To the Point
Will a Ruling on Teacher Tenure Help Your School Kids?
A California judge has ruled that tenure and seniority laws protect bad teachers at the expense of poor and minority children. Would less legal protection bring those kids better teachers?
By Warren Olney • • 50m ListenA California judge has ruled that tenure and seniority laws protect bad teachers at the expense of poor and minority children. Would less legal protection bring those kids better teachers? As the decision ripples nationwide, are there other strategies for improving the quality of America’s schools? Also, we hear from controversial US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's latest biographer, and ISIS seizes Iraq's biggest oil refinery.
Banner Image Credit: Judy Baxter
In this episode
3 storiesThe Biggest Oil Refinery in Iraq
As President Obama talked with Congressional leaders about possible air strikes, soldiers from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria reportedly took control of Iraq’s biggest oil refinery . Now, it’s closed down with ISIS and the Iraqi government both saying they’re in charge.
Read the story7 minDo Public School Teachers Deserve Failing Grades?
A judge in Los Angeles made national headlines last week when he ruled that tenure and seniority rules protect bad teachers and make them almost impossible to fire. He found that ineffective teachers end up in troubled neighborhoods, where they deprive poor and minority children of their constitutional right to an equal education.
Read the story35 minBruce Allen Murphy on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
In the Wall Street Journal , an admiring former law clerk finds fault with Scalia: A Court of One. That’s the new biography of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, by Lafayette College Professor Bruce Allen Murphy. As the title suggests, the book downplays Scalia’s influence on the court colleagues and on jurisprudence itself.
Read the story9 min