Once again, the Washington Post's historic animosity to unions (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/24/AR2010012402756.html) seems to be the driving force on its editorial page. In today's editorial http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2009/04/washington-post-steps-up-anti-union.html their primary justification for supporting massive changes in Maryland education law is that teachers and their unions oppose the changes. No need to let facts get in the way of a good argument.
The Post calls for extending the teacher probationary period from two years to three years in Maryland. No mention is made of the fact that Maryland school systems already have the unhindered ability to extend the probationary period to three years for any teacher. But the Post wants to change the rules for all new teachers to accomplish something that school districts can already do in the cases where they want to.
The Post goes further and calls for abolishing teacher tenure completedly. But the Post fundamentally misunderstands the tenure law. They (repeatedly) equate it with "lifetime job guarantees". That is just dead wrong. Teachers in Maryland do not have "lifetime job guarantees". Never have. Never will. That is a straw man for attacking teacher unions.
What teachers in Maryland do have is due process. To say, as the Post does, that "tenure may have made sense... before there was due process to address arbitrary firings" is a nonsensical statement. Tenure IS due process. In Maryland the teacher employment law simply requires that after successful completion of a probationary period, 1) there must be grounds for discharge, 2) the teacher must be notified of the charges and 3) must be given the opportunity for a hearing before the county school board before a decision is made. That is due process, not some "lifetime job guarantee".
50% of new teachers leave the classroom within 5 years. Retaining the best and brightest new teachers is a much bigger problem than dismissing those who don't have the necessary skills. Maryland school systems already have the authority they need to weed out under-performers. If some systems aren't doing enough, it's not because of the state law. "Abolishing tenure" is a solution in search of a problem - and a distraction from the real challenges our schools face.
Tom Israel
MCEA Executive Director.
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