Topic: Tenure in New York City

10-second review: Again, the importance of students’ test scores is tied to teachers’ employment.

Title: “City Gets Tougher on Tenure.” B Martinez. Wall Street Journal (September 29, 2010), Internet.

Quote: “The city is making it harder for public-school teachers to get tenure, requiring their students to show progress in consecutive years before instructors gain the coveted job protection.”

Quote: “Traditionally, in New York City as in other places, tenure is granted to teachers three years and a day after they begin working.”

Comment: The very good students and the very poor students are not likely to show significant changes on test scores. The very good students already have high scores and have little room to grow. The very poor students also are not likely to make measurable progress, as shown by test scores. Other measures of progress must be used to show their gains, including their classroom test scores and other examples of students’ work and performance.

I could go on and on with examples from my own experiences as supervisor, K-12, in working with teachers to show the frustration and burn-out with otherwise excellent teachers who willingly accept the challenges of working with poor students who have emotional problems, learning problems, family problems, neighborhood problems, etc. What good teacher will willingly take the challenge of working with troubled students when they could be fired? What’s left? Inexperienced, new teachers who are being set up to fail. It’s not fair. RayS.