What is wrong with the education system - Research Paper Example

?Running head: What is wrong with the Education System? What is wrong with the Education System? Insert Insert Grade Insert 3 January 2012 Outline Introduction Teacher tenure Teachers Union Conclusion What is wrong with the Education System? Introduction The education system has repeatedly impacted negatively on the education system, with the quality and productivity education being compromised by tenureship and teachers unions incorporated in the system. These aspects have been incorporated in the education system to govern employment policies for teachers. Moreover, the quality and quantity of services provided by teachers can be directly linked to the aspect of teacher tenure and union of education, considering that these aspects focus on the welfare of teachers while overlooking the welfare of students and the education system as a whole. Teacher Tenure The biggest factor in consideration with teacher tenure is the fact that it enhances complacency of teachers being covered by the tenureship policy, since they cease to fear placing their jobs under risks. In consideration to enhancement of complacency among teachers, it becomes certain that quantity and quality of services being offered by these teachers may be compromised. More so, teachers who are seen to openly compromise quality and quantity of work cannot be easily fired, since, compared to regular teachers, it is more expensive and hard to fire tenured teachers. This is due to the fact that there is a lengthy and complex documentation process that seeks to prove that unsatisfactory and poor performance of the tenure teacher to be fired. Other than proving and documenting the poor performance claims of a tenured teacher, a court of law must critically scrutinize the allegations agree to the claims (Nixon, Packard and Douvanis, 2007, p. 43-45). Administrators often seek to weed out poorly performing teachers in an effort to improve education standards; however, weeding out under performing teachers who are tenured is more costly than retaining them. This aspect of retention leads to accumulation of non-performing teachers and thus consequently affecting the education system as a whole. The education system is in a crisis considering the fact that teachers’ performance is critical to the success of the students and the education system as a whole. The profession of teachers needs to recruit and retain the brightest and best teachers with promotion, security and other benefits being emphasized on merit. Although teachers need security and employment assurance from unjustified lose of job probably from political influences, the systems should not overprotect them to the extent that performance issues are compromised (Philips, 2009, p.3). Retaining the best teachers needs to start from the principals being able to evaluate and fire their teachers with regards to student achievement and performance standards of teachers. Poor performance of teachers needs to be critically dealt with given the fact that many students come from unstable homes and therefore highly in need of well performing teacher in order to boost their quality of education irrespective of their unstable lives. Teachers should be judged based on the teaching services they render and their ability to impact positively on the lives of students in the classrooms they teach. Teacher tenure negatively impacts on the education system although the policy was basically meant to establish fair procedures to protect teachers from political, discriminatory, and personal treatment by employers. The policy has however been misused to protect incompetent teachers rather protecting competent teachers to enable high retention of best teachers for fostering high education standards. However, employers can overcome incompetence factor by hiring competent teachers who are qualified with regards to real performance issue. Teacher tenure should only be used to protect teachers from injustice and politics school boards and external powers may use against them and ensure teachers access the right to due process. More so, teachers dismissed of incompetence, insubordination and misconduct is given a right to prove otherwise with regards to due process factor. Teachers Union There is no doubt that teachers union has a significant impact on the education systems since it rallies teachers rights and needs against the employer irrespective of the effect this has on the education standards. The actions, tactics, means, and policies of the teachers union have gone a long way in alienating its members from the students with its conflicting mission in the particular communities that the members come from. The education system being the responsibility of the community at large, teachers union should foster standards of education alongside rallying members towards achieving their rights and compromising the education system as a whole. It is agreeable that, teachers union has overwhelming huge influence and negative impact in quality and quantity of services offered by teachers Rivenbark, 2000, p.63). Teachers unions have rallied teachers against the needs of students although it promotes employee rights. Priorities of teachers unions focus on benefits regarding teachers such as employment terms, wages rates and benefits among other aspects while overlooking the means and tactic it uses to achieve them. Teachers strike to support employee negotiations with the employer is among the tactics that are harmful to the education system. Most teachers unions can be termed as a self-serving kind of organization which is only focused on increasing teachers benefits, salaries and improving their working condition and ignoring education's success as a means of improving value of teachers as educators (Lovenheim, 2009, p.12-13). Teachers unions further go ahead to champion their members against complementary forms of education such as charter schools, home schooling, virtual schools, and private schools. This complementary form of education seeks to boost performance among students although as a separate and independent system but still unions overlook these aspects as they foster there aims. The teachers unions ought to realize that they not only have the mandate to ensure the success of teachers professions is attained but the education system as a whole with all stake holders being the beneficiaries of the system. In this case, the beneficiaries of the education system are not only teachers but also, students, parents and the community at large. Teachers seek to have a good employment but not at the expense of the education system which can rather be termed as the backbone of the society. The education system depends on the continuous performance of teachers who must frequently update themselves probably through the virtual class. Most teachers unions have been up against the alternative virtual means of educations in a bid to protect teachers’ employment rights. Other than compromising aspects promoting and enhancing education, such employee-centered agitations is a big inhibition success of the education system. Conclusion Failures of the education system can closely be tied to lack of focus on students’ performance and education outcome by teachers with major contributing factors being existence of tenure teachers and teachers union. Teachers themselves and governing bodies must initiate results oriented strategies with regards to success of the education system as a whole unlike the situation where educators focus on traditional assigned roles as long as benefits and salaries for these roles are adequate. The entire education system has not been accountable to performance of students but rather performance of the employer in servicing employee rights and benefits (Kesson and Ross, 2004, p.4). Reference List Lovenheim, M. F., 2009. Production: Evidence from union Election Certification in Three Midwestern States. Stanford: Stanford University. Nixon, A., Packard, A., & Douvanis G., 2007. Non-Renewal of Probationary Teachers: Negative Retention. University of West Georgia. Philips, E., 2009. The Effect of tenure on teacher performance in Secondary Education. (Online). Available at: http://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/14234/2/ElizabethPhillipsFinalThesis.pdf (accessed 03 January 2012). Rivenbark, L., 2000. Conflicting Missions? Teachers Unions and Educational Reforms. NY: R.R Donnelley and Sons. Kesson, K., and Ross, W., 2004. Defending Public Schools: Teaching for a democratic Volume Society II. CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More