Reviewed by Justin Fickling, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico
Many people have already come to realize that for our children to succeed in a technologically advancing world, their development depends on receiving a good, well rounded education. In his book, “Teachers Matter: Rethinking How Public Schools Identify, Reward and Retain Great Educators”, Marcus Winters points out what many people would say is obvious, that the basis to a good education, is a good teacher.
He goes further in depth by exploring the idea of changing the current teacher compensation system that is based on academic credit and experience to a system based on quantifiable analysis of what truly makes a great teacher. For anyone that is unhappy with the current system of teacher compensation and placement, or anyone that has ever tried to find the “best” teacher for their children, this book is a must read!
Winters explains the faults found in the current system and compares them to other fields that have already moved from objective observation to quantitative analysis and shows examples of how a new system would work to make sure that our children’s teachers would be the best they could be and give our children the basis they need to succeed in an ever changing world. His revolutionary ideas on teacher retention and training should become the basis of our school systems, in order to help the United states boast the best schools systems in the world.