Teacher Tenure Essay Example for Free

Teacher Tenure Essay Imagine a world where teachers were perfect and students never failed exams. This world is impossible, due to the fact that no one is perfect. Unfortunately, the reality is that some teachers are very bad at their jobs. Many grade unfairly, don’t thoroughly cover the course material, and fail to make their class enjoyable. College students pay good money for an education and expect quality teachers to help them learn effectively. It is for reasons like this that teachers should not be rewarded with tenure after a certain amount of time. This idea of teacher tenure has good intentions behind it, but there are too many negative outcomes that arise from this regulation. Teacher tenure removes incentive to improve teaching, makes it more difficult to remove underperforming teachers, and makes seniority the main factor of employment instead of performance quality. Teacher tenure started in the late 1900s around the same time as some other labor movements. Some of these movements protested for safer work environments or higher pay. Teacher tenure was an idea that arose in order to protect teachers from being fired for non-work related reasons. For example, before tenure, women could be removed from teaching because they got married, pregnant, or simply because they wore pants (Stephey). These reasons were clearly very irrational and unfair. However, it is now the 21st century and those reasons are very outdated, just like the main reason for teacher tenure. Many teachers take advantage of this gift and slack off once it is given to them. After a teacher is tenured, it is very unlikely for them to be fired, meaning that they can teach in any way that they please. This could mean that they choose to ignore the course material or make their students read a textbook every day for class. Some argue that tenure allows educators to try new ways of teaching without the fear of being fired. This is a true statement, but it is irrelevant if one is not passionate about his or her profession. It seems as if many teachers become comfortable with their course material and become lazy or incompetent when it comes to adequately covering the necessary information. If there was no tenure, educators would feel more obligated to perform to the best of their ability as opposed to the bare minimum. Getting rid of tenure would also  prevent conflict when attempting to fire an incompetent teacher. Teacher tenure makes it more difficult to fire underperforming teachers. It is a timely process and it also costs much more than it should. This problem became evident in 1986, when it took eight years and $300,000 to fire an English teacher in California. After twenty years on the job, Juliet Ellery refused to improve her teaching methods. School officials documented more than 400 reasons why she should be removed from the teaching community. She stated that â€Å"the charges represented nothing more than opinions, exaggerations and lies.† After the long process of removing Ellery, she was only suspended from teaching for one year (Bathen). This is just one of many cases that exemplify the cost and time that comes with firing a tenured teacher. Unfortunately, many schools refuse to go through this process because of the cost. In some cases, the administration of the school will pay a teacher â€Å"under the table† to resign instead of trying to fire them. This is similar to Edward F. Murin’s case when he was bribed to resign so accusations of his poor behaviors would be dropped. A few of these behaviors included strangling a student and denying a diabetic student a soda in class. There were also numerous complaints from parents about racial and abusive behavior in the classroom. After 22 years of teaching and a ten-year legal battle, it cost tax-payers $1 million to remove Murin from the education world (Bathen). These two examples may be on the higher spectrum of time and money, but they exemplify the extremity of the issue. It also gives an explanation as to why, in most situations, nothing is done to banish the teachers. This means that students receive a lesser education and they can’t do anything about it. Another problem resulting from this law is the fact that seniority is a higher priority than the quality of the teacher. In many circumstances, seniority is the most important factor that determines a teacher’s salary and job position. It is very reasonable that teachers who continue to improve every year should receive raises. This would make sense that the oldest teachers would then have the highest salary. Of course, some teachers take advantage of this luxury and don’t try to improve their teaching methods. Sometimes, teachers even become worse with age. It is also common that the older teachers have the privilege of choosing their courses. This means that they have the attractive opportunity to teach General History as opposed to American Literacy of War or a much  more perplexing subject. Consequentially, students who strive for a challenge suffer with inexperienced educators. Clearly, there are many issues in regard to this policy. Some argue that tenure gives teachers academic freedom to try different teaching methods; however there are other laws that protect and allow them teach how they please. Although tenure gives educators job security and an opportunity to attempt new things, it also diminishes the quality of education given to students in some cases. Teachers should not be rewarded with tenure after a certain amount of time. This idea of teacher tenure has good intentions behind it, but there are too many negative outcomes that come from this regulation. Teacher tenure removes incentive to improve teaching and makes it nearly impossible to fire poorly performing teachers. Seniority also plays an unfair role in the education community and should also be reevaluated.

