No Teacher Left Behind

Job security was never a problem when it came to the teaching profession but in 2011 the security is not there. There has been a decrease in job security in the teaching profession due to misinterpretation of the No Child Left Behind Act, flaws and inconsistencies of that Act, budget shortfalls, etc. This has not only caused Teachers to be unstable in keeping there job but the most damaging effect is on the student who suffers from inconsistency in the classroom coupled with now overcrowding.
Let us examine some of the facets of this problem. For example, there is a formula that was used in Baltimore City Public Schools to save money by decreasing the payroll. This plan was veiled as if it was a recommendation coming from the No Child Left Behind Act. The district would say that the teachers were under performing  or did not have credentials. They would create a solution which was to import teachers in from the Philippines and pay them less. Now this created a situation in which the students were in classroom with teachers who could barely speak the language and had absolutely no classroom management skills which lead to massive classroom disruption. This equal no learning. Some of these teachers would quit under the pressure of the disruptive student. Now the district would put a long term sub in that position for the remainder of the school year thus saving even more money. The result of the student is that they did not effectively learn due to the inconsistency and the incompetency.
Another formula that is being widely used is just to hire long term subs from the beginning. For example, if there is a teacher who has been teaching 12 years and apply to work in a new system, they will not get paid at their current step. There has been a salary cap placed on new hires in systems all across the country. They would only pay up to 5 years on the salary scale although you have worked for 12 years. This means that you have now taken a pay cut. A principal told me that they could hire 2 first year teachers for the price of i veteran teacher. They then went on to say they could just hire 4 long term subs for the price of 1 veteran teacher! They would save money because there would be no benefit package for the subs and they would not get paid for the holidays. This makes the principals look good to the district officials for saving money in the budget. In some cases the principals feel that they have to do this to save their own job. All of this once again has damaging effects on our students and this spills over into our larger society. There are real dedicated teachers ho are being left behind due to these formulas of saving money. This problem must be exposed and addressed to prevent the further dismantling of our education system.