Is Teacher Tenure Really Based On Level Of Conformable Disposition?

There has been an ongoing discussion on my blog link here:PRO on HCPS: Another Kick In The Bucket And DROP Of The Ball


I will leave it to others to follow a couple of obvious tangents one could take from the discourse and try to focus on the thread of the intricacies between DROP and "forced retirement" vs. "selective retention" based on an individual teacher's field.


The discussion over on The Gradebook at this link:
Bills to make it easier to fire Florida teachers follows a similar discussion with similar concerns expressed.

For instance, compare Thomas's statement:

"I feel that is is those experienced and savvy teachers that they want to get rid of"

with

"...I think that's the point, drive out those teachers who aren't compliant brown nosers willing to put up with endless "drill and kill" teach to the test methodologies never questioning anything...". [terminator 8:08 pm]

Another relevant section to read would be Pat Connolly at 5:29 pm and where you can find this:

"...Is it possible that effective teachers whose experience makes them "too expensive" to renew will be cast aside? Is it possible that school boards will choose to not renew the contracts of effective teachers who have spoken out against waste and unethical behavior, who have had the audacity to ask for a bit more than the district was willing to offer, who had the temerity to ask tough questions or politically oppose the status quo? I think the answer is obvious...."

Further collaboration to this point can be found here:

"The problem with this proposal is that some principals will actually prefer to get rid of the good teachers. Mediocre teachers go along with whatever. The best teachers advocate for what is best for their students. Unfortunately, this is not appreciated by some principals. Good teachers sometimes are in conflict with the administration. Think of it like a doctor advocating for their patient when the insurance company doesn't like it. This bill will result in super powerful administrators and go-along get-along teachers will be the ones who are retained. Posted by: J | February 13, 2009 at 08:59 PM

We can also read in the early comments about the continuing war between system supporters vs. parents. I know that I would never trust "the department of education" to make my decisions for me as a parent:

"...Unfortunately too many parents are quick to place judgement on teachers when their child does not get a good grade or misbehaves in school. They believe their child rather than find out from the teacher, who is an adult and a professional, what has happened. The bad teachers are not the ones that parents will determine, the bad teachers are ones that the department of education will decide on. Posted by: meowfl | February 13, 2009 at 08:27 PM"

There has to be better way. And somehow the concept of trust has to be in it.