Financially Compensating the "Best" Educators

As a taxpayer and educator I am responding to "Paying better teachers better" published [in Utah County's Daily Herald] on December 16th, 2007.


I concur with John Morefield, an educator from Seattle, Washington who said: "I have come to believe that a school designed to work for children of color, works for white children. The reverse, however, is not true. Consequently, if we design our schools to work for children of color they will work for all children."


As someone who taught mostly white mainstream students and then diverse learners, mostly English language learning Hispanics, I know first hand that doing what we've always done that works for white mainstream learners isn't sufficient for diverse learners.


As Utah's student demographics continue to become more diverse, the "best" principals and teachers will be those who change what they have always done. This will obviously require humility, sacrifice, commitment, and willingness to step out of one's comfort zone to learn what it takes to design the kind of school Morefield suggests.


This opportunity and challenge to become effective with diverse learners can be exhilarating, and thus, a reward in itself. Yet, because of the extra time, energy, and expertise required, Governor Huntsman and other policy makers would do well to consider financially compensating educators who willingly accept this challenge.