Want to learn more about teacher tenure? After you learn the basics with our explainer on teacher job protections, check out these articles and studies to learn more:
• Try this very probing article to understand why teachers fought so hard for tenure in the first place. Time Magazine provides some of the same history in a quicker read. Hat tip to reader Erik Bruvold to recommending it!
• The think tank National Council on Teacher Quality focused on improving the teaching pool as a key way to help schools. It gave California a D- for getting rid of ineffective teachers.
• Bill Guy at the California Teachers Association sent me this helpful breakdown of teacher employment policies in different states, which he got from the National Education Association.
• It’s not hard to find strong opinions on tenure, of course, but here are a grab bag of interesting takes to get you started.
Check out this thoughtful blog from teacher Mike Spinrad, a critical take from the East Bay Express, economist Eric Hanushek arguing that better teachers could put the U.S. near the top worldwide, and a sweeping article from school turnaround expert Ken Futernick, who believes teacher retention and improving teaching conditions is a better focus.
Please contact Emily Alpert directly at emily.alpert@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5665 and follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/emilyschoolsyou.