According to our mayor and countless radio and TV ads from group like Education Reform Now, teacher seniority retention rights are the reason our schools are doing so badly.
According to them it’s not fair that some really remarkable new teachers may lose their jobs because they can’t fire some older "less effective" teachers.
In reality this has more to do with weakening teachers’ unions, dumping higher salaries and pushing their agenda for corporate style public education. The cornerstone of a free society is that education is not subject to the whims of whoever may be in power. The idea that we need to lose seniority retention rights because of a few bad teachers is preposterous.
Losing first in last out (LIFO) will open the door to favoritism and discrimination in our schools. What’s important for these and all young teachers to understand is that the seniority that some of them are willing to lose today is the seniority that those who eventually make it in the profession are going to wish they had in 20 years.
We cannot give in to these current scare tactics and we cannot let them divide us. The security of our profession and the education of our children should never be compromised.
Mario Asaro
Douglaston
