Last week, on February 15, education professionals received a belated Valentine from the White House, an initiative called RESPECT, (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching), which would offer $5 billion in grant money to improve schools and raise teachers’ social capital in society.

It sounded pretty sweet, so I wanted to find out more.

On the U.S. Department of Education website, I found a transcript of Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s speech to teachers. Parts of it did sound like a love letter.

He said, “…teaching isn’t the Peace Corps. This is a profession—and teachers should be able to live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle and not have to take a vow of poverty.”

Amen, sir. Amen.

He added, “We will fight tirelessly to increase investments in public education. I believe this is the best investment our nation can make in itself—from expanded pre-K opportunities to K-12 reform to increased access to higher education.”

Shoot, sir. You had me at the whole vow of poverty thing.

And then, “No other profession carries a greater burden for securing America’s economic future. No other profession holds out more promise of opportunity to children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. And no other profession deserves more respect.”

Now I am just blushing.

But…how do I go about getting my respect? Because I am ready for it. That is where the whole thing became a bit more murky. Mr. Duncan alluded to collaborative processes, conversations, involvement. But he never told me HOW things are going to change.

He said, “We need a system for tracking our progress so we know whether children are learning and whether teachers are teaching.”

We sure do. What is your plan, Mr. Secretary?

“Teacher earnings should be tied more closely to performance on a range of indicators—rather than simply to longevity or credentials. We should compensate teachers who are willing to work in tough learning environments with the students who most need their help.”

Okay. How?

“We should provide teachers with greater autonomy in the classroom in exchange for greater accountability—and we need to build a shared understanding of what exactly that means.”

A shared understanding of what that means is exactly what I am seeking. And he went on to say, “Evaluation should include classroom observation, peer review, parent, and student feedback.”

But there is no meat on these bones. Go to http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/teachers-get-r-e-s-p-e-c-t and see for yourselves.

In my humble opinion, the essential question (and we teachers LOVE an essential question) is, “What makes a good teacher?”

I have had some roundtable discussions over the past few weeks to try to determine this myself. I have contemplated it here in this blog. I have ranted about it over low-fat dinners in inexpensive restaurants. I have queried every individual with whom I have ridden in a car. I have chattered about it on the phone. And what I have discovered is that I am no closer to a firm definition than is provided in Mr. Duncan’s speech.

Much of what I have discovered is that a good teacher, like a good man, is hard to find. Much of what makes a good teacher is hardly something I would like to see in a contract. A good teacher is selfless. A good teacher works beyond his/her required hours. A good teacher is always thinking about his/her classroom, even in what passes for his/her personal life. A good teacher dreams about school. Good teachers are often exhausted, hauling the dark circles and bags under their eyes from school to work and back again, with little respite.

I do NOT want to see a national initiative rewarding this kind of self-destructive behavior.

Good teachers are often people with good personalities. Students learn because they like their teachers. They go to class and listen out of respect for a personal connection. How will the government ever quantify that commodity?

Good teachers are smart. Good teachers are hard-working. Good teachers have routines and structures, but also spontaneity. They think well on their feet. They preserve their sense of humor. They see their students as individuals and accommodate their needs naturally, as a matter of course.

Even the best teacher would have a hard time putting these characteristics on a rubric and grading his/her peers accordingly.

Overall, I love the idea of respect for teachers. I am just not sure that even if the president could secure $5 billion, the best of us would ever be rewarded. In the meantime, I do agree with Mr. Duncan that we must keep talking and trying to understand this profession. I just continue to be wary of any initiative that appears before a common understanding has actually been reached.