51����

The question of whether public school teachers in the K-12 system should be protected by the system of tenure is a highly controversial one. It is also an extremely important question at the present moment. A changing world economy and increased focus on our nation’s education system are bringing teacher tenure into the spotlight, and some say it is a tradition that may be outdated.

The Good: Why Some Argue that Tenure is Important

Protects teachers from being fired for personal or political reasons

As a 2008 magazine article on teacher tenure notes, one of the most significant results of teacher tenure is that it makes firing teachers “a difficult and costly process.” A tenured teacher cannot be fired on the whim of a school administrator; charges will need to be filed, evaluations submitted, and hearings held. Many teachers believe that the job security tenure provides is important because it prevents teachers from being fired for reasons of favoritism or local or district politics.

Gives teachers the freedom to experiment or support controversial causes

Many say that tenure is important for teachers to delve into potentially untraditional topics. A high school social studies teacher, Alan Singer wrote recently for the about how he helped students form clubs which “testified in public hearings against budget cuts in education and in favor of condom availability in schools.” Without the protection that tenure offered, Singer argues, he would not have felt

E-books, some say, are the words of the future. The Kindle, the iPad, and other electronic reading devices are signaling the end of the print era.

Colleges and universities across the country have begun experimenting with using e-textbooks, rather than printed textbooks, to deliver course content. Now, the K-12 public school system is getting on the e-text bandwagon too, as several state legislatures make moves to support the use of electronic textbooks in their state’s public schools.

This video from Fox News reports on ebooks versus physical textbooks.

States Move to Adopt Digital Textbooks

Texas

In Texas, for example, the legislature adopted a bill in 2009 that provided funds for school districts and charter schools to purchase the technology necessary for e-textbooks. This bill also gave school districts and charter schools the necessary flexibility to adopt e-textbooks instead of traditional textbooks.

The bill also allowed school districts to be reimbursed by the state for 50% of the savings they incurred from the switch from regular textbooks to e-texts. As Texas Senator Jeff Wentworth reports in a guest column for the website , school districts may use the reimbursement they receive from the state to purchase educational technology, such as computers, if they choose.

Indiana

Twelve schools in the Indianapolis 51���� System will soon be foregoing traditional textbooks as well. As the educational technology publication

Could your child’s public school be playing “big brother” to its students? For some students, their schools just may be spying on them – even in the comfort and privacy of their own homes.

In February, a Pennsylvania Court faced a case where a public school was accused of spying on students via the webcams attached to school-issued laptops.

According to the initial complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Lower Merion School District used remotely activated webcams on school-issued laptops to spy on students’ home activities. As reports, the lawsuit claims that Blake J. Robbins, a student at Harriton Senior High School, became aware of the spying in November 2009, when an assistant principal told Robbins that he had been caught via the webcam engaging in “improper behavior” in his home.

This video reports the story referred to above.

It is yet unknown what the boy was doing in his bedroom or whether he received disciplinary action from the school. Nevertheless, the case is receiving widespread national attention and prompted nationwide concerns from students and parents.

The School District’s Response

Webcams Used Only for Locating Missing Laptops

The school district has issued a letter to parents admitting that spyware was installed on the laptops that the schools issued to students but maintaining that the feature “was only used for the

Despite our modern approach to education, physical discipline is still being used in public school classrooms in America. Parents nationwide are expressing concern over the use of seclusion and restraint in public school classrooms. A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, released in May 2009, revealed that between 1990 and 2009, there had been “hundreds of allegations” of abuse involving restraint or seclusion, according to Today. In Texas and California alone, a combined 33,095 students were secluded or restrained in the school year leading up to the report’s issuance.

Restraint Practices

The restraint practices described in the May 2009 report could sometimes verge on what could be called child abuse. Restraint practices are commonly used to deal with students who have behavioral or emotional problems.

In one New York school, a 9-year-old with learning disabilities was confined to a “small, dirty room” 75 times over the course of six months as a consequence of his “whistling, slouching, and hand-waving,” reports the USA Today. Meanwhile, in Texas, a 14-year-old boy who would not stay seated in his special-education classroom died when his teacher restrained him by lying on top of him.

This video looks at the issue of restraint and seclusion.

Lack of Regulation

According to concerned parents, there is a lack of federal and state regulations addressing seclusion and restraint practices in public schools. In May 2009, USA

Detroit 51����s’ students recently won the award of the worst math scores in the National Assessment of Educational Progress’ 40-year history. Couple the disheartening standardized test scores with the nation’s lowest graduation rate, according to , and you have a public school system that has utterly failed its students.

To further complicate the issue, Detroit Public schools are currently fighting an internal battle with Emergency Finance Manager Robert Bobb. Detroit public school teachers, administrators, parents, and school board members are upset about Bobb’s recently issued directive, outlining that all students in the district take an additional standardized test this year.

The issue of whether students should have to take this new test – on top of the STARS (Standardized Testing and Reporting), MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program), PSAT, SAT, and ACT tests that they already take – is part of a larger battle for control of academic decisions between the Detroit school board and Bobb.

This video offers a look at one of the Detroit 51����s buildings.

Why Do Detroit Schoolchildren Need a New Standardized Test?

Steve Wasko, DPS Executive Director of Public Relations, says that the new standardized test Bobb has ordered – the Quarterly Benchmark Assessment, or QBA – will be used to assess how effective the current curriculum is in helping students to meet benchmarks and achieve adequate academic progress.