The Debate over Teacher Merit Pay
freakonomics.comThe term “merit pay” has gained a prominent place in the debate over education reform. First it was former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee trumping it as a key to fixing the District’s ailing public schools. Then a handful of other cities gave it a go, including Denver, New York City, and Nashville. Merit pay is a big plank of Education Secretary Arne Duncan‘s reform platform. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel has just launched his own version of merit pay that focuses incentives toward principals.
There’s just one problem: educators almost universally hate merit pay, and have been adamantly opposed to it from day one. Simply, teachers say merit pay won’t work.
In the last year, there’s been some pretty damning evidence proving them right; research showing that merit pay, in a variety of shapes and sizes, fails to raise student performance. In the worst of cases, such as the scandal in Atlanta, it’s contributed to flat-out cheating on the part of teachers and administrators. So, are we surprised that educators don’t respond to monetary incentives? Is that even the right conclusion to draw?
» via Freakonomics
Success in Egypt
Nobody can doubt that individual’s merit is important. But the question remains, is it enough? Is it easy to succeed based on your merit only? Is Egypt a meritocracy? I guess the answer is no. We all know that every process in Egypt needs a lobby. People face discrimination because of their background. An Egyptian citizen, for example, may not be accepted to work in the Ministry of foreign affairs because his father is a security guard or he cannot be able to engage in some kinds of elections because he cannot afford a lobby. We, as members of the elite society, cannot feel the problem because we have those opportunities that our society gave us. Following this further, I believe that I am not better than others because of my merit , It is because I started a little bit better. My father wasn’t born rich; however, he had that opportunity to travel to golf Arab country build his future. As stated by Gladwell in his book, The Outliers, “It is those who are successful , in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success” (page 33). Marriage is also the perfect support for my position. We all hear stories about a young man who is struggling in his life but he cannot marry the girl he loved because he is not rich. He didn’t get that opportunity to marry her because his background is not equivalent to that of the girl he wants to marry.following this further, i believe that this needs to change. because it is simply not fair. people are getting advantages over others based on nothing ethical. In conclusion, in Egypt it is not meritocracy that conducts everything. You cannot succeed depending on your own merit only.
well today has been good for various reasons
starting with the weight loss, i am currently 1 stone lighter than i was when i joined the gym in august, you may think that’s slow its because i only go like 2 times a week
ive noticed the difference due to the fact i need a belt for my jeans.
second was that at the vending machine i brought a 60p bag of M&M’s with £1 and got 60p back, good start.
i then found out i have Thursday off due to 1 to 1’s with the tutors so i have a mini weekend midweek(i have Wednesdays off as well).
then i found out that i have passed my 2nd merit criteria and almost my 1st distinction criteria( needs to be checked by 2 tutors).
the only down sides with today are the fact that i cant find anyone else to go to download festival with( ones unsure at the moment) and that my eyes were burning during my program design class
UPDATE 2-No merit to report of Akamai-Google deal-source
* Akamai a long-running subject of takeover rumors-analystSAN FRANCISCO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - A report on Wednesday that Akamai Technologies Inc was close to being acquired by Google Inc is without merit, according to a person familiar with the matter.Shares of Akamai jumped more than 11 percent at one point in after hours trading on Wednesday, following the report by technology blog Business Insider citing “multiple ad tech sources” who were not identified.A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the report of a deal was baseless.Representatives from Google and Akamai said the companies do not comment on rumors.Shares of Akamai, which are off more than 50 percent from their 52-week high of $54.65, gave up most of their after-hours gains later on Wednesday, and were trading up 2.9 percent at $24.04.Akamai, whose service improves the performance of websites, is a long-running subject of takeover rumors. Last week, there were reports that the company could be acquired by Verizon Communications or International Business Machines Corp , said Mark Kelleher, an analyst with Dougherty & Co.”Ever since I can remember there’s been theories of who could come in” and acquire Akamai, he said.
UPDATE 2-No merit to report of Akamai-Google deal-source
* Akamai a long-running subject of takeover rumors-analystSAN FRANCISCO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - A report on Wednesday that Akamai Technologies Inc was close to being acquired by Google Inc is without merit, according to a person familiar with the matter.Shares of Akamai jumped more than 11 percent at one point in after hours trading on Wednesday, following the report by technology blog Business Insider citing “multiple ad tech sources” who were not identified.A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the report of a deal was baseless.Representatives from Google and Akamai said the companies do not comment on rumors.Shares of Akamai, which are off more than 50 percent from their 52-week high of $54.65, gave up most of their after-hours gains later on Wednesday, and were trading up 2.9 percent at $24.04.Akamai, whose service improves the performance of websites, is a long-running subject of takeover rumors. Last week, there were reports that the company could be acquired by Verizon Communications or International Business Machines Corp , said Mark Kelleher, an analyst with Dougherty & Co.”Ever since I can remember there’s been theories of who could come in” and acquire Akamai, he said.
