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Stephanie Strong Meagan Keaton English 112 27 April 2013 Tenure and Reform Tenure has been prevalent in our educational system since the early 1900s. Originally, tenure was made to protect teachers from being fired for issues such as pregnancy, marriage, race, religion and even wearing pants. It has since changed, has taken on new ideas and implications and has evolved into a completely different concept. The aspects of tenure vary from state to state and they all have their own procedure for carrying out tenure but generally speaking, tenure is securing a teachers job and protecting them from being fired due to student test scores and success rates. Not only does tenure affect teachers but it affects schools, students and our entire educational system in the U.S. Some would argue that tenure is effective and I agree. Tenure, as everything in life, has its benefits and its weaknesses. Tenure is not something that the school system should do away with completely but the need for reform is apparent and obvious. As much as tenure has grown since its birth, it still has some maturing to do. There are issues of the dance of lemons, teachers taking advantage of their privileges, it supports mediocre teaching effectiveness with maximum benefits and it removes all motivation for selfimprovement among our educational leaders. In this paper, I will present reasons why tenure is not working and supporting evidence. I will also show ways that it is beneficial and propose ways of compromise that help find common ground and work towards a resolve.

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The biggest issue with tenure right now is that it offers teachers unconditional job security. The quality and effectiveness of their teaching is overlooked and they make over double what the average teacher makes. The Teach for America alumna, who oversees some 50,000 students and 5,000 teachers, has sparked controversy in the capital by proposing a new contract allowing teachers to earn as much as $130,000 a year if they forgo their tenure rights (a teacher's salary, on average, is less than $48,000; most start out making $32,000). (Stephey) Students are greatly affected by a teacher who only puts out mediocrity in the classroom. A tenured teacher in many instances, does not lose their job regardless mainly because of the high cost it entails to relieve them. To fire a tenured teacher requires thousands of dollars and is not something that takes place over night. It is a lengthy process which involves the union, the school board, the principle and the judicial system. (Stephey) Although punishments for unacceptable behavior by tenured teachers vary statewide and each educational institution has their own forms of punishment, wherever you go, they do not seem to be harsh enough. For example, a tenured teacher in the Newark school district brought a young girl in front of her class, called her a liar and said I am going to kick youre a --, bi--- right before she proceeded to punch her in the chest. The teacher was not fired but instead bribed into resignation. The teacher was given 9 months of pay and money for unused vacation time and sick days. They also agreed to keep quiet to future employers about the reason for her dismissal. (The Union Protects Bad Teachers). It seems that tenured teachers are let off the hook more often than being held accountable for their actions. Rather than firing teachers or dismissing them with pay, they are also added to the dance of lemons. This is also referred to as the turkey trot or passing the trash. This is where schools pass around their bad seeds to other schools. These teachers could have been convicted

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of crimes or possibly have done ethically questionable things in the classroom. The teachers union has made this a very realistic and unfortunate process. The union is very powerful and works to protect teachers and their jobs despite wrongdoings through rigid contracts and negotiations. Even if a teacher has been temporarily dismissed or even if a teacher has been jailed for crimes committed in the classroom they are given pay and benefits. This can consequently severely affect a poverty stricken school. The dance of lemons allows schools to avoid the high costs of firing and avoid scrutiny from these unions. School districts have apparent changes that need to be made and proposals for change have been suggested but while the teachers union protects poor educators it also provides necessary benefits to quality teachers who are doing their job and people do not want that power to be affected in the ridding the educational system of the dance of lemons entirely. While tenure protects teachers that may not be producing quality results which are reflected through their students academics, it also allows for quality teachers to implement new teaching methods in the classroom. Tenure allows teachers to come up with new ways of enhancing curriculum through teaching styles. Teachers gain more academic freedom with the achievement of tenure and can introduce new books that stray from lesson plans and required course material which can, in many ways, benefit the students. (Wolpert-Gawron). It is also important to remember that tenure was created to protect teachers from being fired simply because their students are not producing quality test scores. [Teaching] is a very visible job, science teacher Carl Babb said. Its a job thats up for a lot of judgment of the community, the judgment of the school board [and] the judgment of the all kinds of people. And so for that reason, its different from other types of jobs. Corporate America doesnt go through this.

