The decision of a California judge against teacher tenure in California is the alarm bell of attacks on public education, and really, educational standards itself!
There is no question that there are people in the teaching profession who should not be allowed to keep their jobs, due to incompetence, inappropriate behavior in the classroom, and refusal to update their skills and motivation to work.
There is, certainly, a need to give administrators the power to remove such teachers from the classroom and the profession, and therefore, there is a need for reform of tenure.
But the sweeping decision in California will promote right wing attacks on education itself, and will have deleterious effects as follows:
Veteran teachers who are at the top of the pay and benefits scale, after many years of hard work and dedication, could be forced out of the profession simply based on cost factors.
The ability of teachers to have academic freedom will be compromised, and it will discourage innovation and new ideas, out of fear of antagonizing administrators and parents.
The promotion of religion over science will be accelerated, creating a future of ignorance on the challenges that face us, and promoting instead a concept of obedience to the literal interpretation of the Bible, which already, one third of the American people believe in as fact.
The promotion of a flag waving patriotism, which sweeps historical reality and fact under the rug, and ignores the truth of our shortcomings and mistakes, is the promotion of a dangerous nationalism, which advocates the greatness of America, while showing lack of respect and knowledge of the rest of world history and civilization. This will also discourage the study of foreign languages and cultures, further isolating America from world affairs knowledge and understanding.
The movement to privatize education makes it a profit making institution, which education should not be, and will condemn generations of students to right wing propaganda, including attack on the institution of labor unions itself, which made America a middle class society, but now in danger of becoming an autocracy ruled by the top one percent of billionaires and millionaires for their own aggrandizement!
Hello Professor,
This latest development has me thinking and historically relating to the destruction of “The Library of Alexandria” which ended one of the largest and most significant treasured libraries of the ancient world.
The legendary remark of Amr ibn al `Aas when the Muslims captured Alexandria, Egypt in 642 AD. When he was asked what to do with the library, his reply was, “If the books agree with the Koran, they are not necessary and maybe burned. If they disagree with the Koran they are pernicious and must be burned”.
Today there are many Reactionary Conservatives with this same attitude as Amr ibn al `Aas. “If it agrees with me, then it is not necessary and maybe destroyed, if it disagrees with me then it MUST be destroyed.”
This California judge’s latest ruling has reversed many decades of judicial rulings on this issue. In the 1930’s through the 60’s when Unions, and any employment tenure were being challenged in the courts, judges constantly ruled that the workers had the right to unionize and protect those whom contributed their life’s longevity to that employment.
This reversal in long standing employment rights of “Working Middle Class” values may have just been destroyed, or at least been severely damaged for the long term.
I have off today and I have time to be philosophically thinking.
What my mind wandered onto was the trial and execution of Socrates that took place in 399 BC.
Socrates was tried on two charges:
1. Corrupting the youth by teaching his students to employ “Critical Thinking” and a to ask questions to challenge someone’s true or accurate knowledge on a subject. We refer to this today as “Socratic Irony”.
2. Failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges, and “introducing new deities”. Socrates sin, and crime was not teaching enough religion for the Religious Fanatics in Athens of his day.
In my opinion this, at best misguided judge, (and I would have to ask to how much of his ruling was based on “conservative bought and paid” for legal opinions); in California has just done to the teaching profession across the nation as I would equate to those who ruled to convict, and sentenced to death Socrates by being forced to drink hemlock by his own hands.
WOW, Engineer, that is quite an indictment, but I must say it makes a lot of sense! Thanks again!
Well yes Professor…I should have added, “allegorically speaking” …:-)