Should teachers be given tenure? This debate has been going on for as long as I can remember. People who oppose giving teachers tenure believe that if teachers weren't guaranteed jobs for as long as they like, then they would focus more on being the best teachers they can be. When a teacher gets tenure, it's virtually impossible to get rid of him or her even if many people agree that he or she isn't doing a very good job teaching. Opponents to giving tenure also say that it shows that if a teacher works hard for a few years, then he or she can sit back and coast through the rest of their years until retirement, even if that means the students suffer. On the other hand, proponents believe that by rewarding the teachers with tenure, it allows them to focus all their attention on being great teachers, instead of worrying about losing their jobs. These supporters also believe that teachers work hard for low wages and that tenure is a reasonable benefit for all the time they put towards educating today's youth.
I am going to have to go with the anti-tenure side in this debate. In high school, I had a few teachers who were tenured and basically gave up trying to teach us anything. These teachers would sit back with their feet up on their desks and tell us to read our text books day after day, and never actually teach the material. Then when the time came to take tests, half the class would have cheat notes which they made using tests from students who took the class the year before (this individual NEVER rewrote any of his tests), and the rest of us would study our butts off with the few materials we had and earn grades ranging from OK to terrible. If this teacher hadn't been tenure, then maybe the school could have done something about his performance(or in this case, the lack of performance). I think that a teacher who knows he or she has to work hard to keep his or her job will be a better teacher than the one who knows he is safe.
http://www.education.com/debate/teacher-tenure/
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/7/19/what-if-college-tenure-dies/rethinking-college-tenure
http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/200
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This is a very interesting debate. The information in these links were very interesting. I agree with anti-tenure for a few reasons. I have had past experience with teachers not caring about day to day because they have tenure. I took two years of AP English in high school and graduated without knowing how to write a research paper.
ReplyDeleteI am also anti-tenure because I have seen teachers struggle through their first three years before they receive tenure. Schools get frustrated with teaches that don't pull their weight in the class room so the school becomes very picky on who they hire. My high school would hire someone then fire then before the three years was up so they didn't receive tenure. Some these teachers were great educators and roll models.
I agree with the anti-tenure side of this post, mostly because of what I have seen within my own town. My friend's brother is a recent graduate from the local high school. He went off to college and had to enroll in remedial english courses to catch up with other students. There was a recent article in our newspaper concerning a study done at our high school. It stated that 43% of students who leave the school have to take a lower level math or english class to get caught up with college level courses.
ReplyDeleteTenured teachers are not as worried about keeping their jobs and can slack off, plus they do not have to put in the effort to help students who may be struggling. This is partly to blame on the students and lack of study skills, but mostly on the lack of teachers motivating students and setting a good example. A teacher who just shows up for a paycheck can potentially damamge students by modeling lazy, uncaring or below-par behaviors.
I guess that i don't believe in being tenured. I just don't understand why teachers can only be fired under exceptional circumstances after so many years. I can't be sure but i do believe that teaching is the only job that does that. Not to bash on teachers or anything (because i plan on becoming one) but why are they so much more special then everyone else?
ReplyDeleteI think it almost gives teachers a relief because (as said above) it is almost like some teachers "give up" on teaching. I also know a few instructors that seemed like they couldn't care less about what the students actually went away with at the end of the day. I hope i never turn that way.