I have to be honest, and I know that this coming from a rather biased view:
I never understood having tenure system for elementary or high school education. I understand it for higher education, although I do understand its flaws, but if your job does not involve research, I don't get it.

_________________

Psycory, did I hear correctly that some higher education places are doing away with tenure as well?

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

This is wrong. Again. And it's not semantics. What I posted in the previous couple of responses is exactly what the rules are. A teacher, regardless of experience or status, can be fired at any time for having two unsatisfactory evaluations. I'd like to know if there are any other (common) professions in which the standards are much more strict than that?

You are really trying here, but you clearly don't understand the system. That was evident by the fact that you stated in this thread that you had never heard of it until today. I'm done responding to your repeated erroneous posts about that topic.

Which goes back to my question i asked in the other thread - Who are the teacher's "bosses"? Who should they be trying to "make happy" in order to not get fired? One angry, disgruntled, or offended parent can cause a lot of headaches in a school. Parents often don't understand the rules (or even the laws) that schools are bound by.

_________________

The quick version is essentially under the old tenure laws, a person that had achieved tenure was protected from immediate dismissal (with the exception of extreme circumstances - i.e. "don't hit a kid") by means of exhaustive measures such as being placed on a remediation plan prior to dismissal. That essentially was way too detailed, time consuming, and restrictive for even the strongest administrators to deal with. One missed deadline, one minor detail overlooked, and the plan was invalid. Plus, there was always the possibility that a tenured teacher could be placed on such a plan and then actually improve, make the needed corrections, and presumably become an effective teacher at that point. But, as you can see, that would not appease an angry parent/community member who knows everything about the situation.

Of course, even under the old system, any teacher could be demised at any time for financial reasons. If a school is eliminating positions for financial reasons, and the jobs simply aren't there, tenure doesn't mean anything.

Under the new system, no plan or alternative steps are needed. Two bad evaluations and they can be removed.

_________________

I don't have any problem with unions. Except when they start doing stuff together.

OK spany!

_________________

Tenure is disappearing, 31% of full time faculty positions are tenure/tenure track. I know here that when tenured faculty retire, they do not open up a new tenure line (which is heartbreaking news to my friend who is on a multi-year contract waiting for the tenured psych faculty member here to retire...except when she does they will not bring anyone in b/c he was hired to replace her).
I understand the draw backs on tenure, there are some tenured faculty members here who only show up when they teach and go home, while there are others who are doing a lot more. Plus, tenure-track faculty are used for important administrative work and the research stuff that is really important, not just for the university but for the world in general. I know they have "plans" for me if/when I get tenure that are making this year a bit bittersweet because I will probably not be as active doing stuff I really enjoy (research and teaching) because I'm going to be in more of a leadership role (no, I'm not becoming the athletic director) and doing more administrative work.

_________________