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Thursday, August 03, 2006
Makeover Mark Kennedy: common sense?
It's now officially Makeover Mark Kennedy Day at 3WN. Here's a snippet from the latest Kennedy solicitation:
Many of you provided great feedback about how much you enjoyed meeting some of the people who helped me get to where I am today and learning that Im not a career politician, but a 4th generation Minnesotan who wants to make a positive difference for our families. Like many of you, my family is truly my greatest blessing.
My second ad shares my record of reaching across the aisle to get things done for the people of Minnesota. I will continue to work on solutions that are best for Minnesotans, whether that means working within my party or reaching across party lines. As the Democrats continue their obsession with President Bush, Ill stand by my record and most importantly, Ill stand by the people of this great state.
In fact, the very same day my Crossing Party Lines ad went up, I introduced an important initiative with my 20th lead Democrat as a co-sponsor. Rep. Ed Case from Hawaii and I introduced the Rewarding Student Achievement Act, which provides incentive pay for the best teachers based in part on student learning gains. This is a common sense bill that would reward the teachers whose students are learning more, because it cant just be about who has been there the longest.
(Punctuation errors caused by conversion)
Kennedy is not a career politician? Kennedy is 49 years old. He's got a B.A. and an M.B.A. That means he began his career at around age 24. If elected to the Senate, he will have spent 12 years of 31 working years as a politician -- about 40% (excluding his strawberry picking career, of course. If elected to a second term, he would have spent 48% of his working years as a politician. Kennedy's not a career politician -- yet.
(Not that there's anything wrong with career politicians -- does anyone object to career lawyers? Accountants? Let me suggest this: If you're being audited by the IRS, do you want an accountant with 1 day of experience or a career's worth defending you?)
Here's the text of Kennedy's 'common sense' merit legislation:
In making awards to support merit-based teacher compensation systems, under the Teacher Incentive Fund or any other grant program to support merit-based teacher compensation systems using funds available pursuant to subpart 1 of part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Secretary of Education shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, all of the funds so awarded are awarded to support merit-based compensation systems that are based primarily (at least 50 percent) or exclusively on student learning gains or maintenance of student learning gains, or both.
Well, now, that is pretty common-sensical, innit? Surely at least 50% of merit-based based should be allocated based on student learning gains (or maintenance thereof). Not the legislation actually does what Kennedy claims it does. Kennedy claims the bill "provides incentive pay for the best teachers based in part on student learning gains." Actually, the bill doesn't provide any incentive pay at all. It simply requires that existing incentive pay programs which are already based on merit rather than longevity be awarded primarily or exclusively on student learning gains. That's rather a mouthful, I know. Break it down:
- No new money
- No new merit programs
- Existing merit programs must award money based on 'student learning gains'
How do you measure student learning gains? That's left unsaid.
1 Comments:
there isnt anything wrong with career politicians, but spending every day of your term trying to get re elected to another term is something that bothers me. do whats right, not what gets you re relected.
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