What bothers me most is that planning time is given so little attention in this country. 13% here vs. 40% in Finland. (and check out their math scores)

School officials must have not used their prep time when/if they were teaching because they really don’t value it. Taking it away for some stupid “activity” is commonplace.

The result: my husband and I have decamped to a Catholic school where teachers are paid far less and work far harder.

When you combine high pay with tenure, union protections, and no accountability you don’t get rock stars.

You get people who know a sweet deal when they see it.

The Ontario government just settled with all the public teachers in the province–3% per year over the next 4 years. That means by Sept 2011 teachers at the maximum scale will be making about $94,000 per year. That’s a pretty sweet deal.

I agree about the charter schools and merit pay. In Alberta, the only Canadian jurisdiction to have them, charter schools can, and some do, offer merit pay. The teachers who work in them are very satisfied. (Alberta teachers are compensated similar to Ontario teachers)