A proposal by the Obama administration to create a corps of master teachers to help improve student achievement in science, technology, engineering and math could prove beneficial in closing the gap that has American students falling behind students in other countries, but the challenge will be figuring out how to pay for the program as the government looks to cut spending.
Obama wants to spend $1 billion to create the Master Teacher Corps. Those teachers would be paid more - $20,000 per year - than their counterparts, and would also help by sharing their expertise with other teachers and raise the level of education for students.
The program was part of Obama's proposed fiscal year budget for 2013, but that budget was voted down, the Associated Press noted after Obama brought up his commitment to improving education at a campaign stop in Texas Tuesday.
An aide to House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., told the AP that the federal government already has more than 80 teacher quality programs and said it would be foolish to pump money into programs that may be duplicative or unproductive.
That's a valid point. Too often in government, new programs are added after old, regardless of whether the old ones are still useful or needed. The end result is an upward spiral in costs, often without a corresponding benefit. Over the years, various government auditors have noted duplication of programs and programs that have outlived their purpose as being a drain on the budget.
Creating a corps of teachers who are masters of their given area, and who will commit to helping raise the level of science, math, engineering and technology for all students and teachers, is something that the U.S. needs as our students continue to fall further behind students of other countries in these areas. And rewarding them with higher pay for more accountability is in line with other objectives that aim to increase student achievement.
Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree that government should not shirk its responsibility of committing to excellence in education for all students. This program is one way that we can raise the educational bar and start to close what has become an increasing gap in achievement between our students and their counterparts in other countries.
