I am sharing this, including the quote taken from the article, from my friend and fellow city councilman Nate Mcalisters Facebook page. Hmm it sounds so very familiar--didnt I say the same thing last week? - Republican Rep. Don Hineman provides a well-reasoned explanation of opposition to the removal of due process for teachers. But here’s the thing: it is not the loss of their constitutional rights that has teachers throughout the state waking up in a cold sweat these days. It is the possibility that they could be fired for giving a failing grade to the daughter of the superintendent. Or that they could be let go for failing to start the son of the school board president on the basketball team. Or that they could be canned for advocating for a special needs child when the system is failing to provide the necessary resources for him to succeed. In each case there are no constitutional rights being violated, but the possibility of being fired for reasons other than competency is very real. I believe that the current due process system for teachers deserves a close examination. There are far too many anecdotal reports of incompetent teachers remaining employed when nearly everyone agrees they are not effective teachers. Documenting their deficiencies and giving them a pathway to improvement ought to be achievable. And yet it appears the system frequently fails to work. Are administrators simply too busy or too distracted to properly identify, document, and communicate teacher inadequacies? I don’t know, but I have to wonder. Or is the due process system just too cumbersome and demanding? Again, I don’t know, and I wish these issues had been fully examined before the bill was passed. If the bill becomes law it is very possible that the loss of teacher due process will act as an impediment to the larger question still before the courts – adequacy of educational opportunity for all public school students. If a teacher gives a passing grade to a student who does not deserve one or fails to advocate for a special needs child out of fear of losing their job, then the system will have failed those students. In short, the state will have failed to provide adequate opportunity for those students to achieve their full potential, either academically or in their pursuit of a career later in life. . . One more thing bothers me about this whole debacle. Kansas ranks 42nd in the nation for average teacher salary. It now appears likely that teacher due process will be eliminated. Whether it is intended or not, there is a growing perception among teachers that they are not appreciated, and are in fact considered by some to be the enemy. That is truly unfortunate. Might the best and brightest teachers start thinking about pursuing another profession where they don’t feel like a target? Might some bright young potential teachers have second thoughts about pursing education as a career? I worry a great deal about both possibilities. If my fears are valid then we will have diminished public education in Kansas and we will have failed to provide the best possible education for Kansas children. hayspost/2014/04/14/due-process-change-for-teachers-is-worrisome/
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 00:55:55 +0000
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