Customer Reviews

The $100,000 Teacher: A Solution to America's Declining Public School System

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Brian Crosby understands what is happening in our public schools. Our public schools really are facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions, especially in Crosby's (and my) home state, California. He understands that a society that pays its prison guards more than its teachers has its values distorted. His solution is a noble one, one that will work, and he outlines in considerable detail the steps necessary for its implementation in this easy to read, well thought out presentation. However, I am sorry to say that I don't think the $100,000 teacher is going to happen any time soon.

Why? Mainly because there is a perception on a significant part of the public that teachers have it easy because they only work 180 days a year and therefore shouldn't be paid more. As a former teacher myself, one who retired young from the profession because of the inequities experienced, I can tell you that this perception is grossly mistaken for any number of reasons, but is true in at least one sense. To put it bluntly, it is true for the teacher who doesn't care, for the teacher who just wants to get a paycheck, for the teacher who has tenure and sees his or her responsibility as not extending beyond that of a glorified babysitter. And this goes for administrators who only want glorified babysitters. Crosby understands this and that is why his program is designed to weed out the teacher who doesn't care and reward the teacher who takes pride in teaching and wants to help his or her students succeed. That teacher IS a $100,000 teacher, if only we knew.

The salient point of this book then is a realization that the problem of adequate public financial support for education and for upgrading the teaching profession will not be solved until the present tenure system is abolished. As Crosby expresses it, "...no matter the lousy job one performs, once tenured (after a two or three years of teaching), one is in it for life." (p. 106)

The immediate effect of this system is to tie the hands of administrators. They cannot easily influence poor teachers, nor can they get rid of them. Conversely those teachers who really care and give their best to their students are not rewarded and so they leave the profession in frustration. As Crosby points out on the very first page of the book, "One-fifth of all new teachers quit within three years" and "Half of all new teachers quit within five years."

An unintended consequence of the present system is to make teachers and administrators adversaries. Administrators want teachers to do more, but teachers are not rewarded for doing more, so they (the ones that stay) resist. In addition, typically the school principal leads the negotiating committee for the school district against the teacher's union. So instead of working together for student achievement, teachers and administrators become adversaries. This dissipates their ability as educators.

In the long run the effect of the tenure system is synergistic in a negative sense in that it tends to attract and keep only mediocre teachers poorly supervised by mediocre administrators who are at odds with one another. Although this truth is well-known to everybody in the profession, suggestions for abolishing the system will not sit well with the various teacher's organizations since they are addicted to tenure and cannot kick the habit. An enlightened and energized public is necessary to help them. This in essence is what Crosby is calling for.

His solution must be taken seriously because there are standing in the wings other "solutions" to the problem including the privatization of education through something like a voucher system. Vouchers will lead to the end of public education in America, that is, to the dismantling of a system that was largely responsible for the fabulous economic growth of this country. Privatization will then lead to a further economic polarization of society. Those who have the wherewithal will be able to afford a good education for their children; those who do not, will not.

In any case, teachers and their professional organizations should be aware, that the time of the mediocre teacher and the adversarial system between mediocre teachers and mediocre administrators is coming to an end. I hope that the public sees the light in time and the reforms outlined by Crosby become a reality.

This book is a must read for the public as it showcases the disgraceful working conditions that many teachers face. It is a definite eye-opener and will hopefully boost the opinion that the public has for teachers.

Every teacher, politician, and school administrator in the United States should be required to read this book. Unlike the usual "school reform" books, its purpose is not to point fingers and assign blame- its written so that people better understand the central problem. You won't agree with 100% of the author's conclusions, but you'll see value and truth in at least 95%. An excellent book. Period.

In his thoughtful, well-written book, Mr. Crosby cuts through the emotion, politics and misinformation that prevents improvement in our schools. He carefully and articulately lays out a logical, common sense solutuion---namely, if you want high quality sevices, provided by high quality people in a difficult profession, then you must pay commensurate salaries. Unions would automatically become less powerful and less important as market forces work demanding competitive high quality results. His case is intelligently presented using statistical data as well as personal experiences from his years "on the front line" as a L.A. County high school teacher. The book is highly informational as well as conversational---a must read for anyone interested in public education.