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin and A Place Called Heaven by Cecil Foster :: Black Like Griffin Heaven Foster Essays

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin and A Place Called Heaven by Cecil Foster Racism cruelly and completely corrupts the heart, body and intelligence not only of the oppressed, but it dehumanizes and brutalizes even the oppressors. In the autobiographical diaries, Black Like Me, written by John Howard Griffin, and A Place Called Heaven, written by Cecil Foster, both main characters alter their lifestyles, one in America, one in Canada, only to suffer raw hate, violence, crudity and inhumanity from white racists. Through these experiences, both men encounter many racial barriers that exist between whites and blacks, which entirely destroys the dignity and self worth of the blacks. However, the cruelty towards the blacks was not their most intriguing conclusion. Through observation, communication and personal experiences, both men came to realize that racism is not a part of human nature, but rather a by-product of the human nature of the fear of the unknown. John Howard Griffen was a white journalist who truly wanted to understand racism and how it affected the blacks. Griffen began to research the rise of suicide tendencies in Southern blacks. However, he realizes that it is very difficult to collect useful information because "the Southern Negro will not tell the white man the truth", (Griffen, pg.12). The reason the blacks would not speak to him is because he is white and whites were ultimately the driving force behind the suicide of many blacks. The blacks feared the white man, even Griffen, who disagreed with racism. He observed the situation, saw the fear and the hurt in the eyes of the Blacks when he came to speak to them, and decided that "the only way to observe what it was like to be black, was to become black", (Griffen, pg.21). Griffen, now disguised convincingly as a black man, was able to observe racism from a different perspective. Griffen observed how he was treated among his "fellow" blacks in order to attain his examination of racism. "A pleasant young Negro woman took my order and fixed my breakfastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The man at the counter turned toward me and smiled, as though he wanted to talk", (Griffen, pg.23). This proves that it is the white's and the black's implanted and prohibiting fear that ultimately makes their minds up about the opposite race. If Griffen were still white, there is no doubt that the woman and the man would not have been so pleasant and open towards him. He observed the fact that just because he was black, like them, that they felt content and safe speaking and interacting with him. Griffen then continues to board a bus.

“Offensive Play” by Malcolm Gladwell Essay

The author of the article, â€Å"Offensive Play† is Malcolm Gladwell. He is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, and has published four books. â€Å"Offensive Play† was published in the October 19th, 2009 edition. The New Yorker began February 21, 1925, and is now published forty-seven times annually. It focuses on arts, culture, politics, sports, medicine, etc. Anything enticing the wealthy, middle-class and metropolitan is what it is geared towards. In addition, it has also won many awards. I believe that The New Yorker is up to date because the year 2009 was not too long ago for a great deal of information to supersede what we now know. Mr. Gladwell did not have a â€Å"pre-set† perspective on things because he gives you clear facts about the article â€Å"Offensive Play† and the dangers of football, so we can read it with an open mind and figure out what to do. The intended audience for â€Å"Offensive Play† was for doctors’ for research, fans and athletes. This article seemed to have a good balance aimed towards the population in general because it gives you background information on researchers, the injuries involved, the sport, and what it is we can do. Obviously, Mr. Gladwell had a clear motive to write this article. He wanted to let the public know the dangers of the National Football League, and what illnesses develop in former players’ so perhaps, we can think of ways to make it safer. â€Å"Offensive Play† was written to inform you of the dangers of the N.F.L. Mr. Gladwell gives us both sides of the topic; how it’s dangerous to play, but there are things that can be done to improve the health and overall wellbeing of the players’. I didn’t feel an emotional punch from reading this article; although, it did make me more aware of the effects of playing the sport. In the article, â€Å"Offensive Play† by Malcolm Gladwell, the author argues that, researchers’ are studying the brains’ of former football players’ to examine the long term effects of hits / concussions received during the game. Players’ dedicate their skills and motivation to the game, but face serious illnesses that can lead to death. Studies done on former athletes have found mental illnesses in the brain from the trauma of getting hit during a game. It is unclear whether changing the rules of football will decrease brain injuries because many little hits can impact like one big one. Different positions have different impact of hits; however, players’ will then play more aggressively. Athletes dedicate their time into the game, and being the greatest they can be. The players’ would come back early from their injuries to get back on the field to play the game they love. There