It was only two days ago that I attended the Education Nation Town Hall meeting in New York City that was hosted by NBC and sponsored by a bunch of businesses. The entire event took place in what amounted to an elaborate Tent. There were several hundred educators there of all ages and from many schools, representing both Public and Charter School educators. I commented on the shortcomings of this meeting in my last post, so I will not cover that ground again. There was one striking comment however, from one young educator that sent chills down my spine, only to have them go up my spine by the applause that followed her statement. As an educator of 40 years, I was truly awed and upset. Her statement was that she did not need Tenure. She only wanted to be evaluated on her teaching and she was confident she would have a job the next year. She saw no need for Tenure (down the spine). TEACHERS then applauded (back up the spine).
The sound of fingernails on the blackboard for that statement ripped into me. What she was asking for is what Tenure IS. It is a guarantee of due process. It guarantees that the only thing you can be fired for is that which you are responsible for in your teaching duties. What you CAN be fired for under the Tenure law is: Misconduct, Incompetence, Insubordination, Physical or Mental Disability, Neglect of Duty, or a Lack of Teaching Certificate. Additionally, it cannot be a blind accusation, it must be documented. It is also presented at a hearing with all parties under oath. This guarantees fairness in firing people. Why would any teacher say they don’t need that? If the world were as this young teacher assumes it is, having all teachers judged on the merits of their teaching, it would be a wonderful world. History shows us that it has not always been so. Forty years of experience gives me a firsthand account of history.
If it were not for Tenure, I know I would not have survived 34 years in the Public School System. I would have been fired, not for a lack of teaching skills, but for being a vocal advocate for learning and fairness. I stood up publicly and confronted administrators, Superintendents and Board of Education members when I did not agree with policies they were mandating which were not in the best interest of kids. These administrators were not bad people, just misinformed. As Educators we deal with ideas and everyone has opinions about ideas. Some people are threatened by certain ideas. If we, as educators find truth in those ideas, we use our best skills and passion to teach them. If someone in power disagrees with those ideas, our effective teaching becomes a threat. As educators we work under people who are political by the nature of their positions. Sometimes administrators prefer dealing with the person pointing out a problem as an easier task than addressing the problem itself. In this era of economic despair budgets are being cut. Education Reform too many is code for cut my taxes. With senior, experienced teachers making the highest salaries, what better way to cut expenses? Teaching quality be damned. Tenure protects educators from these attacks. It insures our academic freedom as an educator. Again, it only guarantees due process; it does not guarantee a job for life.
Now let’s talk about why people attribute Tenure to “BAD TEACHERS”. It is the most convenient of excuses for administrators who fail to do the right thing. It is not always their fault, but nevertheless some people are not being held accountable. In order to get Tenure a new teacher is supposed to be observed by several administrators over a three-year period. If at any time during that period a non-tenured teacher does not meet the standard, he/she can be summarily dismissed without explanation. It is reasonable to assume that after three years of administrator observations that an accurate assessment of a new teacher can be made. It is after three years that the recommendation for tenure is made. If no decision is made by the administrator, it does become automatic. That only occurs if the administrator allows it to happen. A big problem in the process is the time administrator’s need to complete the observations that they are required to do. Administrators don’t always get to it. It is not intentional, but many things must be prioritized over the course of the year and observations do not head the list. This is further complicated by the administrator turnover rate. As administrators come and go a clear picture of observed teachers is not always there. There is no continuity for observations or personal conferences. If a teacher is brought up on charges of any kind to force a firing, administrators often do not have the documentation to prove the accusations. It is a quick step to say, I couldn’t fire him because of Tenure. A more truthful statement would be I couldn’t fire him because people did not do a follow-up for the process to prove incompetence. The biggest problem in my estimation however, is that not all administrators are cut out to be leaders who make tough decisions. They do not want to be a bad guy and say we have to let you go after your three years of service. This makes the capable leaders weakened in their attempt to do the right thing.
That being said we need to address the problem. It is not Tenure, but the lack of enforcement of the process that grants Tenure that has the most flaws. The observation process also needs to be addressed. Administrators as well as teachers are often upset when an incompetent teacher fails to be removed. Tenure allows incompetent teachers to be removed as long as it is done fairly. Bad teachers make it bad for all teachers. A union however, has a responsibility to defend all teachers to make sure the rules are equally applied to all.
