Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures." -- Daniel Webster
Wednesday, December 11, 2002 :::
Kate Malcolm on salaries of educators. As one to make such observations, I note that what matters as to how much an employee should be paid is not how much he adds to the job, but how much more he adds than someone who might be more cheaply acquired. A study indicating very small to no benefit to smaller class sizes over a range typical of U.S. high schools. Education spending per student has well more than tripled in the last forty years after adjusting for inflation, and the product doesn't seem to have improved. I personally believe better teachers would make a difference; hence my education platform:
Eliminate (or mitigate) the union rules that thwart paying good teachers more than bad teachers, or at least mitigate the difficulty of replacing the latter;
Double class sizes;
Fire (the right) half of the teachers;
Double teachers' salaries;
Fire more teachers as better candidates from industry trickle in.
Not that I have anything against getting rid of administrators as well.