>Simply because there is a need
>for teachers...

There is a need for QUALIFIED teachers. Yet teachers who come out of education college, more often than not are NOT QUALIFIED.

>So is it better to cram
>60 kids into a class
>meant for 30 becuase you
>can't get teachers, becuase you
>won't pay them?

It's not a question of won't, the question is of can't. Paying teachers is far different from paying athletes. Education money is mostly from property taxes. So to pay more to teachers, my boss needs to pay me more, so I can buy a more expensive house, so I can pay more property tax. And there are many communities that have children, but not a sufficient tax base to support them. In Texas we have a Robin hood program, in rich districts money goes to poor districts. But the effect has only been to marginally bring up the poor schools. Rich schools use other means.

Furthermore reducing class size has not been the answer. Politicians love to use it, cause it seems like a magic bullet. But they tried that in Nevada I believe. 25-->20. It didn't have a whole lot of effect on test scores. (mainly because to bring class sizes down they have to thin out on the quality of teachers).

>Or lose that engineer/accountant/lawyer that coaches
>& tutors after school, that
>guy that would be the
>ideal teacher, but refuses to
>be paid below what he
>is worth?

He wouldn't be. Education is one of those things that you actually need professional training for. The teachers that come in from alternative backgrounds, that only get their teaching certificates, burn out faster than teachers coming in straight from school.

There are 2 professional teacher colleges in the country. One is at Texas A&M actually. I'm using the adjective professional, like you would see it used for legal or medical training. In most education programs, students dont' see a classroom full of children until their final year. A professional program brings a college student/student teacher into the classroom within their 2nd year, and puts the college kid with a trained teacher/mentor.

I could go on and on with the problems of teacher preparation, but that's not the real issue here.

>The worse thing is all teachers
>aren't underpaid...just in city schools,
>where you actually need them...Do
>you know how much a
>Teacher in West Chester NY,
>Bala Cynwyd, PA or in
>Bergen County, NJ makes?
> Plenty.

I think plenty of teachers would disagree with you on the pay thing, but I know what you're talking about. My mom teaches in a white suburb. She's not making as much as her kid's parents, but it's not like she's teaching in Houston Independent School District.

peace
k. orr