Are Teachers Unions and Teachers' Tenure the Bane of our Public School System - Research Paper Example

 Are Teachers’ Unions and Teachers' Tenure the Bane of our Public School System? Abstract This Research Paper is an assessment of teachers unions particularly in the State of Michigan and how they influence the existing public schools system. Part of the arguments will also be about the Michigan Teachers Association. Likewise, it will discuss the issue of teachers’ tenure in accordance with what has been prescribed by the law and its effect on public school institutions. There will be discussion on whether the unions are to be blamed for this specific concern. The treatise also touches on the State of Michigan and will try to find out the pros and cons of teachers’ tenure. It will seek to present objectively both the negative and positive effects of unions. However, in the end, the conclusion will connote that indeed these unions contribute positively to public schools and that the tenure of teachers should remain enforced provided there are mechanisms to ensure the accountability of teachers. Teachers’ Tenure More than 2 million teachers in the US benefit from the security of tenure. The tenure system is considered an internal policy of many educational institutions in the United States of America primarily for the protection of teachers and as a means of ensuring the right to academic freedom. According to the Encyclopedia of Everyday Law, teachers in the US are accorded a number of rights concerning their employment to include the recognition of certain freedoms, prohibition against certain forms of discrimination and protection against dismissal from their position. These rights are derived from state and federal constitutional provisions, state and federal statutes, and state and federal regulations. In the State of Michigan, a Teachers Tenure Act was enacted regarding the continuing tenure of office of public school teachers, “Certificated teachers in public educational institutions; to provide for probationary periods; to regulate discharges or demotions; to provide for resignations and leaves of absence; to create a state tenure commission and to prescribe the powers and duties thereof; and to prescribe penalties for violation of the provisions of this act” (Rapp, 2001). Obviously, the main purpose of this legislative act was to guarantee that mentors from public schools get full job security. However, not all sectors are in total conformity with this practice. In fact, in a Time Magazine news article last 2008, Michelle Rhee, superintendent of Washington D.C. schools, insisted that tenure is wholly irrational. “Even other critics declared that the problem with tenure is that it inadvertently protects incompetent teachers from being fired. The Teach for America alumna, who oversees some 50,000 students and 5,000 teachers, has sparked controversy in the capital by proposing a new contract allowing teachers to earn as much as $130,000 a year if they forgo their tenure rights” (Stephey). Based on statistics, a teacher's standard salary, is less than $48,000 with most teachers getting a starting salary of $32,000. Stephey further adds that “although tenure doesn't guarantee lifetime employment, it does make firing teachers a difficult and costly process, one that involves the union, the school board, the principal, the judicial system and thousands of dollars in legal fees. In most states, a tenured teacher cannot be dismissed until charges are filed and months of evaluations, hearings and appeals have occurred”. However, before any assumptions can even be arrived at regarding this issue, it is very important to first delve on the issue of teachers unions and the public school system in the USA. Teachers’ Unions Based on a chronicled report, despite conflicting views regarding the particular method of improving America’s public schools whether school choice, charter schools, or rewarding better teachers with better pay, teachers unions continue to block any meaningful reforms to improve the system (Center for Union, 2010). An article which came out in the LA Weekly supports this theorem, “The larger problem in L.A. is one of ‘performance cases’ — the teachers who cannot teach, yet cannot be fired. Their ranks are sizable, about 1,000 teachers, responsible for 30,000 children. In the past, officials spent $3.5 million trying to fire just seven of the district's 33,000 teachers for poor classroom performance and only four were fired. In legal struggles that ensued, the three others were paid large settlements, and one was reinstated. The average cost of each battle was $500,000 (Barrett, 2010)”. There are other widespread criticisms against teachers unions as being detrimental not only to the progress of public school institutions but more importantly to the development and performance of students. Therefore, it is imperative to appraise carefully the role of teachers unions in public schools. In a radio show, detractors of teachers unions complained that teachers' unions stand in the way of education reform, and protect underperforming educators. The main guest of the program, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, also argued that teachers must play a key role in shaping education reform, and that administrators must share responsibility for student performance (NPR, 2010). The common question that comes out now is: Are teachers unions the cause of public school problems today? Many people including some politicians opine that teachers unions are harming America's schools. For them, all unions demand is for more pay, and less work. It's easy for them to spin, because on the surface, unions are looking for more money and smaller class sizes. Still, without the unions, schools would not be even up to the level they are today (Bernard, 2010). Bernard further adds, “There are excellent teachers throughout the nation. These teachers work hard every day to effectively educate millions of American children so that they too can realize the American dream. These teachers deserve merit pay for the hard work. They deserve to be free from encumbrances like teacher tenure programs promoted by various teachers unions that make it impossible to terminate the employment of ineffective and unmotivated teachers. Each year, our government spends well over $500 billion on public education. And what are the results? Not even three quarters of students graduate from high school and we continue to lag behind many other countries on international standardized tests”. Perhaps, one of the possible solutions then is for public schools to talk with teachers unions and arrive at a consensus such that these unions will collaborate with the schools. It is also necessary for these unions to think creatively and come up with programs that will enhance the teacher’s status and reform the public education system broken. Michigan Teachers Association However, before we arrive at our conclusions, it is best to take a look at the Michigan Education Association and determine the possible relationship with states that do not have a teachers’ tenure. One particular example is the State of Wisconsin that has no tenure for school teachers. The