I'm all for teachers.  Having been a school bus driver I can
certainly have empathy for all they try to do against overwhelming odds
of parents shortfalls in raising their kids and expecting the school to
teach their kids things in life that they, the parents, should be.
 However, at the same time I have seen what tenure can do.  It can
foster bad teachers to continue their less than adequate job skills and
bad personalities that works against what the good teachers are trying
to do. While also showing the kids that such inadequacies are not
addressed, but rather awarded with continued employment.  That's why I
would be against tenure.
 In the respect of job performance teachers should no be different
than anyone else.  Whether one works in a factory, or an office job, if
u don't perform to a certain level u will be called on it, and fired if
need be without a lot of protection to keep ur boss from doing so.  And
in the schools that I've seen many teachers run in a tight clique.
This not only continues to foster and support inadequate teachers, but
it unduly  punishes a good teacher who is not part of that clique.  So
goes the human way of things, but in the end this is what happens on
both sides of this subject.
 And as long as I "have ur ear", there is the matter of the great
under appreciation for bus drivers, who are not morally supported by
school systems, and teachers themselves, but also by the parents.
 The school districts under pay the bus drivers.  A garbage truck
driver makes more than a bus driver and gets more respect.  My beef was
always this.  How can u treat a person that hauls around the most
precious cargo that anyone could possibly carry with such lack of
respect and low pay?  Something seems terribly out of whack on that
one.  And yes, there are some bad bus drivers too. Oh, and might I add
that school bus drivers also has to play babysitter to some people's
brats as they are trying to maneuver thru traffic and weather
conditions.  U all know how hard it is just to control ur two kids in
the back seat of the car.  Now put about 40 of those kids behind u
while ur driving and see how well u do. Granted, there are many good
kids out there who mind their p's and q's, but how many kids does it
take for the driver to get distracted and take his eyes off the road?
 Support ur teachers, and bus drivers!  They have been given the most
precious jobs anyone can have.  Teaching and protecting ur kids and ur
grandkids!

-

Two of my daughter are teachers, one is a state police officer.  My one son
is an Attorney, the other retired military.  My one daughter met her husband
in collage.  They graduated with the same degree.  He works for a fire truck
manufacturer and earns twice as much as my teacher daughter for his 2080
annual work hours, my daughter works 1600 hours.  My retired sons military
pension is more than either of my two teacher daughters.  My trooper
daughter makes more than any of them but she never can be sure somebody may
shoot at her and she works lot of OT.  When she goes on pension in two years
will get 2/3 of her salary.  The Attorney makes more than three of them
combined, but he is rarely home.

I tell my grand daughters, when you fall in love and you want a live very
well, fall in love an Attorney.  If you want to retire at around age fifty,
fall in love with a cop or a military officer.  If on the other hand you
want your husband to spend nights, weekends, holiday and snowy days with you
and the children, fall in love with a teacher    LOL

mike