Should Teachers Get Tenure? New National Research on Teacher Tenure from ProCon.org

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 2.3 million teachers have tenure, the increasingly controversial form of job protection that public school teachers in all states receive after 1-7 years on the job.

48% of teachers support tenure. 25% of the public supports it. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and many other prominent officials have called for its elimination. National educational organizations maintain that tenure remains necessary to protect teachers from unfair dismissal, and that arguments against tenure scapegoat teachers.

ProCon.org's 40th website, Teacher Tenure ProCon.org (http://teachertenure.procon.org) provides pros, cons, and nonpartisan research related to the question "Should teachers get tenure?"

ProCon.org is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan public charity which provides millions of readers with free research on important and controversial social issues in order to stimulate critical thinking and educate without bias.

Proponents of tenure argue that it protects teachers from being fired for personal or political reasons, and prevents the firing of experienced teachers to hire less expensive new teachers. They contend that since school administrators grant tenure, neither teachers nor teacher unions should be unfairly blamed for problems with the tenure system.

Opponents of tenure argue that this job protection makes the removal of poorly performing teachers so difficult and costly that most schools end up retaining their bad teachers. They contend that tenure encourages complacency among teachers who do not fear losing their jobs, and that tenure is no longer needed given current laws against job discrimination.

ProCon.org's teacher tenure website includes pro and con arguments, a detailed background on the issue, a video gallery, numerous photos, listed sources for all data cited, and a unique "Did You Know?" section which provides little known facts such as:

• Before Massachusetts introduced teacher tenure in 1886, women were sometimes dismissed for getting married, becoming pregnant, wearing pants, or being out too late in the evenings.
• In a June 1, 2009 study by the New Teacher Project, 86% of school administrators said "they do not always pursue dismissal" of poorly performing teachers because of the costly and time consuming process.
• On June 28, 2010, New York City closed its "rubber rooms," where approximately 600 tenured teachers "accused of incompetence and wrongdoing" received their full salaries to sit in a sparse room and do nothing.

For more information on teacher tenure, visit Teacher Tenure ProCon.org at http://teachertenure.procon.org.

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ProCon.org (online at www.procon.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity whose mission is promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship.  Information is presented on 40 different ProCon.org issue websites in subjects ranging from medical marijuana, abortion, and alternative energy to the death penalty, illegal immigration, and health care reform.

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