Would it be irresponsible of me to mix education and drugs in the same column?
Perhaps, but here goes.
Readers far and wide wanted to weigh in on two of my recent columns, one about statewide teacher layoffs and the other about a conservative Orange County judge who supports the legalization of drugs, so I'd like to keep both conversations going.
But let's begin with the column on pink slips and teacher tenure. A few dozen of the responses, I'm sorry to report, had me worried about the reading comprehension levels of certain teachers.
"All the articles I've read including yours equate experience with burnout," wrote a 27-year L.A. Unified teacher. "Labeling me burnt out or less enthusiastic than a younger teacher would be arbitrary, inaccurate and unfair."
Thanks for that, and thanks as well to all the other educators who parroted the same sentiment. But I said no such thing, and I want all teachers who missed the point to go to the chalkboard and write, 500 times, "I will read more closely in the future."
In fact, here's a line from the column in question:
"Every school has teachers who stand above the rest. Some of them veterans, some of them not."
My point, as I made clear in the column, is that it's a shame that when we do lay off teachers, ability has nothing to do with it. The only consideration is seniority.
Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ray Cortines told me Tuesday that in the best scenario, a school has a good mix of senior, middle-experience and newer teachers, all of them feeding off of and learning from each other.
But the last-hired, first-fired system is no way to attract bright minds to the profession. Why would you want a job where you knew that the minute hard times came along, you'd be automatically bumped while less competent teachers would keep their jobs? And judging by my e-mail, a lot of teachers agree. In fact, some of them sound ready to rise up against their union bosses.
"I was fortunate to not get a pink slip but many of my fellow teachers did. They, in my opinion, are the best teachers at our school," wrote a middle school math teacher who said her blood boils at UTLA meetings when talk of reform is crushed by teachers who like things as they are. "If I am not performing my job to the best of my ability, I WANT . . . to be fired even if I have been teaching for 20 years."
