With the prices for gas, groceries, and healthcare on the rise, educators – like most Americans –are finding that our paychecks do not go as far as they once did. Now more than ever, it is important for our country to recognize the important role that educators play in our communities and to compensate us fairly.Instead, one candidate for President – John McCain – is supporting a reckless plan that would tie teacher salaries to student test scores*. This plan – also supported by President Bush – takes Washington's obsession with standardized testing to a dangerous new level.
As educators, we know that students come to our classrooms from very different backgrounds and that not all are equally ready to learn. We also know that many factors, particularly a student's home environment, can have an enormous impact on their academic success. Elected officials like John McCain and George Bush who think that teachers alone control student achievement might think differently if they spent more time in public school classrooms.
As John McCain visits communities like yours looking for votes, let him know that a child is more than a test score. Let him know that we became educators to help students become better people, not better test takers. And most important, let John McCain know that his plan to pay teachers based on test scores is unfair to teachers and students alike – especially in these difficult economic times.
For more information on the candidates for President, visit www.nea.org/educaitonvotes.
*McCain Campaign Speech, Alexandria, VA 4/1/08; S.2. Vote #92, 5/4/00
