The decision by the California courts that teacher tenure is unconstitutional will eventually find its way to New York.

This is a battle that needs to be vigorously fought. The illusion that tenure protects bad teachers and prevents students from getting a quality education persists while those who grant tenure to the “unqualified” are barely mentioned.

The attack on tenure assumes that the singular problem in education is the teacher while socioeconomic problems (poverty and indifferent parents) are ignored.

Tenure is the foundation of due process, which is a right that everyone should have regardless of their occupation. While a small percentage of ineffective teachers might be protected, the vast majority of effective teachers are protected from incompetent or biased administrators.

The hierarchical and political nature of academic institutions demands tenure in order to ensure a quality education for all students.

Larry Hoffner, LaGuardia HS

Despite the ruling to end tenure in California, most parents and members of the community still do very much respect and value teachers and their public schools. What’s happening in California, New York and all over the United States is a carefully orchestrated attack coming from billionaires who back for-profit charter schools. They see public education as a “market” to be tapped for profit.

They are behind this lawsuit and they also fund groups such as StudentsFirst and StudentsMatter, which may sound as if they are grassroots organizations formed to support students, but the reality is they are funded by these billionaires and they’re out to destroy public schools and teachers unions.

Mary Ahern, PS 182, Queens

(via Facebook)

This is horrible. The union gets blamed for protecting negotiated rights. As a country, we should prepare for a united union forming for all districts.

Ed Shapiro, PS 202, Brooklyn

(via Facebook)

There are many more hardworking teachers who put in long hours preparing, planning and thinking about their students than “bad ones.” As a teacher who has taught many years and seen many administrative systems come and go (some more nepotistic or corrupt than others), I can say I was thankful for the security of tenure.

Teachers generally are very hardworking individuals, so is it really so bad that they have some security in their job for their hard work? They do not make it so easy to receive tenure. It doesn’t happen overnight, and there are many observations and items that must first be completed before a decision is made.

Lesa Westerman, PS 19, Manhattan

(via Facebook)

Tenure affords teachers the room to grow, teach and put their trade into practice; without it, teachers would never have the ability, the time and the experience to grow, to become better and to be more effective at their chosen profession.

Peter Michelli, IS/PS 377, Brooklyn (via Facebook)