PLANK TWO:
INSANELY GREAT TEACHERS

"Look, I don't really know where we should take this bus. But, I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people to the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we'll figure out how to take it someplace great."

FROM JIM COLLINS' #1 BESTSELLER, GOOD TO GREAT

Teachers have enormous influence on how well students learn. Great teachers produce better student learning than not-so-great teachers. In fact, dedicated teachers always find a way to teach, even in the face of enormous obstacles, like high student-to-teacher ratios, lack of supplies, and inferior or inadequate classrooms. We should create a meritocracy in which good teachers are recognized and paid for superior teaching performance.

We should let schools take full advantage of the current insanely great teachers by allowing

them to work as "Master Teachers" who help their colleagues become better teachers.

Master Teachers would be mentors to others in the profession, offering assistance in class or in training seminars. Master Teachers could also be part of a peer review process that identifies and fosters rising talent within the teaching profession.

We should create a more exciting career path for teachers that provides opportunities for teachers to earn higher pay based on performance, rather than simply counting years of service or continuing education credits. Arbitrary measures like tenure or education credits may or may not have anything to do with being an insanely great teacher, but effectiveness in teaching children certainly does. Measuring academic results, especially for the hardest-to-teach students, is the only realistic way of fostering great teachers.

We should allow schools to hire qualified teachers from the broadest talent pool