Dear Georgia Public Schoolteachers:
You have read and heard a lot of scuttlebutt about the recommendations recently sent to Gov. Nathan Deal by the Education Reform Commission. I thought you might like some thoughts from one of the commission members. Me.
As you may know, I had the privilege of serving as a member of commission this past year. Our work is done and is now in the hands of Gov. Deal.
Dick Yarbrough
Some thoughts on Education Reform Commission recommendations
I am not going to get into all the particulars of the ERC’s final recommendations. The report we turned into the governor can be found at http://gov.georgia.gov. I would urge you to read the recommendations for yourself.
What will happen to these recommendations remains to be seen. Suffice it to say, it is now in the political process and that means what goes into that process and what comes out the other end could be as different as butter and butterflies.
One of the complaints I heard during our deliberations was that your interests were not represented on the commission. I respectfully disagree. Nobody could be a stronger advocate for you than I am. I have three public school teachers in my family and their well-being – and yours – is up-close-and-personal with me. Having a statewide bully pulpit doesn’t hurt, either.
Also, Pam Williams, an educator from Appling County and Georgia’s Teacher of the Year in 2011, headed the Teacher Recruitment, Retention and Compensation Committee and did an outstanding job in gathering, reporting and advocating the concerns of teachers from around the state.
The Education Reform Commission was chaired by Dr. Charles B. Knapp, president emeritus of the University of Georgia. There could not have been a better choice. I have known Chuck Knapp since his arrival at UGA in 1987. He is a man of impeccable reputation and affability and imbued with the patience of Job in herding the 34 cats that made up the commission as well as staff members and all the special interest groups looking over our shoulders. Thanks to Dr. Knapp’s efforts, our meetings started on time, ended on time and everyone had their say.
If there was a hidden agenda within the commission, I never saw it. Had there been one, I would not have been a part of it and I doubt seriously that the other commission members would have, either. We were an independent bunch with diverse opinions and not afraid to express them. There was nothing preordained about our conclusions, like them or not.
No doubt the highest profile and most controversial issue to come from the commission’s recommendations concerns teacher compensation. The idea is to give local school systems more say in how to reward teachers based on their performance and not solely on years on the job or advanced degrees. Not a bad concept. It is one that I lived with in the corporate world for four decades. The question for you is: What will be the criteria for determining what is good performance? In my opinion, more testing is not the answer.
For the complete column pick up your copy of The Baxley News-Banner on newsstands today or CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE.
What will happen to these recommendations remains to be seen. Suffice it to say, it is now in the political process and that means what goes into that process and what comes out the other end could be as different as butter and butterflies.
One of the complaints I heard during our deliberations was that your interests were not represented on the commission. I respectfully disagree. Nobody could be a stronger advocate for you than I am. I have three public school teachers in my family and their well-being – and yours – is up-close-and-personal with me. Having a statewide bully pulpit doesn’t hurt, either.
Also, Pam Williams, an educator from Appling County and Georgia’s Teacher of the Year in 2011, headed the Teacher Recruitment, Retention and Compensation Committee and did an outstanding job in gathering, reporting and advocating the concerns of teachers from around the state.
The Education Reform Commission was chaired by Dr. Charles B. Knapp, president emeritus of the University of Georgia. There could not have been a better choice. I have known Chuck Knapp since his arrival at UGA in 1987. He is a man of impeccable reputation and affability and imbued with the patience of Job in herding the 34 cats that made up the commission as well as staff members and all the special interest groups looking over our shoulders. Thanks to Dr. Knapp’s efforts, our meetings started on time, ended on time and everyone had their say.
If there was a hidden agenda within the commission, I never saw it. Had there been one, I would not have been a part of it and I doubt seriously that the other commission members would have, either. We were an independent bunch with diverse opinions and not afraid to express them. There was nothing preordained about our conclusions, like them or not.
No doubt the highest profile and most controversial issue to come from the commission’s recommendations concerns teacher compensation. The idea is to give local school systems more say in how to reward teachers based on their performance and not solely on years on the job or advanced degrees. Not a bad concept. It is one that I lived with in the corporate world for four decades. The question for you is: What will be the criteria for determining what is good performance? In my opinion, more testing is not the answer.
For the complete column pick up your copy of The Baxley News-Banner on newsstands today or CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE.
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