Textbook cases
Re “Failure gets a pass,” May 3
I am so glad that The Times has written about this antiquated and ridiculous process that the LAUSD has for ridding itself of unqualified teachers. I’m afraid, however, that the article focused too much on “inappropriate” behavior by teachers (the obvious reasons for dismissal) and too little on just plain old bad teaching. Teachers who are consistently late or absent or who have obvious classroom management problems are known, but little or nothing is done. And sadly, quite often these are the highest-paid teachers.
Bradley Greer
Altadena
The writer is a teacher at Sun Valley Middle School.
The Times’ investigation into the gross inability to fire tenured teachers in California paints a crippling picture about a systemic failure, one that robs students of an education that prepares them for life. I found myself getting angrier and angrier as I read about one injustice after another, particularly that only the most egregious offenses are pursued.
The public should be outraged that every student in this state doesn’t have a competent teacher. School board members Marlene Canter and Tamar Galatzan are to be commended for seeking to improve the firing process. But such efforts are thwarted by a state education code that protects adult interests over the needs of students.
One of the country’s most progressive labor leaders, Al Shanker, attempted to improve the teaching profession in 1985 when he moved beyond the demands for higher pay and urged a rigorous national test for all members of the American Federation of Teachers -- even tenured teachers. He rightly believed that unless all teachers were held to high standards, the entire profession would decline.
There is no more important profession in this country. Our compensation practices need to reflect that. We need to pay the best teachers the most money. And we need to get rid of teachers who fail to educate kids. Only then do our students stand a fighting chance of succeeding in the global economy of the 21st century.
Eli Broad
Los Angeles
The writer is head of the Broad Foundations.
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I read your entire article and found it very interesting.
Then I went back to the beginning to be sure I hadn’t missed something: Who, or what, is this Commission on Professional Competence that has the authority to overrule decisions in the firing of a teacher?
Sandra Stubban
Stanton
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Where is your front-page article about the teacher who helped a high school girl enjoy math and do well in a subject she didn’t think she could understand?
Where is the article on the teacher who saw a family in need and took up a collection at her school when the family’s home was burglarized and their rent money was stolen?
Where is the article about the many teachers who spend countless unpaid hours creating their own instructional material to help their students succeed?
Alicia Brossy de Dios
Monterey Park
Although I applaud the effort to reveal the ineffective system for dealing with destructive teachers, I question the timing.
Just recently, UTLA announced that we had voted yes to a one-day strike on May 15. The cuts being made to our schools are unacceptable, and we teachers are willing to strike to protect our students and the future of our profession.
Where is the investigation into the ramifications of these layoffs?
My school will suffer tremendously. Where is the reporter on our campus? Why isn’t anyone talking to our parents about the educational opportunities in South Central?
Nicolle Fefferman
Los Angeles
The writer is a teacher at Jefferson High School in South Central Los Angeles.
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Two areas in our society are in deep trouble: the U.S. automobile industry and our public education system.
Union rules are at the heart of the problem in both areas. The fact that only a handful of teachers in the state of California are fired each year for incompetence is because of the unyielding nature of union rules. These rules play a large part in preventing the necessary educational achievement of our students and the teaching quality of our teachers from rising to the level required by the needs of our society.
Chuck Hattersley
Rancho Palos Verdes
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The Times did not address one of the major reasons for incompetent teachers in schools: those who grant tenure.
Tenure is not automatic; it is granted by administrators who are supposed to carefully evaluate teachers.
Supt. Ramon C. Cortines accepts that “we as administrators, knowing how difficult it is, tend to make excuses for the employee, and I think in some cases, accept mediocrity.” I find this inexcusable -- administrators should be held accountable for hiring, retaining and granting tenure to teachers who are not fit.
Mariana Robles
Los Angeles
