ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Academic tenure in North America

So imagine you're in school and you have a really cool teacher who you really like. Now imagine that this teacher has been teaching at your school for a really long time and everyone loves them. Your teacher has something called "tenure."

This means that they have a special kind of job security. Basically, they can't just be fired for no reason. They have to be doing something really, really bad to lose their job. It's kind of like having a superpower that makes you really hard to get rid of.

The same thing happens with some professors at colleges and universities in North America. When a professor gets tenure, it means they have worked at the school for a certain number of years and have been really good at their job. They have been evaluated by their colleagues and have published research that is respected by the academic community.

Once a professor has tenure, they have a lot of job security. It's really hard for them to be fired or let go without good reason. This gives them the freedom to teach and research in the way that they think is best, without worrying about being punished for it.

It's important to remember that tenure is not something that every professor gets. It's kind of like an award that you have to work really hard to earn. But for those who do get it, it's a pretty big deal!