is no true answer on how to prevent injuries because it’s the risk each player is willing to take, and they know the consequences. In the end, it’s all about the fans’. Today, more ex-athletes suffer from brain diseases from injuries they receive during a game later in their life, researchers’ have found. The evidence that neuropathologist, Bennet Omalu has discovered from studies on ex-N.F.L. players’ has been included to support the author’s point. He is well respected and considered reliable because of his title. This study was performed back in September of 2002, so it is a decade outdated and may not be considered current. The information is relevant to the claim the author is making because he states that researchers’ are studying the brains’ of ex-football players’ to examine the long term effects of hits received during a game. I agree with the author’s use of language because he clearly uses professional and reliable researchers’ to make accurate diagnosis and statements. It helps me to better understand how severe the game of football really is. His neutral tone is just meant to inform you of the injuries and illnesses of football. As long as fans purchase ticket’s to go to games, and merchandise to support football, the players’ will continue to play hard regardless of the injuries the may face. The evidence that has been included to support the author’s point comes from a quote by Dr. McKee. Ann McKee is well respected and considered reliable because she is a doctor and a hospital researcher. I believe this is still current today because the same injuries occur in football, and the players’ still have â€Å"gameness.† The information is relevant to the claim the author is making because the players’ still uphold themselves to sacrifice their bodies’ to win games regardless of the mental illnesses they may face later in their life. I agree with the author’s use of language because he says, â€Å"there is nothing else to be done, not as long as fans stand and cheer.† This influences me because I have purchased tickets to go watch the New York Giants ’ play as well as merchandise. Malcolm Gladwell’s focus / view on â€Å"Offensive Play† is to provide you with the information that researchers’ have studied and found on former football players’ brains from the hits they received during the game. Mr. Gladwell, was indeed effective in reaching the audience because I felt impacted, and more knowledgeable upon reading the article of the dangers and injuries of the N.F.L. Mr. Gladwell, therefore accomplished his purpose to make you aware of these issues, and he used evidence from researchers’, doctors’ and former players’ to back up his article.

Law Essays - Radioactive Waste Substances Act - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2247 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Did you like this example? Waste Substances Act The coursework problem: Under the (fictitious) Radioactive Waste Substances Act (the Act) no person is permitted to dispose of any radioactive waste except in accordance with an authorization granted bt the Minister for the Environment (the Minister) The Act provides that before granting an authorization under the Act the Minister shall consult such local authorities or other bodies as appear to him to be appropriate. The Minister also has power under the Act to cause a public inquiry to be held in relation to an application for an authorizationif he thinks . Pollution Solutions plc (the company) has made an application to the Minister for an authorization to permit the company to dispose of radioactive waste in a disuses mine in Cornwall. Local inhabitants have formed an action group to oppose the application, to be known as No radioactive Waste in Cornwall (NRWIC); they are also campaigning for a public inquiry to be held. The Minister has invited various bodies, both public and private, to submit their views on the application as part of the consultation process. He has, however, indicated to NRWIC that, in exercising his discretion under the Act, he does not consider it appropriate to consult them. Furthermore, since none of the bodies which the Minister has consulted has requested that a public enquiry be held, the Minister, again exercising his discretion under the Act, is not minded to cause one to be held. At a press conference, announcing his decision to grant the authorization to the Company, the Minister made it clear that he did not consider that self-appointed pressure groups, like NRWIC, should pay any part in the statutory decision making process; he also revealed that he would not, under any circumstances, waste time and money by holding a public inquiry. In desperation the Chairman of NRWIC has come to you for legal advice on whether a claim for judicial review should be made to persuade the court to reverse the Ministers decision to grant th e authorization What legal advice would you offer? This problem question raises two issues for NRWIC the first is the fact that they were not consulted in relation to the proposed dumping of nuclear radioactive waste at the sight of the disused mine and the second that no public enquiry was held. We will deal first with the failure to consult the public and in particular NRWIC. The first thing to consider is the impact that the failure to consult had of the persons who should have been consulted and on the public at large, in light of the purpose which would have been served by consultation. In other words the test is whether the failure to consult