Teacher Tenure
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Last updated on: 7/27/2011 9:39:57 AM PST

Should teachers get tenure?

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PRO (yes) Comments (6)

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  • -8 +8 -16 Mary Todd Jun. 23, 2012
    "Having worked for a prejudiced principal who happened to have no principles, I would never have made it past three years without tenure. She would have fired every white teacher and hired only those of color as the came to apply. She harrassed white teachers to noend, and left non-white teachers alone when they were doing a terrible job.
    She eventually retired jjust as she was getting investigated for embezzlement. In anothher case, as long as you uwere HIspanic, you got the jjob. Or if you carried a Bible into the interview with you you were hired over other people who were greatly qualified, had experience, but were African. Until administrators are held accountable by teachers and are fireable, then teachers need tenure."
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    • +3 +3 0 Beeg Sep. 7, 2012
      "Welcome to the real world. There are bad bosses and there are good bosses. I had to deal with bad bosses myself and decided to quit. Why do teachers get preferred treatments just because you are a teacher?"
  • -8 +7 -15 Mark Heinig, Jr. Jun. 22, 2012
    "Tenure has never been about teacher quality. It's about offering teachers job security as an inducement to remain in a poorly paid profession. Any state can retain effective teachers without tenure by paying them as much as people in other professions requiring a college education. (That means higher taxes.)

    A tenure contract is not unbreakable. I'm a retired principal, and I have done it. It simply requires a valid reason, administrators willing to do the extra work to build a strong case and school board members willing to risk the possibility of a negative community reaction. Most poor teachers aren't offered tenure in the first place!

    The real problem isn't teachers; it's money. We offer our youth the cheapest education that money can buy! We've been doing that for decades. Other countries don't. It keeps taxes low, and that's politically expedient. The importance of a well-educated work force to our prosperity grows every year.

    What's happening now is that we're getting what we paid for! If we abolish tenure the problem will be even worse. We've always paid our teachers poorly, substituting job security for dollars. What happens if we provide neither?"
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    • 0 +1 -1 BIFF Jul. 10, 2012
      "my kid's teacher has a guaranteed job and cannot be fired and makes a salary of $60,000 per yr with an elementary education degree !. Add in the guaranteed retirement, sick days, free health care and it is around $100,000 per year for a job that is 180 days and 6 1/2 hour days ! make me laugh you need to come see how teachers live. They are living far better than me with my B.A. in Business MGT. GO CRY ME A RIVER ! THIS IS A PART TIME JOB !! AND GUESS WHAT THE CIRRICULUM HAS NOT CHANGED IN 30 YEARS AND WE KEEP FALLING FARTHER BEHIND OTHER COUNTRIES THAT TAKE IT FAR MORE SERIOUSLY !"
  • -9 +6 -15 greg Feb. 14, 2012
    "yes BUT with performance bonuses or raises. So tenure with mediocre performance gets no raise. AND demonstrable intentional deplorable performance can result in a firing if it can be shown the teacher is antagonistic to most students."
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    • 0 0 0 Jason Feb. 29, 2012
      "Are we okay with mediocre performance? Does a teacher need to be openly antagonistic to be fired? No, education is too important to waste on people that do not care to work for there jobs. If tenure was removed, good teachers would still be good teachers, and they would still have job security. The only change would be to the teachers that are mediocre and bad. Why should we settle for mediocre teachers when they can be replaced with GOOD teachers."
  • -10 +7 -17 debbie jenkins Nov. 30, 2011
    "until organized sports are removed from schools, it will be necessary to protect the non-coaching teachers jobs from being replaced by coaches."
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    • +1 +1 0 jon Apr. 28, 2012
      "schools in new york the budget for sports and arts is almost non existent because of the teaching staff and there need for more benefits every year"
  • -11 +4 -15 Edgar Flores Mar. 22, 2012
    "The good thing about it help the good teacher know they being successful and they should follow this more because they can justify which teacher belong there and help them know which teacher is having success also it show the teacher care about the student"
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  • -11 +15 -26 Kevin Jul. 28, 2011
    "Most of the states who are at the BOTTOM of student achievement have no teacher tenure because they don't have collective bargaining. So the argument that tenure destroys education is ridiculous. Finland is ranked #1 and they have 98 percent union. Teacher tenure is not the problem with public school education. If you hear about the US ranking behind all these other countries, keep in mind that the US would be ranked #1 in the world if you didn't count the lowest 10 percent.( the average teacher salary in Korea is higher than the average teacher salary in the US) Florida does not have teacher tenure. It isn't that difficult to get rid of bad teachers. The real problem is that if you 50 percent of your new teachers quitting in the first 5 years, you are constantly replacing QUALITY teachers. There was a time when pregnant teachers were sent home as soon as they were showing. Or, in some places if you didn't go to the right church or if you were gay you went first. Michelle Rhee taught for 3 years. You wouldn't ask a pilot or a doctor with just 3 years experience to solve a serious problem.. They would have no credibility. And, MANY of the claims Rhee makes don't seem to withstand any scrutiny at all."
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    • +4 +4 0 Brayden May. 2, 2012
      "Finland is not america, my good sir"
    • +2 +2 0 jon Apr. 28, 2012
      "if you cant do your job inside and out in 3 years you are worthless and dont deserve said job teachers need to be treated this way because they need to be pushed just as hard as students to strive for better"
    • 0 0 0 Scottie L Jan. 9, 2013
      ""In ten years, only about 47 out of 100,000 teachers were actually terminated from New Jersey's schools. Original research conducted by the Center for Union Facts (CUF) confirms that almost no one ever gets fired in Newark, New Jersey's largest school district, no matter how bad. Over four recent years, CUF discovered, Newark's school district successfully fired about one out of every 3,000 tenured teachers annually. Graduation statistics indicate that the district needs much stronger medicine: Between the 2001-2002 and the 2004-2005 school years, Newark's graduation rate (not counting the diplomas "earned" through New Jersey's laughable remedial exam) was a mere 30.6 percent. I'm sorry what were you saying? Sir, the school system fails more than you think, look up the facts."

