John MacDonald: Why is performance pay such a no-no for teachers?

You won’t get me tooting for the striking high school teachers.

Because I don’t think they’re reading the room at all. On the picket lines, unhappy that they've been offered a 3% increase over three years.

And this is nothing to do with the kids not being able to go to school today, because high school kids don’t need babysitting. They can just stay at home and work on their assignments, or go to the mall, or go into town.

The reason I think the teachers are going to find it difficult to get a lot of love today is because I think most people are like me and don’t think that every single teacher signed up to the union deserves a pay rise. 

And think that a teacher’s pay should be based on their individual performance in the job.

I reckon plenty of teachers feel that way privately, as well. Yes, they might want to earn a bit more themselves, but I bet you there is no shortage of teachers who think some of their colleagues aren’t up to it.

Who think some of their colleagues don’t deserve to be recognised with a pay rise.

But that’s the system as it is at the moment in the state school sector – pay rises for everyone.

Once up on a time, I probably would have been happy with that one-size-fits-all approach, but what good is a mind if you can’t change it? And I have.

I think, like pretty much every other worker in society, teachers’ pay should be based on how well they do their job. Whenever performance pay for teachers is discussed, questions about measuring performance are raised.

But, at a time where everything can be analysed to the nth degree, I’m pretty confident that we could come up with a robust system to evaluate and measure an individual teacher’s performance.

Hard-liners would probably say that it could or should be down to test results and exam results and nothing else. But I think that would be too simplistic.

Yes, results would have to part of it, but not the only things measured.

For example, how would you measure the performance of a teacher who might have several kids in their class who need specific support? They might be neuro-diverse, or they might have learning difficulties because of things like foetal alcohol syndrome.

That’s where parent feedback would come into it.

Because while a student with learning difficulties might not score highly in all these tests and things the Government is bringing-in, their parents would notice whether they were engaged in school or not.

You imagine a parent saying to a principal that their child has never been so enthusiastic about learning and how much they love their teacher – there’s a performance measurement right there.

But it is ironic, isn’t it, that teachers are busy evaluating and marking the kids on their performances, but no one measures or evaluates theirs. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talks AB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
In the meantime, you won't get me turning for the
striking high school teachers today. It from me, And why's
That's because I don't think they're reading the room at
all on the picket lines unhappy they've been offered a
three percent increase over three years. And this has nothing
to do with the kids not being able to go

(00:33):
to school today, because not high school kids. I don't
need babysitting. They can just stand home today. They can
work in their assignments so they can go to the
mall and go into town, theying and do what they like.
The reason I think the teachers are going to find
it difficult to get a lot of love today is
because I think most people are like me and don't
think that every single teacher signed up to the union

(00:54):
deserves a pay rise. And I think that a teacher's
pay should be based on their individual performance and the job.
And I reckon plenty of teachers feel that way as well. Privately, yes,
they might want to earn a bit more for themselves,
but I bet you there is no shortage of teachers

(01:15):
who think that some of their colleagues aren't up to
it and don't deserve to be paid more. Certainly don't
deserve to be paid more than them. But that's the
system as it is at the moment. In the state's
school sector, pay rises for everybody. Now, once upon a
time I probably would have been happy with that, happy
with the one size fits all approach. But what do

(01:38):
we say? What good is a mind if he can't
change it? And I have and I think, like pretty
much every other worker in society, every other work for
in New Zealand, I think teachers pay should be based
on how well each one of them does their job. No,
I see already already people quick already ask him me

(01:59):
how a teacher's performance would be measured if we were
going to pay them individually, and my words, pay than
what they're worth. Well, it's a question that is raised
all the time whenever performance pay for teachers is discussed.
But at a time where everything can be analyzed to
the end degree, I'm more than confident that we could

(02:22):
come up with a robust system to evaluate and measure
an individual teachers performance. Now, the hard liners would probably say,
all right, that could or that should be down to
test results and exam results in nothing else. But I
think that would be too simplistic. Yes, results would have
to be part of it, but they wouldn't be the

(02:44):
only things measured. For example, in response to the people
already asking me how I would measure a teacher's performance,
you could do that. For example, a teacher who might
have several kids in the class who need specific support. Now,
they might be neuro diverse, they might have learning difficulties

(03:04):
because of things like fetal alcohols syndrome. Well, that's where
parent feedback would come into it, because while a student
with learning difficulties might not score highly in all these
tests and things the government's bringing in, their parents would notice,
wouldn't they whether they were engaged in school or not,
or whether they had become more engaged in school or not.

(03:25):
You imagine this, You imagine a parent saying to a
principle that their child has never been so enthusiastic about
learning and how much they love their teacher. Now there's
a performance measurement right there, Especially if parents had opportunities
to really quiz teachers on how the kids are going
and to really get an understanding of how good a

(03:46):
job their teacher is doing, which is why I liked
Education Minister Erica Stamford's comments to make this morning about
the old parent teacher interviews and how they needed to
go back to what they used to be, which would
make it more of a two way street.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
But it's no longer an honest conversation between you and
the teacher. It's child lead. For goodness sake, you know,
we've got to give power back to the parents and
say you are demanding customers. You also have a responsibility
when things are falling behind. You have to do something
at home as well.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Have no argument for me on that one at all.
But here's where I come to, Here's where I land.
It is ironic, isn't it that teachers are busy evaluating
and marking the kids on their performances, but no one
measures or evaluates theirs.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
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