Running schools on a business model, whether it is New York City or Washoe County School District, is the rot that will kill the system once and for all. And that's what the privatizers want.
Ohanian:
Working in private industry, three months after receiving the highest employee rating ever, I was forced out because a new boss perceived me as a threat. Anyone who has ever worked in private industry has similar tales to tell.
Corporate politicos like Welch and Klein can pooh-pooh seniority all they want, but there is no question that years of experience season a teacher. After five years, she begins to have a real grasp of what teaching is all about, and by ten years she's probably standing on solid ground. But even then, every day is a new day with new challenges. Teaching, when practiced by a professional, is never static, never just bean counting--or test training.
Yes, some teachers "get it" more quickly and some few teachers never do get it. But to let the corporate politicos scrap the seniority system, turning teaching into one more competitive rat race for test scores would be destroy any semblance of teaching as a profession.
Here's Klein's view of teachers: Most people who came to public education think that if you show up on day one and just stay out of trouble, you can be there forever.
She writes about the UFT being scared to confront this crook, but he should be sent packing.
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