[Born Conservative]

The problem is TENURE. Once a prof gets tenure, they can do anything they want, short of a felony. I live in Pennsylvania, and public school teachers are tenured after working 2 years and 1 day in the public schools. When tenure is the policy, those that are tenured have lost the motivation to perform to the best of their ability (although not in all cases), and also have protection from losing their job. How many workers in this country have such protection? Fortunately, the number is few, as this would cause our production to fall and our economy to stagnate. But it's an OK policy for those that our teaching our children and college students. And we wonder why our education system is in a shambles...

[summer]

How many workers in this country have such protection?

True, education has never been like the real world.

But teaching kids today is a tough job, and teachers need all the help and support they can get.

And, tenure does not always help, in my view, because what it does is it keeps the "old boys" in power -- and they are resistant to change and innovation and new people.

The most hopeful notes on the horizon in education, in my view, are these facts: a lot of teachers are retiring in the coming years; and, more Republican leaders are following people like Gov Bush's lead, and taking an active role in shaping education. And, these GOP leaders are very much for good teachers. I really think that's where our best hopes are in education.