well known that mid
dle and upper-income families
can provide superior educa
tional influences for their chil
dren. If the child is doing poor
ly, they can engage a tutor.
They can buy encyclopedias
and books. They can purchase
personal computers.
These are not available to
the children of poor or low-
income families. So the chil
dren of the well-to-do are apt to
be placed in “superior” classes
with “superior” teachers. The
rest will presumably be ex
posed to poorer teaching. Is
this what we want our public
schools to become?
One of the greatest virtues of
our democracy is that children
of rich and poor go to school
together, rub shoulders, get to
know each other. Merit pay and
its accompanying evils run
counter to the democratic
ethic.
Dr. Daniel Feinberg, who retired last
spring as professor of business adminis
tration at Elon, now lives in West Palm
Beach, Fla. This article originally ran
as a letter to the editor of the Greensboro
News and Record last July 30. It is
reprinted with Feinberg's permission.
IS THE IDEA OF WEARING
A UNIFORM KEGPINC YOU
OUT OF ARMY ROK?
11 ap
Whether you realize it or not, you’re probably
wearing a type of “uniform " right now.
There's nothing wrong with it. But an Army
ROTC uniform could make you stand out from
the crowd.
And ROTC will help you become more
outstanding. Because you'll develop into a leader
of people and a manager of money and equipment,
t: ( I .
So how about switching “uniforms" for a
few hours each week?
For more information, contact your Professor
of Military Science
ARMY ROTC.
BEALLYOUCANBE.