I am most upset at the scab-picking and bickering by teachers. The ugliness of this reform movement is in the name calling of teachers by teachers: Public school teachers against Charter school teachers; Young teachers against experienced teachers; Non-Tenured Teachers against Tenured teachers. The common word in all of these pairing is teacher. We need to work together for positive change and work to build ourselves up, not tear each other down. Teachers are of the most educated people in our society. We can’t point fingers at folks who teach differently or have different educational philosophies and say they are incompetent, FIRE THEM! We need to push this reform to include teaching teachers and parents as well. We can’t hold people accountable unless we train them for what they are accountable for. Learning is ongoing. We need to professionally develop all of our teachers continually. It is not an expense, but an investment.
By the way, I became a teacher at a time of declining enrollment in New York. I was granted Tenure, but I was excessed (not rehired until September) every year for my first nine years of teaching. I knew I was a good teacher, but had to live with the fact that I had to leave while others, that I deemed not as good, remained in their positions. I still support Tenure and I still support seniority.
If we are moving forward with reform let’s do our best to identify the real problems as educators. We need to take a more prominent role in a discussion that is being hijacked by business people and politicians. I understand that this topic will draw on many emotions based on one’s perspective in the system. Please try to stick to the facts and not address the myths on this. Your comments are welcome.
My Island View 
Well-written & nice read. Thanks for explaining Tenure in a careful & mindful way.
I saw a clip of that young teacher’s statement and it bothered me as well, Tom. I have only been at this 13 years, but I see this issue as clearly as you do. I think the the non-teacher general public and the new overwhelmed teachers are being brainwashed into thinking Tenure = Bad. I blame the mainstream media for this happening. NBC and that Waiting for Lex Luther film are helping to propagate this notion for certain. Wow, it sounds like a conspiracy theory, doesn’t it?
Yeah, first comment 🙂 Tom, my initial thoughts on your post are:
1. Why don’t school administrators have the opportunity for tenure?
2. Why don’t other professions have something similar to tenure?
3. Why can’t working as a teacher be an “at-will” profession where you can be let go at a moment’s notice … just like in hundreds of other career choices.
Many non-educators see tenure as a circling-the-wagons situation were admins (possibly “bad” admins) are protecting friends, coworkers, allies, and possibly “bad” teachers. Write up some good observations and you are good for another year. While that mentality exists in all professions, it is the “fear” of losing your job at a moment’s notice that can force educators to make sure they are doing their best at all times and always striving to make a difference and an improvement in their careers … instead of continuing to coast to retirement.
-Brian
Admins also get tenure. The idea of tenure only insures that the reason a teacher is being let go is based on his/her job performance and not other reasons. All jobs should do this. It is what we should expect. It is not always what teachers have gotten. I can’t answer for other professions or jobs not organizing and demanding this basic right, but just because they didn’t, is not a reason to take it from teachers. Because politics determines the supervision of teachers it could also offer opportunity to fire people for the wrong reasons. Teachers don’t produce widgets with a bottom line profit margin. It is difficult to assess success as in most other businesses.
Tom (can I call you that now? 😉
Other professions DO have a form of tenure. Most unionized professions may lay off their newest members when there isn’t enough work, but for the most part almost every member of most of the union positions out there do enjoy the same benefits as tenured educators. And it fosters the same abuses and problems in other industries as it does in education; there will always be those who take advantage, but the system is there to protect the workers and provide fair working conditions.
I was a Teamster for a few years before I went back to school to be a teacher. I was considered a probationary employee for 3 months where I could be dismissed without cause. Once I became a union member they could not send me home without paying me a minimum salary for the day, and if I was accused of any wrongdoing I had a union rep to guide me though the investigation process and protect my rights (thankfully that was never an issue for me!). Many in my family are members of the police officers union, electricians union, laborers union, and my mother is a member of the civil service employee union (she works for the IRS, yikes!).
I notice people often forget about those benefits when they’re crying about tenure.
I’ve been in K-12 education for almost 50 years. 33 years in a public school district and 37 years teaching K-12 teachers in higher-ed.
