The practice has evolved as a way to avoid the extensive hearings and appeals required by union contracts and state-labor laws in firing a tenured teacher. Other districts simply transfer inadequate teachers to other schools in what Calif. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called "the dance of the lemons. William Weld tried to pass legislation requiring teachers to take competency tests every five years, a move that triggered a number of complaints from local teachers' unions who called the bill adversarial and intrusive.
Weld defended himself by explaining his stance as "anti-slob teacher," not "anti-teacher. In , Oregon abolished tenure and replaced it with 2-year renewable contracts and a rehabilitation program for underachieving instructors.
Other states like Connecticut, New York and Michigan have simply eliminated the word "tenure" from the Latin tenere , meaning to hold or keep from the books while retaining the due-process rights it embodies.
In Toledo, Ohio, officials have adopted a more creative approach by establishing a mentoring program to improve teacher performance. Fifteen surrounding communities have already copied the idea.
But some teachers argue tenure has become a scapegoat for a whole basket of educational and financial ills responsible for the dismal test scores and disappointing graduation rates in U. Abolishing tenure doesn't address problems of underfunding, overcrowding or improving students' home environments. A key idea is to allow faculty to speak freely — whether on campus or in public — without fear of reprisal.
Achieving tenure is not easy or quick. Then, in a probationary period that can last from 5 to 10 years, but which typically takes 7 years , faculty must demonstrate academic excellence in teaching, research and service to the community. A little less than half of all full-time faculty at colleges and universities in the U. The tenure system was created in the early 20th century as a partnership between the faculty and the institutions that employ them.
The real origins of the concept, though, lie in the practice of 19th-century German universities. Faculty in these universities created wide autonomy for their work on the basis of their pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. The greatest freedom and power went to those professors at the top of a rigid hierarchy.
As a job protection, tenure directly benefits college teachers. Indirectly, tenure benefits a society that thrives through the education and research that colleges and universities create. The job protections are significant. Except in extreme circumstances, faculty who have achieved tenure can expect to be paid for teaching and research for as long as they hold their jobs.
There is no retirement age. Teacher tenure is a policy that prevents teachers from being fired without just cause. In most cases, a tenured teacher cannot be fired for reasons other than severe misconduct or incompetence. Even in some cases of blatant irresponsibility, misbehavior or lack of performance, it is very difficult to dismiss a tenured teacher, and the process can be expensive and time consuming. In most states, tenure is awarded to public school teachers who have served for a certain period of time, usually 3 to 5 years.
The History of Teacher Tenure The history of teacher tenure dates back to the 19th century, when there were little to no policies in place to protect teachers from being fired. Without job protection, teachers could be fired for literally any reason. Race, creed, gender and favoritism were some of the most common reasons for firing teachers before , as was a their political affiliation.
Women could even be fired for becoming pregnant. In , the National Education Association issued a report calling for political action to protect teachers, and in Massachusetts became the first state to pass a pre-college tenure law. New Jersey followed suit in with the first comprehensive tenure law that protected all K teachers.
In the wake of the Great Depression, the prominent teachers unions were formed to fight for job protection and benefits, and by the mid s, 80 percent of all K teachers were tenured.
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