The Myth of the Lazy Veteran Teacher

I am so grateful someone finally said this!

The myth of lazy veteran teachers
By Joseph Staub
Updated: 04/25/2009 10:49:50 PM PDT

Almost every time the subject of layoffs in the Los Angeles Unified School District comes up, somebody bemoans the idea that enthusiastic, talented young teachers - the "best and the brightest" - are the first to be let go. Meanwhile, lousy, lazy and otherwise unfit teachers stay, protected by their seniority regardless of their ability.

As someone who has served as a master teacher and mentor teacher for California State University, Northridge, Cal State L.A. and Loyola Marymount, I know that perception is largely untrue. It is mostly a fallacy perpetuated by its romantic appeal and political expediency.

When a school district or college officials say they want to attract the "best and brightest," they may be sincere about a sound recruiting policy. However, they're really only talking about the candidates they want. We all know the best candidates don't always make the best teachers.

I have seen dozens of young (and not so young), talented people show up with their shiny new credentials and years of training, only to be dismayed by the difficulty and complexity of a real classroom.

My favorites are the ex-engineers who think because they can build rockets they can teach math and science to a roomful of sixth-graders. Whom do you think reaches out to mentor these new teachers, walking them through their first years, if they last that long? Why, the veteran teachers, of course. You know, those lazy dopes just hanging around until they retire.

This isn't to say there aren't brilliant and dedicated new teachers. There certainly are. But there are also a great many veteran teachers - the 10-, 20-, 30-year types - who are astoundingly good and astonishingly passionate at what they do. New teachers cluster around them - if they're smart - to copy lesson plans, borrow materials, unload stress and soak up knowledge.

But, the argument continues, aren't there also a number of senior teachers who should not be protected by seniority, and who need to be moved out of the profession? Yes, indeed.

And there are mechanisms in place to do just that. It takes a long time, though, I hear some of you saying, shouldn't administrators be able to hire and fire whom they please? Well, perhaps, but consider the assumptions on which this idea is based.

First, it assumes all principals are competent.

Most administrators are talented and committed, in my experience. But in the far too numerous cases where they aren't, do we really want them to have so much influence over the staffing? What kind of teachers do you think an incompetent administrator would hire, or keep?

Second, even when an administrator is competent, it's still a highly political job, especially the principalship.

Too often I have seen a teacher tagged as a "problem" for something completely unrelated to the quality of his or her instruction. Pointing out incompetence, abuse, or fraud, for example, or not being on board with somebody's pet project, or not having their bulletin boards just so.

Third, sometimes you need seniority, and the protection that comes with it, just to do your job.

I know I do. I am a special education teacher, charged with making sure the teaching and other services my students with disabilities receive complies with district policy and state and federal codes.

Many, many times I have had to slug it out with an administrator or other district official (or, to be fair, a parent, or teacher, or bureaucrat, etc.) who just didn't want to go through the time and expense to serve the student in accordance with the law. Now, how could I protect my students if the very people I had to stand up to had complete control over my livelihood? Only tenure allowed me to say and do what was necessary to ensure my students got what they needed and deserved.

Fourth, of course, school districts want young teachers.

They're without the protections mentioned above and cost far less than experienced teachers.

It is no secret that there are many issues to be resolved in the ongoing debates about tenure, layoffs, seniority, and so on. The resolution will be easier if we look past the emotionally charged descriptions of thousands of bright young experts being forced tearfully out of schools, leaving behind only a corps of smug, untalented, unmotivated union hacks.

It just isn't true. It's not even remotely accurate.

Joseph Staub is a teacher and writer in Los Angeles. He may be reached at josephstaub@hotmail.com.