| To understand the productivity profile of a | | | | checked by exams and tests. The other is a |
| teacher a first thing to look at would the | | | | extra feature for eager students. Difficult to |
| characteristics of the salary. There is no "market" | | | | measure is also whether the pupil studied extra to |
| salary. The service the teacher is offering is not | | | | pass for an exam; so it is sometimes hard to tell |
| to benchmark with peers. Pupils (say they) know | | | | the exact contribution of the teacher in the |
| who is a good teacher and who is not, but pupils | | | | absorption of the pupil. A teacher should have |
| are biased by a subjective preference. They | | | | didactic competences, but these are hard to |
| relate the qualities of a teacher to the subject | | | | measure. |
| and some subjects receive a higher score than | | | | The role of A teacher is also required in business, |
| others. | | | | where some specialist is to explain to |
| If we compare the productivity of a teacher with | | | | management the essence of a matter in order to |
| a specialist in an (profit) organization, the teacher | | | | take an decision. That part of teaching requires a |
| is not the best "who knows it all," like the | | | | marketing and sales skills. Marketing is about |
| specialist is. A specialist knows all about one | | | | inform clients (pupils) about a topic in the words |
| subject and knows what to do with it. A specialist | | | | of the audience. Sales is about motivating and |
| is one of a kind and its salary could therefore | | | | convincing that what is on the menu is important |
| outweigh that of a manager. | | | | to know. This is often a criteria that you hear |
| A teacher's knowledge of the subject is not the | | | | from kids: that teacher is boring, which means he |
| first issue. He or she must know enough. There | | | | or she can't motivate me to learn anything. |
| could always be a smart kid with a high IQ who | | | | On the high-school reunion of which there are so |
| knows better on a certain issue. But learning | | | | many of these days, the teacher is also present. |
| (teaching) is not such a competitive game. | | | | And is looking back at all those former pupils in |
| Understanding and dominance of the subject is | | | | class and what have become of them. When you |
| only a starting point on which teaching is built. | | | | look back it is hard to tell what this influence was |
| Important than, is to transfer knowledge and as a | | | | exactly, but one thing is sure: without the teacher |
| by-product educating a learning attitude. The first | | | | you wouldn't have learned what you know now. |
| is a direct and measurable quality that can be | | | | |