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Zvi Grumet has raised a very significant question of dinei nefashot, but=20
he has not given us enough information to help us reach a decision. =20
Here are some of the questions I would ask, without differentiating=20
between secular and Judaic Studies teachers.
Is a "after a full year of evaluating the staff" really enough to reach=20
such a conclusion? Teachers reach students in many different ways. "Has=20
no positive impact on the students" sounds a little too sweeping to me. =20
Some teachers are "uninspiring" because they simply drill, but their =20
students wind up knowing a tremendous amount of material --and some of=20
the "inspiring" teachers, in the end, don't actually teach very much. =20
Some teachers are "not an effective force" in the classroom --a phrase=20
sometimes used instead of "uninspiring"-- but work with individual=20
students encouraging them to reach their potential. It's hard to really=20
give "twenty years of loyal service to the school" without doing=20
anything positive. The evaluation seems to me, on its surface, to be a=20
bit too quick and all-encompassing to be totally accurate.
But let us say, for the sake of argument, that despite whatever positive=20
qualities the teacher might have, he or she really doesn't meet the mark.=
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A very important question then is, what is in the teacher's file?
Suppose the file has copies of letters sent to the teacher calling=20
attention to the problem, making concrete suggestions, and noting in=20
ongoing evaluations that the teacher has not met these goals. It is then=
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much easier to reach the conclusion that the teacher must leave the=20
classroom.
On the other hand, I would find it hard to justify the firing if the file=
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had nothing in it. Indeed, barring a case where the teacher is a clear=20
and present danger to his or her students, I would tend to say that it=20
would be immoral to fire the teacher without fair and consistent warning,=
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including concrete suggestions for improvement. (Such warnings have to=20
be in writing. All too often, the claim "he understood what I was saying=
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to him" is just a cover for "I was too much of a wimp to say what I was=20
really thinking.") It's fair to set a high mark, but the teacher must=20
have a chance to meet it. (Parenthetically, the same applies to students.=
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Students should not be failed in a course unless the teacher has=20
notified the parents over the course of the year that there is a=20
problem.)
Writing evaluations is part of the ethical administration of a school,=20
and the lay leadership should insist on it. My advice to Zvi's principal=
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would be to start creating such a file --and to be honest and realistic =20
about suggestions for improvement. Offer opportunities for learning,=20
mentoring, etc. The teacher might well rise to the occasion or it might=20
take a year or two more to create a record that justifies firing him or=20
her. But ethical procedures are often not quick and easy.
Joel Wolowelsky</HTML>
