As I peruse news stories from around the world thanks to the Internet, I’m always a little surprised to see the same education stories and struggles across the globe. Take Australia for example; Australia is struggling with keeping teachers from leaving because of low pay and salary ceilings. The Australian federal government is considering a plan that would pay one-time bonuses dependent on student test scores, but the Australian Education Union (AEU) has a different plan, according to a News.com.au article.

The AEU wants to create several tiers of teachers, and raise pay according to education, professional development, and teaching experience. "Teachers would be assessed by an independent and fair process and rewarded through salary increases, not one-off cash bonuses," the pay proposal states. "Teachers would be required to demonstrate how their teaching experience and professional development is contributing to the improvement of educational outcomes for students."

The AEU plan makes more sense than the bonuses because it is not fair to pay on test scores. Not all teachers are on equal footing. Teachers at schools with more higher-income students will generally have higher student test scores than those who teach in lower-income areas. However, if a plan that determines the success of teachers in all types of classroom can be created, not only would it be fairer, perhaps there would be more incentive for teachers to stay. As Pat Byrne, president of the AEU puts it, teacher pay should be, "about recognizing our experienced teachers and improving their working conditions to make sure they want to stay in the classroom."