Students should not influence teacher pay

We are waiting for a train, one that could expand and deal with the educational luggage of the state of Florida's educational system.

From "No Child Left Behind" to today's "Race to the Top," Florida just seems to be on the forefront of fine-tuning and tweaking ways for students to learn.

The "Race to the Top" program has a rather unique aspect, though: the teachers get paid based on the evaluation of their students test scores meaning FCAT and final exams while the other 50 percent of the evaluation is placed in the hands of the school principal.

I get it — we want students to learn, but at what cost? Obviously at the cost of the teachers. I can hear a screaming ninth-grade teacher now, "What do you mean you don't know the difference between the Odsessy and the Iliad?!"

The vote to pass Senate Bill 736 has been decided 89 to 30 in the Florida House of Representatives and the way Gov. Rick Scott is making moves, this bill  will most likely be signed.

This will make it harder for the new teachers, who have just graduated from school and have nothing but a pile of college loans to pay back. The newly positioned teacher will have to do everything possible to make sure they stay hired.

A lot of talk has been focused on the benefit of the students, and when it comes down to it that is what really matters.

On a worst-case scenario, what if a student misses a considerable amount of class because of certain personal issues?  

Although the instructor really can't be blamed for this, if this new bill is passed these absences would be written off as "poor teaching skills" and the teacher would be forced to experience financial repercussions.

It's the same situation if the teacher has a total of 25 students and three of them disrupt class consistently, making it difficult for other students to learn, and understand curriculum.

This brings a complete new set of questions to the table such as the quality of students and the areas that they are living in. In any county, some areas are worse than others, a new teacher trying to make it work in poorly funded neighborhoods and failing schools will be difficult.

Teachers can do well if they are dedicated and have good students who are willing to learn. If you haven't noticed by now, I hate the idea of teachers getting paid on how well their students do.  It's vicious.

With this bill being implemented the profession that creates incredible amounts of innovation and opens minds gets subjected to so much distaste and government regulation.

The worst part is that S.B. 736 will not allow new teachers tenure, so they can basically pack up and move after each school year. Obtaining tenure as a teacher will be finished in 2014, ending another instance where the government is touching something it shouldn't have.

Last year the U.S. ranked No. 14 in education by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. This most certainly will decline, with more and more restrictive education programs implemented.