Comments on: The Teacher Glut

By: Pajamas Media » When Good Teaching = Higher Salaries

Pajamas Media » When Good Teaching = Higher Salaries — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:52:19 +0000

[...] a parent’s nightmare. Across the country, the government school system is shot through with featherbedding, rewards for mediocrity, and absolute job protection for even the worst teachers, all courtesy of [...]

By: Pajamas Media » Schools Are Not Social Service Centers

Pajamas Media » Schools Are Not Social Service Centers — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:42:00 +0000

[...] getting state legislatures to direct enormous geysers of money into the government school system, especially by hiring too many teachers, which puts lots of money into our pockets. And in the past, when people asked why our results were so lousy, we just told them we needed more [...]

By: Jay P. Greene

Jay P. Greene — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:53:44 +0000

I hadn’t seen this either. And I agree with Greg.

By: Greg Forster

Greg Forster — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:32:54 +0000

I don’t know how I missed this comment when it was posted, but I didn’t see it until now. For the record, there’s nothing inconsistent between what I said and what Jay said. I agree wholeheartedly with Jay’s assertion that “the market has only a limited influence” on teacher salaries. I’ve always said the same myself. But I also think, as I wrote, that the laws of economics tell us teacher salaries would be higher if there were fewer teachers. In order for what I wrote to be false, market influence on teacher salaries would have to be, not “limited,” but nonexistent – or at least nonexistent as far as the impact of supply on price is concerned. And that’s manifestly not the case. To say that market influence is “limited” means, at least in this context, that other forces besides the market are at work. But market forces are also at work, in addition to those other forces. And I know Jay thinks the same, because we co-wrote that book chapter on the subject – and we also co-wrote an op-ed making this exact argument, which was published (if memory serves) in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. (And if he had changed his mind about this, he’d have said so.)

By: Deborah Wallace

Deborah Wallace — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:03:14 +0000

Jay,

Just wondering if it upsets you when a guest blogger makes it obvious that he didn’t bother to read all the way to the last paragraph of an article of yours, even if he cites it in the blog. Can I quote you?

“In the end, the pay of public employees is largely shaped by political judgments that incorporate subjective values and preferences. Because the level of public school teacher pay is set by governments with taxing power, the market has only a limited influence. “

By: Other People’s Money « Where’s the Sun?

Other People’s Money « Where’s the Sun? — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:11:44 +0000

[...] make in comparison to other professions. I was flabbergasted really. I’ve been one of the many teachers that work in public schools and honestly I didn’t think I was making that much in [...]

By: Ed is Watching » Yes, There Can Be Such a Thing as Too Many Teachers

Ed is Watching » Yes, There Can Be Such a Thing as Too Many Teachers — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:56:16 +0000

[...] at Jay Greene’s blog, Greg Forster takes on the issue (via the extraordinary education investigator Mike Antonucci) of states with growing teacher [...]