Should teacher tenure matter?

Published: February 5, 2012

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Last week's question: How much should tenure matter in considering furloughs of public school teachers?

A lot: (81 votes) 31.52%

Somewhat: (46 votes) 17.90%

Not at all: (124 votes) 48.25%

Other: (3 votes) 1.17%

Total: 257

Comments

Gowen City

Tenure should matter a lot. The state teachers retirement fund is $20 billion underfunded, and the taxpayer at some point will be expected to pick up that ball and chain.

Mount Carmel

Tenure isn't designed to help a teacher keep his or her job in the face of a budget deficit. It is meant for the teacher to be able to teach a subject the way they want to without any pressure from the administration if the administration doesn't agree with how the teacher is teaching.

Shamokin

In a perfect world, tenure would speak to being professional, being passionate about your work and inspiring others. This would be teaching or any other profession. This world is not perfect. We have deadbeats everywhere. But then you cannot blame all teachers if you have a student and parents who are just indifferent, who could care less.

Shamokin

It's just like any other job when there are layoffs. Seniority matters!

Atlas

Tenure is a ridiculous concept. It was designed to give teachers freedom to teach how they want to without fear of reprisal or loss of job. It has turned into a safety net for everything. It should be restricted so as not to cover anyone if the budget can't afford the position. I know of no other job that has this type of safety net.

Catawissa

That's the problem with the country as a whole. Never mind if they can actually do the job or perform well.

Coal Township

It should be the only thing considered. Tenure is a fancy word for seniority. If a person builds seniority over their career, it should be recognized for what it is worth, and it should not be compromised just because a bunch of elected officials want to get rid of someone, and the local pundits and naysayers are jealous because they don't have an education and enjoy seeing someone lose their job. Seniority is what it is, and means everything in the private sector, and this should also apply in the arena of public employees, like it or not. The people who don't want it should do themselves and everyone else a favor, and that is to go away themselves.

Bohemia, N.Y.

Too often, I have encountered tenured teachers who may have, at one time, actually taught their students, but are not doing so now. One math teacher could not be bothered to help this one class, after school or during class time. It took another teacher in another subject area to help these 30 youngsters. In this case, that math "teacher" should have been furloughed.

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