Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Other news stories about Vergara

Various other news stories about Vergara:
 
The Economist published a piece that clearly outlines how little chance a poorly performing teacher has of being dismissed in California: 1 in 125,000—making teachers' jobs 3,750 times more secure than those of private-sector workers. The piece also calls attention to how successful California's teachers' unions have been in thwarting efforts to reform tenure and dismissal even though studies repeatedly show the importance of teacher quality. The decision in Vergara v. California, however, changes all that. As the piece notes, "The broad sweep of Mr. Treu's verdict, and the stridency of his language, means it will resonate well beyond California."
 
Another powerful editorial was published yesterday in the San Jose Mercury News. The editorial highlights the absurdity of critics that would frame Vergara v. California as an attack on teachers saying, "its very premise is that there are excellent teachers in public schools." The Editorial Board also notes that the effects of Tuesday's decision in Vergara—in which the deciding judge, the Honorable Judge Rolf M. Treu, said that the evidence "shocks the conscience"—would be profound in California and perhaps nationally.
 
Stanford University Professor and expert witness for the Plaintiffs Eric Hanushek also wrote an op-edpublished in USA Today. In the op-ed, Hanushek clearly refutes the assertion that the Vergara case is a war on teachers, stating: "These laws protect just a very small minority of teachers who are harming children and who should not be in the classroom. Indeed, protecting these grossly ineffective teachers seriously harms better teachers who are unfairly tarnished by association with unquestionably bad teachers sheltered by the unconstitutional statutes."
 
A Judge who struck down California's laws on teacher tenure and layoffs said the decision was based solely on the legal aspects of the case but added that he was mindful of the intense political debate about these issues. 
 
"Maybe you're just not good at math. Some people are good at some things, and others aren't. Maybe math isn't your thing."
 
There's been lots of talk this week about winners and losers in Tuesday's judicial ruling that scrapped the state's public school tenure system.
 
A California judge ruled this week that several of the state's teacher tenure, dismissal and layoff laws are unconstitutional.
 

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