Teachers should be treated with respect and trust

"Don't mark my paper. Help me get an A."

That's the philosophy in a book co-authored by Garry Ridge, the CEO of WD-40 — you know, the product that seems to have many creative uses, including fixing education.

Legislators might take a lesson from Ridge as they struggle to find ways to fund education — even if it means raising taxes. People don't mind paying taxes on education but not if it's just to keep it on life support. Ridge has made WD-40 an internationally successful company with a clear philosophy — help people succeed, rather than waiting for them to fail. That's what drives the culture of WD-40, and it starts at the top.

Utah political leaders have always seen the importance of education and continue to pour more money to improve it, only to be thwarted by a bureaucracy that makes incremental changes when our world is changing exponentially. If money were the answer, you would think our schools would keep pace with change. Lawmakers do not lack critics offering them that one sure fix for education — class size, teacher pay, testing and more money. What we fail to see is our educational system is suffering from old age, unable to keep pace with change. The problem is structural and requires a change in culture. To continue spending tax dollars without changing the culture is to perpetuate mediocrity.

Four years ago higher education and K-12 administrators commissioned the "Utah Educator Supply and Demand Study" to find out why there was a teacher shortage, thinking more training and more money was the solution. However, we should have been listening to our teachers — the ones on the front line, who told it like it is, not the administrators or the unions. While they were concerned about the pay, the main reason teachers were leaving was because of the oppressive and stressful working conditions prevalent in schools, where they were subjected to unwarranted criticism and harassment from administrators, board members, parents, the public and legislators; and being required to teach by the numbers assembly-line style. It starts at the top and it's the mid-managers — the principals — who run the schools and translate the culture that leaders created: "Don't risk, follow the policy." They mark the teachers' paper.

The money lawmakers give to improve education will be wasted if they do nothing to change the system's culture. They should try the WD-40 CEO's philosophy — don't mark the teachers' paper, help them get an A.