At the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Education Summit, David Welch was given the Education Leader Award for 2014. Mr. Welch is the founder of Students Matter and the mastermind behind Vegara v. California. The SVLG recognized him for innovating the teacher tenure system and teacher seniority rights. In fact, Welch’s efforts had just the opposite effect.
When education reformers begin to dismantle teacher tenure (the right to due-process) and seniority rights (keeping the most experienced teachers in classrooms), they speak of veteran teachers who are “phoning” in their jobs. They forget the statistic that 50% of teachers leave the profession within five years. In order to be a credentialed teacher for five years, you must attain a bachelor’s degree, complete a credentialing program (which includes a semester of student teaching) and work for two years without due-process protection while completing a two-year induction program to clear your credential. Fifty percent of teachers leave the profession either before they complete this process or within three years of clearing their credential.
When you look at tenured teachers, you should ask them why they stayed when 50% of their colleagues have changed jobs. I stayed because teaching is the place where I am able to share my passion for the English language by creating engaging units and lessons for a diverse student body who is willing to explore the world together. I am proud to say that those moments are facilitated by carefully creating a community of learners who want to be challenged. It is hard work to present my students with ideas and texts that are worthy of their study and consideration. Finding ways for them to grasp meaning from great minds and great writers is at the heart of teaching. Those moments when students struggle together to understand something outside of themselves and share their own truths are the true reward of teaching. It is hard work and there is no other job I would ever want. As a veteran teacher, I feel a responsibility to those who mentored me, those who have shared my career, and new teachers entering my profession to make sure that each of us is able to remain in a profession that challenges us every day and that rewards us in ways that can never be quantified.
Teaching is a dynamic art form that eludes mastery. Teachers who have cleared their credential show a commitment to teaching and learning that should earn them due-process rights. The commitment our veteran teachers show to their students and their communities should be respected. It seems counter-intuitive to me to say that taking away the due-process rights that would give teachers the freedom to try new things is innovating education.
Gemma Abels is Vice President of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers.
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