No truer words were ever spoken or better put, than Tom Whitby’s comments on Tenure.
If we do not speak up to save the rights of those who teach and are tenured, who will speak up when others among us have our rights abridged?
Brian, I agree.
Tom,
I appreciate your willingness to make sense of all the drama surrounding tenure but… the only words I can come up are, “I’m dissappointed.”
Your next post should include specific examples where you needed tenure instead of generalized statements and academic freedom. Also, standing up publicly to administrators, superintendents, and board members is called collaboration today.
Ryan
Thank you for this. I just linked this post in one of my own about tenure.
I think your point, that people in all jobs should expect due process, is an extremely important one. I’m sick and tired of folks in other jobs saying things like, “I don’t have tenure, why should you? Why shouldn’t you be dismissed at will?” That question is backwards. We expect due process of the law from our government; we should expect the same from our places of employment. If people are resentful of teachers’ due process rights, that’s a reason to organize and win (back) your due process rights. It’s not a reason to beat up on teachers!
I work as an at-will employee, can be fired at a moment’s notice, AND can grieve the firing. I don’t need tenure for that. I can hire a lawyer and fight the firing. Why can’t teachers do the same? I still see no response to my #3 item in my comment above. Why can’t teachers just work “at-will” with a set of grevience procedures in place in the district or school? Additionally, why does tenure start historically at year 3? Why not year 1?
I think, as Tom may have tried to state in the post, what tenure is supposed to do and what is may be doing (or leading to) appears to be 2 different things. There are hundreds of really bad teachers in schools. Why are they still teaching? Until someone looks at that closely and critcially, tenue will be to blame. If there were hundreds of bad police officers, they wouldn’t be bad police officers year after year. They’d be gone – and quickly.
For starters, you probably make a lot more than most teachers do, so you’re probably in a better position to pay for a lawyer than we are.
Second, what is your evidence that there are as many “bad teachers” in schools as you think there are? For that matter, how are you defining “bad teacher”?
Third, what makes you so sure there *aren’t* hundreds of bad police officers? I’m guessing your reasoning for your assumption that there are tons of bad teachers is that you’ve been told there are lots of failing schools. We have way more violent crime in this country than other industrialized nations do. And there are always stories in the news about police brutality, etc. Maybe we *do* have lots of bad police officers! (I’m not saying there are, but if you’re going to indict one group of professionals based on faulty reasoning…)
Fourth, because of the nature of the public service teachers provide, the contracts contain some attempts to balance some of the competing interests inherent in such a contract. On the one hand, we trust teachers with our children and a vital public service, so we need to make sure that they’re safe and capable. On the other hand, in order to be able to do that job well, teachers need to be insulated from political pressures and other threats that could unfairly end their employment. I think the three-year probationary period is one attempt to strike such a balance. I know from personal experience that this system is not perfect (I am a probationary teacher whose contract was unfairly terminated), but it’s much better than what exists in other professions.
Great post, Tom. Word for the week: obfuscate. Tenure is brought up to obfuscate the issue. The issue is Ed reform, and our different responsibilities in it. “I never saw a union in a place that didn’t ask for one.” President of Coors on 60 Minutes in 1979-80. The need for Ed reform is not about unions or tenure. The % of “tenured teachers” who should not be is not statistically significant to the discussion. – Supt. of 20 years.
I think the biggest reason for tenure is that it acts as protection from politics more than anything else. We shouldn’t need to play the political game to keep our jobs.
Our profession is a much more politically scrutinized than are most other professions. After all we provide a service which virtually every citizen will at some point take advantage.
I don’t actually see seniority and tenure as being part of the same discussion though. Tenure is the right to due process but seniority? Seriously? What is the point of firing a good teacher and keeping a bad teacher based simply on the number of years they have been in the classroom?
If I knew that I had to keep myself current for my entire career I would probably work harder.
Well done Tom. This was one of the most well written, articulate articles about tenure that I have ever read. You covered all the bases.
Tom
Great post. My experience has only been in private schools where we have yearly contracts with no official Tenure. However we have contracts that do afford the teachers the due process you spoke about.