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(Tenure: Pros and Cons) Teachers are put under great scrutiny and are often times deemed incompetent as teachers if their students do not succeed. Tenure has also removed all extrinsic motivation for teachers to obtain self-improvement. After two years of teaching, one can be awarded tenure. Tenure should be earned through hard work no sooner than after a teacher proves their dedication to enriching the lives of children. The proof of effectiveness in the classroom and the ability to adequately improve the educational value of children and youth should be the guidelines when deciding who receives tenure. There are teachers that may be able to do this within two years but the majority of teachers do not walk into schools equipped with all of the necessary knowledge needed to be effective. It is a process, that can often times last a lifetime and takes time, experience, introspection and careful selfcriticism. The bottom line is this: Tenure should be a precious thing. There should be a process to receive it. It shouldn't be granted just because you made it through the first two years without offending anyone. (Wolpert-Gawron) Some of the best teachers have also decided that tenure is not supporting that educational system, students or teachers the way that it should be. Many teachers and professors believe that tenure has given them a bad reputation. People have decided that teachers are lazy and entitled. If tenure took a longer period of time to obtain teachers feel that it would then be earned rather then handed to them. To have so many benefits handed to them all at one time with minimal effort for achievement makes it hard for people to believe that the teachers receiving tenure are in fact worthy and are capable of using tenure to advantage not only themselves but more importantly, the students. Time frame is not the only problem. We also need reform in the way we rate teachers efficiency. Judging a teacher alone on test scores and student success rates does not

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always reflect on the teachers ability to teach. Often times, students produce poor grades due to issues at home, personal issues or just adolescent defiance. Making the process so difficult to fire an incompetent teacher does not prove protection for teacher rights but provides a lifetime job guarantee despite minimal efforts by teachers and professors to actually produce quality and effective teaching methods to students. Tenure should protect teachers from certain scrutinies but more importantly, it should also protect students as well. Weisberg says a report they released in July called The Irreplaceables, which examined how high turnover among teachers is only a problem if the teachers leaving are high achievers, and other TNTP surveys prove that there are many teachers languishing in their jobs. (Kloberdanz) While tenure does need to have an understanding amount of changes made, it would not necessarily be effective to completely abolish the concept. Abolishing tenure does not address problems of underfunding, overcrowding or improving students' home environments. (Stephey) Tenure has allowed for criticisms in the classroom and at schools to be brought to light and allows for improvements in many different forms. President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have said the country needs teacher reform. (Parker) A lot of states have been considering changing the amount of time it takes to receive tenure; some have recommended that tenure be granted accordingly after looking at teacher effectiveness data. The Center for American Progress report also called for the federal government to fund research that would investigate how effective different teacher tenure policies are at raising teacher quality and student achievement. (Kloberdanz) Teacher dedication and qualifications should be in direct relation with tenure. Only the best of the best should be

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allowed tenure; those teachers that can not only positively influence students but other teachers as well. Someone needs to set the standard and anything less should be unacceptable. In the private sector if you dont produce quality results in the workforce, you are fired. The same should hold true in the educational system. Whether or not teachers should receive tenure relies on the benefits of tenure and the teachers individual effectiveness but compromise can be made by acknowledging that tenure needs reform. There are people taking necessary actions to fulfill the need for tenure reform. Dan Wiesburg, the Vice President of TNTP (The New Teacher Project) has made changing the rights of tenure a major goal of his. The Colorado tenure bill is proof that change is possible. This bill has extended the amount of time it takes a teacher to obtain tenure and removes the fact that tenure is a lifelong job guarantee. There are people out there working on getting things done. The community, teachers, unions, school boards and schools all need to come together to come up with a plan that will be the best for students and teachers and education as a whole.

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Works Cited 1. Stephey, M.J. "A Brief History of Tenure - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Magazine, 17 Nov. 2008.

Web. 29 Mar. 2013. <http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1859505,00.html>. 2. Wolpert-Gowron, Heather. "The Truth About Teacher Tenure | Edutopia." Edutopia | K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies that Work. Edeutopia, 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. <http://www.edutopia.org/teacher-tenure-debate>. 3. Strauss, Valerie. "The Answer Sheet - The myth of teacher tenure ." Blogs & Columns, Blog Directory - The Washington Post. Washington Post, 13 July 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/teachers/the-myth-of-teacher-tenure.html>.

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4. Strauss, Valerie. "The Answer Sheet - The myth of teacher tenure ." Blogs & Columns, Blog Directory - The Washington Post. Washington Post, 13 July 2010. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. <http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/teachers/the-myth-of-teacher-tenure.html>. Preparing teachers: building evidence for sound policy. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2010. Print. 5. Kloberdanz, Kristin. "The Push for Tenure ReformNot Tenure Elimination." News & Lifestyle Coverage on Important Topics Like Food, Environment, Social Justice, Animal Rights, Education & Health | TakePart . N.p., 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/11/15/teacher-tenure-reform-not-tenure-elimination>. 6. Chen, Grace. "Teachers and Tenure: Both Sides of the Heated Debate | PublicSchoolReview.com." Profiles of USA Public Schools | PublicSchoolReview.com. N.p., 3 Mar. 2010. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/200>.