There is a great deal of anxiety among teachers and other
opponents of Proposition 74 over its potential impact on the
teaching profession. We believe the anxiety is misplaced, and
recommend a yes vote.
There is a great deal of anxiety among teachers and other opponents of Proposition 74 over its potential impact on the teaching profession. We believe the anxiety is misplaced, and recommend a yes vote.
The most important feature of this proposition is its extension from two years to five of the probationary period for teachers in California’s public schools. Currently, 38 states have longer probationary periods, and until 1982 California’s was three years. If Proposition 74 passes, California will, with Missouri and Indiana, have the longest probationary period in the country.
Is this a bad thing? No.
Five years probation is not too long to endure for the promise of what is essentially lifetime employment. That is what tenure has become, and we have no argument with that. The purpose of tenure is to protect teachers from being fired for reasons not related to job performance, such as politics or petty personality or philosophical conflicts with school boards, superintendents and principals. In the marketplace of ideas that schools, ideally, are supposed to be, teachers should be free to teach without the threat of retaliation for being unpopular.
And while we do have some pause that the new rules will make it easier to get rid of teachers even after the probationary period is up – something that is possible already – we’re convinced that teachers remain sufficiently protected from capricious firing and that this will not become a political tool.
In most universities, the probationary period before being granted tenure is six years. The two systems have marked differences – university professors have high publication expectations to meet, for instance – but the probationary periods serve the same function.
That function is to make absolutely certain that a teacher has the chops to excel, especially in the classroom. If this means more teachers would be dismissed before reaching their sixth year, that is not altogether a bad thing. It’s certainly one way to instill in anyone hoping to teach in California’s public schools the high expectations we should all have for education.
And that’s the main reason for our support. We believe that anything that leads to better teachers is good for our kids.
Opponents of Proposition 74 argue that there is no evidence to support the belief that a longer probationary period will improve the quality of teaching in the classroom. We have a hard time believing it could do otherwise.
Proposition 74 opponents are right about one thing: It does nothing to address many other problems of public schools, such as class size and insufficient funds to provide the best facilities.
But that is a comparison between apples and oranges. We support more money for schools. We also support anything that will improve the competency of the teachers in our classrooms. We’re convinced Proposition 74 will help do that.