Two questions
¹are there contracts in the public schools
And in your opinion is the systen we have different from what you explained to be tenure.
Thanks for posting
Akevy
Akevy
Each District has their own labor contract. Tenure however is a state Law. It holds for all Districts. I believe that exceptions maybe made to accommodate Charter Schools.
The current system still needs to by fixed in New York. It costs a district and average of $200,000+ to put a teacher through a process that can last for years. I know of one case that went on for four years. This is not good for schools or the teachers who are put through the current process. You may not be a big fan of the New York Post, but today’s editorial on the subject is worth a read. http://bit.ly/cDiJQh Can we also get your take on Bloomberg’s proposal to reform the Tenure process?
Best,
Douglas W. Green, EdD – DrDougGreen.Com
I am not a fan of the Post. They tend to sensationalize the exceptions and claim or infer that that is the norm. In the article to which you refer however, it clearly states:”Amazingly, Petro says administrators knew about her X-rated past before she got tenure — and didn’t stop the process.” Therefore once again, someone failed to do the right thing in the process. Rather than hold accountable the people who should be held accountable, we blame the law. Administrators who do their homework and follow the procedure to document and process that which is necessary for due process will be successful. Many administrators who don’t, blame the Law.
@Sabrina: I can’t seem to directly reply to your comment above, so I will do so here.
1. I make $55k (well under what experienced teachers make). That’s before taxes. Assume nothing.
2. Evidence of “bad” teachers? Speaking from my own experiences in school and a student, educator, and parent, and what I see in my kids schools now…there are lots. Being lectured to day-in-day out is not an effective teaching method. Kids may do well on those tests, but ultimately aren’t learning much. Very often the next year’s teacher asks, “What did you learn last year? Don’t you know this stuff?” Yet, it still takes place. Those are “bad” teachers. We’ve all seen them. My kid’s current elem teachers refuse to use ANY technology. None. Zero. Are they doing their job in helping to prepare my kids for our current and future world? I’d say no. They are “bad” teachers and should be updating their skills, methods, content and more to adequately prepare my kids for the future…not their past. They are not. In fact, the refuse to. But, the are tenured and without adequate documentation to remove them, they stay. Now as Tom states, there are obviously problems with the documentation of both good and bad teachers. Since it does not appear that that is being addressed and/or fixed, I’m against tenure. Remove tenure. Fix the documentation process (give parents a say please). Reinstate tenure. I’m not one to say test scores alone should be the indicator of a good/bad teacher. We’ve got students coming into colleges who can’t write paragraphs. Why? Fault of students, teachers, parents, the systems? All of the above. Well deal with each piece and fix it.
3. I used the police dept as just an example. I can cite that there are, or aren’t, bad officers. I bet there are because there are bad employees in every walk of life. My point is: bad officers should be immediately let go and many are. They can grieve the firing later. Take a non profit company example: If the company owner says to a staff member you are not doing well, leave today. The person exits and can fight it thru legal means. It should work the same w/teachers. If the principal or super says, we don’t think you are doing well, leave. Why is that a problem? I’m still not seeing a clear rationale why that is a problem. Sure politics and personalities can get in the way … just like it does in every other walk of like and profession.
4. You state, “…teachers need to be insulated from political pressures and other threats…” However, teacher unions seem to be the ones very often putting political pressure and threats on schools, states and others. So do you need to be insulated, or not? Can’t have it both ways.
I still do not see why educators can’t be an at-will employee. No one is providing a clear rationale why that is a bad idea. I can see how that may lead to fewer teachers because of the fear of losing your job quickly, but if you fear losing your job it is probably because you are not doing your job. Much like in my work world.
@Brian
I don’t know where you live, but in my state, most experienced teachers, unless they have a PhD, make far less than $55K! I have 16 yrs of experience, a Master’s degree, and I don’t make $55K. When I worked in business, I made double that amount with no experience and a degree outside my field. Teaching is my choice, regardless of how much I make. But let’s not get caught up in dollar amounts. Teachers are professionals with years of education, plus ONGOING/CONTINUING education (that’s mandated and encouraged), so why are we comparing your salary with theirs? If we are to “assume nothing” as you state above, then why did you even bring up the dollar amount?
