Teachers CAN be Fired, Oprah

Oprah, you just let down the nation's schoolteachers.

I just happened to turn on the TV this afternoon when the Oprah show was on.  The topic today was some version of how terrible public schools are because bad teachers can't be fired and Unions only help good-for-nothings suck paychecks off the taxpayers. 

Okay, the whole show wasn't about that.  A lot of the show was about how much better off we'd all be if every public school was a charter school. 

I am going to stick to responding to the teacher termination issue, though.  One of the guests on the show for this portion of the "presentation" ( I can't call it a discussion since it was so very one-sided) was the chancellor of the Washington D.C. school system (the equivalent of Texas' superintendents), Michelle Rhee.  Although Oprah prefaced this section with a statement that she "loves" teachers and is not addressing "good" teachers, she goes on to nod energetically and make disbelieving faces as Rhee talks about how unions protect bad teachers and how it is so very, very difficult to terminate even the worst of teachers.  In nearly the same breath Rhee is lauded for terminating nearly 1000 teachers in the district.

 Seems to me she's not having any problems at all terminating teachers. 

I actually think Rhee is a great leader for the DC school system.  She is fearless in ending the status quo and raising the performance bar for everyone, including school administrators, who often escape scrutiny for poor leadership when politicians sit around lamenting the supposedly deplorable state of education. 

However, Rhee is just plain wrong about whether teachers should have strong protections. They are protections, not impediments. Rhee admits during the Oprah appearance that the rules were originally enacted for all the right reasons - so how can she fail to acknowledge that all those same reasons still exist?  The only difference is that now she's the administrator trying to take fast action without having to follow those very same rules.  

Teachers who are not doing their job well can be fired.  This is true in every state and the District of Columbia.  But they can't be fired without some fair notice and right to be heard in defense. And they can't be fired if the campus administrators never take action, which is the real reason that you will occasionally find teachers in the classroom who shouldn't be there. 

Oprah, shame on you for jumping on the business PR bandwagon of bashing the very fair employment rules that apply to most public schoolteachers.  Teachers must be treated fairly by their employers.  That is not an impediment to providing good public schools. The problems of troubled schools and districts cannot be solved by stripping teachers of fair employment rules.  But stripping teachers of fair employment rules can cause a lot of future troubles without even addressing the current ones.  

And that will be bad for education. 

Comments

[Moncler Outlet]

This is a welcome sight. I love the idea of a truck serving healthy food along with vegan entrees. I must see this one.

[Prada Outlet]

Hey, baby! I agree with the idea, perhaps our peers, this is a consensus! I want to use this article, believe that you will agree to me!

[moncler usa]

This looks delicious. I'm going to have to file this one away for myself!

[Kaftan]

Nice article i liked it .. the photos collection are very good .. awesome collection of kaftan really mindblowing thing liked it

[Penegra]

Great information you got here. I've been reading about this topic for one week now for my papers in school and thank God I found it here in your blog. I had a great time reading this.

[North Face Sale]

If a child tells you and you neglect the law, you are open to so many legal battles, you should open your text book as your cold dark heart failed this one!!!

[Polo Ralph Lauren Outlet]

Here I go again. Well, there are no new changes,I hope to see better post next time,see you again.

[Caverta]

I wonder how you got so good. This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your Blog is so perfect!

[Jarod]

_. Very excellent recommendation, awesome learn, thanks

[comprar viagra]

¿Localiza usted esto usted está en la industria para el pene más grande apropiado ahora? Usted quiere ver resultados finales de período de tiempo prolongados agradables que no tienen ningunos resultados de aspecto. Es una verdad provocativa que con todos y cada posibilidad usted considera en la vida cotidiana no hay ningunas garantías. ¿Usted ha sido vencido con artículos que prometen darle su fantasía, pero puede usted confiar en ellos? ¿Usted quiere saber que son indeseables los bienes de ampliación de pene para su bienestar? Primero lejos, usted ha visto posiblemente las toneladas de anuncios para píldoras. Éstos aseguran que si usted los toma con frecuencia entonces usted verá resultados colosales. Este movimiento ha sido muy famoso porque Viagra. La cosa de mirar para es los elementos. Estos suplementos por lo general tienen http://www.comprarviagraes.es/products/viagra.htm - viagra cosas que no son realmente sanas para su cuerpo entero. Por ejemplo, una cápsula podría proporcionar mucho más testosterona para conseguirle a su pico sexual. La verdad es si usted antes la tiene en su cuerpo entero y usted digiere mucho más que usted la necesidad. Su cuerpo entero podría reaccionar gracioso y abandonarle sintiéndose mareado y no capaz de ejecutar en la cama. En segundo lugar, hay bombas que garantizan una mayor dimensión como amablemente. Ellos pueden hacer esto asegurar ya que ellos realmente amplían su talla brevemente. Sin embargo, debido al proceso que es utilizado para esto, usted podría el peligro rompió vasos sanguíneos. Esto podría llevar a la inflamación y el dolor general. También hay muchas bombas ahí que son mal creadas así esto arriesga su bienestar. En tercer lugar, hay ruta duradera de la cirugía. Esto realmente lleva a un mayor pene pero hay un par de desventajas. Inicial, esto puede y dejar el tejido de cicatriz detrás del cual puede la consecuencia en un pene de busca extraño. Esto también puede marchársele con pasar hacia abajo por la erección a largo plazo. La información peor es unos han documentado aquella disfunción eréctil puede instalarse. Una vez que usted tiene esto usted es establecido para resolver una marca registrada nuevo problema. ¿Esto todavía pide la pregunta son pobres los bienes de ampliación de pene para su salud?