The newspapers say the teachers in Newark have accepted a contract that awards “merit pay” so teachers will get more money for being good at their job.Should the Governor and the Legislature get “merit pay” for better performance? What about other state, country, and municipal employees? Should the President and Congress get “merit pay” as well? Are there any limits to this concept?

I think the so-called “merit pay” is just a scam to attack teachers in the public school system. Big corporations want to take over the public education system and profit through higher taxes and lower pay for teachers. If they can force the firing of 5% to 10% of teachers each year they can soon fill their education factories with experienced teachers dropped from the public schools.

Years ago I read a newspaper report that said the more time a child spends watching TV the poorer they do in schools. Just common sense? Parents can restrict their children’s TV viewing so they can spend time outdoors or reading the classic books that may no longer used in the public school system. In the 1940s the “Dick and Jane” picture books replaced the eclectic readers that provided education to earlier generations. In the 1950s a new reading system was introduced and was followed by the book “Why Johnny Can’t Read”. In the 1960s a new mathematics was introduced and was followed by the book“Why Johnny Can’t Add”. Beware of new techniques whose only purpose is to shovel tax dollars into the pockets of big corporations.

Ronald A. Sobieraj

Perth Amboy