Did you read Tom’s post, or only scan the comments?
Also, you are mistaken about the police dept. example. At any time in an officer’s career, he/she is given due process before a decision can be made about removal from the force. Investigations are required, as are several sets of documentation.
ALL professional positions deserve due process. That’s what tenure is supposed to guarantee. If you’re angry about the poor teachers you’ve experienced… I’ve had my share, and so have my children, then do something about it. When I had a problem with a teacher in my child’s school, I spoke often with that teacher. No change. I then discussed my concerns with the building principal. He needed me as much as I needed him. Because I stood up, the principal was able to gather facts and document the incompetence. Guess what? That teacher was removed. The system works when we do our part.
I only mentioned salary to follow up Sabrina’s direct comment to me (see thread above). In my geographic area $55k is not a lot, regardless of being a teacher or not. With my 15 years experience and BA that translates to about a $65-70k teaching salary in a public school in my area. The average salary in my kids district is currently $78k with dozens of teachers over $100k. Those are averages based on a 10 month pay schedule (I’m on a 12mth). Topic for another day…
I’ve tried to do something specifically about the lack of tech in my kids daily classroom and out of classroom activities. Spoke with the teachers already, came into their classes to actually show teachers some ideas, spent a day doing Voicethreads with the kids, spoke with the principal, etc. Been there done that. Frankly, should not be my role although I’m willing to help. he district currently has 9 “instructional designers” listed as tech staff. Point is, specifically in my one example, these teachers are not doing their job, the principal does not care and as parents we ultimately don’t have a say. These teachers should be forced out of the class for an extended period to update their skills, put on probation or something to show that they are making an effort to advance their skills. They are not and therefore they are ultimately not helping to prepare my kids for the “real world”. They are teaching them how to count coins and they are not even using real money. Having sent my kids in with some real coins, the teacher sent him home with them and a note that said they are not needed. The plastic dime they use is the same size as a nickel. It doesn’t work, the little ones are easily confused (you can even make out a presidential head on the front of each they are so worn). The teacher does not care nor value parent input. She’s not doing her job and her lengthy time spent in the school, in combination with a poor documentation process, provides her shelter and a job. It is not my problem the principal (and all past ones) is not documenting my “complaints” and concerns. But it is my problem, because we can’t remove this teacher now – because of the protections provided by tenure AND by a failed documentation system. As I stated, I’d like to see tenure thrown out, the evaluation and documentation process fixed (to involve parents), and tenure reinstated. As it is now (as David Doty also explains below) from a parent prospective, in my state, it does not work as intended. Tom’s 4th from the last paragraph explains this well.
And by the way, you are being underpaid. A phd with 16 years experience should be well over $55k. The average USA elem teacher salary for 10-19 yrs with a BA is $50k. http://www.payscale.com has great info on national salaries.
Tom,
Thank you for this interesting commentary. I enjoy your writing and appreciate all you have done to bring a variety of opinions and viewpoints together on the Educator’s PLN. Therefore, I hope my comments here will be viewed simply as a different perspective not as an attempt to be critical.
I must say that I dislike the teacher tenure system immensely and always have, based on my initial experience in the classroom as a first-year teacher at a public high school in the San Francisco Bay area. As a first-year Spanish teacher, I was enthusiastic, hard-working, and very committed to excellence in my classroom. I spent hours every day preparing lessons, reflecting on my performance, and striving to do things better every day to engage students and help them to obtain real proficiency with the language.
However, the two colleagues I shared classrooms with were, in a word, pathetic. They were both veteran teachers, with tenure, who had spent over 25 years in the same school doing absolutely nothing. Both of these gentlemen literally showed a movie or filmstrip every day while they kicked back at their desk reading the newspaper or yelling at kids to shut up. The worst part was that they were both very critical of me, and were constantly making snide remarks about how much I was wasting my time because kids really didn’t care about the effort I was making. While these two teachers were making triple or quadruple my salary and achieving zero learning outcomes with their students, I was basically being told to get in line and stop making them look bad.
The other thing that burned me to no end teaching in California, a “union shop” state, was having California Teachers Association dues taken out of my meager paycheck every month even though I had absolutely no interest in being a member of the union.
