Richard Kahlenberg Tenure Summary

Tenure in school systems has been a highly controversial topic lately. Tenure refers to the job security of teachers after they have worked at a certain school for three years. When teachers earn tenure, it is very difficult to take away their jobs. This is especially true in higher education. According to the Washington Post, 32 states grant tenure after three years, nine states grant tenure after four or five years and four states never grant tenure at all. Granting tenure to all teachers gives everybody a job for life which should not be the case. Under-performing teachers should not have definite job security. America should remove academic tenure, replace it with a different system, and re-evaluate school teachers and professors.

Removing a teacher from his or her position is very difficult to do. “Tenure benefits the state by helping to create a permanent and qualified teaching force” (Underwood, Webb 36). This makes it difficult to let a teacher go even when it is to make the school a better environment for the students. Although teachers do have the right to freedom of speech and are able to exercise their First Amendment right, that freedom is in a way limited by the school board. Pickering v. Board of Education (1968) is a great example of this. A high school science teacher was terminated by the board of education because a letter he wrote was published in one of the community’s newspapers. The letter discussed the unequal funding between academics and athletics. After

Jeff Karpell was a standout outfielder for the Fairleigh Dickinson baseball program. His freshman campaign he posted the longest hit streak by reaching base safely in seven consecutive games. Karpell also led all freshmen in hitting with a .313 batting average. Karpell really stood out as a sophomore earning All-Northeast Conference honors with a .337 average, which put him 3rd on the team and 9th in the NEC. During his senior season Karpell threw out 9 base runners, which is good enough to put him first for most single season outfield assists. Karpell’s efforts are still shown in the FDU record books where he ranks: 7th in single season hits (64), 7th in triples (4), 3rd in runs batted in (59). Along with his single season achievements Karpell is also 7th in career batting average (.343), 7th in at bats (571), 5th in hits (196), 3rd in triples (9), and 2nd in RBIs (145).

The purpose of this Literature Review is to examine the literature related to the question: Does a relationship exist between school superintendent tenure and student academic success? Through this research, the researcher discovered that there is very little research on the topic. Moreover, the research that does exist is focused on large, urban districts. Thus, there is a gap in the literature as it relates to rural schools, such as many of those found in the state of Kentucky.

Webster's dictionary defines tenure as, “the act, right, manner, or term, of holding something (such as a landed property, a position, or an office); especially :a status granted after a trial period to a teacher that gives protection from summary dismissal. In other words, educators receive due process protection from accusations or charges against them.Years ago, educators who acted in destructive and abusive demeanor sidestep meaningful ramifications due to tenure safeguards .However, the supreme protection granted to tenured teachers diminished greatly as of July 2011. Michigan stripped the unassailable security of tenure and the world of education in Michigan altered permanently.Forlornly, educator Kathleen Goulouze failed to adhere to modifications of the updated teacher tenure decree.

Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States of America. Before becoming interested in politics, he was an actor born in Tampico, Illinois (Freidel, & Sidey). In 1966, Reagan was elected governor of California, and that was the beginning of his political future (Freidel, & Sidey). Reagan strove through foreign policy while building America strong thought his words, “peace through strength” (Freidel, & Sidey). Pushing through an assassin-attempt, Reagan achieved great things as told in his farewell address. Ronald Reagan uses thoughtful organization, emotional appeal, repetition, and allusion in his farewell address to the nation, in reason of his termination in presidency as well

This paper will effectively detail the issues surrounding policy as it pertains to teacher reform for New Jersey Tenure Laws. I will discuss why this new reform has made it impossible to terminate non-effective teachers because of the protection that TEACHNJ provides. I will also discuss inaccuracies as it pertains to accountability and transparency under the new tenure laws. Lastly, I will discuss the teacher rating system and evaluation system that rates teachers in four categories, from highly effective to ineffective. Teacher evaluations would be based on measures of student learning, such as improvement of state test scores, student work, and other practices linked to student achievement. The New Jersey Education Association has proposed streamlining the legal process for removing teachers, but has adamantly defended the basic job protection of tenure, saying it prevents unfair dismissal, favoritism and attempts to save money by firing expensive veterans. The state’s largest teacher’s union also vehemently opposes judging teachers largely on test scores, saying that doing so penalizes teachers with the most difficult students, and that the data is unreliable. Teachers are fearful of losing their jobs if they don’t raise test scores, teachers will redouble their test-preparation efforts, and quality instruction will be sacrificed,” NJEA President Barbara Keshishian said in a statement. “Parents should be alarmed and dismayed at this proposal.” (Brody)

Moreover, teacher tenure will be "reformed" so that principals and superintendents will have additional decision-making "discretion"; in other words, power will be taken from unions and given to bureaucrats within the state educational system, and tenure for teachers will be based on a new strategy that is, teachers will have earn "highly effective ratings" five out of six years to achieve tenure (Brennan, p. 2).

