Some teachers sigh quietly to themselves when they think of telling their student to pursue teaching as a career. Others take pen to paper and write boldly about their refusal to recommend teaching. Holly Kragthorpe, a 14-year veteran public school teacher, is one reluctant educator and she provided her opinion to The Huffington Post.

Kragthorpe said she "struggles" when it comes to recommending students to become teachers, according to the article. She went on to explain her reasons why she wouldn't encourage her students. Issues with tenure have been one of Kragthrope's biggest reasons to recommend avoiding the field that she herself has thrived in.

Tenure, she said, "has yet to become a professional milestone for most teachers." Kragthorpe referred to a study conducted in 2008 by the Education Sector, where "69 percent of teachers agreed with the statement that tenure is 'just a formality -- it has very little to do with whether a teacher is good or not.'"

Kragthorpe said with tenure issues in education, "fewer people are choosing to enter or stay in a career with rigid, lockstep pay, where seniority is valued above all else and where they will be treated as an interchangeable part."

"That's why we must reform tenure in public schools: so that all teachers, not just those with the most seniority, have a voice; so that tenure is a meaningful and earned milestone in a teacher's career--a career that has multiple pathways and options, with opportunities for teacher-designed leadership and hybrid roles," she said. "I'm empowering my students -- and my own children -- to want and expect futures that are fulfilling, challenging and fair. And I hope that one day soon, I'll be able to tell them that a career in teaching is guaranteed to be all that and more."

Read the full story. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor