Los Angeles Looks at Firing Teachers
Reader Comments
Misleading Claims
The article states that only "31 teachers across the state have lost their jobs after administrative hearings." This is extremely misleading. The vast majority of teachers do not fight dismissal proceedings and so they quit without going through a hearing. Only those teachers with strong cases proceed to a hearing.
Teacher Firing
My opinion is very basic. Take care of your own before sending money to foreign countries. There are young, bright, ehtusiastic, unafraid of a challenge teachers that are being released from their teaching positions because of budget cuts. It upsets me to read an article that "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on Tuesday that the United States will give Pakistan more than $100 million in humanitarian aid to help people displaced by recent fighting." Give that support to our education system. Class sizes will grow, eager and enthusiastic teachers will be lost and the education of our students will stagnate. This is a truly grim future for our country.
Teacher Firing
I think that the school board is not looking after the best interest of the childrens. The firing means larger classroom, the teacher has less time to see if the student understand what he/she is trying to get across. Also how can you get new blood in the teaching field when it is the newer teacher that are geting fired. LAUSD lets get your act together!!!
Performance reviews?
As long as the performance review isn't written by the guy you play golf with; firing ought to be based on more substantial criteria than that (and in my experience, it's usually not). You need objective criteria; these are tough calls. And heaven knows the Boards of Education are probably the most political entities in existence. Fire THEM.
