As long as I’ve been a teacher and as long as I’ve been in administration I find myself defending the profession. There are the usual attacks on teachers as public employees and all the benefits we receive that are costing the tax payer exorbitant amounts of money. What I find more difficult to deal with are the demands that the system has to change because the union does nothing to get rid of bad teachers. As a result, more tax money is wasted, and students are suffering.
The question “how do we get rid of a bad teacher” implies an philosophy that there is a dichotomy – something either works or doesn’t. A consequence of this philosophical thinking is that things that are broke must be replaced. Fixing is not an option. I believe this is a reflection of our “disposable” society?
My grandparents insisted on fixing things were not working. Gramma mended socks. Granpa did the regular maintenance on the car and rebuilt the lawnmower. This is a vision that objects exist on a continuum between “broken” and “excellent”. It suggests that the object is good overall but if a part is faulty it could be repaired. The whole object is not worthless because of one fault.
It is a better model to view a person in this way. There is some value in taht person and that skills can be improved. Of course, with teaching (and I’m sure any profession), identifying the skill in need of repair can be difficult.
And then I bring up another issue that affects education (and I’m sure any profession). How do we keep good teachers?