The Negative Impact of Teachers Performance on Students - Research Paper Example

The Negative Impact of Teachers’ Performance on Good performance should be essentially exhibited by all teachers because it is the most important indicator of how students are bound to perform academically. The smarter a teacher is in exercising his/her abilities and talents, the lower the student dropout rate. Studies have also established the relationship between good teaching performance and low dropout rate. For example, it is claimed by an education reporter for The Baltimore Sun, Erica L. Green, that as many as 60% of the Baltimore teachers are unable to execute satisfactory performance despite a new improvement plan engineered to acknowledge good teachers (Green, 2012). Bad evaluations mirroring bad performance were given to these teachers. The bedrock of this improvement plan is made by the sole purpose to enhance these teachers’ performance by motivating them to employ smarter means to teach students. It is aimed to discourage them from using destructive and conventional means which have only brought dismal failure till now. Another research report also augments this claim that many times teachers’ performance negatively influences students. It is demonstrated in that report constructed by Nougaret, Scruggs, and Mastropieri (2005) that many schools have unfortunately developed a tendency to select teachers without investing enough time in scrutinizing their past experiences. Past experience of these candidates for such important jobs holds immense value and considerable importance should be attached to it. The report also shows that “teacher experience and content knowledge are also linked to teacher effectiveness” (Nougaret, Scruggs, & Mastropieri, 2005) which establishes the relationship between solid teaching experience and good performance. It is also argued by the authors how effectively such teachers who conscientiously use their past experiences can adeptly manage their students and classroom environments. Such teachers have an innate disposition to execute good performance and develop a constructive teaching environment which helps to make students more receptive and compliant. This means that this pattern taken up by some schools to remain oblivious to teachers’ past experience for whatever reasons is fraught with danger. The same report also argues that “positive and effective teacher-student interactions create a culture for learning and a safe environment for risk-taking.” It is a pity that these good features which should be a part of every teacher’s personality do not represent many Baltimore teachers which is exactly what renders them ineffective and flawed. How Low Income Contributes to Bad Performance? Research literature has shown that low income received by a large population of teachers also contributes to their bad performance. Pay is a big motivator and the bigger check granted to a teacher, the more rewarded he/she is bound to feel, and more job satisfaction there will be. Such teachers display a higher level of work commitment because they live happy and fulfilled lives. This underlines the importance of paying teachers very satisfactorily for the sake of students’ benefit. For example, Liz Bowie demonstrates in his article with the help of statistical proof how the Baltimore teachers [Teacher paycheck Sample, Baltimore county public schools, retrieved (Apr 16, 2014) from http://www.bcps.org/offices/payroll/pdf/Teacher-Payckeck-Sample.pdf] typically receive lower incomes compared to teachers in other counties like Montgomery, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick and Prince George’s. Low income with an average of $60,272 is received by these teachers which affects their performance. But, a deeper analysis of this subject of teachers’ poor performance in context of low income shows that actually these teachers neither have solid past experiences nor high degrees. This state of events translates into these teachers not getting paid in a similar way to other teachers with better credentials. This is why they do not get paid well enough. The low income of teachers is not a contained problem. This is because this problem is made worse by the fact that the government taxes and other deductions make this income even scantier. A report published on the Baltimore County Public Schools’ (BCPS) website confirms this claim. It is shown on this website how teachers normally receive an annual income of $45,500. Unfortunately for teachers and students, this income is then subjected to federal taxes with an average of almost $8,000 and other deductions like MD state modified pension with an average of nearly $3145 on an annual basis. It is due to such taxes and deductions that teachers are ultimately left with a sorry figure of only $26,500 in the end. This is bound to affect their performance in a negative manner which is not good for students’ welfare. The BCPS report also claims that the more experience and degrees teachers have experience, the more they are awarded in terms of pay. This demonstrates that the Baltimore teachers may lack some essential skills which could be why they are paid low and considered substandard. However, this is also a strong factor that the high taxes and deductions imposed by the government on teachers negatively interfere with their teaching performance. A research report also validates this claim because it is shown by Kelly Rule in her article that the Maryland State is considered one of the highest taxpayers in the entire US. In fact, “the state is ranked 10th highest in the nation for taxes, and Marylanders pay an average of $8,571 in state and local taxes” (Rule, 2014). This shows that the high tax rate in Maryland is negatively affecting teachers’ performance which ultimately affects students’ performance. The Effect of Fleeing Teachers on Students’ Performance: Low income and low level of work commitment are not the only problems witnessed in the teaching community. This is because there are myriad teachers who are always eager to flee their schools and professions in search of better opportunities. While low income and bad performance has a bad effect on students’ performance as demonstrated already in this research report, it is a fact that this tendency of teachers to flee their institutions or terminate jobs produces an even bigger influence on students in negative terms. The quality of education delivered to students suffers this way. Statistics uncovered in a report by Keigher and Cross show that almost 16% of the standard quality teachers leave their schools. For example, it is shown by figure 2 that nearly 7.5% of teachers move from their schools by way of transferring or heading to high-income schools because they all seek a higher salary. Moreover, 8.3% of teachers tend to leave the profession also because they are so distressed by the pathetic conditions. It is argued in another research report by Richard Ingersoll and Lisa Merrill that teachers’ turnover has always been a disastrous problem because it negatively affects the educational system. Numbers have shown that in 2004-05, 45 percent of teachers in public schools left their schools (Ingersoll & Merrill, 2010). Both Ingersoll and Merrill also found in their research that teachers are moving according to different standards. This is because there is an “annual shuffling of teachers from poor to wealthier schools, from high-minority to low-minority schools, and from urban to suburban schools” (Ingersoll & Merrill, 2010). This can only mean that these teachers are making sure to be away from poor schools and students. They value their personal interests the most. This pattern has left many students with no choice but to accept being taught by less qualified teachers. Teachers are Not Solely Responsible for Students’ Dropout: Blaming teachers only for a high dropout rate among students is a wrong strategy which holds no value. This is because despite about 21% of students dropping out of schools because of failing their courses, there are other reasons also which contribute to this dropout. It is not only less efficient teachers making conditions worse by not being able to teach students properly, rather there are many students who themselves contribute to a high dropout rate by remaining chronically absent from their schools. The data presented by the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (2011) confirms the negative role played by chronic absence of students from schools. It is suggested that about 34% of students dropout because of chronic absence. This is a significantly higher percentage of students than those who dropout due to failing courses. This shows that teachers are not to blame alone, rather students are also involved. Students significantly contribute to this problem and make things worse. Both teachers and students play separate roles on separate levels to further the same worrisome issue. 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