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Imagine a job where excellence does nothing to improve your pay or chances
of promotion, and failure carries little risk of being sacked. Your pay is low
for your qualifications―but at least the holidays are long, and the pension is
gold-plated.
Teaching ought to be a profession for hard-working altruists who want to
improve children's life prospects. But all too often school systems seem
designed to attract mediocre timeservers. Many Mexican teachers have inherited
their jobs; Brazilian ones earn less than other public servants, and retire much
earlier. Each school-day a quarter of Indian teachers play truant. In New York
it is so hard to sack teachers that even those accused of theft or assault may
be parked away from pupils, doing “administrative tasks” on full pay, sometimes
for years.
You can find outstanding individuals in the worst school systems. But, as
lazy and incompetent teachers get away with slacking, the committed ones often
lose motivation. In America and Britain surveys find plummeting morale. Jaded
British teachers on online forums remind each other that it is just a few months
till the long summer break―and just a few years till retirement. No wonder so
many children struggle to learn: no school can be better than those who work in
it.
Yet it is possible to persuade the hardworking and ambitious to teach.
Finland pays teachers modestly but manages them well; ten graduates apply for
each training place. South Korea recruits teachers from the top 5% of
school-leavers and promises them fat pay cheques. In both countries teachers are
revered―and results are among the world's best.
Even where the profession is in disrepute, high-flyers can be lured into
the classroom. Teach for America, which sends star graduates from elite
universities for two-year stints in rough schools, is being copied around the
globe. Private employers snap up its alumni―but many stay in teaching. Teach
First, Britain's version, has helped raise standards in London and is one of the
country's most prestigious graduate employers. Such schemes are small, but show
that when teaching is recast as tough and rewarding, the right sort clamour to
join.
Spreading the revolution to the entire profession will mean dumping the
perks cherished by slackers and setting terms that appeal to the hardworking.
That may well mean higher pay―but also less generous pensions and holidays. Why
not encourage teachers to use the long vacation for catch-up classes for pupils
who have fallen behind? Stiffer entry requirements would raise the job's status
and attract better applicants. Pay rises should reward excellence, not long
service. Underperformers should be shown the door.
Standing in the way, almost everywhere, are the union s. Their willingness
to back shirkers over strivers should not be underestimated: in Washington, DC,
when the schools boss (a Teach for America alumna) offered teachers much higher
pay in return for less job security, their union balked.
But against the union s is a growing coalition: the leaders in public
administration and private enterprise who have been through Teach for America
and its ilk. They know what it takes to succeed in difficult schools, and what
it would take for success to become the norm. They know that what good teachers
want most of all is good colleagues. As they become more numerous and
influential, they need to argue for a new deal for teachers. The good ones
deserve it―and pupils do, too.
参考译文:
想象一下，一个工作卓越人士无须做什么事情即可提高你的工资或晋升的机会，出现故障被解雇的风险很小。你的工资低于你的资历，但至少假期长，养老金是“镀金”般有保障的。
教学应该是一个为想要改善儿童的生活前景勤劳的利他主义者的专业。但很多时候学校系统似乎旨在吸引平庸的趋炎附势之人。许多墨西哥教师继承了他们的工作;巴西那些教师收入低于其他公务人员，并提前退休了。每所学校一天四分之一的印度教师罢工。在纽约很难解雇教师，即使是那些被指控偷窃或侵犯远离学生的教师，有时多年全薪做“管理任务”。
您可以在最恶劣的学校系统找到先进个人。但是，由于懒惰和无能的教师逃脱松弛，负责的教师往往失去动力。在美国和英国的调查发现士气一落千丈。在网上论坛疲倦不堪的的英国老师提醒对方，坚持到漫长的暑假仅仅只有短短数月，并且直到退休只有短短几年。难怪这么多孩子努力学习：没有学校可以比那些孩子在这工作得更好。
然而，有可能说服勤奋和雄心勃勃的教导者。芬兰支付教师的薪酬不多，但他们善于管理;
10名毕业生申请每次实习的地方。韩国从高中毕业生中排名前5%里抽取学生进行教师招聘，并承诺他们充沛的工资。在这两个国家的教师受到崇敬――其结果是世界上最好的。
即使在专业是声名狼藉，成功人士可以被引诱成为教师。为美国而教，使得精英大学的星级毕业生两年都就职于水平较差的学校，这种情况在全球各地都在效仿出现。人雇主抢购校友，但很多都停留在教学。教育首先，英国方面，有助于提高在伦敦标准，伦敦是全国最负盛名的毕业生的雇主之一。这些计划虽小，但是显示当教育被改写为坚韧和奖励，学校将会进行正确排序。
传播革命理念给整个行业将意味着被逃避工作之人和头脑清醒者所珍视并吸引勤劳者珍惜的额外津贴。这可能意味着更高的薪水――也不太丰厚的退休金和节假日。为什么不鼓励教师利用长假对已经落后的学生进行补课教育?更严厉的入学要求会提高工作的地位和吸引更好的申请人。加薪应奖励优秀者，而非长期的工作服务。表现不佳应该被扫地出门。
路上，几乎无处不在是工会组织。他们卸责于奋斗者之上的意愿不容小觑：在华盛顿，当学校的老板(一个做教师，校友)提供教师高得多的薪酬以换取较少的工作保障，他们的工会犹豫不决。
但对工会是一个不断增长的联盟：在公共管理和民营企业的领导者经历过为美国和其同类而教授。他们知道如何才能在困难的学校成功，怎样做才能成功成为常态。他们知道，好教师最希望的还是不错的同事。当他们变得越来越多，具有影响力，他们需要争取教师的新协议。好人应该得到它，学生们也同样如此。 |
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发表于 2017-8-6 16:08:28