CON (no) Comments (26)


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  • +46 +55 -9 Mark Grimm Jul. 28, 2011
    "Tenure's fundamental flaw is that it puts job security ahead of student achievement. While there are many great teachers, the tenure system protects poor ones and we cannot afford to "waste a year" of a kid's schooling. However, leaving teachers' job security up to the whims of administrators and politicians is unacceptable, too. We need to replace tenure with a fair system of evaluation that includes input from fellow teachers, supervisors, and most especially, parents."
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    • -1 0 -1 greg Feb. 14, 2012
      "Local parents must demand their legal right to influence and determine the employment fate of teachers, the curiculuum and text books. The Fed must stop bribing and black-mailing our states using our money to entice our legislators."
  • +18 +28 -10 DKDAy Jul. 28, 2011
    "Tenure has too many negatives. Bad teachers get retained too often while good ones without tenure are let go. What is wrong with treating a teaching position like any other work place job? As long as you're the best for the job you get to keep it. Your customer or product may change but if you remain the best, you retain the right to the job."
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    • 0 0 0 matt Apr. 30, 2013
      "it's not bad teachers. Don't blame idiocy on teachers. Most children now adays are raised by failure parents. Raise your own kids ya lazy bums."
  • +11 +22 -11 Falcon Jul. 28, 2011
    "I fail to see what is so unique about teachers that their actions and performance are virtually unassailable by superiors and the public who pay their salaries. Tenure is worse than the actions that are feared. We can easily have a system that checks the unwarranted actions of administrators.

