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Tyler Hirsch
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
01 December 2014
Time for Tenure
It is apparent that schools are classified based upon their test scores and test scores reflect
the performance of teachers in the school. Tenure gives job security to those teachers who have
been with the same school district for a certain number of years. A common debate has been
whether tenure gives job security to bad teachers or provides a foundation for a good school. The
education system must be efficient in its entirety for tenure to have the positive outcome it is
intended to have. The argument can be balanced by observing the fact that if a bad teacher is left
without say for too long, they will become tenured and stuck in the school like a wasp in your
car, but if a negative teacher is fired before achieving tenure, that same wasp is seen as a
peaceful ladybug. Of course, bad experiences with a teacher could alter anyones view on tenure,
the positive effects of tenure may also reflect good schools. Tenure is a positive implement in the
education system if the system works as designed in its entirety.
It is true to say that an exceptional school starts with an excellent teacher, but how do the
teachers become the superior educator they aspire to be? Such as any pet, child, or student, a
teacher needs motivation to drive them to become successful educators. A pet gets a treat when it
sits, a child gets ice cream when they eat their vegetables, and a teacher's gets tenure when they
work at a school for a certain amount of time. Anyone could argue that a good teacher deserves
job protection and tenure could be the reward, but what about the depraved teachers who has just
scooted by in their previous years and achieved tenure. These insufficient teachers damper the

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education system. It is apparent that good teachers are present in school systems, but much like
every other business or organization; not everyone can be a superstar, so not everyone should
have the same job security. Michael Petrilli, the executive vice president at the Thomas B.
Fordham Institute, states that its undeniable that many principals today dont take advantage of
the flexibility they already have to remove ineffective teachers before they earn tenure. Petrilli
believes that the education system would be efficient with tenure if principals used their powers
correctly to get rid of inefficient teachers before they earn tenure. With the objection that tenure
can in fact positively affect teachers and the education system by increasing teacher motivation;
the system does not work properly because undeserving teachers are not taken care of before
they earn the substantial job security in tenure. The education system must be equal from all
angles before such a huge reward is given in tenure. The students and society must be first
priority in the system and tenure may not always put the most important issues first.
An opposing side of the argument stabs tenure in the back by stating that is a best interest
for a teacher when the school system needs to solely focus on the best interest of the student.
Eric Hanushek, a Stanford professor says that tenure will free a teacher from review, evaluation,
and personal decision. He also goes on to say that tenure is irreversible and...have real cost for
all students and ultimately all of society. If teachers have a lifetime security of their jobs, the
teachers that are inadequate will be set in stone and drain on the students and possibly other
teachers. A new teacher such as any new employee in a workplace will look up to someone who
has been working in the field for years and essentially someone who is tenured because they
must be doing something right. So in retrospect, the education system potentially is in downfall
due to the fact that bad teachers are being secured in the schools to not only under-educate

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students, but also to under develop new teachers providing a type of criminal domino-effect
robbing children of a world-class education.
A historian of education, Diane Ravitch, opens her argument with the storyline of why
tenure was implemented into the education system. She speaks positively of tenure in that it
guaranteed teachers would not be fired for arbitrary and capricious reasons such as getting
married or becoming pregnant. Tenure protects teachers from a life of poverty and motivates
them to continue to improve in their work and to push students to their fullest potential. Ravitch
also states that there is no evidence that tenure causes low test scores or that abolishing tenure
will improve grades and test scores. Brian Jones, a former public school teacher, uses sarcasm to
portray tenure as extremely positive. He states that if an individual is unhappy with the education
system in their neighborhood, the individual should not ask how they got that way, ask who is
in charge of hiring teachers and guiding their development, or ask whos in charge of making
sure the conditions of school are optimal for teaching and for learning and to just blame the
teacher. With experience in the field, Jones shows extreme concern for teachers and tells that
tenure makes it easier for teachers to balance work, criticism, and stress without the fear or an
unfair firing. The effects tenure upholds on teachers wholeheartedly makes the difference
between good and bad schools.
In order to protect exceptional teachers and ensure to sustainability of high-rate
functioning schools, tenure must be implemented into schools. As teachers and critics agree,
tenure provides the motivation and job security teachers need to exceptionally work stress free in
order to educate the young. The education of the young is the top priority in society and that
priority cannot be fulfilled without exceptional teachers. Tenured teachers feel a sense of comfort
and security which makes them more comfortable and work-accessible in the workplace.

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Without the implementation of tenure, schools will not be able to process and maintain the high
level of education society needs to better itself and make the world a more stable and educated
place.

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Works Cited
Michael J. Petrilli. Does Tenure Protect Good Teachers or Good Schools? New York
Times: Room for Debate, New York Times Company, 11 June 2014. Web. 27 November 2014.
Brian Jones. Does Tenure Protect Good Teachers or Good Schools? New York Times:
Room for Debate, New York Times Company, 11 June 2014. Web. 27 November 2014.
Eric Hanushek. Does Tenure Protect Good Teachers or Good Schools? New York
Times: Room for Debate, New York Times Company, 11 June 2014. Web. 27 November 2014.
Diane Ravitch. Does Tenure Protect Good Teachers or Good Schools? New York
Times: Room for Debate, New York Times Company, 11 June 2014. Web. 27 November 2014.