He got part of it right.

Bill Gates has suddenly become an educational expert. This article on edweek.org talks about Bill's view on educational reform. I think this is another example of business leaders getting it wrong. He talks about merit pay and the effects of compensation on teacher quality. As we are just now learning from Alfie Kohn, Rewards and Punishments are two sides of the same coin. As this applies to teachers, Bill would manipulate teachers into being better by paying them to succeed. I know I have talked about this before but what these business leaders don't realize is that unlike them many, many people are not motivated by money. And as the research, noted in this article and by Mr. Kohn, shows, that this does not work. The intrinsic drive of most teachers is to affect change in their students lives. I propose that if you make sure that teachers don't have to worry about their lives or the lives of their students outside of the classroom by making sure both get the resources they deserve, we will see great improvement in the educational system. I do think that Bill got part if right when he said that making short term, one-time cuts will hurt students academically. So let us now focus on a long term solution that will benefit everyone.