California students file suit aimed at tenure law

AP ^ | 1/27/2014 | LINDA DEUTSCH

[markomalley]

In a packed courtroom, attorneys unveiled opposing views Monday on the emotionally divisive issue of whether California public school teachers should be protected from dismissal if they are found to be grossly ineffective in their jobs.

The opening volleys in what's expected be a monthlong trial came from lawyers for nine students seeking to abolish teacher tenure and seniority, and from attorneys for the governor, state education department and teacher unions who say such extreme measures are not needed.

"The evidence will show that the impact of an effective teacher is profound and undeniable," attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. said. "This is the gateway to their success in society."

He said he will present experts and studies showing that achievements in later life can be measured by interactions with good teachers.

One study showed that students taught by ineffective teachers had their lifetime income reduced by $2 million, Boutrous said.

[markomalley]

But, but, but...tenure for teachers is "for the children" (/sarc)

[South40]

Tenure removes incentives for teachers to put in more than the minimum effort and to focus on improving their teaching. It is why our schools are failing to teach our kids.

[txrefugee]

Taxpayers who pay these wretched union slugs, who are failures at their well-paid jobs, ought to have been in court suing long ago. A generation of uneducated Democrat voters could have been avoided.

[EinNYC]

Why are you promulgating this totally false nonsense? Tenure simply means that a teacher is entitled to due process for any allegations of incompetency or charges against them. They therefore cannot be fired on the whim of a vindictive or incompetent administrator, and there are plenty of those. It is not an invulnerability to being terminated. The vast majority of teachers put in WAY more than the minimal effort to see their students succeed, WAY more hours than simply school time, and spend their own unreimbursed money to buy stuff for their classroom.

I would suggest that you do a great deal more research, perhaps even arrange for a school visit and interview some teachers before you fling your simplistic accusations about.

[Cordio]

As a retired teacher I know of many teachers who fail their students. And who gets these teachers? Children who are most at risk. And why wouldn’t the administration get rid of these teachers if they could? Because it could cost in the millions with the backing of their unions. So they don’t get rid of them, or they transfer them to other schools in the district-just look the other way, it’s too costly and time consuming. This is a good move-and by the students themselves. They know who is effective and who is not.

[Usagi_yo]

Well, making it 18 months of actual in classroom time would be a big improvement.

Of course some sneaky law like ‘if your tenured you don’t have to pay union dues’ would go a long way to reducing blind tenure.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

I wanted to be a math teacher in central Florida, when I looked into it, the district needed qualified teachers.

I had hoped that under Laura Bush it would be easier for vets to do this without all the certification BS.

I personally emailed Laura for clarification on getting military to teachers, I as yet have not received a reply despite having a BS in Math and just short of an MS Software Engineering.

I was not going to take all the touchy feely teacher courses required. I decided to live with my 6 figure current job.

I was just too hardheaded to learn the politically correct way to switch from instructing military trainees to school children.

[fifedom]

This lawsuit is a waste of money and time. The only way to slow down the unions is to cut off their source of money, like Walker is trying in Wisconsin.

Unions are increasingly unpopular even in far-Left Kalifornia. A couple of years back the voters in San Jose passed an initiative limiting union pensions by 71-29. Of course the unions have it tied up in court and even got a far left judge to throw it out but San Jose is appealing the decision.

The only good thing is that this lawsuit will cost the unions millions. But they have more money than they know what to do with. They extract about $1500 a year from the paycheck of each government employee in CA and there are millions of them.

[EinNYC]

I would not trust students to be evaluators of teachers. I’ve seen too much to place much credence in their judgment. They seem to get even more immature every year, too. In the eyes of the students I and my colleagues have observed, a “good” teacher is one who passes everyone without anyone having to do much work. Or who entertains them. Or who lets them violate schools rules, such as wearing hats/ipods/headphones/nasty t shirts in school when they are forbidden by school rules. A “bad” teacher is someone who is strict and actually expects them (the NOIVE of that teacher!) to do assigned work.