Poor Miss Crabtree. She's getting married, and she has to leave her job. Such things happened back in the day, before anyone thought of equal rights for women, tenure, or indoor plumbing.
Nowadays we no longer insist teachers take chastity vows, remain unmarried, fill the inkwells, clean the coal boilers, or do whatever else they did in the good old days. Still, without tenure Miss Crabtree could now be fired for some more contemporary reason. Perhaps she told her colleagues how much UFT teachers earn. Or maybe she insisted they provide services mandated for special education students. Maybe she didn't do anything and they took the word of an angry student over hers. Perhaps they posted her scores (despite an explicit agreement not to -- how can anyone trust these folks?) and decided to discontinue her, rendering her license useless in NYC. These things happen when teachers don't have tenure.
Yet, I keep hearing, tenure is evil. Why? Because there are bad teachers out there! If you watch Waiting for Superman, you may walk out thinking they all hide behind the skirts of evil AFT President Randi Weingarten. You might even think Weingarten recruited them and granted them tenure, but she did neither. People who think she did are confusing her with folks like Joel Klein and his merry band of administrators, who actually have such powers.
Say what you will about Weingarten, but she's the most "reform"-minded union leader in the history of civilization. Weingarten most certainly does not defend bad teachers.
In fact, I've never seen anyone at all say we want more bad teachers, or that bad teachers need to be retained indefinitely. I have seen many public figures say that teachers shouldn't get raises because some of them are bad. It reminds me, frankly, of young racists with whom I grew up saying things like, "The bad ones spoil it for the good ones." Sure, we'd like you to have civil rights, but some of you are bad. Until you are all perfect, like we are, we need to continue treating you like second-class citizens.
Let's say teacher A sits at his desk, eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and reading the box, while his students throw chairs at one another. Let's say he teaches English but doesn't actually speak or understand it, let alone any other known language. Would that make him a bad teacher? Let's say yes. To defend a bad teacher, you'd have to assert that teachers have the inalienable right to study Cocoa Puff boxes during class time, and have no need to know their subject matter. I've never heard or said such a thing.
Now let's say teacher B speaks to reporters, and writes anywhere and everywhere that will post his ravings about the ineptitude of those who manage the school system in which he works. Let's say he's extremely critical of the preposterous shortcuts that masquerade as reform, and makes a huge stink over things that actually hurt kids, like overcrowding and class size violations.
Finally, let's say both teachers A and B are brought up on charges. Either they have the right to representation, or they don't. Either they have the right to present their side of the story, or they don't.
When I hear the new breed of education experts like Davis Guggenheim and John Legend ranting about bad teachers, I get the impression they feel only good teachers should be entitled to representation. But who gets to decide who are good and bad teachers (particularly without hearing their side of the story)? Should it be Joel Klein, who spent years boasting of test scores gains that proved to be nonexistent? Should it be crusading ex-DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee, whose notion of classroom control entails taping kids' mouths shut? Should it be Guggenheim, who made a film that's largely misrepresentation?
Personally, I'd rather not rely on the good graces of such individuals. I have a little experience with unreasonable supervisors, and I want them to demonstrate I did whatever they happen to be accusing me of doing. Because I have tenure, that's precisely what they have to do (at least for the moment).
If school leaders like Michelle Rhee readily fire hundreds of teachers based on faulty methodology, what are they gonna do to Miss Crabtree? Without a union, who would protect her? I'm hoping my daughter, who dreams of becoming a math teacher, has better options.
In fact, I'd like all my students to have better options than those faced by non-union teachers. I'd like to leave a legacy of good schools and good jobs. I'm afraid demonizing teachers while ignoring outrageous discrepancies in "reformer" talking points will lead to neither.
I'm not suggesting that teachers don't deserve decent pay...far from it. But I have had some awful teachers in my life...as had my daughter. The best teachers LOVE what they do. They have a real passion for their subject matter, and translate that gusto to their students.
But we also have teachers facing a variety of issues today that my grammar school never had to deal with. If my dad came to get me, it wasn't a visitation violation. My teachers were not expected to be de facto parents themselves. Parents paid attention to your grades---so there were no shocks when a student needed help.
My daughter has just announced that she wants to be a teacher. She is 19. I always believed she could be excellent at this...I just hope politics doesn't make it impossible.
"In fact, I've never seen anyone at all say, we want more bad teachers, or that bad teachers need to be retained indefinitely. I have seen many public figures say that teachers shouldn't get raises because some of them are bad. It reminds me, frankly, of young racists with whom I grew up saying things like, "The bad ones spoil it for the good ones." Sure, we'd like you to have civil rights, but some of you are bad. Until you are all perfect, like we are, we need to continue treating you like second-class citizens."
Arthur, you just ate most of the edubloggers this side of Huffington Post. Wow. As usual, great work.
And to those too young to remember Miss Crabtree, you ought to seek out those films, still funny enough to hold the attention of kids conditioned to hate anything and everything in black and white.
The Our Gang films are the exception that proves the rule.
Posts like yours are being forwarded to my wife is a HS teacher, because of course there are some in our district who are enchanted by the Waiting for Superman propaganda
Teachers aren't respected in this country. She'll live in perpetual poverty and be blamed for everything with control and authority over nothing.
It is a thankless job for low pay and the attacks will only get worse.
Big business has it's eye on education tax dollars and they'll do and say anything to get their greedy paws on it. Teachers stand in the way. You know what that means.
Anyway, I've still got a few years to decide that---but I'll do everything I can to avoid giving that advice, and I hope others will too. In the classroom we are certainly important, despite the blather in the media. We are still appreciated by the most important audiences--the kids we serve.
Locally teachers are under attack. The local right wing conservative millionaires are forming a group (no teachers need apply) to take over the school board. They're going to put a measure on the ballot to add four appointed seats to the current five elected seats on the school board. Guess who gets to appoint? So all they have to do is get one of their puppets elected to the school board and they've taken over.
I'm wondering how long I'll be able to hold on before I'll be forced to retire. I'm on the top of the salary scale and cost almost as much as two newly graduated teachers. With the budget cuts they want us all gone so they can save some money and hire new teachers. Who they will "not renew" after their probationary period is over, right before they become permanent employees. So eventually there will be a constant turnover of teachers; three years and you're out. Which is scary since it usually takes about five years to become a seasoned teacher.
Now how do you recruit the cream of math and science majors to a profession that is held in such contempt, where they can look forward to losing their job every three years?
While I may be important to the kids, I can't insulate them from the negative effects of attacks on teaching? What will their future education be with a district staffed only by probationary teachers?
Thank you, Mr. Goldstein, for writing such a cogent and witty article. It's about time that the other side has been presented by someone that actually knows what goes on in the classroom and the insane politics that teachers must deal with on a regular basis by the likes of these education deformers.
The cost of living in North Carolina is below the national average, while our state made great efforts to raise teacher pay to the national average.
Look what has happened with the ATR situations, and the closings of schools throughout the city under Bloomberg and Klein. Though a lawsuit was brought on to challenge the closings of the schools, it's apparent the DOE will go through with their plans anyway.
Most teachers, working under these conditions have learned not to create waves, lest they became a target. The union gives lip service, takes our dues, and essentially goes along with the DOE agenda.