Take a Breath, You Finally Have Tenure
June 29, 2009
Teaching has its rewards. Summers off, seeing a light going on in a fifth grader's eyes and knowing that tenure will allow you to keep your job for the rest of your life. While not all school districts offer tenure, good teachers are granted permanent job security after a few years on the job. What's a better reward for a job well done than knowing you'll always have yours?
But perpetual job security has its risks. Tenure allows bad apples to stick around. In New York City, for example, educators can only be fired through a lengthy legal process. Kids get stuck with burned out teachers who are clocking hours until retirement. Talented rookies, meanwhile, are assigned the most difficult classrooms where they burn out. And when a principal has a staff stacked with tenured positions, she can't attract new talent and innovative ideas.
But teachers insist tenure is vital. A teacher with job security knows that if she has her students read a controversial book, supports the wrong school board candidate or fails the star of the football team the night before the big game so he can't play, she won't lose her job.
Teachers aren't the only beneficiaries. A kid knows that when he gets to sixth grade, he'll get to have Mr. Jones, the cool science teacher that his older brother raved about. Mr. Jones' students benefit from learning from a seasoned educator who is secure in his job and free to teach as he sees fit.
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