    At the same time I would say that it is not entirely fair to hold teachers solely responsible for students performance. Parents and the students themselves must bear their appropriate share. In the interim, until that knotty problem is solved, we should resurrect tracks in teaching so that less prepared, less talented, or less motivated studetns do not interfere with education. The notion that there is only one level of learning is demonstrably untrue. Mainstreaming is a fine social goal, but it is not conducive to the best educational performance."
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  • +8 +18 -10 Steven Oct. 27, 2011
    "Tenure eliminates the need for humanity's most fundamental driving force that motivates self improvement. That force is competition, when a teacher has no fear of being fired in favor of a teacher of superior caliber, they will see no need to improve their ways, or the need to act professional in their work environment. Many years I have dealt with such unmotivated teachers who make a minimalist effort to assist classes I have attended or accommodate and help me overcome my learning disabilities. This has forced me to pick myself up and find a way to manage after the culture shock and mental shock of not being prepared enough for my essential classes of writing and arithmetic in college. And like many who have worded it in other ways, why fear being fired when you know you are the best at what you do? You only need such compensation if your aware you have some form of inadequacy that would get you fired. it is easily mitigated by a constant strive for self improvement through the need to be better then the potential teacher on the street looking for your job position, just like any other form of employment competition."
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  • +3 +6 -3 Jim Sep. 17, 2012
    "Can anyone tell me why a teacher can have a job for life after 3 to & years and no one in this world can but them . What so hard about what thay do the harder then Police, Fire fighters, doctors Ect . Most jobs you have to work 20 to 30 years to get what the teachers get in too short of a time."
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  • +3 +14 -11 Meghan Dec. 2, 2011
    "Tenure is pure stupidity. It is basically giving a teacher a reason to slack off and still get paid. For any other job, if you were doing poorly, you get fired. Plain, simple, and how it should be. I am in highschool and I have encountered teachers who simply do not care to put effort into their work. Telling us to read a textbook and fill out a worksheet isn't teaching. Bad teachers don't deserve tenure because they don't perform well at their job. Good teachers don't need it because their good performance will keep them with a secure job. It's a win win situation; bad teachers go bye bye and good teachers stay."
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  • +2 +4 -2 Kristy Dec. 2, 2012
    "I DO NOT agree with teachers getting tenure! Do any other employees get tenure? An employee at AFLAC, BCBS, Walmart or Target can't get it so why should a teacher? What so they can do a GOOD job for a few years and be protected?? I think tenure is absolutely LUDACRIS!! I have 3 kids in the public school system and a teacher that my child has had this past year is protected by tenure and the school has nothing, but complaints from parents. She is not a good teacher, but she is protected. I think there is too many people looking for jobs and if the teacher is not willing to do a GOOD job EVERY YEAR, then there will always be a good one looking for one! I actually think EVERY PARENT should be able to rate the teacher in a survey at the end of the year that goes straight to the Professional Standards Committe and the school should also have to report EVERY parent Complaint about the teacher to the professional standards committe that certifies these teachers!! Can a Doctor or Nurse get tenure? Every person should be held accountable for their job performance!!!"
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  • +2 +7 -5 K. Goodman Jun. 5, 2012
    "It protects bad teachers from getting fired. If we get rid of teacher tenure, teachers will have to raise the bar for themselves when it comes to student performance. The rest of us have to perform at an acceptable level to keep our jobs. Why shouldn't teachers?"
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    • 0 0 0 Mary Jun. 23, 2012
      "Silly girl, teachers don't handle the bars. Admin does. if yuo fail too many students for lack of preparation, home guidance, and willingness to work, then you get written up. Teacherrs are told they can only have so many Fs, Ds, Etc. No matterr where you teach, who you teach, or if they speak English. If you want better education tell the ones in charge, not the teachers, and tell the parents too!"
  • +2 +9 -7 John Daly Apr. 17, 2012
    "Tenure ? No. The public school system is so poor in the U.S. that 70% of computer science P.H.D's in this country are earned by foreigners on H1B visas. ANY SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY WILL NOT PERFORM TO A HIGH STANDARD.
    The public school system in florida is run by the unions for the unions and no one is going to tell them that we are 84th in math in the world. My kid's teacher gets a package worth $ 100,000 a year if you include retirement and insurance AND GOVERNOR SCOTT WANTS TO
    GIVE THEM MORE MONEY.
    IF THIS WERE RUN LIKE A REAL BUSINESS MANY OF THESE " TEACHERS " WOULD HAVE TO GET A
    REAL JOB AND IT WOULDN'T BE PRETTY."
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  • +2 +8 -6 Gregg Feb. 23, 2012
    "The test for a teacher should always be results, did the students in his/her care learn to their potential? Tenure is a bad joke played on defenseless children."
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  • +1 +2 -1 Scottie L. Jan. 9, 2013
    "I'm con because I am part of the school system in a college preparatory school as a student. At my school, it seems you are more likely to become a "super-senior" (A senior in college and high school classes who has to repeat their senior year). Many people have had to repeat 2-3 times just because of a few teachers, such as a UCD teacher at my school who has a cockamamie system of grading and is very bias. She actually failed me (along with around half the class) and I have to double up on classes my senior year now. Only one senior will graduate on time this year because of her. All others will have an extra semester to a year. Along with a teacher we have currently who doesn't speak full English and reads more than he teaches. Tenure has failed the school system because sometimes teachers can gain it in as little as 2-years. In which case, it is borderline impossible to fire a teacher who is failing all of their students. A teacher must conduct lewd actions in order to get fired if they have tenure. Watch a documentary called "waiting for superman" because, to be honest, I think I would learn more if the school system shut down and I joined an intern program to develop my future career. It is honestly sad to think this."
