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Gibson Jennifer Gibson Miranda Million English 102-23 Essay #3 (Final Draft) November 1, 2011 Is Tom Luna a Lunatic? Education has been the same for many years and there have been very little problems in the system so far. Currently, Tom Luna is attempting to change this education system into something that could ruin the way schools all across Idaho are run. His ideas would create issues that could severely affect the way children learn. If the residents of Idaho want the best education for their children, then something must be done about the Luna Bill. In effort to get the best education for the children of Idaho, it would be beneficial to design an education reform that will not result in teachers losing their jobs or getting lower pay, only allowing a certain amount of technology into the classrooms as well as keeping the class sizes to a minimum. In Tom Lunas bill, also known as Senate Bill 1113, he is proposing many different things that would negatively affect teachers in effort to cut spending. If Lunas bill were to become a law, it is said that 770 teacher positions would be lost in Idaho over time (Murphy). One of his ideas to decrease the spending is to limit collective bargaining. This would mean that teachers would no longer have contracts that would extend over one fiscal year. Teachers would then have to go to the table every year to negotiate a new agreement. In addition, Luna is requiring parent input to be considered in all teacher evaluations (Russell). This idea could have many problems that would come along with it. If a student or parent were to not like a teacher that does their job perfectly well, the parents would most likely go off of what the child said which will give the teacher that

Gibson deserves a good review, a bad one. Lastly, Luna is proposing that all teachers be paid with merit pay. He refers to this as a career ladder, where teachers will make more money based on what they teach and how well they teach it instead of being paid by how long they have been working for the district (Murphy). This means that a teacher that has been working for a school for more than twenty years could begin to make the same salary as a first year teacher. What Luna is trying to do to the careers of these teachers is only making it harder for them by creating less job security and lessening the pay of those that actually have the job. Another issue that would be brought along with Lunas bill is the technology being brought into the classroom. Luna feels that technology in the classroom is an important step in preparing these students for the real word, which to a point it is. Although some amount of technology is important for students learning, it is also important to regulate how much of it they use. Luna is proposing that all ninth grade students receive a laptop that they will use throughout high school in effort to cut back the funding used for textbooks. Although this may seem like a good idea at first, it is more likely to turn out bad in the end. Students have a hard time keeping text books in good condition and it would most likely be the same for laptops. Many students may take advantage of having a free laptop and sell them in order to make easy money. Laptops are a huge distraction for students in the classroom, with access to them at all time students would be spending more time playing computer games or going on chat sites to talk to friends. It would cost more money for the school district to pay for tech support when the laptops broke down as opposed to purchasing a single textbook that can be used for many years. It is also an issue for students who do not have Internet access at home. Would Luna pay to provide access for rural and poor students to use the Internet while not on campus? These are all issues that Luna has not taken into consideration when writing the bill.

Gibson In Lunas bill, he proposes that students be required to take at least two online credits per semester (Murphy). While online classes may be beneficial to students attending a higher education institute due to issues like work and children, requiring high school students to take at least two online credits each semester would only result in lower grade point averages. Most students in high school are not motivated enough to do their work without a teacher pushing them. Taking a class online requires students to have a certain level of self-motivation. Many of these students would procrastinate more than they usually do since there would not be a teacher around pushing them to do their work. Not only would it require a lot out of the student, it would also result in students having lower communication skills which are extremely important in the work force. Online education does not allow the student to socialize with teachers or other students, which would make it hard for them to set up study sessions or ask questions. Although online classes can be beneficial in some ways, it is unnecessary to require it at an under level institute. A huge issue that comes along with Lunas proposal is the increase in class size. He is doing this in effort to decrease the amount of teachers having to be paid to teach multiple classes. If this bill were to become an act, classes would almost double their students. This makes it hard for students to get the individual attention that they need with a teacher in order to learn the material. Students would not have the emotional closeness with teachers that are so important for their personal well being. Although the Luna bill has many problems that come along with it, these problems could be easily fixed by putting a reform into action that could fix the problems in education as well as keep the budget small. In order to cut spending in schools, instead of managing merit pay based on students test scores, it would be beneficial to evaluate teachers based on other considerations.

Gibson Evaluating teachers per semester focusing on their teaching abilities would be the best way to determine how they are performing in their job. Since having technology involved in a students education is almost mandatory in this day in age, it makes sense to allow it to some degree in the classroom. It would be more beneficial to keep laptops available to students only at the school. This would result in less damage to the computers as well as make it easier to monitor how the students use them. Most jobs nowadays require some basic knowledge of computer skills, and instead of providing a laptop for students to keep, it would save more money to use these laptop funds to add a mandatory class that would go over technology and applications that students would use once they get out of high school. Online classes are a great way to teach students responsibility and time management. Unfortunately, a lot of high school students do not have that level of matureness to get things done on time. Since online classes can be helpful for certain students, it would be a good idea to offer the classes to students at the Junior and Senior level instead of making it a requirement for all ages. This would result in students taking the classes that would actually be able to manage their time and did not need the extra help. Increasing the class sizes would be a good way to cut jobs out of schools for teachers since there would be more students per teacher, but the problems that come along with this would result in lower grades. It would be beneficial to allow some way for the students to receive extra tutoring outside of class since an increase in class size would result in less time for the teachers to give students the individual attention that they need. Overall, what Luna has designed for Idaho education will destroy it in the end by the problems associated with his plan including the loss of jobs across the state, technological problems being brought into schools as well as larger class

Gibson sizes. If Idaho wants the best education for their children, a reform in education needs to be made that will deal with the changes in this generation without causing problems in the system.

Gibson Works Cited Murphy, Brian. "New Education-reform Bill Introduced Friday in Idaho Legislature." Idaho Statesman 03/18/2011. n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2011/03/18/idahopolitics/new_educationreform_bill_int roduced_friday_idaho_legislature>. Russell, Betsy. "Luna's 3rd Pillar: Limit Collective Bargaining Agreements to One Year." Spokesman-Review 01/12/2011. n. pag. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. <http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2011/jan/12/lunas-3rd-pillar-limit-all-collectivebargaining-agreements-one-year-plus-other-changes/>.