Teacher Tenure
Tenure has recently been a highly publicized educational issue. Some people believe it is the foundation of our school systems. Although, in some peoples opinion tenure is an outdated mode by which teachers remain employed without proper evaluation. In this day and age teachers’ jobs should be based on their performance (Hoppes 1). Tenure is helping schools fall behind in education. Teacher tenure should be changed or revised.
Tenure is known widely for the job security it gives teachers. Some teachers that have received tenure feel that it allows them to speak up and go more in depth with their choice of study. “Tenure gives me a feeling of job security, knowing I can speak up and not easily be fired,” says Mrs. Pam Snider, a FACS teacher at Richland High School (Snider 1). However, the fact that tenured teachers are not easily fired reduces the fear of being fired in turn enabling teachers to slack off.
Teachers take unfair advantages of their positions and their job security (Hoppes 1). Teachers that have tenure tend to bend the rules of the workplace to fit their wants. In the 21st century, tenure is not about academic freedom, it’s about job security (Jacobs 1). Tenure is not supposed to be about the teachers wants, it is to be about giving teachers the security that would enable them to excel their area of study. “It (tenure) reduces the fear of being fired,” Mrs. Pam Snider also states (Snider 1).
For a teacher to receive tenure he or she must go through a probationary period of three to six years, in most states. This is designed so that the teacher shows their dedication to the school at which they are teaching. Many people believe that teachers become better at their profession with experience, and keeping the experienced teachers helps students learn better (Snider 1). Therefore, some teachers become ‘set in their ways’ and do not see it fit to try new and better teaching methods.
“Many older teachers are ‘set in their...