The Global Times quotes Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. “The nation’s rise and fall rely on education, as only first-rate education can generate first-rate talents who in turn can build a first-rate nation,” Wen said.
What Premier Wen Jiabao says is true of any nation including the United States.
In 2008, the premier chaired a State Council executive meeting to review and approve in principle the implementation of performance-based pay in primary and middle schools.
The new salary system for teachers consists of basic wages, seniority pay, performance-based bonus pay and allowances. China currently has about 12 million teachers in middle and primary schools. America has about 5 million.
However, the stories I’m hearing out of China is that this new merit system has led to some parents bribing school officials to get their kids into the best schools.
The best schools test the students applying for entrance and turns those with the lowest scores away sending them to the worst schools where few teachers earn merit pay no matter how many hours are worked.
Merit pay has been a controversial political issue in the Untied States for years. The teachers unions in America have resisted efforts to implement merit pay.
Merit pay for teachers will not influence “poorly performing” students and “bad” parents to change their ways. Even if a teacher works 100 hours a week, which I sometimes did when I taught, little will change with poorly performing students that are not motivated to learn. Motivation cannot be legislated.
In fact, Get Schooled with Maureen Downey says, “Tell that child’s teacher that her salary will depend on the testing performance of that child and chart the negative consequences on children’s working conditions in schools. Teachers – workers in the system controlled by bosses above – will be exploited. Students – the “producing” workers in the system whose production of test scores will determine reward for those above them – will be exploited.”
Learn more about China Investing BIG in Education
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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