Dear Editor,
In a recent article by Sunana Batra in the Gilroy Dispatch, she
pledged hers and the County Board of Education’s support for
Proposition 74, which would make it a harder, more lengthy process
for teachers to get tenure. This proposition has good intentions,
but fails to solve the problem.
Dear Editor,
In a recent article by Sunana Batra in the Gilroy Dispatch, she pledged hers and the County Board of Education’s support for Proposition 74, which would make it a harder, more lengthy process for teachers to get tenure. This proposition has good intentions, but fails to solve the problem.
In the current system, it takes a teacher two years to get tenure, but once reached, is virtually impossible to remove. With the passage of 74, we would be discouraging people from entering the teaching profession. Think about it: Why would you want to be a teacher? Low pay, miles of red tape and little appreciation; that’s what awaits you. We need to start showing appreciation for teachers, instead of backstabbing them with legislation and increased bureaucracy. The real issue is getting rid of the bad teachers that have tenure, not preventing good new teachers from getting it.
I graduated from Gilroy High in June. Although the vast majority of teachers were awesome, there were a select few who were inefficient. I had a teacher, who will remain nameless, who had us “research” all day, which really meant goof off on the laptops, ALL YEAR!
That teacher practically gave us the answers to the tests, and then went completely on the honor system. This teacher lost roughly 95 percent of my work, so just gave me a 100 percent. However, on the progress report, I got a “C” because he or she “filled in the wrong bubble”. We read one book the entire semester, and learned nothing.
This teacher has been at GHS for many years, and is very safe, because of tenure. Another teacher I had was quite the opposite. She always had a good discussion for us, a paper to write, and something useful to teach me. She was not only my teacher, but became a good friend and mentor. I still go to her with problems, whether with life, or my grammar. However, this teacher does not have tenure, and could be fired on a whim by the district. So I pose the question: How will Proposition 74 solve this? All it will do is keep old, bad teachers’ safe, and new, great teachers’ poor. Please vote NO on Proposition 74, and call our representative, John Laird at 916-319-2027, and ask to promote real solutions for California’s education.
Jeremy Borgia, Morgan Hill
