The Red Flags In Kamala Harris's Pay Raise Proposal
I was so determined not to get into the 2020 election this early, dammit. But the Kamala Harris teacher pay raise proposal hit my screen this morning, and there I was on twitter. I've addressed the larger concerns with the proposal here, but there are other concerns that are less interesting to the Forbes audience.
When I read the Harris op-ed in the Washington Post, I thought, "Hmmm. Well...."
When one of her campaign people directed me to the write-up on her website, I thought, "Uh-oh."
Some of the language she uses is unfortunately familiar. Here's just the first two sentences:
Every child deserves a world-class education, regardless of their ZIP code. Of all in-school factors that impact their success, there’s nothing more important than our teachers.
This is straight out of the corporate reform playbook. It's the rhetoric that's been used to sell charters and bad teacher evaluation programs.
Things are quiet for a while, and then we get this:
Our plan will include a multi-billion dollar investment in programs that help elevate the teaching profession and support principals and other school leaders. This includes high-quality teacher and principal residencies, early-career induction programs that pair new teachers with mentors and master teachers, career ladder models that allow for advancement opportunities for teacher leaders, and “Grow Your Own” programs that help increase teacher diversity.
Career ladders are another red flag, mostly because under ed reform, instead of building more rungs on the top of the ladder, they dig a hole and put the bottom of the ladder below ground level.
There is also a neo-liberal style flourish at the end that feels like the same old "education is the CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: The Red Flags In Kamala Harris's Pay Raise Proposal