association, the biggest teachers union in Michigan, was not too upbeat about the package of bills passed by Congress reforming the pension system for public school employees. “One bill would encourage older public school teachers to retire by boosting their pension benefits, allowing the state to hire younger teachers at lower pay rates. A second bill passed at the same time requires public school employees to contribute 3 percent of their salaries toward their eventual retirement. The package also includes a new “hybrid” pension plan for new teacher hires, mixing defined-benefit and defined-contribution plans (Brayton, 2010)”. As a matter of fact, the association described this “bill as an ill-conceived plan of legislators that will not deliver savings to cash-strapped school districts. The meager incentive included in the bill will fail to entice anyone not already planning to retire to do so. In fact, it will cost school districts far more money than any estimated savings because the numbers of potential retirees who might take advantage is grossly exaggerated”. This particular development and the reaction of the MEA clearly underscores the influence of teachers unions and the significant role they play in matters concerning public school teachers. Before going into the pros and cons of teacher tenure, it is necessary to evaluate the definition of teachers’ tenure is one of the highly dispute issues of schools boards across the nation. While there are good reasons to continue tenure, there are equally good reasons to discontinue it. Teacher tenure takes place after a number of years of closely examined performance. Attaining tenure simply makes it more difficult, but not impossible for schools to lay off teachers.  While state laws differ as to the number of years, most of the laws created by state legislators include specific rights for tenured teachers. They can only be dismissed for specific reasons named in the state statutes. The tenure laws give the teachers the right to bump non-tenured teachers if their position is eliminated and they are qualified for the non-tenured teacher’s position. Tenure gives the teacher the right to speak out on political issues that directly affect the schools.  Since teachers are closest to the front lines, they often have informed opinions on legislation and changes that benefit the schools. However, political issues do not constitute the most dangerous part of eliminating tenure. Financial issues are the key reason tenure continues. On the other side of the issue is the negative effect that tenure has to maintain inadequate teachers and those whose behavior is uncomely in the school situation. It costs money to dismiss a teacher that chooses to fight back. Thousands of dollars are wasted each year when the school board dismisses tenured teachers that wish to fight their decision (USLegal.com). Assessment and Conclusion After going through the numerous contentions about teachers’ tenure, it is of merit that we look at the credible benefit of teachers’ tenure. First, it guards the teachers from being dismissed from their respective districts without probable cause. Second, teachers are guaranteed that those who have satisfactory performance will not lose their position even if the schools are confronted with financial problems. Yet, there is the factor to consider that teachers have to be motivated so as not to diminish his or her performance. There is a probability that teachers’ tenure may result in complacency. In terms of discipline, teachers’ tenure could also compel school administrators to waver in enforcing discipline among teachers who come out with sub-par performances. A case in point is an incident in 2005 in the State of Illinois. Out of more than 95,000 teachers in Illinois, only two were let go for poor performance. The same investigation found that an average of only five teachers were let go for misconduct. The educational, physical, emotional and mental well-being of students thus may be at risk with teacher tenure (Thibodeaux, 2006). Lastly, it is always highly expensive to fire a teacher with tenure since there are the legal aspects and contract that has to be bought out for consideration. Even then, the overall conclusion of this Paper with respect to teachers’ tenure is this should always be imposed provided that there safeguards or mechanisms just to make sure that teachers can always be held accountable for their performance. In short, the tenure of teachers can be in effect for as long as the following factors are take into account – the welfare of the students, the interests of the teachers, the well-being of the schools and the benefits of the public school system. In relation to this position, it is now appropriate to expound on the teachers’ unions which we believe are vital to the public school system and contribute immensely to the benefits of the school and the entire public school system in general. Teachers unions became an institutional player in public education with the advent of mandated collective bargaining throughout much of the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Through this process they acquired considerable influence not only over wages, benefits, and conditions of employment but over the educational program of school districts as well (Cato, 2010, p. 163). What then are the benefits of teachers unions to the public? Diane Ravitch says that “the public interest is served when teachers are able to do their jobs without fear of intimidation by uninformed, non-professional administrators. Teachers are the front-line workers of education; they are the ones who are in daily contact with children. It is they who must make minute-to-minute, on-the-spot decisions about the best interests of children. When their knowledge and wisdom are discounted and disregarded, we cannot expect education to improve”. Notwithstanding unconstructive postulations by different individuals and sector, on the whole, teachers unions have positive contributions not only to the teachers and their members but the whole system as well. It is still our major argument that teachers’ unions should be credited for helping enhance the public education structure in the country today. References Barrett, B. (2010, February 11). LAUSD’s Dance of the Demons. LA Weekly News. pp. 1 -7. Bernard, M. (2010, August 10). Teachers Unions are Real Roadblock to Education. Making the Grade. The Grio. Brayton, E. (May 14, 2010). Teacher Retirement Plan Passed by Legislature. The Michigan Messenger. michiganmessenger.com. Coulson, A. (2010) The Effects of Teachers Unions on Education. Cato Journal. p. 163. Thibodeaux, W. (1996), Pros and Cons of Teachers Tenure. www.ehow.com/about Hardymon, B. (Associate Editor), Jenkins K. (Producer) November, 2010. The Role of Teachers Unions in Education. 30 minutes. Radio Broadcast. NPR. Phelps, S (Ed). (2006) Teachers’Rights. In Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Retrieved November 25, 2010 from eNotes.com. Rapp, J., Education Law. Lexis Publishing. Ravitch, D. Why Teachers Unions are needed? Education World. Published February 21, 2007 http://www.educationworld.com Stephey, M. (2008). A History of Tenure. Time Magazine. Read More