Participant Reactions
For this section, several teachers and an administrator were contacted. They were
all asked similar questions regarding the practice of tenure, and what they believed
would be a fair system for teacher firing, and protection. The participants were:
Lawrence Robinson, principal of the Littleton Jr. Sr. High School; Sondra Hart, and
Joan Celebi, both teachers in the Littleton Jr. Sr. High School, and Kathleen McCarthy,
a teacher in the City of Worcester Public School System. What follows is a summary
of what they had to say.
The views of these people on tenure differed clearly. Robinson, as a member of the
school administration, was definitely opposed to tenure as it currently exists. Massachusetts,
where Robinson is a principal, no longer has tenure, per se. Massachusetts has enacted
a system called professional status, instead of tenure. When asked, Robinson said
of professional status, "It's the same thing, different name." He went
on to explain that professional status is granted to teachers after a 3 year period
within a school. This status provides teachers with the same protections as a tenure
system. The only difference is that it requires teachers to gain professional development
points, through classes, seminars, workshops, and the like, to maintain their status.
When asked why he opposed tenure, Robinson cited many of the normal complaints of
tenure opponents. He first cited the enormous cost of terminating a tenured teacher.
He stated that to fire a tenured teacher would cost, "two to 3 years, not to
mention hours of the principal's time, and whatever costs for lawyers are incurred."
He also cited the "deadwood" problem, where tenure allows teachers who
are no longer effective to continue teaching. He stated that this was perhaps the
largest problem with the tenure system.
Two of the teachers questioned, Hart and Celebi, work for Robinson in the Littleton
Jr. Sr. High School. They had very similar feelings on the issue of tenure. Both
believed that there should be a system of protection for teachers that would prevent
them from being fired without "just cause". However, both agreed that the
current tenure system provides too much protection for bad teachers. Hart said that
she "knew of a teacher who was allowed to teach for years after everyone knew
that he was completely ineffective." She also said that good teachers would
be valued in any system, so they shouldn't feel "threatened by a loosening in
the absolute protections provided by tenure."
McCarthy, unlike Hart and Celebi, is very much a defender of tenure. She stated that
as an outspoken teacher, she feels that tenure is necessary. She said that with tenure
protection, teachers can complain about poor working conditions to the principal
of the school. However, without a tenure system, it is impossible to complain, as
the only person to complain to is directly responsible for all hiring and firing
decisions. McCarthy believes that without tenure, firings could be largely politically
and personally based, and there would no longer be any protection for teachers.