Teacher unions fight any change in tenure rules tooth-and-nail. Tenure has become the equivalent of a lifetime judicial appointment (something I also oppose: I think 12 years of service in any one type of elected or appointed federal job is sufficient in a nation of over 300 million people). The idea of lifetime appointments was to protect a judge from politically motivated reprisals. There really isn't any comparable concept in lower education, except perhaps for teaching the theory of evolution. In most states, except Wisconsin (and to some extent now Colorado), tenure is usually granted after 3 years of employment. (It takes twice as long on the college level.) It becomes almost impossible to get rid of mediocre teachers, protected by teacher unions.
The issue between performance and compensation can be difficult for most people to follow. Most researchers (including myself) prefer to see objective evidence, with multiple assessment points and criteria. There are some metrics issues that concern teachers; I briefly described the general concept in a prior post discussing Crist's unfortunate veto of a teaching reform measure a couple of months back. The problem has been accountability; we've had enough of 101 excuses why it's not the teachers' fault: it's the fault of the parents, the community, the economy, etc. But the bottom line is that we should be able to see definite deltas from the classroom experience--over various concrete educational objectives. For example, whereas the merit of a particular piece of art is subjective in nature, there are ways to measure improvement, e.g., the demonstration of more advanced techniques, the planning and execution of more complex or abstract pieces, etc. We should not be seeing the more of the same type work the student was doing in fifth grade.
It isn't often I take the time to credit a Democratic lawmaker (since normally Democrats do whatever the teacher union tell him or her to do), but freshman Colorado state senator Michael Johnson, a former principal, led the way, withstanding filibuster threats and other forms of political pressure, explicitly linking directional student performance to tenure and the bill was signed into law by a Democratic Governor Bill Ritter. I'm not happy about any appeal process going to the highest state courts, but hearing another Democratic lawmaker, a former 25-year teacher, crying over what she feels is a scapegoating of teachers and an impossible task: Listen, if these teachers don't have the confidence they can make a difference in students actually learning something, they shouldn't be in the profession. The bipartisan National Council on Teacher Quality calls it a significant step forward.
Sharron Angle and Taking on Harry Reid
Harry Reid thinks he can put Sharron Angle away by painting her as an extremist, e.g., calling for Cabinet level reforms (e.g., doing away with a separate Department of Education). First and foremost, Sharron Angle needs to make this a referendum on Harry Reid's performance in office. He has been Obama's foot soldier in running up the three largest federal deficits ever. The Obama legislative agenda Reid is pushing is out of step with what most people want. Moreover, Reid has done nothing to shore up entitlement solvency. Second, Sharron Angle must not allow Reid to define her. She needs to point out the motivation behind Cabinet level streamlining has more to do with better resource utilization within the federal government and use the example, say, of the BP spill disaster, to argue for more transparency in government by simplifying interfaces and sharing resources better. It is important we make the tough decisions of efficiently and effectively using public dollars vs. waiting until we have a $20T national debt and climing. Nevada needs a fresh new voice, a change this fall, not more of the same progressive agenda by a professional politician.
Political Cartoon
Steve Kelley notes that there are a lot of pipes that Obama is having problems with; for instance, during the BP oil spill crisis, Obama's credibility has been flushed down the toilet.
Quote of the Day
True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often, and changeth his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubteth not; he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.
Akhenaton
Musical Interlude: Chart Hits of 1963
The Beach Boys, "Surfin' USA"
The Crystals, "Then He Kissed Me"
Skeeter Davis, "The End of the World"
Peter, Paul and Mary, "Blowin' in the Wind"
