Word Attack: “Tenure”
SEPTEMBER 28, 2010
Tweeting about tenure during Education Nation.
Yes, the “T” word. The topic needs no introduction; it is one of the most contentious issues in the debate over public schooling. There is a widespread perception that one of the biggest barriers to improving schools is that teachers have ironclad job protections that keep ineffective practitioners in classrooms, to the detriment of their students. But is that really so?
Nope.
Strictly speaking, K-12 teachers do not really have “tenure”. Tenure, in the “lifetime job” sense, is