Also: ideology should be protected in universities, but does the same need and requirement apply to Elementary schools? Is it desirable for teachers to be able to say whatever they want to Elementary school students?

Also a factual question: did tenure start in universities? When did tenure start in primary schools--or has it always been there?

Ezra,
The problem that I would have with tenure at SSI is that tenure insulates previous thinkers from new ideas and technological changes. When COIN becomes old, do we still want the writers to be tenured teachers instructing our officer corps? That seems antithetical to the purpose of a forward-thinking approach to military tactics and strategies.

OK, as long as you remember that tenure also protects John Yoo at Berkeley - and for exactly the same reason.

OK, as long as you remember that tenure also protects John Yoo at Berkeley - and for exactly the same reason.

Why, yes, speaking out on a controversial subject as an academic is indistinguishable from providing official legal counsel to the Executive Branch that greenlights war crimes. It's like looking at identical twins.

That sounds like the line in "On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever", from hazy memory, "For a small private college, academic freedom is the freedom to seek employment elsewhere." (Bob Newhart as the embattled college President).

It's rare to hear someone outside of academia defend tenure, or even show the faintest glimmer of an understanding of why tenure exists and why it's an important. As an academic who (fingers crossed) is weeks away from my tenure decision, I thank you.

And yes, in his role as a tenured professor, John Yoo absolutely has the right to hold and express whatever inane and idiotic ideas he sees fit. I wouldn't have it any other way.

OK, as long as you remember that tenure also protects John Yoo at Berkeley - and for exactly the same reason.

I'm neither a lawyer nor a tenured professor, but I'm pretty sure the system is intended to protect ideas rather than people, right?

Often, the former requires the latter, of course. But there's a big, important difference between "can't be fired for your beliefs" and "can't be fired." A literature professor could claim that the Hellenistic Greeks had the right idea on man-boy love and advocate all he wants for ephebophilia, and that's good, but if he gets arrested for child pornography are you seriously telling me he couldn't be fired?

Likewise, a lawyer and professor could believe and argue all he wants that the president can suspend civil rights if he feels it's necessary, and that's good, but if he writes an opinion in his capacity as a lawyer giving permission for that...

Like I said, I'm neither a teacher nor a lawyer. But if tenure really applies to what Yoo did, I'm surprised and disappointed.

Guy:

In a country of perfectly sane and good-hearted principals and school administrators, tenure might not be necessary for elementary schools, but when you're trying to protect people who say things like "Human beings evolved from creatures much like modern apes" or "No, I won't give you a blowjob" it's a useful counterbalance to the otherwise largely-unfettered power schools as employers.

Is it desirable for teachers to be able to say whatever they want to Elementary school students?

I'd say it's not undesirable. We've all read stories in recent years about creationist nuts on school boards, and there are lots of local or personal issues that become just as political.

As for where elementary school teacher tenure comes from, I understand (based mostly on arguments about busting teachers' unions, so take this with a grain of salt...) that the tradition of tenure is partially a form of nonmonetary compensation. Teachers get low pay but in return they get better-than-average job security, the theory goes.

That may not be a sufficient reason to have some form of tenure, but the profession is unique in so many ways - inherently hard to evaluate performance, especially in short periods; multiple and maybe conflicting layers of accountability and regulation, from local to federal; sometimes acting in loco parentis; god knows what else - that it's hard to say that some enhanced job security isn't a good idea.