http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/2012/04/what_do_teachers_want.html
Diane Ravitch writes about recent survey results that report what reforms are seen as important by teachers. Not surprisingly, most of the reforms pushed by policymakers (testing and accountability, merit pay) were seen as minimally important. My question: How much does the success of education reforms depend on the support and buy-in from teachers? I think merit pay is perhaps the best example -- while teachers are certainly happy to make more money, few teachers do what they do because they want to compete for that money. As strange as it might seem in a capitalistic society, where Wall Street is king and performance bonuses are the norm, the vast majority of teachers don't think merit pay will make them a better or more motivated teacher. In fact, some teachers I've worked with were downright insulted at the suggestion.