Post-Podcast

Just completed our podcast on the impact of seniority on the teaching profession. We reviewed content from this article to make our major points: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/24/education/24teachers.html

The issue of seniority is a tricky one, especially for somebody who is about to enter the job market for teachers. On one hand, I question whether young teachers (such as myself) should be laid-off or denied employment in favor of more senior colleagues. After all, an older teacher may lack the technological savvy or innovative ideas that a new, well-trained teacher may possess. On the other hand, I recognize the importance of creating job security within the profession to ensure that quality veteran teachers are not simply replaced by an unending stream of cheap new-hires. Such a system would rob students of the experienced teachers who understand how a classroom works and the best ways to handle students.

The answer to this question is likely a committment to more stringent teacher evaluation. An evaluation system that compares teachers to one another along a variety of metrics (content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, evaluation of practice from administration, etc.) could allow districts to maintain quality veteran teachers while still keeping opportunities open for young, qualified professionals. This would create a teacher corps that would not only represent the newest and most innovative ideas in education, but would also include respected, experienced teachers who could act as mentors to their new colleagues as well as their students.