Persuasive Essay- Tenure System for teachers

A Story by Matt S

Persuasive essay about the tenure system

As you know, teachers play a huge role in our lives. They shape and mold us into the people that we are today. Besides parents, teachers make the biggest impact on a child’s early life. They are responsible for preparing us for the future, and they are responsible for teaching us life lessons for the future. Recently, state politicians have proposed that New Jersey changes an important factor for many of our teachers. Currently, we have the common tenure system. This law states that public school teachers with three years of teaching experience cannot be fired unless for criminal reasons or “just causes” (Northjersey.com). Criminal reasons or just causes.There is a very rare chance of this happening, so a teacher is almost guaranteed their job. This is one of the only jobs left in the USA in which a person has a definite job. Lawmakers are suggesting that we turn to a new grading system that evaluates teachers based on their student’s test scores, peer evaluations, and a sit-in during a class. This determines whether a teacher can keep their job. Passing this law for tenure reform will up the game for the lower teachers, will reward great teachers, and it ensures that students will be prepared to compete in the future with other countries.

          Stern 2
In 2008, there were about 2.3 million teachers under tenure (Time). 2.3 million. I feel that there are many positives and negatives towards this topic. This new tenure reform is the perfect way to reward the great teachers that we have in our schools and in schools state-wide. Many teachers that go over the top in excellence get the same attention as the sub-par teachers. Do you think this is fair for the great teachers that we have? Do you think we should give the same or similar salaries to all tenured teachers, if they have the same college degrees and teaching experience but one works harder than the other? I think this should change, and it is possible with the new tenure reform. Even though you may say that this is the wrong answer to the problem, it is not. The good and great teachers have nothing to worry about with this new tenure reform. They will keep on teaching, and they will have no worries when it comes to evaluation time. They should be rewarded for their extraordinary teaching. The teachers at the bottom of the scale should get as fair of a treatment as the teachers without the current tenure, and be told by a higher authority that they need to work harder as a teacher.
Every minute, countries are growing stronger to compete with us. China pushes their young students harder than we ever will, and the results of that are showing. They are advancing faster and faster in every single department (Forbes). Some countries, such as China and South Korea are growing much faster than us, and they are succeeding in overthrowing the USA from the throne. We have to prepare every child for the future, so we can compete with other countries. Without good teachers, this would not be possible. This is why we need to have a change in our tenure system. The good and great teachers that
                      Stern 3
have a tenure should keep their job with no problem. But, the other teachers should have to step up their game to be close to even with the best teachers. If students have no improvement from 5 years ago, that is a problem. We are already falling behind the top countries, and this will stay the same unless we change the tenure system. As Andrew Carnagie, a philanthropist and industrialist said, “and while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department” (Thinkexist.com). What Andrew is saying, is that in order to be competitive with others, you need to up the game in every category such as the teachers and the students, and competition brings out the best in yourself and others. In order to have competition, you need strength in every department. Right now, about every 1 out of 1,000 teachers are fired due to tenure in most major cities across the country (teachersunionexposed.com). Either 999 teachers are doing their job to the best of their ability, or the worse teachers are just slipping through the cracks of our society. This must be changed. This must be changed.
Passing the law for tenure reform doesn’t only affect the teachers on the lower end of the scale. It will reward the teachers that are highly praised. It will give the good teachers with tenure a higher reward than the rest. This will make the others teach harder to get the same rewards and bonuses. The great teachers teach, because they love kids and they don’t do it for the money. But, for those bottom teachers that do need rewards to teach, should be given rewards if that’s what makes them a better teacher. I feel that the worse teachers should not be treated the same as the better ones if they do
          Stern 4
not try . If they were treated and paid the same, then there would be no motivation for teachers to teach better. It is only fair to have some way of rewarding the teachers who have taught for many years and have affected the lives of many kids. Think about it, if a middle school teacher teaches four periods a day, 20 kids in a class, and they have been teaching for 15 years. They have affected the lives of over 1,200 students. They have affected the lives of over 1,200 students. That’s probably more people than you personally know. These are the teachers that should be rewarded from this tenure system. Not the teacher who has already gotten their tenure, so there is no reason to teach well because they cannot be fired. In order to accomplish the rewarding of teachers, we need to change our current tenure and instead pass a tenure reform that will change some of the structure of our current system.
People that think that we should not change the tenure system say that this will fire innocent teachers. This is not true. There are teachers that are hard working and have tenures, and they will have no problem passing the evaluation. They have already proven that they are great teachers, so they will be able to easily prove it during the evaluation. This evaluation process is for the teachers that need help or need someone of high authority to tell them to step their game up.
With this new tenure reform that I am suggesting, there will be rewards for the top teachers, we will be able to be more competitive in the future, and the teaching minimums will be upped, creating an overall teaching overhaul. This is needed in order to have a positive impact on the future. This tenure reform will affect the low teachers, the middle
          Stern 5
teachers, and the high teachers. This will affect everyone in a positive way.

Stern 6
"Advocates Make Case for NJ Teacher Tenure Reform." The Record. Ed. Leslie Brody. The Record, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. <

Rein, Shaun. "Yes, China Has Fully Arrived As A Superpower." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 15 Dec. 2009. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <

"Andrew Carnagie Quotes." Think Exist. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <

Stephey, M.J. "Tenure." Time. Time, 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. <

"Tenure." Keeping Bad Teachers in Front of Students. Teachers Union Exposed, 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <