FIXING CRIME - Part Three

 I have always looked with scorn upon those who criticize but have no solutions of their own to a particular problem and refuse to admit that they don't know how to fix whatever "it" is.  I hope that I have made it clear in my last two posts on the subject of fixing crime that I have no short term answer for this scourge. Frankly, I believe that what is required is a long term fix that will probably take about 30 years before we see any results. But if we don't start now the problem will only get worse. And I do recognize that there are few (if any) politicians that think beyond 5 years.

As I said in my first post on this subject that the answer lies in education. But we have saddled ourselves with a system that hasn't been revamped for about 60 years (although successive administrations have fiddled with the system during that time). In the meantime, except for the brightest kids or those whose parents can afford private schooling (either by way of private lessons or expensive private schools), the vast majority of the children continue to receive a substandard education.

I would fix this by immediately trebling the salaries of ALL qualified teachers. Right now, the starting salary of a qualified teacher is less than US$1,000 per month. If we pay peanuts to what are probably the most important people in our society what do you think we'll get?

But (and it is a big "BUT") no teacher will get this increase unless certain things happen: Anybody (meaning any QUALIFIED teacher) who wants the increase will have to sign a contract:

1) Agreeing to a yearly performance review; if he/she fails that performance review then he/she will be immediately dismissed without any claims whatsoever for backpay or any monies whatsoever. That would be final.

2) In order to get this increase he/she would have to be properly qualified. By this I mean that at the very least the teacher would have to have an undergraduate degree as well as a teaching diploma/certificate. If someone has been teaching for a period of time, say, 30 years or more, then the requirement for a teaching certificate/diploma would be waved, but not the requirement for an undergraduate university degree. This is to ensure that only properly qualified people would be accepted as being qualified to teach our kids. You can't fool around with this.

Some people may argue that TTUTA (the teachers' union) would never agree to this. My answer is that no teacher that has a job today will lose his/her benefits under the agreement with TTUTA. But anybody who wants the increased pay will have to sign my contract. And no new hirings will take place unless the person signs on with the new contract. I am not interested in what TTUTA might or might not want unless they can show how the children will benefit. It seems to me that this significant fact has been ignored by everybody.

It has been suggested to me that TTUTA might call a strike over this. My answer is let them. I firmly believe that the country will not support the union on this. I also firmly believe that this suggestion will eliminate our system of so-called 'prestige schools' (which are NEITHER prestigious NOR world class) and will forcibly create a system that eliminates bad teaching (including the nationwide curse of absenteeism on the part of teachers nationwide). The name of the game is performance.

Okay. That is my suggestion to fix the problem. As I have said, I honestly don't have a clue how to fix this problem in the short term. But I firmly believe that if we take the proverbial bull by the proverbial horns that we can fix it. I should also say (if it is not already clear) that part of our problem is that our teachers are woefully underpaid. I think that my proposal would fix this.