There are undoubtedly serious problems in education but what baffles me is why so many people point their fingers at teachers unions.
It can’t be the high pay, great benefits or awesome working conditions because those things do not exist.
The union does not hire or fire teachers. So if a great teacher gets let go or a poor teacher is retained that’s not something they are involved in.
In Florida they didn’t create the FCAT nor did they slash the education budget.
Yes it is true they are against merit pay but it should tell you something if teachers are against merit pay. If they don’t want it, why is it being forced upon them, doesn’t that seem like an unnecessary expense especially in these lean times?
They speak against vouchers and charter schools but lots of people do for their problems are legion. They siphon resources away from public schools and they don’t play by the same rules nor do they have the same accountability. Even if you like the idea of vouchers and charter schools these FACTS should be disconcerting.
They believe in last hired fired fired like many shops do both, union and non-union. And friends despite what Bill Gates says, experience does matter, but once again they don’t hire or fire teachers.
What the union does is try to get the best package for their members and here in Florida their non-members too and makes sure the district and state follow the agreed upon rules. Isn’t that what everybody wants?
It is truly baffling why people say it’s the unions that are holding back education. They are either ignorant or don’t really understand what they do. Education is too important for people to remain uninformed.
The animosity toward teachers unions is created by the ruling elite and spread to everyone else through PR, lobbying and the media. It makes perfect sense from their perspective.
ReplyDeleteWeaken the teachers' unions and you:
(1) open the doors to $3 trillion in public education spending that becomes available to private business
(2) erode what's left of the union movement and thus drive down wages for everyone else
(3) kill one of the only remaining interests with sufficient resources to compete with private business in elections, thus increasing their political power and their ability to squeeze ever more profits out of the rest of us
Why so many of the rest of us buy into the anti-teacher/anti-union rhetoric is a little more baffling, but not really.
Unions have done a terrible job of defending our interests. Over the last 30 years, our wages have steadily declined, while our working hours and responsibilities have increased. Meanwhile, unemployment is still high and those who don't have jobs are needing a year or longer to find one. People are anxious about their material security. They want an easy bogeyman and the bosses have given them one with the teachers unions.
It is much easier to hate those of similar status and power than to fight those who are the real cause of one's misery.