The Future of Tenure

The Future of Tenure

The New York Times printed an article by Victor Bernstein titled "Security of the Teacher in his Job" in which he stated:

"There are at least 'several hundred' incompetents now in the school system.... Other observers think there are several thousand, while still others insist that 'several' would be nearer the mark. Whether these incompetents were unfit to teach at any time, or have been rendered unfit by the passing years, is a matter of opinion. The question is, why are they allowed to remain?" (qtd. from Keeling, et al. 2).

This statement holds true with regard to the current situation in public education, except that this was written in 1936. Not much has changed in the seventy-four years that has passed since then. With more and more teachers receiving tenure, the public education system has been overtaken by a less than capable staff. The ineffectiveness of tenured teachers, especially those held in the infamous "Rubber Rooms" of New York City, are diminishing the quality of children's education. With this in mind, the process of tenure should be, at the least, reformed, if not terminated in New York City schools.

Tenure, the position of having a formal secure appointment until retirement, is currently one of the many problems facing the public education system. Through this process, teachers that have been working for a term of three years are granted tenure. The problem with the process is that there are no strict guidelines in place to make sure that the teachers receiving this privilege are actually worthy of receiving it. In the past, principals have generally announced to teachers when they would be receiving their in-class assessment, giving them time to plan a well versed lesson plan for the given day (Knowles 2). The practice of giving teachers prior notification has caused an unfair advantage to those who do not normally have a planned curriculum. Teachers are usually given one of two ratings, satisfactory or unsatisfactory, with almost all receiving the satisfactory rating. Without different levels of satisfaction, teachers often assume what they are doing is enough. In 2009, 93% of teachers in New York City that were up for tenure were granted it (Medina, Bloomberg 2). When tenured teachers go beyond what is deemed acceptable, they are not suspended without pay or fired; they are sent to Temporary Reassignment Centers (TRC), known in New York City as "Rubber Rooms", to wait out the days until they can go to arbitration. There are roughly 550 tenured teachers currently being paid full salaries, with benefits, that are residing in these rubber rooms (Edelman and Fagan 1). Without the protection of tenure and the teacher's union, these teachers would not be draining the funds of taxpayers and the educational system. The United Federation of Teachers (U.F.T.), founded in 1960 in response to the unjust treatment of teachers, has been targeted for protecting the rights of these ineffective teachers (Brill 2). As one principal, Anthony Lombardi of P.S. 49, explains it, "[they] would protect a dead body in the classroom. That's [their] job" (qtd. from Brill 4).

In all fairness, there are numerous teachers that are deserving of such security. There are many teachers that go above and beyond when it comes to their classrooms, putting a great deal of time and effort into their teaching plans. Most students find that teachers who are supportive and relate well to them are far more important than a teacher who half-heartedly spouts out information. According to recent educational studies, it has been found that the most critical aspect of a child's education is the quality of the teacher not the textbooks or equipment (Brill 5). The likelihood of the students in the effective teacher's class receiving higher test grades is more common than that of students in an ineffective classroom. Not only do students get the benefits of having supportive teachers, but also their parents. A child that is doing well in school is more likely to learn the necessary skills that will help them succeed after their secondary education is complete, helping them to earn scholarship and grant money for furthering their education. A child that has an unmotivated teacher is less likely to put forth the effort. Therefore, working to keep the good teachers is what tenure should be about. Granting job security to someone that puts everything into their work is deserving of the privilege. There are also circumstances in which personal agenda may come in between a teacher keeping or losing their job. In such cases, like a principal with a personal vendetta towards a teacher, tenure grants the person the right to a trial before such unscrupulous acts can be deemed permanent. Before the instatement of tenure, teachers were fired simply due to the new principal wanting to hire their friends or even for a female teacher becoming pregnant (Brill 2). These reasons are not grounds to terminate employment and so tenure is necessary to provide security to those in need of it.

However, in this population of educators lie the minority; Unethical, lethargic educators who feel they are entitled to compensation. This group has been increasing steadily for decades. In circumstances where teachers have had multiple opportunities to correct past mistakes and have still not put forth the effort, they should not be allowed to collect full salary while waiting for arbitration. For example, Lucienne Mohammed, reassigned due to incompetence, was given multiple chances to improve, even receiving a peer intervention and still did not put any effort into improving her situation. There was an overwhelming amount of evidence showing that she was incompetent, such as failing to complete report cards, reading notices about her performance out loud to students and failing to grade students' homework, and yet, her trial took over a year to be settled, taking longer then the trial against O.J. Simpson (Brill 5). We also see an overabundance of teachers in rubber rooms for misconduct. For instance, the taxpayers of New York City are paying upwards of $540,000 a year on the salaries of just 6 teachers that are currently residing in rubber rooms. The charges against them run the gamut from lewd comments and fondling, up to molestation and impregnating a minor. Although most have been cleared of the charges brought against them (due to technicalities), they are not permitted to return to a classroom as they have been deemed a liability (Edelman and Fagan 2-3). Another teacher, Patricia Adams (name changed) was removed from her classroom for being intoxicated and passing out while class was in session, happening on more than one occasion. Her case was brought