This book represents a very thoughtful, comprehensive and practical solution to the problems that plague the public schools. While the title is quite provocative and on the surface even appears outrageous to some, the argument is realistic, well-constructed and appeals to both common sense and fits well with the facts. Further, the author backs up his position with good references, examples, etc. However, this book really delivers in terms of its accessibility and appeal to a very broad audience. It is engaging reading for all, especially parents, teachers and administrators.

In brief, this book describes the current situation in education and places within the context of history, political environment and culture. It proposes solutions to some of the ongoing dilemmas within education and argues that teacher empowerment, a professional career track for teachers and a merit pay scale that is in line with other professionals would attract good people into the field and keep others from leaving.

In one section, the Japanese system of education is compared and contrasted to the U.S. Did you know according to this book, Japanese teachers have a much lighter teaching load, a comparable starting salary to an engineer and a much more collegial environment? Doesn't it make sense that we provide incentives for our very best people to enter teaching like the Japanese do? How will we pay for it you ask? According to the author, by paying the BEST well and tying the pay to performance over time and paying those who do not make the grade or live up to professional standards less. At the same time, however, Mr. Crosby is asking teachers to step up and let go of union protection -- both a challenge and a tall order in terms of past history.

While you may not agree with everything is this book, it provides much food for thought and is riddled with excellent and intelligent ideas and arguments. While not politically popular in some circles, the arguments are consistent with the psychological literature on motivation and business best practices. At a minimum, it is clear that this author has earned a fair hearing given his teaching experience, research effort and uncommon common sense. My hope is that other concerned people take these ideas and develop them further, the future of our country, its youth and even our planet depends upon the quality of our schools. I hope on this point we can all agree.

In short, I give this book a FIVE STAR rating based on the quality of the thinking, the courage required to present a solution in a highly-charged environment and for the way it is put together. Do I agree with every point or believe the solution the author presents is a panacea, no I do not. However, it is a very big step forward, it's open-minded and clearly it sets the stage for a productive dialogue about the real issues. With that said, I do believe the author articulates 75-80% of a real solution, which is fantastic given that this area of great public concern is largely stalled while we fall lower and lower in evaluations of our schools compared to other countries in the world.

Whether you agree with Brian Crosby's thesis or not, most, if not all, readers must agree that this is a well thought out and very interesting book about the current state of the American education system.
If you are involved in the education system at all, a teacher, have children or care anything about the people that our country creates, you must read this thought provoking book!
I can see why "Publisher's Weekly," "The Library Journal," and "Teacher" have all covered this book with good reviews and why Bill O'Reilly has booked the author as a guest on "The O'Reilly Factor.'

Explains the learning crisis we have in America today. It all really boils down to not having enough high quality, professional teachers to go around. This results, among other things, in some kids, from the best school districts, being exposed frequently to highly capable teachers , and others having very little exposure to excellent teachers--year after year. Now that I understand this, I can see that this is where the entire achievement gap comes from.

Why do we not have enough top quality teachers? Because we fritter away money on educational bandaid programs instead of devoting the bulk of the dollars to creating a career ladder for teachers. Outstanding teachers ought to be able to aspire to earn $100,000 once they reach a certain point in their careers; poor teachers ought to be ushered out the door before they do too much damage to young minds.

We need a professional teaching corps in this country, and this book shows us how to get there. Buy it and give it to your favorite teacher for teacher appreciation day.

Finally, a teacher not an outside consultant writes a book about the teaching profession. Brian Crosby accurately examines the long-standing problems with the antiquated public school system. His proposals, from paying teachers based on performance to a career ladder for teachers, could help revolutionize the teaching profession for the better, thus attracting higher talented people into it. Let's hope people read this to see how it really is like to teach in the public schools. Politicians could take a lesson from this book on how to improve our schools.

Mr. Crosby's well-written book is a must-read for anyone interested in the state of our educational system today. I do not agree with every single thing he has to say, but he does come up with some good ideas and well-thought out solutions to our current public school problems. He states his case clearly and concisely. This is a book that should be read by every teacher in the country. Bravo to Mr. Crosby for a job well done!