GET RID OF TENURE!!!!
I realize that I suggested not complaining, but some is bound to occur.
I find it interesting that the year I was granted tenure was the same year that I was laid off. Although I enjoy irony, this particular case was personal. It was at this time that I discovered what I loathed most about our education system. It wasn’t just that teachers could not be saved during economic hardship, but that the teachers who could not be saved were more likely to be those teachers with fresh ideas and the most recent educational research regarding what works and what does not. Not to mention the energy and love of their subject that the students could grasp on to. What, then, was it that tenure did for teachers? Was it just a tool to keep old ideals in place? Old teaching methods that were failing our students more and more often? Personally, I would rather have my teaching abilities determine my place in the school system through accountability than the ancient belief that those who came first are safe, no matter how poor an instructor they may be.
Tenure can be used as a tool to get away with no longer caring for one’s craft. Imagine you bought a house, and because the house had been inspected years ago, there was no need for another. Perhaps you move in to your new home and find that what was once a perfectly working roof had become a leaking nightmare. What then? Can you, the student, do anything but try to cope with your new issue? Must you try to figure out a way to change your own habits to fix the problem? This is what students must do; either change their habits and conform to the new way of learning, or choose not to change and fail.
And that is where the real pain comes to play. I feel for those students who will not benefit from the newly educated, highly motivated, eager teachers. I feel for them and fear for them. And really, you should too. Because it isn’t just our jobs that are gone, but soon, as we will see in this next generation, the desire to learn and challenge themselves will also evaporate due to the need to conform to those old-school method teachers in today and tomorrow’s education system.
I too share your frustration and have been RIF'd twice (thank goodness my job was saved both times). But, I don't know that totally getting rid of tenure is a good thing. You also seem to be a fan of more administrators. In my district and in my experience most (not all) admins left the classroom because they didn't like it or couldn't handle it. They do not visit classrooms because they are lazy, not because they don't have time. I have stood up to my principal when I think she is wrong and when I think those choices negatively impact the kids. Without tenure, teachers are not as protected and not as free to speak their minds. I know it's not a perfect system, but I'm not ready to throw it out until we figure out an effective way to evaluate teaching (not test scores) or until we find an effective way to do the same with administrators.
ReplyDeleteWow, that was a lot. But what do you expect-I'm a teacher, I have a lot of opinions.
The administrators then, are a part of the problem (imagine that!) and their responsibilities also need to be outlined. Much like the standards teachers have to cover, Administrators should have the same type of list of duties.
ReplyDeleteSince I am not an administrator, I cannot make that list. But, you know there are people that can and should.
I'm not saying that teachers should not be protected, but that the way they are now is wrong. The teachers need more guidance and help in their first five years than they get and should have the opportunity to better themselves before getting fired. In no way do I think that everyone else should be the ones who decide who stays and who goes. The teacher should have some say and some grace period to better their performance.