Senator Herb Kohl is an amazing man, who has done many amazing things. Herb Kohl was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 7, 1935 (which makes him 81) He went on to attend Washington High School, right here in Wisconsin. After this he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1956. Then in 1958 he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

The most thought provoking factoid included is that the United States is academically ranked 25th in math and 26th in science in the top 30 countries in the world. This is a very disturbing situation due to the opportunities and standard the United States has and lives up to. For such a “free” country, the academic qualities are severely lacking. By including this fact, the audience should again be provoked and persuaded toward change for both their students and children and the future of the entire country. The documentary also relies on using the fact of teachers not being fired due to tenure to accentuate another major plight occurring in the school system. They include the “rubber room” to highlight the fact that teachers could take part in sexual assault or other serious crimes and are still paid while doing absolutely nothing in a “rubber room” due to tenure. Because a large sum of money is being used on these “teachers”, other teachers are harder to hire, and money that should go to bettering the schools goes instead to the court trials and tenure pay for the accused teachers. Including this fact should enrage parents and anyone else who wants change to fight for the needed changes to better the lives of children and the conditions of

The ability of teachers to earn tenure has sparked debate for many years. Whether it is an individual who is for or against teacher tenure, both sides present valid points. First, teacher tenure was established to provide security for teachers and prevent them from being fired for political reasons, personal reasons, non-work related reasons, or to hire new teachers at a lower salary to replace veteran teachers. Challengers to the teacher tenure law argue that it makes teachers complacent, and inhibits schools abilities to get rid of bad teachers. Tenure does not actually make it impossible to fire a teacher who has earned tenure or what is called a non-probationary status. It does however create a costly and lengthy process for dismissing a tenured teacher if the school system cannot prove that the individual has engaged in certain acts.

What is tenure? Academic tenure refers to a policy which gives professors and teachers a permanent contract, effectively ensuring them a guarantee of employment … for life (Garrett 2013). Tenure prevents schools from dismissing teachers without cause or due process in the K-12 school systems. Teacher tenure is the increasingly controversial form of job protection that public school teachers in all states receive after 1-7 years on the job (ProCon n/a). How tenure is attained, protections it provides, and impacts it may have on institutional structures are key factors when researching tenure. The ultimate question is should tenure be required for teachers in the K-12 school systems?

There is a consensus among the concerned stakeholders that the quality of teachers is the leading factor in determination of student performance. In the case of United States, the student performance can only be given an impetus by the efforts which the state can make, under all costs, to develop and retain high quality teachers. The measures undertaken determine the level of turnover of the school teachers. Lazear (2009) similarly argues the length of employment is a critical factor in averse risks of employment a trend contrary to teachers treatment. The turnover of public school teachers will refer to the rate at which the state, which is the teacher’s

Some argue that tenure allows bad teachers to stay in the classroom. Teachers that are just there to put in their time and don't really care about the students themselves. They feel that granting teachers tenure encourages them to become complacent about their jobs. “Tenures are something that can be beneficial to students, as well. By providing job security, teachers can concentrate on teaching, instead of worrying about overly obsessed parents coming after them. Take for instance, a parent getting a coach fired because they did not give their son or daughter enough play time on the court. There is the classic scenario of parents that will look for a teacher's flaws in teaching before they look for flaws in their child as a student.”(Sharifi)

Going back to the tenure and teacher union issues, I agree that everyone has the right to unionize in order to protect their self-interests, but the idea surrounding tenure is something that needs to be re-evaluated, and the teacher’s union needs to jump on board in order to get the education system moving in the right direction. The writers hint at a way in which tenure can be changed, and that is by offering rewards for high student grades instead of the current rule of once tenure is reached, a teacher can keep their position regardless of their efforts in the classroom. The way the movie presents this alternative method is by showing a challenge between the teachers of the school to earn the highest student grades on the state test; winner earning a bonus of $5,700. This type of evaluation based on student grades can also be taken to the opposite end of the spectrum, and teachers who have unacceptable student scores should be evaluated on their teaching methods, and if seen