[Greens-Media] Sen KERRY NETTLE: Smarter population no reason to attack teachers: Instead reward their success with better pay

[Edwards, Jon (Sen K. Nettle)]

Smarter population no reason to attack teachers: Instead reward their
success with better pay

28.08.06

Greens Senator Kerry Nettle rejected the idea that teachers are not as
smart as they used to be as claimed by Education Minister Julie Bishop
from research reported on the front pages of today's broadsheets, but
renewed calls for a major boost in teacher salaries.

"The research claims that because teaching students today are in the top
39% of the population in terms of literacy and numeracy where this
figure was 26% in 1983 they are therefore not as smart. Actually it
shows that the rest of the population is catching up - which is a good
thing," Senator Nettle said.

"The Greens agree with the researchers in believing that teachers should
be better paid. Higher pay across the board and higher rates to reward
career progression are essential to reward the success in raising
general education levels that this research has shown.

"The Minister's ideological campaign to introduce performance pay is
wrong headed and unworkable.

"Teaching is a collective activity where students succeed through the
efforts of a teaching team not individuals, and so it is impossible to
reliably measure the effect one teacher has on the education of one
student.

"Attempts have been made before to devise ways to measure teacher
performance which have failed. 

"Performance pay for teachers is an idea that could only be dreamt up by
someone who has never been in the classroom."

Contact - Jon Edwards 0428 213 146