Incentives for good teachers make sense

Stock brokers work long, hard hours. They are at times married to their jobs. Sometimes they perform poorly, and they don’t make much money. Other times they do well, and they are outrageously well compensated. Those who are the most driven can make a career out of what they do. They are good at what they do, and feel appropriately rewarded. Those not cut out for the job find something else to do, and that is fine. Not everybody has the requisite ability and desire to do well.

Some teachers work long, hard hours. They are at times married to their jobs. Sometimes they perform poorly, and they make just about the same as everybody else. Other times they do well, and they make just about the same as everybody else. If Tom will get paid the same to excel as he will to coast, what is his motivation to excel? Honawar and Keller report that a program in Texas to reward teachers whose students excel is having some very positive results (Honawar, 2008). Teachers are working better together, motivating their students better, and feeling better as well. You could make a strong argument that in almost any occupation, the happier worker is the better worker. Is it any wonder that happy teachers reach the students more effectively than grumpy ones?

Certainly for any good educator there is the intrinsic reward of seeing a child make intellectual strides. Depending on the grade level of the teacher, however, these strides may not be apparent for years. Additionally, the warm fuzzy feeling doesn’t pay the mortgage, the bills, fill the gas tank, or add to available classroom expenditure funds. While there are certainly some wrinkles to figuring out the optimal bonus schedule, it makes an awful lot of sense to provide a carrot that can be consumed in the short term.

“Performance-Pay Setup in Texas Shows Promise”. Honawar, Vaishali and Keller, Bess. Edweek.org. Published online March 7, 2008.