Op-Ed: Protecting teacher seniority hurts RI students

By Michael Marra
Posted 7/13/16

First, we must stop hurting our students. Second, we must stop ripping off the taxpayers. As a public high school history teacher of 30 years, I am all too familiar with annual springtime layoff …

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Op-Ed: Protecting teacher seniority hurts RI students

Posted

First, we must stop hurting our students. Second, we must stop ripping off the taxpayers. As a public high school history teacher of 30 years, I am all too familiar with annual springtime layoff notices that are issued to teachers holding the least amount of seniority.

Whether a teacher is passionate about his or her subject matter, well-versed in his or her discipline and devoted to providing a high-quality education each and every day carries, regrettably, no weight in the misguided layoff process involving public school teachers. That is startling, to say the least.

Read the article featuring Mr. Marra and NEARI Union President Larry Purtill

All that matters is how long a teacher has been in the system governed by a union contract guaranteeing seniority. That’s it. This archaic and thoughtless contractual mandate plays out in public schools across America every year. And it hurts our students the most.

Looking back over the past three decades I’ve been repeatedly dismayed while I watched another young (usually), innovative, well-respected teacher end the year in search of another teaching position because he or she happens to be low on the coveted seniority list. What can we be thinking? Would any of us use such a model to hire (or dismiss) a contractor, physician or lawyer? Why dismiss a superb professional you’ve hired because he or she has been in the profession fewer years than most?

Put another way, why retain poorly performing employees simply because they have been in the business longer? The twisted assumption in this arrangement is that those who have taught more years are to be protected from layoffs without any eye toward the quality of work they perform. Moreover, it assumes teachers who have taught longer are better.

This might be the case at times. Wisdom and techniques acquired over the years by teachers who are serious about their work is invaluable.

But we all know veteran teachers who understand how the system works and do precious little that would be considered high-quality work. They are imposters. And they are protected to the detriment of our students. And this is simply unacceptable.

Ask any well-respected teacher or administrator (parents too) what matters most to a child’s education and, hands down, the top answer is the quality of the classroom teachers a child has at any given time. So why don’t teacher contracts reflect this obvious fact?

One answer might be repeated bad habits of the past. Repeating bad habits should not be a goal in teacher contract negotiations. Another answer is that teacher unions do not, repeat do not, seek what is best for students. They seek what they deem best for their members.

This bears some analysis. Is putting such emphasis on seniority really in the best interests of the teachers? We, as teachers and professionals, look foolish showing the door to a rising superstar while retaining the services of “Mr. Deadwood” upstairs in history.

If I’m clearly an underperforming teacher why am I not on the short list to be shown the door? What can we possibly tell students who lament losing that rising superstar when they sincerely ask, "Why is the abysmal Mrs. Do-Little still here?" Good question, kids. Unfortunately, the answer has nothing to do with what’s best for you. Sad.

Seniority illuminates a fundamental disconnect between teachers and students. I’ve listened to some well-intentioned colleagues as they defend seniority. The usual defense comes back in the form of a question. How can we really decide who is a better teacher than another? Therefore, the only fair way is by seniority. We know how to measure that. It’s simple and it has worked for a long time.

My answer to this less-than-scholarly defense is that we have fought and defeated the likes of Hitler and communism. We have put men on the moon. We have drastically reduced world starvation and stamped out many diseases across the globe. Are you really telling me that we all don’t honestly know what constitutes a great, mediocre or poor teacher? The kids know. Parents know. Administrators and guidance counselors clearly know.

Shouldn’t teachers know? Yes, we do!

We must stop hurting our students.

Barrington resident Michael Marra is a Portsmouth High School history teacher, and an advanced placement teacher in U.S. history and economics.

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