There is much talk in the media concerning the dismal state of public education in America.  Most often the central focus of the discussion involves the word “tenure.”  Tenure, the talking heads rant, is the crux of the problem.  The schools are full, they say, of incompetent teachers who can’t be fired.  I taught in a Pennsylvania public school for thirty years and my short response to the media’s outcry against tenure can be expressed in one word – rubbish.  I will, however, give a more thorough response even though no one from the media reads my blog nor would they understand it if they did. 

Teachers are observed formally several times if they are untenured and once each subsequent year throughout their careers.  The formal observation, however, is only the tip of the ice burg. Permit me to explain.  All good administrators spend much of the school day outside their offices and in the school community.  Let us say, for example, that an administrator is walking through the halls ten minutes into a class period and he observes that students in a particular classroom are visiting amongst themselves and that the lesson has yet to commence.  He makes a written note of that observation, complete with time and date.  During subsequent days and weeks he observes and documents similar incidents.  Then, perhaps, during the formal observation he finds other issues - perhaps lack of control, lack of organization, or lack of subject competence. The list could be endless.  These observations, along with the informal ones are included in the teacher’s formal evaluation form in which they receive an unsatisfactory rating.  The administrator then meets with the teacher and makes recommendations for correcting the problems.  Sometimes this is all that is needed.  I have seen teachers take constructive criticism seriously, work hard to correct the problems and become outstanding educators.  Other times, however, the problems persist.  Once again the administrator carefully documents these issues through formal and informal observations. If a second unsatisfactory rating is issued, the teacher, even if tenured, can legally be dismissed.  While the procedure may vary slightly from state to state, that is generally the way the system works.  Problems occur when an administrator, whether through weakness, incompetence, or in many cases, an overabundance of paperwork, fails to properly document issues.  Then, suddenly the semester ends, evaluation forms are due and the teacher who should have received an unsatisfactory rating receives a satisfactory.  Tenure, therefore, does not protect bad teachers from being fired.  Rather, ineffective evaluations are the culprit.  In my view, the concept of tenure is a necessary protection for good and effective teachers who may be victims of the very political nature of public education.  Without tenure the excellent teacher and coach who cuts the child of an influential person in the community from the basketball team may find his job in danger.  Without tenure an effective teacher may find her position in jeopardy if a school board member’s relative recently graduated from college and wants a teaching position in the district.  Without tenure the exceptional teacher who has a personality clash with his building principal may be unfairly dismissed.  I could go on.  The reasons for tenure are endless.  Still, tenure does not prevent bad teachers from being dismissed.  Tenure is not a teacher problem, but rather an administrative one.

I do agree with those who say our public schools need improvement.  Sadly, the endless banter about tenure blinds us from the real problems that need to be addressed.  While there are many valid issues that warrant debate, I will limit myself to a discussion of student attendance and academic atmosphere.  Let me begin with attendance.

If you undertook an accurate study of student attendance at any struggling public school, you most certainly would be both shocked and enlightened by the correlation between weak academic skills and excessive absentee rates.  It is my view that more than two or three absences in a ninety day semester is excessive. And the absentee rate for many students is far greater than that.   

Most good educators teach in what I refer to as units of study. My field, for instance, might have a three week unit on the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  Teaching such a unit is like building a structure.  You begin with a foundation, which in my example would be a reading and discussion of the complex causes of the economic collapse. Should a student miss that lesson, the remainder of the unit becomes a confusing collection of facts - people, laws, programs and concepts that he only needs to know for some future exam.  Throw in a few more absences and the confusion multiplies. 

I recall that I was once told that my Advanced Placement American history students were expected to score no lower than four out of five on their AP exams.  I relished the challenge of preparing them for the exam and expected to be held accountable, but only if attendance to class mattered.  The best teacher in the world could not produce high AP scores from empty desks. 

Equally important to effective teaching is the subject of school atmosphere.  It is my sincere belief that schools in general and classrooms in particular are very special places. Critical thinking skills are developed there. Respect for the views of others are nurtured there.  Controversial issues are discussed there.  Learning takes place there.  How you present yourself, how you act, and the language you use there matters. Sadly, this kind of respect, even reverence, for the classroom is missing in many schools.  It has been replaced by a loud and anxious tempo.  Dress is inappropriate.  Electronic gadgets such as cell phones and mp3 players are everywhere.  Coarse language permeates the air.  Little learning can occur in conditions such as these.  Before real improvements can take place these issues must be addressed.  But this is difficult when students are bombarded by a popular culture that promotes incivility. It is difficult when the media glamorizes bad behavior.  And yes it is difficult when the vice president of the United States, when introducing the president at the White House for what they call historic legislation, uses crude language into a “hot” microphone and then is exulted in the media as “Joe Cool” for the following seventy two hour news cycle. 

There are many other reasons for the poor performance of many American public schools and it is my hope that this newsletter sparks a discussion of those issues.  I simply conclude by restating what I said at the beginning – American education has serious and complex problems and the media’s obsession with tenure is typical of their shallow and simplistic profession.  To think that getting rid of tenure will suddenly produce a nation of perfect SAT scores is rubbish.