Prop 74 and the LA Times

The LA Times comes out and endorses Prop 74, the "Blame Teachers Act."

The main argument for the Times is that tenure needs to be extended to weed out the teachers that don't want to be there or simply don't belong, teachers that become teachers, it seems, simply for the tenure. Which would make sense, if there weren't already protections in place. Teachers who receive unsatisfactory performance marks can already be dismissed under the current system, whether they've taught for three years or thirty. Teachers who engage in unprofessional conduct can be fired at any time no matter how long they've served.

Arnold's proposition does little more than create more paperwork and evaluations for principals without giving them adequate resources to perform them, further depleting schools of money that could be spent on the students, new textbooks, or up-to-date classrooms.

Prop 74 does nothing to help our school system. And now there are reports that Prop 74 could deny tenure already earned by certain teachers.

This is little more than Arnold's attempt to punish the teachers union for pointing out his failings as Governor. He has underfunded schools and reneged on his promise to pay back a $2 billion dollar loan educators made to the state last year. And rather than address these issues, Arnold has decided to punish his critics.

Instead of attacking the messengers, Arnold should spend time finding real solutions for the school systems. New books, up to date classrooms, and an initiative to bring on more teachers - not fewer - would be a good place to start. But rather than show true leadership, this campaign, much like Arnold movies, is about revenge. Except this time, Arnold is the bad guy, and the public must take the role as action hero.