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I would like to respond to Rabbi Tzvi Grumet's thought provoking question
regarding the obligations of the principal towards the teacher vs. the
students and their parents in the event that the teacher is ineffective. I
understood the question as a solicitation of input on a moral (or
halachic) dilemma, so I will attempt to respond on that level.
The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De'ah 245 - Hilchot Melamdim, s' 17) states, "a
teacher who leaves the students and goes out, or does other work with
them, or is mitrashel b'talmudo... (HaGah)... should be removed." What if
the teacher is not careless or negligent, but tries hard and means well,
but is simply ineffective?
The next Halacha (s'18) states unequivocally, "If there is a teacher that
teaches children and another one comes along who is better than him, you
remove the 1st for the 2nd." It is interesting that the RaMA adds at the
end of the section that it is not so for the Rav of a community.
In Igeret Moshe, (Choshen Mishpat chelek beit and Yoreh De'ah chelek
gimel) Rav Moshe responds to shai'alot concerning community rabbis,
teachers of adults in beit midrashim, and principals, by saying that they
cannot be removed by the board or community without a majority decision by
a Beit Din.
I have heard that Rav Moshe wrote that teachers have a chazaka after three
years, but have not located that t'shuva. It is extremely germane to this
discussion, so I encourage someone to post the source if it exists. If
there is no such t'shuva, it seems that Rav Moshe agrees with the RaMA
that there is a profound difference between teachers of children and
teachers of adults in this matter. Teachers of children are so important
to their growth and development in Torah that there is little or no
tolerance for anything but the best.
The sefer Beit Raban: Halachot, Halichot u'Minhagim b'Chinuch (4:10)
states, "It is mutar to remove a teacher from his position for a better
teacher." He cites many sources, including an article in T'chumin (chelek
hey p. 290) by Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach regarding the Halacha b'zman
hazeh.
I do not think there is any contradiction between the above and the three
responses to Tzvi's query in the last Lookjed Digest. I totally agree
that the principal must first work diligently with the teacher from
September through April, with the sincere goal of facilitating an
improvement that would warrant retaining the teacher. However, if the
teacher remains ineffective, then the school's obligation towards the
students (and their parents) outweighs the school's obligation towards the
teacher.
Sincerely,
Avram Skurowitz</HTML>
