We’ve all had that older teacher who was just going through the motions.’ Whether they were adverse to technology or just lamented the ‘good ‘ol days,’ they just didn’t quite get the job done.’ ‘ These types of teachers just can’t connect to students anymore. And unfortunately, they populate almost every middle school and high school nationwide.’ Usually they are ‘beloved institutions’ at their respective establishments and outdate most of the bricks laid in the foundation.’ In Vermont public schools, these teachers are being rewarded for having managed to hang around for so long.’ While reading an article in the Burlington Free Press about a competition between public schools for federal grant money, I learned that the Vermont school system traditionally’ ‘rewards educators on the basis of longevity.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ This means that the out-of-touch teachers are not only keeping their jobs, they are getting paid more for every year they don’t get fired.’ The teachers with engaging lessons and dynamic teaching methods, whose students perform better on standardized tests, will be paid less just because they haven’t had their job as long.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ I believe that this is unfair.’ Teacher performance should play a much bigger role in determining salary.’ As of right now, the best method for measuring student ability is standardized testing, whether you like it or not. Teachers whose students get higher scores on standardized tests should be receiving the highest salaries. Unfortunately, due to overly strong teachers’ unions, changing the salary criteria or removing out-of-date teachers is an arduous task.’ The public trusts Vermont’s school system to provide the best education possible, and the current criteria determining teacher pay doesn’t hold them accountable for their performance, only for how long they have been performing. Teachers should be judged based on what they do in a classroom, not how long they have been standing in one.’