Teachers' salaries should be based on the academic performance of their students.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing an

Teaching, one the more noble profession, is paradoxical one of the less lucrative careers today. Teachers are the educator of our society as they cultivate leaders and entrepreneurs in a wide range of fields and at different stages in life. Whilst it may seem logical to remunerate teachers looking at the academic performance of their students, such an approach is too simplistic for several reasons.

A first point against such a recommendation above is that whilst a good teacher should bring out the best in his/her students, learning is a shared process. In this light, students equally have a responsibility to ensure that they excel in school. Thus when a teacher has done more than what is necessary to ensure that students are best placed to excel, they should be remunerated to reflect their commitment and skill as opposed to the academic performance of their students.

Furthermore, the recommendation above uses a threshold of academic performance which though crucial to learning and evaluation is not holistic. Teachers do more than ensure academic performance but also ensure emotional, psychological and sometimes physical growth and maturity. These are very important as they contribute to the overall advancement of children. To base a teacher's remuneration on academic brilliance of students alone, is therefore to eschew other equally relevant factors.

Despite it's simplicity, the recommendation above may be advantageous in some circumstances. Most importantly, it may serve as motivation to teachers to be at their best at all times and not just some times. This may in turn increase competitiveness in the industry as a whole and in the long run provide a stimulus for further increases in salary. Nonetheless, upholding such a recommendation would require certain factors to be considered. One of such factors which may be very well be a point of controversy is the case for teachers who teach special needs children. It may need to be decided on a case by case basis which will be very costly.

To sum up, teachers have a huge role to play in society as educators of tomorrow's leaders. Whilst academic performance is a good indicator of their skill, it leaves other important benchmarks out and fails to reward the dedication of teachers.