This columnist has it right. I would go further and say tenure doesn't protect teachers so much as it protects school districts from even more wrongful termination lawsuits by putting a brake on idiot principals' worst impulses.
School districts are highly political workplaces, yet they are workplaces that REQUIRE stable classroom environments for students. It is not the same as working in a 9-5 job in business.
How is it possible to "make sure our classrooms have the best teachers possible" when someone thinking about entering Florida's public school system knows he or she will be constantly second-guessed by bloviating, posturing pols who have no understanding of the rigors of today's classroom pressures?
Are there incompetent teachers? Sure there are, but it could be argued on a percentage basis there are probably fewer of them strolling the hallways of our schools than the out-to-lunch backslappers haunting the corridors of power in Tallahassee.
Thrasher's disingenuous posturing notwithstanding, procedures are already in place to monitor and evaluate teacher performance. Bad teachers are weeded out of the system.
But to equate student test scores to the skills of a teacher, without taking into account factors such as learning disabilities, parental involvement, economic status, school resources and a host of other issues is patently unfair and dangerously naive.
Miami Democratic Sen. Frederica Wilson had it right when she suggested if Thrasher has his way fewer teachers are going to offer their services to at-risk inner city schools, fearing low test scores could well send them packing after precious little time on the job to make a difference.
Who would want to step into a work environment where your future is dependent on a multitude of forces beyond your control?
Exactly. I wish this writer were writing for the New York Times and the Washington Post.
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