Improving American Education: The Fight for Teacher Tenure Reform

It is often questioned as to why the United States is behind the majority of other world powers when it comes to education, specifically kindergarten through high school education. Many reasons have been given over the years to justify America’s lack of superiority in this category, such as large class sizes and outdated facilities and equipment. Countless studies have been conducted to try to answer this question, each coming up with their own variations of the same explanations. Out of all the studies conducted on this topic, very few of them look at American teachers and school administrators as possible source of the mediocre performance of American students. The majority of teachers in the United States are tenured, making them nearly impossible to fire based on their performance and the performance of their students. Tenure, as applied to employment, is defined as “status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent” (Dictionary.com LLC). If teacher and school administrator retention and employment eligibility depended upon the performance of their students rather than their tenure, American education as a whole would have a better chance at catching up to and possibly surpassing the rest of the world powers in one of the most crucial components of national stability. When compared to the other countries of the world, American student achievement ranks in the middle. In 2007 fourth and eighth grade students from around the world participated in the “Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study” (TIMSS). Thirty-six countries participated at the fourth grade level and forty-eight countries at the eighth grade level. The study, conducted every four years since 1995, compares the math and science achievements from around the world at these two age levels (Institute of Educational Sciences). The average score for United States fourth graders was 529 out of a possible 1000. This average ranked the U.S. eleventh out of thirty-six. For eighth graders the U.S. average score was 508, which ranked the U.S. at ninth out of forty-eight (Snyder and Dillow). The overwhelming majority of public school teachers in the United States are backed by powerful teachers unions. The largest two such unions are The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which combined represent more than four million education professionals nationwide. These two unions are some of the biggest contributors to political campaigns as well as some of the most powerful lobbyists in Washington D.C. and all fifty state capitols. The foundation of their agendas, for which they spend so much of their money promoting, is that education professionals should be retained based on tenure first. In most school districts in the United States, tenure can be attained in as little as three years. Once tenure has been granted to a teacher, dismissal of that teacher for reasons other than their personal conduct becomes next to impossible. The primary goal of the teachers unions is to promote legislation that keeps tenured teachers from being fired. The mission statement of AFT states as its first objective “…to improve the lives of our members and their families… (American Federation of Teachers)”. Statements such as this and the actions of the union lobbyists show that the unions concern is for retaining tenured teachers and not for the improvement of the American education system. During the United States’ last economic recession, many school districts were forced into teacher layoffs due to budget cuts. The tenure related rule of “last hired, first fired” was used often in determining which teachers would lose their jobs. The teachers that were laid off were not chosen based on their teaching quality but rather how long they had been a teacher with the particular district. It is impossible to know the effect on educational quality these layoffs caused as many potentially excellent teachers were let go while many less effective tenured teachers were retained. The United States is not the only country in the world that has a tenure system in place for teachers. In fact, the majority of educationally top performing countries in the world do have teacher tenure. The main difference between these countries and the United States lies within the requirements to becoming a teacher. In the United States the basic requirement to becoming a public school teacher includes earning bachelor’s degree and obtaining a teaching certification. The basic requirements in other countries around the world can be much more difficult to achieve. In Finland for example, to become a teacher, one must earn a master’s degree in education. Only one in ten applicants to Finland’s education master’s degree programs is accepted (Abrams). In contrast to Finland, in 2007 only fifty-two percent of United States public school teachers held a masters degree (National Center for Education Statistics). The teacher hiring process in the United States is also different than that of other countries. Some countries look at an individual’s performance in high school as criteria in hiring. In South Korea new teachers must pass an induction test for the subject matter for which they wish to teach. Only forty percent of those who take the test pass (Wang, Coleman and Coley). Singapore and Japan include in their hiring decisions advanced communication skills and proper attitude. If the United States were to adopt stricter requirements for teacher hiring like those implemented in other countries, the overall quality of American teachers would improve and thus the performance of American students would also improve. Teacher tenure in the Unites States is in place to prevent any to whom it is granted from being fired without “just cause”. Just cause is defined as “a reasonable and lawful ground for action”. As it applies to employment, having just cause to terminate someone means that the person in question committed some action severe enough to warrant termination. However, proving just cause is a legal matter and not always an easy thing to do. Firing a teacher in the United States while having just cause can be a lengthy drawn out legal process. If the teacher is a member of a teacher’s union, the union will provide a legal representative to aid the teacher during this process. It involves either moving the accused teacher to a temporary new position away from those people involved in the activity in question or suspension of the teacher with pay for the duration of the process. An investigation into the alleged action has to be conducted. This investigation can take a large amount of time in itself. After the investigation, a review of the investigations findings takes place. During the review, it is determined whether or not there are grounds for just cause. Any teacher fired for just cause has the right to take their case to the appellate courts for judicial review. The appeals process can take many years to complete. If the appellate court determines that there was no just cause for the firing, the fired teacher may sue for wrongful termination. Due to the large monetary and time costs of a just cause firing, many school boards find it more convenient and economical to move the teacher to a new school or job function rather than proceed with the firing process. The lackadaisical approach to discipline of educators in America has created a system in which American students and their educations suffer. Rather than deal directly with problem teachers and face the wrath of the teachers union as well as the school board those principals or board members involved in the firing process tend to take the easy way out. School districts are then left with undisciplined teachers that believe they can get away with anything they want. The United States of America is a county founded on the principles of freedom. It is a nation that does not stand for mediocrity. Throughout our nation’s history there have been many battles for various aspects of freedom. Each of these battles had a similar outcome, one in which freedom prevailed over oppression. Today in America we are at the doorstep of a new freedom fight, the fight for freedom of education. This fight will seek to revolutionize the standards of education in the United States and establish the US as an educational super power in the world. It is time for the citizens of the United States to take control over their education and that of their families away from powerful union lobbyists and the politicians to whom they offer support. Americans must demand more accountability within each individual school district and each individual school so that every child in this country has the opportunity to receive an education that is parallel to none in the world from a teacher who can be called world-class, not tenured.   Works Cited Abrams, Samuel E. "The Children Must Play: What the United States Could Learn from Finland about Education Reform." The New Republic 28 January 2011. Print. American Federation of Teachers. AFT - A Union of Professionals. Mar 2012 . Web. Dictionary.com LLC. Tenure: Define Tenure at Dictionary.com. Mar. 2012 . Web. Institute of Educational Sciences. National Center for Educational Statistics. Mar 2012 . Web. National Center for Education Statistics. Fast Facts. Mar. 2012 . Web. Snyder, Thomas D., and Sally A. Dillow. Digest of Education Statistics 2010. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2011. Print Wang, Aubrey H., et al. Preparing Teachers Around the World. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, 2003. Print.