Last week, teacher union boss Randi Weingarten wrote an appalling piece for the Wall Street Journal, arguing against allowing a free market in education. Monopolists always can find reasons why competition in their realm would be bad.
Today’s Journal contains four devastating rebuttal letters. Here is one from JLF friend and NC expat Frank Stephenson:
Why does Ms. Weingarten assume that educational choice—markets—amounts to demonizing teachers? Currently, teacher pay largely depends on the number of years of experience and educational credentials obtained—factors that may not be strongly correlated with student achievement. Instead of a one-scale-fits-all pay approach, teachers, at least the good ones, should benefit from a more competitive labor market in which school administrators could offer salaries commensurate with expected student performance rather than being determined by an arbitrary salary scale.
E. Frank Stephenson
Mount Berry, Ga.
