Will the next president give bad teachers the boot?
Ever have a really bad teacher? Imagine if that teacher was
given the opportunity to teach at your school permanently. Don’t worry,
President Obama and Mitt Romney have your back. The two presidential candidates
differ in a lot of ways, but one thing they both agree on is that when it comes
to your education, you deserve the best.
Fueling the teacher discussion is the topic of tenure for K
through 12 teachers. Tenure can be given to an instructor, usually after
they’ve been teaching for a long time, to make their school employment
permanent. Tenure can only be terminated with a really good reason and a panel hearing
in front of board members whose decision can be appealed at the Supreme Court.
Phew, that’s a long process!
Tenure is fine and dandy if it gives job security to great
teachers. But what do the candidates say about bad teachers? Why, get rid of
them, of course.
President Obama stated that allowing tenure will protect bad
teachers from consequences. During a
speech, he said, "If a teacher is given a chance or two chances or three
chances but still does not improve, there's no excuse for that person to
continue teaching.”
Mitt Romney wrote that getting rid of the least effective teachers
will “improve overall teacher quality.” He has also said that teachers are the
most important part of a good education and should be properly paid for their
hard work.
No matter which candidate you’re rooting for or who gets tenure, it’s good to know that when it comes to your teachers, both candidates want you to have the best of the best.
What do you think about tenure, chickies? Let us know in the comments!
POSTED IN teacher trouble, election, 2012 election issues