Tenure

Tenure

An Opinion By Markus Batchelor

Tenure: status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent.

First thing's first: Teaching is an invaluable career that very few brave and dedicated people choose in order to make a difference in a child's life.

However, there is definitely a such thing as an effective teacher and an ineffective teacher. As much as we would like to believe that every teacher comes in everyday ready to make a positive difference in the lives of their students and be a good instructor, this is not always the case. There is a great majority who are, but there are definitely those who do not fit into this category.

This is exactly the reason why we should not allow the rule of tenure to trap schools and students into the ineffective instruction of a educator who does not deserve the privilege (let alone, the lifetime security) of their jobs.

One bad teacher can make a big impact, setting students years back in their education and even discouraging students to continue on their path to education. Therefore, it should be made much easier for schools and the system to replace ineffective teachers, based on a less stringent, but effective evaluation system that protects teachers from ousting based on politics or personal affairs, but also makes sure our kids get the best instruction they can.

Will it be difficult to both protect our teachers and the education of our students? Yes. However, protecting teachers without necessarily taking into account their impact in the classroom is not the answer.