DEAR EDITOR:
Pieces like the one Tom Mulhern wrote,
”
Demand better schools, better teachers, better results
”
that appeared on July 8 fascinate me.
DEAR EDITOR:
Pieces like the one Tom Mulhern wrote, “Demand better schools, better teachers, better results” that appeared on July 8 fascinate me. These types of pieces interest me because I wonder how anyone can get so far out of touch with reality.
Mr. Mulhern is obviously of the opinion that there is this vast wealth of qualified teachers just begging for the opportunity to teach in Gilroy. How else could one conclude, “When I hear that schools can’t get kids to read at their own grade level, I say fire the teachers and administrators who failed us and get someone who can do the job right, just as in the real world.”
In the real world of education in Gilroy, the fact is that there is not a wealth of teachers applying for positions. Mr. Mulhern would have teachers fired with no real option for replacement teachers. How exactly does that increase the quality of teachers or the quality of education? What exactly is the proposal to attract quality teachers to replace all of those to be fired?
The part of the real world that Mr. Mulhern conveniently left out of the equation is what businesses do when they can’t get qualified candidates to apply for a job. After they try several different methods of recruiting, they raise salaries until they get the quality of candidate that they want.
Education is the only field where a lack of qualified candidates does not yield an increase in salary; in education, a lack of qualified candidates means it is time to drop the qualifications it takes to become a teacher. No business could succeed under similar conditions; why would one expect education to succeed under these conditions? If you want the best, the brightest, and the most qualified, you are going to have to pay them a competitive wage.
GUSD does a lot of recruiting. It is time for Mr. Mulhern and those who agree with him to take a more detailed observation of the real world. It is time to consider raising teacher’s salaries to a level competitive with those in the rest of the county. It is time to make some tough choices.
Wayne Scott, GHS math teacher
Submitted Thursday, July 8 to ed****@gi************.com
