Arnie, stop making so much sense!

Not sure how many of you caught this recent article in the LA Times...

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/20/local/la-me-0421-teachers-20100421

In a nutshell, Schwarrzenegar (who can spell that?) is backing a bill that would give school districts the power to make hiring and firing decisions based on performance, rather than seniority. That's right- a public program would reward those who work hard to be effective in their work. I know, it's crazy talk! I joke, but this article highlights a salient issue in education across the nation right now-- all districts are under pressure to make cuts and are unfortunately being forced to let go of new, bright, well-trained teachers (primarily from low-income schools), while too many ineffective teachers with tenure are just taking up space in American classrooms. This bill sheds some light on the what's really important here-- the kids. Poor, children of color are the ones losing out. Their schools house many of the new teachers- the same teachers who are receiving pink slips. Three schools in the Watts neighborhood in LA lost between 50-75% of their teaching staff. With such a high teacher turnover rate, these schools cannot effectively educate the kids who need consistent, quality teachers the most. The California Teachers Union has, of course, denounced the bill. But not because this is in the best interest of the students, but because that's just what they do.

Now, most of you know me as a God-fearing liberal & Democrat. Heck, I even had a short love affair with Socialism in college! But in my heart of hearts, I can't get behind a system, especially a Union, that allows teachers to become lazy and ineffective at the expense of our students. This is certainly not to say that all tenured teachers are ineffective. In fact, many of the best educators I know have been teaching for 20 or 30+ years! But years of experience does not necessarily equate to quality teaching and learning. We need to promote legislation that challenges this faulty logic. And if California's conservative hero the Terminator has to be the guy to do it, well then, I guess I'm behind him!