Letters: School problems don’t rest with teachers

Does anyone ever question what replaces tenure? Now we have the “good ol’ boy” buddy system. This stupid policy opens the door wide for racism, nepotism, sexism etc.

There is a reason for using seniority in a reduction in force. Over the centuries it has proven to be the fairest way to treat employees.

The school system has a four-year probationary period, in which time they can let anyone go, no questions asked. That seems like plenty of time to decide if they want to keep a teacher and determine their effectiveness.

Why doesn’t anyone ever question these administrators, superintendents and principals? They are the ones responsible for designing and installing the curriculum and educational plan. Maybe they have gotten away with blaming teachers for their failures long enough.

Who’s evaluating these ex-coaches who run most schools? Wake up, media; do your job.

Bob Whiting

psychologist

Baton Rouge

Comments

1) Comment by nimby? - 15/08/2012

good for you . when the wife and I retired we bought a farm in the northern part of the parish , been here almost 7 years . peace and quiet does have its advantages ....

2) Comment by chem - 15/08/2012

I actually live in the country on 11 acres. Nice and quiet.

3) Comment by nimby? - 15/08/2012

or we could speak of the pompous arrogance of some "city slickers" . always did prefer the company of "rednecks" ...

4) Comment by chem - 15/08/2012

Mygulfbleedsforu; If I tried for a dozen years, I could not say any better what you posted on this forum. It is an elegant statement of truth in the real world. Thanks for that. People in the South like to believe that the South is something other than a lot "rednecks," and in some of the large urban areas that is true to some extent, but for the most part, I stand by my earlier comments. I am born and raised in Louisiana, so I do know of what I speak.

5) Comment by Springer98 - 15/08/2012

@ nimby? You made the best comment on this one!!

6) Comment by nimby? - 15/08/2012

fame and fortune , that's why I became a teacher . wanna know what it's like to be verbally , physically assaulted by someone who knows he/she can get away with it ? suggestion to some out there ; spend a few days working as a volunteer at an inner city school , get a taste of reality , then make your comments ...

7) Comment by Mygulfbleedsforu - 15/08/2012

So many things that the common person had to spend years working for -- had to band together with other like-minded people to accomplish only through numbers -- and finally did -- are being destroyed pretty much at once. Those in power have finally somehow managed to convince ordinary citizens to work against their own long-term best interests, as well as the best interests of their progeny, for the dirty little hope of a few more dollars in their current paychecks. It is frightening and more than a little disturbing that so many will saw off the very limb on which they sit; that they will spew derision at safety, health and environmental regulations, at civil service protections against politicians, at provisions that stand against some of the more egregious profiteering in the medical fields, plus there's this. How incredibly sad that there are so many rgeraldwallace types who simply cannot see beyond their own grabby little fingers clutching their own paychecks net of their paltry LA state tax burden. They are living like royalty compared to their grandparents, but they all need more, more, more for themselves. Sad. Pitiful. @chem. Please don't go. I can't go and I need to know there are a few like you in this rancid place.

8) Comment by spqr - 15/08/2012

Chem, that assertion is tired. No one buys it. "Rgerald", you are clueless as to what teachers and administrators cannot control. Accountability? For students not going to school? Drug abuse and violence at home? Gang affiliation? The entitlement mentality of the government taking care of you even if you dropout of school? It is unfair to ask our teachers to play God.

9) Comment by Attila - 15/08/2012

Chem: May I suggest Detroit as a starting point...if that proves a little too dangerous you can always just mosey on down to Chicago.

10) Comment by Attila - 15/08/2012

Chem: You are free to migrate to the rust belt anytime you want. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out...Bye!

11) Comment by chem - 15/08/2012

Why is it that tenure seems to not to work only in the mostly backward, illiterate, racist south?

12) Comment by Attila - 15/08/2012

It is time for tenure to find its way into the halls of history. People doing a good job should not be punished by allowing incompetence to flourish because of tenure.

13) Comment by [e-mail] - 15/08/2012

The schools, the schools! Boo Hoo, Boo Hoo. Paradigms of caring, striving, virtue, each and every one, they say. I agree with one part of Mr. Whiting's statement, i.e that "administrators, superintendents and principals" have to be held accountable. I'd like to add to his list unions, coordinators, apologists, and anybody else who laps up taxpayer money!

14) Comment by cbelse1 - 15/08/2012

Yes, tenure is a measure of protection from unfair termination, but it also protects long-term incompetence. I was a first-year employee of the EBRPSS this past year; I had an exemplary job performance rating for my first year. However, I lost my job due to the reduction in force while several other employees with my same job description kept their jobs despite having been placed on 10 days unpaid administrative leave because of non-compliance. I do believe there should be some safety net of protection from unfair termination, but tenure as it has been in Louisiana breeds stagnancy.

15) Comment by spqr - 15/08/2012

Attacking teachers is the only target the Jindal administration can hit. Attack lazy children? Insensitive. Attack apathetic parents? The government cannot legislate morality or the culture within the family. So, the media is enlisted to carry the banner against public school teachers for profit-hungry state business leaders salivating over control of charter schools, the majority of which are failing. Underfunding education at all levels is part of the Piyush Jindal plan to guarantee public schools collapse. Ten years from now education in this state will be so bad Louisiana may have to join Central America to identify its academic character.

16) Comment by KilgoreTrout - 14/08/2012

The ex-coach educational administrator farce really should be scrutinized. For several years, the arts supervisor in EBRPSS was a former PE coach whose qualifications included having played trumpet in high school along with-you guessed it - coaching elementary PE. At the same time, arts programs in EBR experienced a major decline. Coincidental? There cannot be great schools or cities and societies without the arts, to think otherwise is half-brained. We cannot all be elementary PE coaches.