Union Chief: Bad Teachers Should Find New Jobs

The head of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers says teachers who aren't up to snuff shouldn't be in classrooms and should find new professions.

AFT president Randi Weingarten on Monday told a gathering of her union's rank-and-file members that they should be more vigilant about their colleagues' abilities. She says weak educators who don't make improvements only hurt the profession.

The warning comes as state education chiefs have been trying to implement tougher standards for those in the classrooms and weed out teachers whose students aren't making progress. The tough words drew applause from more than 2,000 union members meeting in Washington.

Weingarten says new teachers should be mentored and offered more training if their college coursework was inadequate.