Tim Bonham
Mon, 27 Jun 2005 23:11:38 -0700
By far, the most common reason they give for the concentration of more experienced teachers at specific schools is one that has not even been mentioned, so far in this discussion.
Good teachers go to schools where there are good principals.Senior, experienced teachers, who have the seniority to move to whatever school they want, bid for positions at schools where they will be working for a principal they consider good. (This doesn't mean an 'easy' principal. Good teachers want a principal who puts pressure on teachers who aren't pulling their weight. And they want the principal to take care of the 'principaling' work, and let them get on with the teaching work.)
Even more so, they avoid schools with a bad principal. Some principals are moved to a new school every 2-3 years, promptly followed by an exodus of the experienced teachers from that school the next year.
Perhaps the best solution to this teacher problem will involve improved training for principals!
In the business world, such poor managers tend to be shuffled off to sidestream jobs, where they can't do much harm: company historian, interdepartmental liaison, etc. Probably our schools can't afford to fund makework positions like this. But then, what is the cost of a poisonous principal, who chases away all the experienced teachers at the school?
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