Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com
Published - Sunday, April 27, 2008
Column: Merit hiring best for students
Some of my fondest memories in high school are winning the conference basketball championship and classes such as chemistry, biology and English. Mr. Anderson, my English teacher, brought the classics “A Tale of Two Cities,” “The Ancient Mariner” and others to life. So much so that I couldn’t wait to go to class to discuss the next chapter. In my mind I can still hear his voice resonate reading short passages, “10,000 Duckets,” ahh... that’s the good stuff. What a shame it would have been not to have been instructed by those special individuals because of hiring policies that deny outside candidates from applying for teaching and coaching jobs in our school district. The policies I’m referring to are called preference hiring policies, which are designed to eliminate outside competition for district jobs when current members of the Union wish to take the position. The Tomah School Board adopted these policies and placed them into the collective bargaining agreement. The primary criteria in the hiring process as a result is not based on character and merit, but rather are you a member of the Tomah Teachers Union?
These policies create two disenfranchised parties: The individual who has a moral right to apply because of their abilities, and our children. The individuals being discriminated against are adults and more than likely will not get much of a sympathetic ear from many corners, even though they deserve it. Our children, unfortunately, fall into this category because they are denied the opportunity of having the best teachers and coaches that we can find for them. Clearly, they do deserve a sympathetic ear. Our children have no vote or voice and for the most part are oblivious to the fact they are getting the short end of the stick.
Not all teachers or coaches hired are a product of these policies. Only when a qualified current TEA (Tomah Education Association) member applies for a position do these policies come into play. The number of teachers and coaches hired in this fashion is really irrelevant. Even one instructor can have an immense impact on a child. It is interesting to note that virtually all the individuals that are being discriminated against are other teachers.
All of us can come up with a multitude of reasons why it is a good idea to hire the best teachers and coaches we can for our children. Coming up with good reasons why the TEA’s interest should prevail is a little more problematic. Let’s look at some of the arguments.
1. What’s the big deal? None of our children are going to be permanently scarred because of these policies. True statement. However, isn’t that setting the expectation level for our school district just a wee bit low?
These policies go to the very essence of education, the student/teacher relationship. The innate ability of the instructor to convey information to another individual is the single most important aspect of education. The problem with these policies is that they forbid us to even look for individuals outside the district who may have demonstrated these special innate abilities. No matter how much money we spend on bricks and mortar, air conditioning, what we name ourselves, or how much diversity training we decide to have, our reading, math, ACT scores and athletic performances will not improve. However, hiring the best staff members within our means will have a high probability of improving performance levels. One can make the case that no other issue in our school district is more important to the educational welfare of our children than whom we hire and choose to instruct them. Big deal? ... You bet.
2. TEA members are the best choice for our children, so it is unnecessary to go outside current membership. To claim that in all situations (the policies make no exception) current TEA members are always the best choice defies logic. One would also have to believe that all of the finest teachers and coaches in the entire Midwest already reside within the confines of the TEA. Intuitively, I would think other teacher unions would have an issue with that theory.
3. Only qualified TEA members will ever be hired. True statement. Qualified to many people implies that candidates are acceptable and suited for the position in question, which is actually an overestimation of the term. Qualified simply means the individual has acquired at least the minimum standards to allow them to apply. It is a real possibility, because of being forced by the teachers union contract, we are placing people in positions they are not well suited for. One thing for certain is that the school board has no idea whatsoever if they are hiring the best person available.
I could fill the pages of this newspaper with counter points to all the reasons for preference hiring, but after wading through the arguments for and against, we are left with the central issue that we began with. Whose interest is more important to our community: Our children or the Tomah Teachers Union? Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, answers the question without equivocation, “We need to focus on our children and not on the Union.”
The community would benefit from an open discussion on this sensitive issue. Perhaps parents, community members, school board members and TEA officials can inform the public about their point of view. Perhaps they can answer these tough but fair questions:
1. Why don’t our children deserve the opportunity of being instructed by the best teachers and coaches that we can find for them?
2. Should the TEA’s interest outweigh the interest of our children?
3. How is it possible that our school board can claim it is striving for excellence in education when at the very same time they are undermining those efforts by the administration by handcuffing them or who they can hire?
4. Why isn’t an “Equal Opportunity Hiring Policy” that does not discriminate against any individual or group more beneficial to our community than our current policy?
I believe that the single most important thing that we can teach our children is to be the best you can be. It is a life lesson. It doesn’t matter if you are 15 or 50. It doesn’t matter if you kick a football, are studying for a chemistry test, playing a trombone or sitting on the school board. We all have an obligation to be the best we can be; otherwise we cheat ourselves, our family and our community. Our children deserve the best instructors we can find for them, to help them achieve being the best they can be. Our children deserve “An Equal Opportunity Hiring Policy.” For the sake of our community and our children, the Tomah School Board should work to adopt such a policy.
Brian Buswell, Tomah, was the plaintiff in a successful lawsuit to require specificity in meeting agendas.
All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.