Ethnic Media Vote 'No' on Prop. 74

By DAFFODIL ALTAN, New America Media

Editor's Note: Proposition 74, which would change the way teachers are hired and fired in California, has caught the attention of California's ethnic communities, which view the initiative as a potential threat to the diversity of the state's teaching force.

SAN FRANCISCO--On Nov. 8, voters will have a chance to decide the future fate of California's teachers. Brought to the ballot by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of his initiative to reform California schools, Proposition 74, which would change the probationary period for teachers, has been sharply debated by both sides of the political spectrum, and within California's ethnic communities.

Op-eds and editorials arguing the merits and the detriments of the measure have appeared in dozens of mainstream newspapers since March. The measure would do two primary things: It would increase the waiting time for teachers to receive tenure from two years to five, and it would allow administrators to dismiss a teacher after two unsatisfactory performance evaluations. Teachers would still have a right to due process, which includes a 90-day improvement period and an appeals process, proponents of the measure say. Opponents say the proposition is unfair to teachers because it would discourage new teachers from entering the profession. Proponents counter that extending the probationary period would allow schools more time to observe teachers in the classroom before giving them tenure.

An independent poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the race is tight -- those opposed to the initiative so far have the upper hand. But when it comes to California's ethnic media and the various groups of parents, students and teachers they represent, the concern seems to hinge on the fate of bilingual education for students who speak English as a second language, and minority teachers who are entering the profession.

"Arnold must think we are stuck on stupid," write the editors of an editorial in the African-American newspaper The Black Voice News. Referring to a blues song by Shirley Brown and in reference to Prop. 74 and several others, the editors say they refuse to be tricked once again by Arnold's promises. The measure, the editors write, will "have an unfair and high termination rate for Blacks and Hispanics coming into the profession."

In an Oct. 15 article from the Nichi Bei Times, a Japanese-American bilingual daily, San Francisco Board of Education Vice President Norman Yee said, "If you look at the population growth in California, Asian Pacific Americans -- Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Vietnamese Americans and so on -- are really the fastest growing population in California. We need more API teachers. This will make it much more difficult."

Chinese educators in San Francisco held a protest against Prop.74 on Oct. 13. Their primary concern, protestors told the Chinese-language newspaper the World Journal, is that the initiative would make it increasingly difficult to find high-quality Chinese-speaking and bilingual Chinese-English teachers to fill positions. Forcing teachers to wait five years for a permanent position will mean that potentially excellent Chinese speaking teachers will go to other jobs where there are benefits and higher pay, the newspaper reports.

According to the World Journal, there are 1.6 million immigrant students in California's education system who need bilingual teachers. This will have a huge impact on the number of bilingual teachers in the system, who are already very difficult to find, and will therefore have a negative impact on the entire Chinese community, the protesters told the newspaper.

In an Oct. 9 editorial, the Spanish language newspaper La Opinion called Prop. 74 simplistic and erroneous. "It is unfair to punish only teachers for the deficiencies in our education system," write the editors. The editorial goes on to point out that an extended probationary period will not guarantee good teachers because the long, uncertain waiting period will only alienate would-be teachers from the profession.

"This initiative is another battle between the Gov. and the teachers' unions," write the editors. But it "does not confront the huge challenges faced by an educational system that is helpless against low academic results and the high numbers of kids dropping out of high school."