I’m reading Steven Brill’s fantastic piece on the New York City schools and the stranglehold the teachers’ unions have on public education in New York. It’s a fascinating bit of reporting, and I’m thinking of writing on it. I know a lot of NRO readers are teachers. I was wondering if any of them can offer some insights about why they think providing lifetime tenure (after just three years on the job) for grade-school teachers makes any sense. I understand that there should be some mechanisms to keep the schools from becoming outlets for patronage jobs and the like. But lifetime tenure? Why? I have enough problems with tenure for college professors, but at least there I understand the arguments. Thoughts?