History students
Please think about these questions tonight and be prepared to discuss them in class tomorrow:
Are unions necessary in today's world as they were a century or more ago? What has changed for workers and what has remained the same?
Are there certain occupations that should not have the right to strike? Why/why not?
Here's a story you can either read or listen to regarding teacher seniority.
posted by Mr. Carlisle at 9:38 AM
11 Comments:
I think that seniority is important, but I agree that it isn't the only factor to consider because some older teachers maybe worse at teaching than the new ones.
4:47 PM
I totes agree that seniority should not just be the deciding factor. Not that I know what the new standard should be, but just because a teacher has been able to teach for a long time doesn't mean they should continue to. There are smarter, more attractive teachers looking for jobs that could better benefit the student's intellect.
6:42 PM
Seniority is a good thing to have, but it should not be the only or most important deciding factor. Seniority doesn't make someone a good teacher. The seniority rule could prevent great young teachers from getting sufficient experience, and they might not find a stable job. There are many factors that should be looked at, such as what students think of them.
7:01 PM
Michelle,
Did you just state that people should be hired as teachers not only based on their ability but also their looks???
7:05 PM
I agree with Michelle in that seniority shouldn't just be the deciding factor. The teachers who have been around longer I feel aren't always the best teachers.
9:42 PM
I guess it really depends on what your definition of "the best" is.
9:45 PM
Seniority should definitely not be the only thing that determines whether a teacher gets to stay or not. I like the evaluation idea! Teachers should be evaluated; that way the district will get a look on what the person is really like. They can see how well they get along with their students and what they're teaching techniques are. I think there should be a mix of evaluation and seniority.
10:23 PM
Ultimately, the best evaluation system should be comprehensive. Seniority works when deciding between cutting someone with five years experience versus someone with one year, as teachers become more efficient and effective after the first few years. Too much after that, I don't see the point. Teachers wear out. Another criteria could be peer evaluation. Teachers know what to look for best in a good teacher. When making district-wide cuts, student evaluations are too subjective and impractical, but in a smaller scale, detailed student evaluations (read: not numbers) can easily influence a teacher's chances of staying/leaving. I understand the necessity of standardized tests to evaluate overall performance among schools and districts, but this should not be done on a teacher-by-teacher basis. Even if teachers were measured on just test score improvement, it's still not an accurate representation and will likely cause teachers to make their classes test prep sessions instead of learning environments.
I like TTSD's step increase system, which has defined salaries unlike some places where I hear "horror" stories about teachers making six-figure salaries and getting massive pensions after getting pay raises for 50 years. Easy solution would be to decrease the increments across the board, but more so for the higher levels, then add another step as a compromise.
Don't even get started about poverty vs. achievement or the role of parents
10:59 PM
I think that seniority should not be very relevant when deciding whether a teacher gets to stay or not. If the teacher is no longer able to get the information across to their students or isn't able to do it as well as other teachers then they should be the one to go no matter how long they have been there. After a certain point some teachers may stop putting effort into teaching students because since they have seniority over many of the other teachers they will not be getting fired.
11:04 PM
I agree that seniority should not be a deciding factor when it comes to budget cuts and laying off teachers. But then again what would be the alternative? How does one measure how qualified a teacher is? Test scores? I don't know what the solution would be but I believe that seniority should not be the deciding factor.
11:04 PM
There should definitely be a judging factor to this, choosing the better teacher whether they've been there for a long time or is brand new. But I also think there should be a different look on this all, taking teachers out of school shouldn't have to do with money. There should be more investment into education. On top of everything else, schools should be the last thing to be affected during the bad times in the country.
11:59 PM
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