Gary Moskowitz
NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- After 13 years of teaching, Brian Crosby has
come to one conclusion.
The only way to improve student achievement in public schools is to
pay teachers a salary they are worth -- up to $100,000 a year.
Crosby, an English and journalism teacher at Hoover High School, is
the author of "The $100,000 Teacher: A Teacher's Solution to America's
Declining Public School System."
The book was released last month by Capitol Books and is available at
bookstores and online.
Crosby wrote a 1988 newspaper editorial about teacher salaries that
resulted in many heartfelt letters from teachers who agreed with him.
It's time for education to evolve, Crosby said.
"I think that our current salaries and expectations support only a
minimum level of achievement. But there is not enough excelling," Crosby
said. "It's always been a myth that you can't judge who is good or not,
and unions usually say you can't spell it out. But that's just not true."
Crosby added, "It has nothing to do with [Stanford 9] results, it has
to with engaging curiosity and that should be clear. And Glendale is not
immune to this."
Crosby's feeling, as expressed in his book, is that creating a more
private sector type of pay scale with a true career ladder is a necessary
immediate change.
Matt Gilewski, 16, is a sophomore at Hoover whose parents are
teachers. He thinks paying teachers more could contribute to a more
effective public school system.
"Anything that's wrong with society people always blame on the public
school system," Matt said. "Teaching is hard. You have to deal with all
of your responsibilities plus unruly students and you can't just fire a
student."
Crosby is scheduled to appear on Bill O'Reilly's talk show "The
O'Reilly Factor" at 5 p.m. Monday on the Fox News Channel. The show will
air again at 8 p.m.
