Age Discrimination of Teachers

Age Discrimination of Teachers

Tony Danza’s book, I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had, shows that there are discriminatory policies in the retirement policies of Philadelphia, and most likely Pennsylvania, schools.  When teachers stay beyond a fixed amount of time, then they are penalized on their pensions.  When teachers lose pension money like this, then that is a major flaw in the system.  Experienced teachers are the ones who make the education system work efficiently.  They help train new teachers and show students how to be successful.  Pushing them out in their prime years to let young, inexperienced, and lower-cost teachers take over is hurting students and putting undue stress on the system.  Conservatives blame unions for messing up the system while money seems to be more of a driving force.  Even in Texas where I live and work, there is a bias against older teachers mainly due to the extra amount of money they earn with their years of service.  Getting rid of your Rocks of Gibraltars, your experienced teachers, will only hurt the system and short change students who will miss out on the wealth of knowledge that has been built up through years of learning how to teach effectively.