Proposition 1 includes legislation that ends renewable contracts for teachers and limits the negotiations they’re allowed to make with local school boards. By “phasing out” tenure, it requires teachers to work under one- or two-year contracts. The proposition also makes it illegal for teachers to negotiate anything but wages and benefits with their school administrators, including issues such as overcrowded classrooms or a lack of funding for basic school supplies and up-to-date textbooks.
Supporters of the proposition claim it returns the power to locally-elected school board officials and parents.
This complicated, top-down mandate has already been in effect for a year. Since then, the Idaho State Board of Education has reported an increase in class sizes and nearly twice as many teachers quitting than in previous years, according to a Feb. 15 Associated Press report.
Proposition 1 is unfair and disrespectful. It misappropriates authority and control from those who deserve it most — teachers who are in the classroom day-in and day-out — and silences those advocating to improve Idaho’s future.
Proposition 2 is a pay-for-performance plan — it financially rewards teachers for student achievement, good standardized test scores, hard-to-fill positions and leadership.
Teachers’ salaries would still depend on years of experience, with the additional opportunity to earn bonuses.
Proponents say the system in place makes it impossible to deal with inadequate teaching or reward quality teachers, and that Proposition 2 is the solution.
The problem is the emphasis Proposition 2 places on state-mandated testing. There’s so much more to education than standardized test scores — this proposition deters teachers from encouraging creativity and critical thinking.
Furthermore, it links teacher salaries with test scores, meaning those who work with special-needs or low-income students are less likely to earn a bonus.
No two children have the same learning styles, which is why we cannot apply a set formula to education or measuring student performance.
Proposition 3 is a provision of the “Students Come First” reform that pays for every high school student and teacher to have a laptop with wireless capabilities, and for every Idaho high school to be equipped with wireless Internet accessibility. It also requires high school students to complete two credits of online courses prior to graduation.
Supporters of the proposition claim it properly equips Idaho students with the skills needed to be successful in the modern world.
Proposition 3 puts precedence on the needs of out-of-state computer and online education corporations, opposed to those of Idaho students and teachers.
Technological education is crucial in today’s classrooms, but there are better, less-expensive ways to incorporate it, such as providing each student with an e-reader or tablet.
Proposition 3 swaps out teachers for laptops, but computers can’t motivate students, help them cope with learning problems or foster critical thinking skills like a teacher can.
— BK