Tenure
Unions fighting a phony ‘war on teachers’
October 19, 2010 Filed in:
Unions
Eric Hanushek, Thoughts on Public Education
So we are seeing not a war
on teachers, but a war on the blunt and detrimental policies of
teachers unions. If unions continue not to represent the vast
numbers of highly effective teachers, but instead to lump them in
with the ineffective teachers, they will continue doing a
disservice to students, to most of their own members, and to the
nation...The bottom line is that focusing on effective teachers
cannot be taken as a liberal or conservative position. It’s time
for the unions to drop their polemics and stop propping up the
bottom...
Even with tenure, teachers – good and bad – can be let go
October 12, 2010 Filed in:
Accountabiliy | Unions
Column: Carol Veravanich, The Orange County
Register I have
some questions for you. ... Do you understand that tenure is
something unique to your profession and not practiced in private
industry? Do you understand that in private industry, companies may
choose to eliminate more experienced (and higher paid) employees
just to stay in business? If you understand even some of this, then
why should teaches be considered special and be protected by
"tenure" just because they have seniority? I think a better policy
for education is to treat it more like private industry and get rid
of any employees – regardless of "tenure" – that are not doing
their job well. This policy would make all teachers
accountable...
Time to reform teacher tenure
June 03, 2010 Filed in: Unions
Column: Ben Boychuk, The Orange County
Register SB955
would move California toward a more rational layoff policy and set
the foundation for a performance-based evaluation system. With
several more difficult state budget years likely, principals and
superintendents need concrete performance criteria for deciding who
gets a pink slip. Teachers should be paid for performance. A
merit-pay system that rewards the best while encouraging the worst
to find another line of work is a necessary reform. The current
system is about preserving union jobs, not giving kids the best
possible education.
Teacher columnist receives final layoff notice
May 19, 2010 Filed in: Unions
Carol Veravanich, The Orange County Register
I am responding to your
writer who "wonders how they [those who criticize teachers] would
do spending one week in the classroom." I taught for nine years
then moved to the private sector, where I worked for the next 28
years. I mean no disrespect when I state that teaching is far
easier. I also wonder: Do educators really understand how their
benefits compare to the private sector? We could start with tenure
and continue with health benefits, vacation and sick pay, and
contracted work days. Perhaps you should dedicate a column to this
subject…
Teachers surveyed agree: end ‘quality-blind’ layoffs
March 07, 2010 Filed in: Unions
John Festerwald, The Educated Guess
Civil rights attorneys
aren’t the only ones opposed to a teacher layoff system based
strictly on seniority. Teachers themselves apparently aren’t crazy
about it either.
“A Smarter Teacher Layoff System” – a report this month by
The New Teacher Project –
included a survey of 9,000
teachers in two unnamed urban districts. Seventy percent of
teachers in one district and 77 percent of teachers in the other,
including most of tenured teachers, said that factors other
than just seniority should be considered in a layoff…
Landmark ruling on teacher layoffs
May 14, 2010 Filed in: Litigation | Unions
Column: John Festerwald, The Educated Guess
- A Superior Court judge
has served notice to school districts statewide that the seniority
rights of teachers do not trump the fundamental right of students
to an equal opportunity for a good education. Los Angeles Superior
Court Judge William Highberger issued a preliminary injunction
Wednesday preventing any teacher layoffs for budgetary reasons at
three Los Angeles Unified middle schools where large numbers of
teachers have been given pink slips…
Teachers union tells Steinberg to halt education cuts
May 18, 2010 Filed in: Unions
Susan Ferriss, The Sacramento Bee
A fresh billboard heading
into Sacramento
off Interstate 5 showcases
the California
Teachers Association's dissatisfaction with a chief ally in
the state Capitol: Senate President Pro Tem Darrell
Steinberg. "Dear Senator
Steinberg,"
reads the pink billboard, which appeared over the weekend. "Stop
the blame. Stop the cuts." The state's largest teachers union is
also launching a direct-mail campaign to exert pressure on
Steinberg as he gears up for negotiations with Gov.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger and other legislators over how to
address the state's $19.1 billion budget
deficit...