I subsequently became a school attorney and, prior to becoming a superintendent, spent over 10 years advising superintendents and school districts on teacher dismissal issues. While I fully agree with you that due process is important, the reality is that teacher tenure and dismissal laws are so rigid in most states that it is virtually impossible to get rid of bad teachers–school districts simply do not want to spend the money, time, and energy involved in protracted litigation with teachers who lawyer up and fight even the most obvious cases of poor performance (and yes, I have seen this happen on many occasions).
I am not anti-union; in fact, I believe that employees should have the right to organize and be a part of any labor association or organization of their choice, but I do have a very difficult time with union and tenure policies that protect the incompetent and make it impossible for school leaders like myself to reward excellence and promote those with exceptional abilities over those who are simply biding time and collecting a paycheck.
Unfortunately, most teachers have never worked in the private sector and are completely at a loss to understand how or why an employee’s status could be based strictly on performance. It is very frustrating to me that traditional public schools are constantly being compared to charter schools, private schools, and other alternatives when these other schools have control over their workforce and we don’t. That is a huge difference and until it changes, we are going to be very limited in our ability to compete.
In closing, I should mention that I have worked very hard to develop a culture of collaboration and cooperation with our local teachers’ association and have absolutely no problem respecting the rights that tenured teachers currently enjoy. However, as with virtually every issue in public education, there are two sides to this one.
How tenure gave rise to Teach for America:
http://carlanderson.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-tenure-gave-rise-to-teach-for.html
Tom: great post! Thanks for sharing your experiences and FACTS. I know that some people think facts aren’t interesting enough for the news… but I’m glad you do. 🙂
I have 35 years of classroom experience, earn less than $55,000, have good test scores, stay at school daily for 10 hours or more, bring work home nightly and every weekend. I have three preps to plan for, but fewer than 4 hours built into my week for planning. I don’t get a lunch or bathroom break. I never take sick days or mental health days. I sponsor two clubs, help kids after school, and take them home when they need a ride. After school, I also help support other staff in their project planning and in ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. I attend mandatory meetings and workshops that are of no value to my situation and which eat away at my time. On my own time and dime, I take classes and attend conferences that will be of use in improving my skills. In the past three years, I’ve brought in $20,000 in minigrants for books and technology, often $200 at a time. We use technology daily. My students have fun and aim high.
I also had a target on my back for a year and a half because of differences of philosophy with a principal. We were never allowed to discuss problems in the school, because that would mean admitting there were problems. She cared about what looked good; I cared about what *was* good.
And if I didn’t have tenure, I’ve no doubt I would have been fired for insubordination because I advocated for students when leadership was failing them, and I spoke up for new staff who were being bullied by the same miserable leader. I’m grateful that she is now gone – incompetent people can be removed – and that I survived to help mop up the disaster she left in her wake. I’m grateful to have survived hell and still have a job that I love in a school that I love with students whom I love. It was a near thing.
Professor Whitby,
I have come across a few incompetent teachers with Tenure. Therefore, if you can be fired for incompetence while having Tenure, why are they still working? I feel this is a problem and creating less job opportunity for new teacher candidate graduates looking for a teaching job, and of course the students. Also, how do administrators get Tenure when they are not in a classroom to be observed? Who can really watch what they do all the time? My last question is, how come teachers without Tenure feel they cannot speak out in the school about problems until they have Tenure? Thanks. See you in class.
Principals don’t usually get rid of the worst teachers; they get rid of the ones who challenge them. The two teachers I met who I’d consider genuinely bad were untouched by administration because they kept their doors closed, turned in all their paperwork on time, and didn’t ruffle the main office’s (or the district office’s) feathers. Meanwhile, excellent teachers like me were punished for challenging management’s insistence on using inappropriate assessments, wasting money on ineffective and outdated curricular materials, and reporting unethical behavior to higher-ups or the press.
[…] how it is used as a scapegoat for inadequate follow through on the part of many administrators in Tenure’s Tenure. I guess it comes as no surprise that I am appalled at the recent decision in California against […]
[…] how it is used as a scapegoat for inadequate follow through on the part of many administrators in Tenure’s Tenure. I guess it comes as no surprise that I am appalled at the recent decision in California against […]