Fresh Mishaps in America's School Systems

In this editorial from USA Today, the issue of teacher layoffs based on seniority (or lack thereof) – an issue whose existence I was entirely unaware of until reading this article – is discussed at length. Regarding the issue alone, I couldn’t help but find myself agreeing with the author’s point; it seems rather strange to employ a system for layoffs that weighs a teachers’ longevity with the district so heavily over general competence and student satisfaction. As the author mentions, there are many teachers who escape firing and attain seniority due to prescheduled teacher evaluations that fail to serve as an active judge of proficiency.  I don’t feel the need to explain why such a method is completely ridiculous – besides, it’s all there in the article – but suffice to say that if, as the author says, this system is already in use in school boards across the country, major reforms to our teacher evaluation system are desperately needed.

            The author makes mention of another system of evaluation some districts are experimenting with – one that “rate[s] teachers, in part by measuring students' progress on standardized tests. “ Though he goes on to say that this new practice is already “under fire” by teaching unions, I believe this sort of evaluation to be just as faulty as the seniority-based method. Standardized tests are not necessarily an effective litmus test for teacher capability – since the tests are, obviously, written to a standard, a teacher need only impart the information needed to pass the tests, and can usually do so through the use of materials compiled by the organizations that write these tests. I believe we need to devise a method of evaluation that takes into account teacher creativity and ingenuity, and an instructor’s willingness go outside the “track” of standardized teaching in order to get through to their students.

            The author’s persuasive methods were adequate to the point that I was sufficiently convinced of the validity of his position, but in all honesty I don’t believe this was a difficult argument to sell. The author was smart to provide examples of teachers remaining in their positions long after they should have been let go – such instances I imagine would be deeply affecting to the parents of schoolchildren, the likely demographic for a piece like this. He also exhibits and appropriate passion for the subject he is critiquing; I believe it is important for the author of an editorial to at least maintain the image that he deeply cares about the centerpiece to his story. All in all, the story seems like a considerable success.