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Teachers are responsible for teaching, but students are responsible for learning. Tying a teacher's job evaluation and employment security so heavily to how students perform on test scores doesn't seem very fair, especially since there are a multitude of factors responsible for how students develop academically, such as parenting, socioeconomics, etc.
I don't agree with all of what Colorado is doing, but I hate tenure and would love to see it disappear completely. If you aren't performing then you should be replaced. Period.
Tenure = all you have to do is show up for three years, and you get lifelong job security.
We expect more than that from the students, why shouldn't we expect more from their teachers?
That is simply not true. YOu don't just 'show up' get tenure, at least in the three school districts I have worked for. You must get good evaluations and your test scores must be good...I have seen people NOT get tenure, yes, believe it or not. I'm sure there are some districts out there who maybe just let anyone through the tenure process but I doubt they are in the majority.
People need to understand (people who are not educators, because we understand it) that tenure is NOT a 'now you can do anything you want' free ticket. It is simply (or at least meant to be) security against nepotism and free will firing because some principal doesn't agree with your teaching methods or just doesn't like your personality. Without some form of security THAT would be rampant.
That is simply not true. YOu don't just 'show up' get tenure, at least in the three school districts I have worked for. You must get good evaluations and your test scores must be good...I have seen people NOT get tenure, yes, believe it or not. I'm sure there are some districts out there who maybe just let anyone through the tenure process but I doubt they are in the majority.
People need to understand (people who are not educators, because we understand it) that tenure is NOT a 'now you can do anything you want' free ticket. It is simply (or at least meant to be) security against nepotism and free will firing because some principal doesn't agree with your teaching methods or just doesn't like your personality. Without some form of security THAT would be rampant.
That describes the rest of the working world, and yet somehow-gasp!-the rest of the working world manages to get by pretty fine. Why should teachers get special protection? The sanctimonious attitude of teachers who think they are above everyone else is nauseating.
The article in question expressly states that the ONLY requirement in Colorado for tenure (and in many other states) is that the teacher make it to their three-year anniversary.
I repeat again: We have higher standards than that for the students, teachers should meet higher standards too.
It is simply (or at least meant to be) security against nepotism and free will firing because some principal doesn't agree with your teaching methods or just doesn't like your personality. Without some form of security THAT would be rampant.
You mean like the rest of us in the private sector face everyday? Yeah we can't have that.
That is simply not true. YOu don't just 'show up' get tenure, at least in the three school districts I have worked for. You must get good evaluations and your test scores must be good...I have seen people NOT get tenure, yes, believe it or not. I'm sure there are some districts out there who maybe just let anyone through the tenure process but I doubt they are in the majority.
People need to understand (people who are not educators, because we understand it) that tenure is NOT a 'now you can do anything you want' free ticket. It is simply (or at least meant to be) security against nepotism and free will firing because some principal doesn't agree with your teaching methods or just doesn't like your personality. Without some form of security THAT would be rampant.
I am an educator. And, while it may take some work to get tenure, you can become that teacher who does nothing afterwards and cannot be fired. I work in an award-winning school district, for a principal who is, frankly, amazing. Yet, we still have those 3-4 teachers who are AWFUL that cannot be canned because they have been "teachers" for 20 years. However, they don't make racial slurs, deal drugs, or molest kids so they are pretty much safe. While I do not believe that this is running rampant and there are usually only a few bad apples, those bad apples have access to children and poison the workplace. It would only take firing a few and then the others would fall in line.
The defense that people would be fired because of "personality" is ludicrous. Yes, perhaps that would happen RARELY, but that is the risk that is taken in every other aspect of the business world. Somehow, the cream still manages to rise to the top. And, schools would still have to justify and document their reasons for termination just like a manager at a business must document their reasons in order to avoid a law suit. The benefit far outweighs the risk in this case. If there is such a personality conflict as to create a terrible working relationship, chances are the students and teacher would be better off if the teacher chose to move to another school, which is what normally happens now if a teacher has a bad relationship with a superior.
Bottom line is if you are good teacher and team player who understands that your boss is your boss, then tenure finally going away would not hurt you in the slightest. It would give good administrators the ability to build healthy schools without having to work around lazy teachers. Also, it means that those same administrators could be canned if their school starts to tank.
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