The recent controversy over whether public school teachers can wear political buttons in the classroom highlights a significant obstacle to improving our schools: teachers' unions would rather dig in their heels in a fight over something trivial than actively work to improve learning in the classroom.
Should a school district seek to ban politicking within school hallways, you can bet the unions will be engaged and active. But when it comes to educating students and improving schools, the unions can be reliably found in opposition to innovative and common-sense reforms.
Think about it. When was the last time a teachers' union sued to demand higher academic standards? When has a teachers' union ever demanded more accountability in our classrooms?
And you can bet -- any time performance pay or tenure for those teachers who bring out the best in our students is brought up, the unions howl with anger and threaten to strike.
They forget; it's not about unions or anything else. It's about our students and making sure they get the best education possible. Our students are the ones who will suffer by staying in failing schools.
The statistics are staggering:
• Out of 30 developed countries, America's 15-year-olds rank 25th in math; 24th in problem-solving; and 21st in science.
• While the U.S. once had the best high school graduation rate in the world, it has now slipped to 20th.
• As recently as 1998, the U.S. ranked first in percentage of 25-34 year olds with at least a bachelor's degree, but by 2006 it had dropped to 10th.
• Even America's top math students rank 25th out of 30 countries when compared with top students elsewhere in the world.
We know we can do better. We have to do better. But to do that, we need to keep the focus on where it needs to be -- putting quality teachers in every classroom so our students can reach their full potential.
Whatever the election-year arguments some may make about wearing political paraphernalia in the classroom, we should all agree that our students would be better served if the teachers' unions devoted the same energy to reducing the drop out rate, raising math and science achievement and ensuring those who do graduate from high school are truly prepared for college
In education, it shouldn't be about the petty complaints of one group or another. It's about the students, stupid!
I really think that education is becoming under-valued due in large part to its politicization. This country absolutely must put a premium on education and make sure that our children know from early on that we know they can and will succeed -- and give them the tools to do so.
Do we really value education in this country? Or do we value not being too smart? And if the latter, are our schools failing, or are they reflecting what we really value? Seems to me that if we, as a society, really valued education it would reflect in our behavior. We certainly have the resources (much more than just money) to provide excellent education to our children and adults. What we lack is the will to do so.
.... when it comes to educating students and improving schools, the unions can be reliably found in opposition to innovative and common-sense reforms -- at least that's my feeling, based upon no actual research.
.....when has a teachers' union ever demanded more accountability in our classrooms? I wouldn't know, because I haven't bothered to find out.
J
The teacher union seems quite concerned with the students education:
http://www.aft.org/about/resolutions/2006/adolescent_literacy.htm
How about we start measuring parents. All education begins with parents and the importance they either do or do not place on their children's education. Failing schools are most often in the very areas of this country that need federal funding the most. Why throw money at schools that are doing great. It makes no sense does it?
Look, teachers have a tough job and some years they will have a lot of bright kids and the next years, a bunch of kids who just don't make the grade. Should they or the school be penalized because the kids are stupid??
I don't see the author bashing unions as much as demanding that the unions take on harder battles to improve our education. Sure, it's easy to rally people to bargain for higher pay; it is much harder to rally members to take a hard look at themselves and demand better performance. The teachers here in Ohio take a couple of days off each quarter as "teacher records day" --presumably to enter grades into the systems and yet there is no time set aside for teachers to take continuing education classes -- let alone any standards of training (much less, testing) the teachers.
Perhaps the unions should not be faulted for the poor quality of our teachers; yet, it is the unions that people -- parents, concerned citizens, or politicians -- must deal with in order to put in place any measure to improve the quality of our teachers. To that extent, the unions do bear responsibilities for not being on the front line of improving our education by improving the quality of our teachers.