The article mentions how Florida’s Governor Crist has just vetoed a merit-based pay proposal for teachers. Of course, the teachers’ unions opposed it.

The legislation—one of the most sweeping of its kind in the nation—would have eliminated tenure for new teachers and required merit-pay plans linking salaries to student learning progress. Unions opposed the measure, saying it would make it harder for Florida to hire good teachers, and that it violated collective bargaining rights.

Isn’t this what most “professionals” expect?  That is, that if I do a good job as a lawyer, doctor, banker, or accountant, I will get a good raise?  If I do a better job than my peers–all other things being equal–I will get paid more than they are? I believe the proposal would help attract good teachers, not make hiring more difficult as the unions aver.  As long as it’s politics as usual in America, you can full well expect a further decline in our primary and secondary public educational institutions.  Meanwhile countries like Singapore, which hires top graduates for teachers and pays and trains them accordingly, will continue leaving us in the dust.