Tenure Doesn’t Protect

Incompetent Teachers

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to the letter of 3/10/2011 from Oscar Berendsohn titled “The Trouble with Tenure.” I can no longer sit on the side and listen to people ramble on about things that they don’t know or understand. You cannot use pundits on television as your sole source of information.

Mr Berendsohn stated that nothing he “can think of is more detrimental to excellence in education than tenure in office.” I can think of many things far more detrimental. Current tenure laws in Connecticut and across most of the country already contain provisions to rid school systems of incompetent teachers. Competency must be determined by a proper evaluation system. This is what is lacking in most districts. If you want to reform something, then reform the evaluation systems that are in place in most districts. In this litigious society, Mr Berendsohn, doing away with tenure laws will not lessen the cost of employee removal so long as evaluation systems do not provide adequate evidence of incompetence.

As a teacher, I would ask your readers to do their homework and read www.cga.ct.gov/2002/olrdata/ed/rpt/2002-r-0469.htm, which is a summary of the tenure laws for Connecticut as published on the Connecticut Department of Educations website. The very first reason listed for dismissal is incompetence. If local boards of education would use the laws already at their disposable school systems could be relieved of true incompetence. Tenure laws have one purpose only and that is to guarantee due process and prevent the release of older more experienced teacher in favor of less expensive replacements simply because somebody doesn’t like somebody else or because the boss’s brother needs a job!

Paul Gallichotte

95 Lee Farm Drive, Southbury                                     March 22, 2011