Why Are Older Teachers Portrayed As The Problem in Teaching?

The odds of having a better teacher are higher with an older, experienced teacher than with a younger, less experienced teacher.  A school that has a higher average years of experience is more likely to have good discipline and higher test scores.  So why is it that older teachers are portrayed as the roadblock to better teaching?

It is true that older teachers ARE a roadblock to professors, administrators, and political activists who use education to promote themselves, their programs, or their philosophies.  These teachers are much less likely to adopt practices that are not productive in the classroom.  They are more likely to have seen other similar, faulty practices.  This frustrates those who would use the schools for their own purposes.  THAT is why they portray the poor teacher as the old, fuddy-duddy stick-in-the-mud that needs to be pushed out!

The more we try to push these teachers out or threaten them with merit pay or with their jobs, the more we hurt the education of our children.