A 'doable' solution to teacher quality
This was written by Steve Peha, president of Teaching That Makes Sense, an education consultancy based in Carrboro, N.C. He writes regularly about education policy on the National Journal Education Experts Blog. A creator of educational materials, he is the author of three books: Be a Writer, Be a Better Writer, and Reading Allowed. By Steve Peha Everybody’s talking about teachers—and much of the talk isn’t flattering. We know good teaching makes a difference. But a divisive dialogue has erupted about how to get more of it. The popular line, expressed by big city school leaders like Michelle Rhee, and catalyzed by Davis Guggenheim’s incendiary documentary “Waiting for Superman,” is to get rid of bad teachers. Economist and education policy expert Eric Hanushek agrees. According to his research, removing a small percentage of our worst teachers, and replacing them with average teachers, would bring our students up to top levels.