Pay Teachers More

Good Op-Ed piece in The NY Times...

A basic educational challenge is not that teachers are raking it in, but that they are underpaid. If we want to compete with other countries, and chip away at poverty across America, then we need to pay teachers more so as to attract better people into the profession.

Until a few decades ago, employment discrimination perversely strengthened our teaching force. Brilliant women became elementary school teachers, because better jobs weren’t open to them. It was profoundly unfair, but the discrimination did benefit America’s children.

These days, brilliant women become surgeons and investment bankers.

Continue reading Pay Teachers More
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/opinion/13kristof.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

Now read: 5th Grader Donates Life Savings To Save Teacher Jobs

Alarmed to hear that state budget cuts were forcing teacher layoffs in her area, Arcadia, Calif. 5th grader Jocelyn Lam decided to donate her life's savings to help her school retain teachers.

Patch reports Lam handed over her entire $300 savings to Camino Grove Elementary School teacher Todd Weber. She also included a note expressing her support for her teachers and imploring district officials to use her donation to save jobs.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/12/jocelyn-lam-arcadia-5th-g_n_834800.html