Unions Today
Creation of Tenure
Teacher unions have had a long and hard fought journey since they were created. Their journey has led them to choose a path that they thought would be most advantatious, this path has led them to teacher tenure. Therefore, a great way to display what teacher unions are today, is to show the path they have taken.
Tenure was first thought of and discussed at the first ever NEA conference in Chicago in 1887 when nearly ten thousand teachers met to create the NEA (Stephey 2008). Tenure came about because teachers were forced to fight for job security and freedom. In 1910 the government created its first legislation on tenure which officially awarded tenure to college professors. However, soon after because of the harsh times during the 1920’s and in large part because of the Great Depression, tenure was awarded to K-12 (elementary and secondary school) teachers to protect them from losing their jobs for such simple or unexpected reasons such as not wearing pants, getting pregnant, or marrying (Stephey 2008). Throughout the past teacher unions have had a huge affect on the United States’ politics and education system.
Tenure Today
Teacher unions continue to still fight to this day for control over politics in every form of government. Teacher unions still maintain the
monopoly over public school funding. In today’s society the teacher unions goals still remain the generally the same as they have been throughout their history. In order to understand what teacher unions have become and currently are today, a look at the issues they have faced and are facing today is necessary.
Teacher tenure still remains a huge issue, because teacher unions still want to maintain the job security and freedom they have fought to
gain and maintain for over a century. Some government officials and parents of students believe that teacher tenure only benefits bad teachers. Recently certain states have managed to either ban tenure completely or to alter it so that tenure benefits every teacher.
For example:
In 1997, Oregon abolished tenure and replaced it with 2-year renewable contracts and a rehabilitation
program for underachieving instructors. Other states like Connecticut, New York and Michigan have
simply eliminated the word "tenure" (from the Latin tenere, meaning to hold or keep) from the books
while retaining the due-process rights it embodies. In Toledo, Ohio, officials have adopted a more creative
approach by establishing a mentoring program to improve teacher performance. Fifteen surrounding
communities have already copied the idea [Stephy 2008].
Tenure has managed to change and adapt to the ever changing times and expectations of the government and the parents of students in today’s public school system. The biggest issue with tenure was the fact that it protected bad teachers and treated them with the same rights and pay as higher achieving teachers. Teacher unions have consistently fought to award all teachers with the same benefits and wages, however the push for achievement based pay has grown stronger and stronger. At the same time teacher unions political power as well as man power in general has grown stronger and stronger as well. Which explains why, “Many advocates of charter schools, vouchers and education tax credits have cited union political influence as the greatest impediment to their chosen reforms” (Coulsen 2010). With so many parents not trusting public schools to educate their children, teacher unions have struggled to keep a positive public image.
As time moves on, teacher unions will continue to fight for teacher’s rights, and how they change their public image whether it is for the better or for the worse, time will tell.
Teacher unions have had a long and hard fought journey since they were created. Their journey has led them to choose a path that they thought would be most advantatious, this path has led them to teacher tenure. Therefore, a great way to display what teacher unions are today, is to show the path they have taken.
Tenure was first thought of and discussed at the first ever NEA conference in Chicago in 1887 when nearly ten thousand teachers met to create the NEA (Stephey 2008). Tenure came about because teachers were forced to fight for job security and freedom. In 1910 the government created its first legislation on tenure which officially awarded tenure to college professors. However, soon after because of the harsh times during the 1920’s and in large part because of the Great Depression, tenure was awarded to K-12 (elementary and secondary school) teachers to protect them from losing their jobs for such simple or unexpected reasons such as not wearing pants, getting pregnant, or marrying (Stephey 2008). Throughout the past teacher unions have had a huge affect on the United States’ politics and education system.
Tenure Today
Teacher unions continue to still fight to this day for control over politics in every form of government. Teacher unions still maintain the
monopoly over public school funding. In today’s society the teacher unions goals still remain the generally the same as they have been throughout their history. In order to understand what teacher unions have become and currently are today, a look at the issues they have faced and are facing today is necessary.
Teacher tenure still remains a huge issue, because teacher unions still want to maintain the job security and freedom they have fought to
gain and maintain for over a century. Some government officials and parents of students believe that teacher tenure only benefits bad teachers. Recently certain states have managed to either ban tenure completely or to alter it so that tenure benefits every teacher.
For example:
In 1997, Oregon abolished tenure and replaced it with 2-year renewable contracts and a rehabilitation
program for underachieving instructors. Other states like Connecticut, New York and Michigan have
simply eliminated the word "tenure" (from the Latin tenere, meaning to hold or keep) from the books
while retaining the due-process rights it embodies. In Toledo, Ohio, officials have adopted a more creative
approach by establishing a mentoring program to improve teacher performance. Fifteen surrounding
communities have already copied the idea [Stephy 2008].
Tenure has managed to change and adapt to the ever changing times and expectations of the government and the parents of students in today’s public school system. The biggest issue with tenure was the fact that it protected bad teachers and treated them with the same rights and pay as higher achieving teachers. Teacher unions have consistently fought to award all teachers with the same benefits and wages, however the push for achievement based pay has grown stronger and stronger. At the same time teacher unions political power as well as man power in general has grown stronger and stronger as well. Which explains why, “Many advocates of charter schools, vouchers and education tax credits have cited union political influence as the greatest impediment to their chosen reforms” (Coulsen 2010). With so many parents not trusting public schools to educate their children, teacher unions have struggled to keep a positive public image.
As time moves on, teacher unions will continue to fight for teacher’s rights, and how they change their public image whether it is for the better or for the worse, time will tell.