Now that the unions have come to dominate the teaching profession there is less incentive to be a better teacher, since one’s pay will not likely change. “Step” increases, where teachers get an automatic 2 or 3 percent raise every year just for serving their time, are common for the first five or ten years of teaching. Both the unions and school district administrators want to dodge the touchy subject of evaluating teaching quality and the progress of the teacher’s students in determining pay and promotions. As a result, good teachers get about the same pay as bad teachers, a situation less likely to prevail in the private sector. Incentives matter! Vouchers, private schools, and charter schools are more likely to resemble the private sector in this regard, which is why parents are increasingly demanding them.
