There is No "Grand Bargain" for Teachers
There were some great segments on Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC show yesterday (check out the entire video at Crooks and Liars). In particular, NYC teacher Megan Behrent and Philadelphia City Paper's Daniel Denvir were both excellent.
But I'd like to hone in on two particular exchanges:
OK, stop right there, and let's get a few things straight:
No one - and I mean, NO ONE - thinks the very worst teachers should stay in schools. The unions don't believe that, and they've said so again and again. They proposed ways to streamline tenure hearings so we can cap the time and the costs. The fact is that defending bad teachers is expensive for unions; they'd be better off if they could cap the costs of removing these teachers, rather than drawing out
But I'd like to hone in on two particular exchanges:
OK, stop right there, and let's get a few things straight:
No one - and I mean, NO ONE - thinks the very worst teachers should stay in schools. The unions don't believe that, and they've said so again and again. They proposed ways to streamline tenure hearings so we can cap the time and the costs. The fact is that defending bad teachers is expensive for unions; they'd be better off if they could cap the costs of removing these teachers, rather than drawing out