Teacher Tenure
Trying to generate a conversation:
Why do elementary school teachers have tenure?
Why do they deserve a level of job security most other jobs lack?
Please post your comments below.
Here are links to articles that have been feeding my own thinking on the subject (although they largely deal with higher education, which is why I feel a discussion from an elementary teacher perspective would be interesting):
Stanley Fish Underestimates Academic Freedom (from Sept. 2008)
An Authoritative Word on Academic Freedom (from Nov. 2008)
Academic Freedom Is About The Task At Hand (from Dec. 2008)
The Klein Who Stole Tenure (hilarious)
It’s true that some principals grant tenure automatically – but that’s on them, not on us. Why should most of us be held on (what is essentially) extended probation because some principals do a poor job?
Jonathan
And according to the UFT’s FAQ on tenure:
To achieve permanent tenured status, you must fulfill certain conditions. You must be appointed, complete all your certification and licensing requirements, and must complete a probationary period with satisfactory service. The normal probationary period is three years, although this can be reduced with credit for prior service or extended if your principal has doubts about recommending you for tenure.
(emphasis mine)
But shouldn’t it be harder to get tenure? There’s a teacher at my school set to get it after this school year, and he is a horrible teacher. The principal doesn’t walk around the school so she doesn’t know what’s going on in his (or any) room; those of us in the same hall do, and we know the kinds of comments he makes about not doing what the district mandates or what’s best for kids. Either it should take longer to get it, or else there needs to be something to ensure teachers keep working hard after they get tenure. I’ve heard people say, “What are they gonna do, fire me?” It’s like communism: we all get the same pay, but some do a lot of work while others do almost nothing. It’s disturbing.
And, historically, because they were dismissed for things like getting married. Or, once school systems began allowing married teachers, for getting pregnant. Or for asking for more money.
The list goes on. But tenure at the elementary and secondary school levels is, at least in part, a response to arbitrary or poor-cause dismissals.
Jonathan
agreed – and maybe i am wrong – but i think ms. flecha is trying to ask a question beyond the literal “why do elementary school teachers have tenure.”
Because they were smart enough, a long time ago, to form a union and ask for some basic democratic rights in the workplace. One of those is the right not to not be fired without due process.