As we approach the end of the school year, there are plenty of controversial conversations springing up in Missouri education. I have a feeling we're in for a few major shifts in the coming years - either by choice or by force. I think we, as educators, can help facilitate those shifts on our own terms so that, even if they are forced upon us, we will have a say in the fallout resulting from them. I also think that, as these changes come about, we have the opportunity to make education the profession we've always longed for it to be.

One of the most controversial topics we're faced with is merit pay. If you mention that in a room full of teachers, be prepared for anything! You never know what kind of response you will get. I definitely understand both sides of the debate, but I truly believe that if we ever want to see what we do make the leap from a job to a profession, we MUST address this issue.

Probably the biggest hurdle we have to get over in this debate is the "we've never done it that way before" mentality. Because our pay scale has traditionally been based solely on seniority and education, those who have been in the profession a while can't imagine any other way working. It's also hard to trust a new system when the current one has "worked" so well for so long.

The second problem we have is with those who are afraid of being compared with others. When opponents say "no one wants to be a loser," they're right. But some people ARE losers. I'm not talking about the ones we walk up to with our fingers in the "L" sign on our forehead, but the ones who have settled into their 8-3 job, nine months a year, with laminated lesson plans. Just like we'll never get 100% of students to score in the top two categories on the MAP, we'll never get all teachers to cover the GLEs and put forth 100% effort. They settle for 75, 80, or 90%. And they're afraid that, when they're compared with other teachers, they won't make as much money. Although there aren't that many of those teachers out there, unfortunately, they're usually very loud and try to stifle those who want to change the status quo.

I'll admit - I'm not a 100% teacher. There are plenty of teachers out there who do a much better job. I try . . . but I fall short plenty of times. But I'm the yearbook adviser, media club sponsor, academic team coach, CTA president, region MSTA past president, and an MSTA board member. When you start talking about merit pay, where do all the extras come in? Do we continue career ladder? Do we restructure it as well? Does involvement in extracurricular activities play into the merit pay? Once we've overcome the "never done it before" mentality and stopped worrying about making comparisons, then we've got to look at how to structure a system to recognize everyone's contributions and efforts.

As I was getting ready for school last week, I was listening to the conversation on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel. Someone was talking about the differences between the generations, and how the latest generation is having a problem handling criticism on the job. They cry when they're talked to by their supervisors. Someone on the show said that it could have something to do with the fact that we teach kids that there are no winners or losers - in soccer, they play the game, but no team wins. Hmm . . . does that sound familiar? No winners or losers - let's just pay everyone the same, no matter how well or how poorly they do their job. What other "profession" pays its employees that way?

Merit pay unfair? Maybe . . . but life isn't always fair. Maybe we shouldn't be so concerned about it not being fair for a few and concentrate on how much MORE fair it would be for all those who do an excellent job (of course, NEVER based solely on test scores).