Diane Ravitch asks "Who is Campbell Brown and Why Does She Want to Eliminate Tenure?" in a July 6 blog entry. It's time to push back against this sort of sensationalism. Ravitch has written many books about education and she has impressive credentials. However, on this matter of teacher tenure I think she has a blind spot. Campbell Brown wants to refresh the way tenure works so it can better support the goals of teaching and learning. These are the same objectives that Ravitch writes about so forcefully.
The Vergara decision is a step toward updating tenure to include work performance as part of the criteria for granting and maintaining tenure. The California court's decision might just open the door to making it a bit more possible to remove tenured teachers who really don't belong in a classroom. If Ms. Ravitch would turn off her firehose, and consider the merits of modernizing what it means to receive tenure, she would see that Campbell Brown values teachers, and she wants to elevate the profession to a higher level.
The Ravitch blog implies that teachers need tenure protection so they won't be fired as a result of false accusations by children. I doubt Campbell Brown, or anybody else, wants unfair firings. However, New York's 3020-A process for firing tenured teachers is so complex and so expensive that it's seldom invoked. When it is used the process is costly to taxpayers, and klunker teachers can remain on the payroll, or even in front of kids, while it rambles on for years. I saw this when I served on a board of education.
We need a snark-free debate on this matter of K-12 tenure.
The Vergara decision is a step toward updating tenure to include work performance as part of the criteria for granting and maintaining tenure. The California court's decision might just open the door to making it a bit more possible to remove tenured teachers who really don't belong in a classroom. If Ms. Ravitch would turn off her firehose, and consider the merits of modernizing what it means to receive tenure, she would see that Campbell Brown values teachers, and she wants to elevate the profession to a higher level.
The Ravitch blog implies that teachers need tenure protection so they won't be fired as a result of false accusations by children. I doubt Campbell Brown, or anybody else, wants unfair firings. However, New York's 3020-A process for firing tenured teachers is so complex and so expensive that it's seldom invoked. When it is used the process is costly to taxpayers, and klunker teachers can remain on the payroll, or even in front of kids, while it rambles on for years. I saw this when I served on a board of education.
We need a snark-free debate on this matter of K-12 tenure.
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