Gov. Terry Branstad made headlines Tuesday following an announcement that teachers would be rewarded through a new pay plan that caters to the “best” teachers in Iowa.

The so-called merit plan works to recognize teachers based upon judgments made by certain state standards and an appointed panel. In addition, the proposal would enact a pay plan to reward faculty at schools that have shown significant improvement in students’ work.

Branstad says his ultimate goal is education reform, and that the issue should center on upgrading the quality of teaching in Iowa.

Upgrading the quality of teaching in Iowa in an effort to boost output?

This is the same sort of policy that corporations implement in order to increase productivity on assembly lines. It is also the sort of tactic used by sales managers to motivate their representatives in an effort to increase sales. More pressure on the sales representative equals more sales. Branstad’s plan is based on the idea that more pressure on the educator will result in better-educated children.

This vision of improving our already over-burdened school system fails because of the notion that educating young people is somehow like selling a product. Of course, Branstad must know that teachers are presently under enough pressure without imposing quality quotas.

So why is he rushing to embrace a plan based on the idea that children’s education is similar to an assembly line product?

It appears that educators are Branstad’s latest scapegoats.

Students’ test scores are falling in Iowa so Branstad needs someone to blame. Why is it that Branstad, a strong advocate of family values, ignores the responsibility of parents by placing all of the burden on teachers’ shoulders? It’s like trying to put a tiny bandage on a very large wound.

Other aspects of the plan are also problematic. Major points include setting new standards for teacher preparation programs, requiring teaching program graduates to pass competency tests, and demanding that new teachers be monitored through an internship.

But lawmakers, who have been butting heads with Branstad since he vetoed most of their initial school reform effort, aren’t as confident in the governor’s proposal.

House Majority Leader Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, said the proposal may be too big and complicated for the Iowa legislature to tackle during this month’s special session.

Let’s hope that this proposal falls by the wayside.

Branstad seems to have forgotten that every time an occupation becomes output-based, the quality is decreased.