| People who do not work in the educational system | | | | system as a way of insuring freedom of speech for |
| are often surprised when they learn about the tenure | | | | educators, without them needing to worry about losing |
| system. After all, in most professions a person is held | | | | their job because of their opinions. While this might be |
| accountable for their skills, initiative, and effectiveness, | | | | a good thing, it also means that a person is not |
| regardless of how long they have been employed. | | | | necessarily held responsible for any shortcomings they |
| New and more experienced employees alike are | | | | may have as an educator. After all, if you knew your |
| expected to live up to the expectations of their job | | | | job was secure no matter what you did... or didn't do... |
| every day, without there being a certainty of continued | | | | would you be as motivated to do a great job? |
| employment. However, in public school systems and | | | | What Can Be Done? |
| colleges, it's only the new teachers who seem to be | | | | Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an easy |
| held accountable. After a teacher or professor | | | | answer to the tenure dilemma. This system has been |
| becomes "tenured," their job is pretty much | | | | in place for a long time, and change often doesn't |
| guaranteed. | | | | come easy to established educational systems. |
| Tenured Doesn't Necessarily Mean Effective | | | | However, there are some things that could be done to |
| Besides an overall lack of accountability, the tenure | | | | help encourage the accountability of all teachers and |
| system has the effect of retaining the older and | | | | professors. In public schools, it is becoming increasingly |
| tenured educators, while the up and coming educators | | | | common to have an open enrollment system, meaning |
| are sometimes let go because of budget constraints. | | | | that a student is not limited to one particular school. |
| Many of these new teachers and professors are | | | | The fact that students and parents have choices |
| fresh out of college themselves, and are quite | | | | serves as sort of a "checks and balances" system. |
| enthusiastic and passionate about the field of | | | | The end result of this kind of system is a renewed |
| education. However, many times it's these passionate | | | | interest on the part of the school systems and |
| educators that find themselves out of a job. Instead, | | | | educators to do a good job, so that they "earn" the |
| the school or college is left with the tenured teachers, | | | | students that come to their school. The problem is not |
| many of whom may have lost their "fire" and | | | | so easily addressed in colleges, however. If the tenure |
| enthusiasm years ago. Although it's true that many | | | | system remains, there should be an increased |
| tenured teachers remain on the cutting edge of the | | | | emphasis on making sure that tenured educators |
| educational process, many simply do not. | | | | aren't just taking advantage of the fact that their job is |
| Lack of Accountability | | | | virtually guaranteed. Instead, there should be a |
| In a lot of ways, education has become a business. | | | | renewed interest in system supporting the good |
| Instead of focusing on the needs of the students, | | | | teachers, regardless of whether they are tenured or |
| schools and colleges are more about budgets, | | | | not. |
| numbers, and even politics. Some defend the tenure | | | | |