Employment at Will — Why Education Needs this Policy
I go to work every day because I enjoy it. I look forward to it. The day that stops, I’ll promptly leave.
My employer appreciates my work. Approves of the effort I put in when working with customers and coworkers. The day that stops, they’ll promptly ask me to leave.
No restrictions. No threat of legal action. No drawn-out process.
That is employment at will.
Education needs this policy in place at schools.
I’ve written about the lemon-dance — a practice created by the stranglehold unions place on school leadership to provide ‘justified cause’ for release, resulting in endless committee hearings and drawing out the teacher release to unnecessary lengths.
Employment at will works well in situations where there is mutual trust between employer and employee. I suggest that if you are thinking that such a policy won’t work in education, then perhaps the problem is with the institution’s lack of mutual trust between leadership and teachers. I’ll be quick to admit I’ve seen examples of awful leadership at schools, but this is the minority. The majority of school leaders I’ve worked with have student interests first, and would cheer the opportunity to work in an organization that supports employment at will.
Why not institute employment at will for teachers? Why should it be different for public education?