has substantially detracted from the purpose which would have been served by consultation. The duty to consult interested organisations is laid down in the Radioactive Waste Substance Act although it is determined as bodes that the minister considers appropriate, supposing for a minute that it can be said that the minister should have considered that NRWIC were appropriate we will look at the effect of this failure to consult. In decided cases on legality of failure to undertake such statutory consultation, the analysis suggested by the courts ha traditionally focused on the classification of such requirements either mandatory or directory. Breach of a mandatory requirement will render the decision or act in question invalid and breach of the directory requirement will not. There appears to be no determinative tests for deciding when the test should be classified mandatory and which directory other than the language used was imperative or permissible. Breach of a requirement seen as a mandatory has led to a finding that the relevant decision was invalid were as breach of a directory requirement as left the act or decision standing, although compliance may be secured by other means, or damages obtained. In general, as Emery and Smythe note where statute imposes on a public body a duty to consult persons l ikely to be affected by proposed action, the requirement will usually be treated as mandatory. The courts have found in many cases that the use of the words such as the minister may consult or the the minister shall consult those bodies that he considers to be appropriate did not give him open-ended discretion on the matter, certainty remained elusive. The more recent approach when dealing with impact of the failure to consult was identified by Lord Diplock in Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister of the Civil Service, it can denote both failure to observe express procedural requirements and a breach of the common law rules of natural justice. When dealing with the effects of failure to undertake statutory consultation, the courts have tended to classify such requirements as either mandatory or directory. Therefore the question is this: Has the failure to consult substantially detracted from the purpose served by consultation? Since dumping radioactive waste could have a hug e impact on the local community, it can safely be argued that that at least one of the purposes of the consultation requirement is to allow local people to have some imput into the decision to dump radio active waste in their local vicinity. If it can be shown that the NRWIC s genuinely representative of local people, in that its membership is local, and the court considers that it could have provided a useful source of input for the ministers, it may find that refusal to consult with it defeated the purpose of the consultation requirement. The interests of the local people are likely to be seen as particularly significant given that it is radioactive waste that will be dumped in the vicinity and this is more likely to impact the public at large than any one individual. The language of the statue will not greatly assist the NRWIC but, it is submitted, will probably not be decisive: the wording implies a mandatory requirement in using the word shall, however in addition a subjecti ve choice as to the bodies to be consulted seems to be imported by the words as it sees fit. In dealing with such discretionary choices, the courts have taken the view that the choice should be informed by notions of reasonableness and is not, therefore , purely subjective. For example in Secretary of State for Education and Sceience v Tameside, a minister was given statutory power to take certain action against a local authority if satisfied it was acting unreasonably. The court held that he could only take action if he had grounds on which he could properly be so satisfied. On balance therefore it is submitted that the NRWIC could reasonably hope for a finding that there were no good grounds for the refusal to consult and it could therefore mean that the radioactive waste cannot be dumped in the disused mine. On the second point that is the decision not to hold a public inquiry. It is clear that judicial review is the appropriate mode of challenge to such decisions: as the appl icants here will have no private law rights as against the government or indeed not any that could be vindicated in an ordinary civil action; moreover, r 54.2 of the CPR has now clarified that judicial review must be used where the applicant is seeking either a quashing order or mandatory order, which of course will be the remedy sought by NRWIC as they will require a mandatory order to enforce the issue of holding a public enquiry. Under r 54.4 of the CPR applications must initially seek the courts permission to apply for judicial review; this must be done promptly, and in any event not later than three months after the grounds to make the claim arose It will be assumed that the potential claimant here is within this time limit. NRWIC must show that they have a sufficient interest in the matter to which the application relations. NRWIC will be seeking an mandatory order to compel a public inquiry to be held. The standing required for this remedy was equated in the case of IRC ex parte National Federation of Self-Employed. In this case the House of Lords held that the National Federation did not have sufficient interest to challenge the legality of the IRC decision to grant amnesty to casual labourers