Just diversion: True solution to problems in schools not about tenure

Attacking teacher tenure sounds good, tough.

It makes you look like you are doing something in the battle to improve schools.

It gives you a scapegoat, someone to blame.

But here's the truth.

If North Carolina removed every ineffective or less-than-motivated teacher in every school district, there would be no meteoric rise in test scores and 100 percent graduation rates would not become the norm.

Education doesn't work that way.

Teachers are merely one factor in a complicated dance that involves home environment, parent support, student dedication and interest and resources.

Social mores play a role, as do some other variables that are not even close to something that a teacher can control.

So, spouting a new bunch of "blah" about holding teachers accountable is just that ... "blah."

There are bad teachers, just like there are bad plumbers, lawyers, government workers, chief executive officers or waitresses.

But there are more teachers -- many more -- who are dedicated, hard-workers who strive every day to teach the students in their classrooms what they need to know to survive in the real world.

The ability to measure what children learn across a variety of variables, and to create an evaluation system that reflects a fair measure for performance, is just about impossible. And to judge a professional in any way other than with clear objective measures is nothing but a sideshow to the real work that needs to be done to fix the problems in the state and nation's schools.

There are reasons for teacher tenure -- and they do not involve creating cushy forever jobs for teachers. Changing the current system is fine, as long as the evaluation process and new rules address the concerns that teachers have.

But this is nothing more than a distraction from the real issues, the real problems in public schools.

If the state wants to improve education, its leaders need to really listen to those who work in the classrooms and who have to deal with the day-to-day operations in schools. They would learn a lot about what it will really take to make the state's schools Grade A.

In the meantime, they should stop fooling around with pronouncements that do nothing but give the impression that something is being done as the problems remain and multiply.

Published in Editorials on April 24, 2014 11:54 AM