Leaders plant learning seeds

There were two promising education proposals announced Monday from two newcomers to their offices.

First, Gov. Butch Otter discussed his recommendation that the Legislature create a $38 million endowment for scholarships.

That one-time investment would generate about $2 million a year for need-based assistance. It could be used only by Idaho students furthering their education in Idaho.

One of the things we really like about this proposal is that it's using one-time surplus funds to create a gift that will last literally lifetimes. By investing in Idaho students' education, the state will reap benefits for many years to come.

The second proposal of the day came from Tom Luna, the state's superintendent of public instruction. Luna, who has been on the job a month, has just started doing phone conference calls with editorial boards around the state.

Luna's budget contains $6 million for a pilot program that could lead to a change in the way many teachers are compensated.

The program would generate funds for merit raises, rather than simply rewarding teachers for number of years on the job and highest level of education attained.

Fifteen school districts statewide wanted to participate, Luna told us. From North Idaho, Lakeland School District was selected.

Merit pay, with bonuses of up to $5,000, would be based on a number of criteria, with 60 percent weighted toward how students perform on standardized tests.

We fully understand the need for some objective measurements but hope that ultimately, test scores aren't the biggest engine driving this machine. In our view, classrooms already are focused too much on learning how to succeed at test-taking.

We believe the greatest single thing a teacher can accomplish, that one thing which separates outstanding teachers from the rest, is instilling in children a love of learning. Maybe some of that is reflected on high test scores, but we think love of learning often shows up a little further down the road. How successful is that child in college or on the job? More to the point, how happy is that person?

Surveys following a sampling of students through the years could prove extremely valuable in assessing how well that student's teachers performed and would ultimately reward the best teachers with the most years of experience.

We encourage legislators to embrace both of these funding requests and further raise the state's educational ceiling.