over previous tax avoidance. The fact that it had not personal interest in the IRC decision was decisive. However Lord Wilberforce seems to have been much influenced in his judgement b the fact that the affairs of an individual tax payer are strictly confidential; he considered that individuals would breach that principle of confidentiality. In the instance case this is not the case as there will be no breach of confidentiality and it may be therefore that the case of National Federation is not of strict application here. It can be further argued that the dumping of toxic waste is a matter for public concern and scrutiny. One difficulty here is the decision in Rose Theatre Trust Co in which it was held that the pressure groups whose only interest in a decis ion is concern about the issues involved will not in general have locus standi to challenge the decision. However, since the Rose Theatre decision, the courts have begun to take a more flexible and accommodating approach to the question of standing when a sufficiently important issues is raised by the application, such that the case is now generally regarded as being out of line with the general thrust of judicial policy. Thus, in Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ex perte Rees-Mogg, it was found that the applicant had standing because of his sincere concern for constitutional issue. In Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ex parte the World Development Movement the world development movement were granted locus standi on the basis of a number of factors, including the importance of the issue raised the possibly illegal use of the governments overseas aid budget), the absence of any other challenger and the prominence and expertise of the applicant pressure group in relation to the issues raised by the case. In other cases, the courts have stressed the importance of pressure groups representing people living in the area affected by the contested decision. Thus, in Inspectorate of Pollution ex parte Greenpeace, the judge stressed the fact that 2,500 supporters of Greenpeace lived in the local area, the health of whom might be affected by emissions from a nuclear plant; the court therefore found that members of the group had a personal interest in a matter of substantial concern public health. This would certainly be based on very similar facts to the present situation and it is submitted that on this basis NWRIC will have locus standi and in support of this is the case of Secretary of State for the Environment ex parte Friends of the Earth, in which Friends of the Earth and its director were granted leave to challenge a decision relating to the quality of drinking water in certain specified area, the fact that the director lived in on e of those areas and hence had a personal local interest in the matter was stressed as significant. The expertise of the respective pressure groups as a factor in their favour was also emphasised in both cases. Thus, in cases involving decisions with a particular impact on one region or area of the county, the courts seem to stress the importance of pressure groups having a genuine interest in that area, via their membership. The pure public interest approach appears so far as to have been saved for cases where the decisions were of general national importance with no local interest. Applying these criteria to NWRIC, it would seem that there claim for standing is fairly strong as there challenge is mainly one of local interest, so the pure public interest approach is not really applicable the courts will therefore enquire whether the chairman and other members of the group have a local interest in the area. Furthermore the pressure group have expertise in the area of governmen t waste and this would count in their favour. In conclusion it would seem that NWRIC and its chairman will be in a suitable position to challenge both the failure to consult and the decision not to hold a public enquiry and it is likely that they will succeed on both basis. Bibliography Cases Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister of the Civil Service [1984] 3 ALL ER 935 IRC ex parte National Federation of Self-Employed [1982] AC 617 Inspectorate of Pollution ex parte Greenpeace [1994] 4 ALL ER 329 Lambeth London Borough Council ex p Sharp (1986) 55 P CR 232 O Reily v Mackman [1983] 2 AC 237 Secretary of State for Education and Sceience v Tameside [1977] AC 1014 Secretary of State for the Environment ex parte Friends of the Earth [1994] 2 CMLR 760 Secretary of State for the Environment ex parte Rose Theatre Trust Co [1990] 1 ALL ER 754 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ex parte the World Development Movement [1995] 1 ALL ER 611 Secret ary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ex parte Rees-Mogg [1994] 1 ALL ER 457 Legislation Civil Procedure Rules 1988 Supreme Court Act 1981 Books Allen, M. and B. Thompson (2002) Cases and Materials on constitutional and Administrative Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, seventh edition Barnet, H (2005) Constitutional and Administrative Law London: Cavendish, 2002 Fifth edition Craig, P.P. (2003), Administrative Law. London: Sweet Maxwell, fifth edition Fordham, Michael (2001), Judicial Review Handbook Oxford: Hart third edition Loveland, I (2003) Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights London: Butterworths third edition Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Law Essays Radioactive Waste Substances Act" essay for you Create order