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  • +1 +4 -3 phl Sep. 30, 2012
    "I'm a college senior. I graduated from high school in '09. I can say, from recent experience, that tenure for high school teachers brings about negative consequences, at least in a low-income area. I am from Hidalgo County in Texas, one of the poorest in the nation. It is easy to understand why some teachers would give up on lower level students in this area. Although their reasons are clearly evident, these teachers shouldn't be granted tenure. No, I am not a teacher, so I may not understand the aspect of job protection, but the whole idea of education focuses on students and granting them the highest level of learning possible. Giving a teacher tenure allows for complacency after that tenure is granted. I'm interested in seeing the difference in the quality of education coming from teachers in higher income areas than those in lower income areas. Does anybody think there is a difference in teachers' attitudes?"
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  • +1 +3 -2 Marie Powning Sep. 13, 2012
    "We have current laws for the discrimination they fear. It cost 100's of thousands of dollars to fire a crappy teacher who is suspended WITH pay, no other career has such a ridciulous policy, get rid of it."
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  • +1 +2 -1 Beeg Sep. 7, 2012
    "Tenure cheats students. I grew up in the Chicago public school system. Many teachers never taught anything. They allowed students to run around the classroom while they read newspaper. They were paid as much as the teachers who cared about the students. Thankfully I was in honors classes and had great teachers. Why was (and is) tenure fair to the good teachers and to the students? Why is it fair to tax payers? We will no longer be the world leader when our school system fails our kids. If tenure is so great, why are our children so behind?"
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  • +1 +2 -1 Refugio Magallon Aug. 3, 2012
    "I do understand why this law got passes and exist. Also why teachers decide to get tenure. I understand this causes problems and is not fair for older, or more experienced teachers. Here is the thing, why have teachers that either wont teach, or will get lazy and just sit in the room not doing anything. Also do you want the youth to get even more stupid as every school year that goes by? The change is needed, the United States is not first on education anymore and its been that way for a long time now. The youth is what will describe our country in the upcoming years. Do you want everyone to be stupid or smart? Everyone in the planet will be able to attack us and we wont know how to defend ourselves. Technology gets better as time passes, we will have guns and others will have machine controlled weapons. Tenure makes teachers lazy, anyway if its not about the race, gender, or personal reasons, why would you be scared as a teacher if you know how to teach?"
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  • +1 +4 -3 web brewer Jun. 10, 2012
    "As stated, we have discrimination laws now that render anachronistic the original arguments in favor of tenure. If we don't trust superintendents/principals to make good decisions about their staff, then we're hiring the wrong people for those jobs."
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  • +1 +2 -1 Randal Agostini Jun. 5, 2012
    "Many of the reasons that Tenure was introduced no longer apply. Tenure also makes it difficult for a Teacher to move on, move out, or move back in to the education system. Tenure also applies to pension benefits, which should not be the case. Teachers should be able to contribute to and earn benefits as soon as they have passed a probation period."
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  • +1 +4 -3 Danielle May. 24, 2012
    "I attended WVU to both my undergrad and masters in accounting. Overall the professors were wonderful however in the grad program's Mergers and Acquisitions class we had a professor who had a stroke many years ago. He no longer knew what he was teaching. The class was a joke. It took him over a month to cover chapter one. He was always late and continuously asked us if we (again a graduate level accounting class) had heard of Enron. Students never went because you truly did not receive an education from attending. I found out that he has been like this for years. Whenever you would speak with other faculty all they would say is that it's a "difficult situation." the difficult part is knowing that he's getting paid over $100,000, while I'm out of an education on a topic that will be on the CPA exam. I promise that I am not being dramatic. He would hand out quizzes and then give us the answers BEFORE collecting them. He appeared to always be delayed. I feel bad for him, but why would I lose out on an education (that I paid for!!) just because he was a good teacher over a decade ago? They teach us about how firms need quality control however with tenure, quality control of professors seems impossible"
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  • +1 +6 -5 Danielle Apr. 16, 2012
    "I'm against tenure because it's about the adults and not the students."
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  • +1 +6 -5 dr. b. rosenberg Mar. 14, 2012
    "DR. ROSENBERG SPEAKS OUT. THE TEACHER WHO CARES. THE ROSENBERG REVOLTION SHARE WITH OTHERS. REGARDING RUTGERS AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES . GET RID OF TENURE AND GIVE PTL'S RIGHTS AND BENEFITS.





    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlhvPRkS9a8&feature=youtu.be"
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  • +1 +6 -5 Anonamous Feb. 6, 2012
    "Bad teachers are protected, when good teachers are laid off. Come on!! I had a crappy teacher for 4 years, and she couldn't get fired because of it!!"
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    • 0 0 0 bluummbboo Nov. 27, 2012
      "they arent always bad teachers"
  • 0 +2 -2 Mike K. Nov. 15, 2012
    "It has its benefits but a different solution like a performance pay system would benefit our school system tremendously"
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  • 0 +6 -6 Ray in NC Apr. 2, 2012
    "IMO: Tenure is equivalent to entitlement. It allows people to slow down and not continue to strive for a better way."
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  • -1 0 -1 Keith Dec. 26, 2012
    "I just watched "Waiting for Superman" and my informed belief is that tenure is the main cause of the USA's poor performance in the global scope of education."
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  • -3 +4 -7 jonathon rosalia Apr. 28, 2012
    "its no longer needed with current laws and breads bad teachers"
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  • -10 +1 -11 Edgar Flores Mar. 22, 2012
    "No because using tenure they can't let go of a good teacher just to save money and the board need to do better job also need to get it together"
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