Making "Tenure" a Bad Word Helped Steal "Due Process!"

If you say something enough times, most people will believe it.

Not only will they believe it, but they will embrace it, passionately.

They will, foolishly, repeat, word for word or  improvise with their own words of wisdom, every bit of nonsense they have heard from "them." They will own it.

And there begins the story of how "tenure" became a bad word. Tenure became something evil that "those lazy, 3 months off, every holiday, 4 hours of prep(I actually read this in a comment),horrible, horrible, teachers", are using to keep their jobs!

That's the mantra, right?

Tenure is due process, period. It gives teachers the right not to have their jobs arbitrarily taken from them, period. Anyone see anything wrong with that? Apparently the Vergara Verdict leads me to believe many did.

Obviously, many people agree. The duped public, the "ed-reformers" aka "get rid of unions so that we can take over the schools and make tons of money", the faux celebrity "educators"
( e.g Michelle Rhee), duped journalists, (e.g. Roland Martin), did I mention the duped public?

"Is this the end of the powerful teachers' union?" Direct quote from the reporter on CNN.

Why were unions originally established? To gather together the employees of a workplace in order to provide power in numbers. What happens when you take away the union? StudentsFirst, StudentsMatter, Pearson, etc..., realized that there are billions of dollars in education. And who is standing in their way?

I was listening to my favorite radio station the day of the verdict. They had Dr.Stephen Perry, apparently America's most trusted educator, discussing why the verdict was a good thing. He reiterated the same words spoken by all others. "Tenure is bad. Horrible teachers keep their jobs. Children of color suffer with these bad teachers we can't get rid of." I wonder what Mr.Perry's thoughts are on neighborhood schools being torn down because of test scores? What does he think of amazing veteran teachers being removed from their jobs and being replaced with Teach for America teachers? (But I digress.)

Yes, there are "bad" teachers, but tenure is not to protect the "bad" ones, it's to protect the good ones.

One statement made by Tom Joyner, the DJ, that really stood out for me is this, "If you are an effective, (define effective), teacher, you don't need tenure." Grrrrr.....

Can anyone one say ageism,( TFA teachers are taking over schools all over the country), nepotism, "can't be molded"ism, or just plain old "I don't like you"ism? Does he really believe that if I am a great teacher, I can't get fired if I don't have protection?

I texted and tweeted him asking for a response to the trial  from an actual educator. You know, the ones that actually work in the classroom, under intense pressure, with no accountability expected from anyone but the teacher, but I received no response.

"United they stand, divided they fall!" Teachers complain about their union, but imagine if you did not have one? Ask those teachers who work in non-unionized charter schools. Make your union work for you. Join an organization that fights for a teachers' right to be respected. Write, email, and/or call the politicians that represent you,  especially President Obama, who has ignored us since he was reelected.

The union is appealing the verdict, but it has happened in California, and now they will come for your tenure as well!

Seniority Has No Privileges:Eliminating Teacher Tenure!

I've always equated age with wisdom, thus, leading me to believe that a veteran teacher has a lot to offer.

Of course, there are older teachers who refuse to change. They are teaching the way they used to be taught, and see the changes in education as
just another phase.  But there are a number of older teachers, myself included, who have changed, and shouldn't be thought of as someone who should be put out to pasture.

In the past few years, tenure has been under attack. When tenure is attacked, many veteran teachers fall victim. This article about tenure explains what tenure really is. Tenure is not a way to keep "bad" teachers in the classroom. That is a myth. Tenure is a way to make sure teachers receive due process. Unfortunately, this process is being taken away from teachers.

Two instances stand out for me. North Carolina is being battered.  They are a right-to-work state, they are suffering from pay cuts, and tenure has been removed. "Teacher tenure has been replaced by a merit-based system that rewards long-term contracts to the top 25 percent of teachers, and shorter contracts to everyone else."  When I asked the question regarding the criteria for the top 25%, one of my Facebook followers said that there is no criteria. Are you as scared as I am? I'm thinking of two ways off the top of my head that a teacher can be placed in the top 25%.  Test scores or your daddy is a good friend of an administrator. Can you say cheating scandal and/or nepotism? Cases like these, those who are really the top 25% wouldn't benefit.

In California, there is a lawsuit against tenure by students, and a Silicon valley mogul. This mogul set up a nonprofit group called StudentsMatter. The students say it is too easy to keep "bad" teachers because of tenure. Of course there are "bad" teachers. But does this mean you should strip away a process that benefits "good" teachers? They are also worried about seniority rules which allows the newest teachers to be fired, even if their performance is adequate. Of course, how teachers should be evaluated, is not part of this lawsuit.

There are many groups that have been formed to "get" teachers. It's unbelievable that a profession where the majority of its employees work hard, and go above and beyond for their students, are so reviled. StudentsMatter and other groups are already talking to people in other states about lawsuits to eliminate tenure. Think about it, if you were trying to destroy public education, and replace them with money-making charter schools,would you want unionized employees?

 If they win the lawsuit in California, watch out! No tenure and/or seniority may be coming to a district near you!