Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 | Regarding “Schools Beset with Problems”, the headline is dramatic but perhaps a little overly so in response to a single study that seems to take a superficial look a wide range of issues.
I’m hard pressed to understand why it’s a negative that we don’t fire more teachers. I get that not all teachers are good ones, but doubt the solution to our educational problems is to fire more. I can’t say the low number alarms me. In my entire adult life in the private sector, I’ve seen maybe a handful of people fired for poor performance. Also, did the study look at the intervention process for teachers who’ve had negative evaluations? Perhaps the real story is that they tend to be successful.
And the idea of mayoral control over the district is a laughable, simplistic solution to a very complex problem. It’s a perfect example of the kind of quick fix thinking that dominates educational reform. Got a problem, let’s put the mayor in charge! Or better yet — a CEO!