17 Sep 07 Teachers Unions out to hurt Education again!
In a previous article I discussed how the No Child Left Behind Law was seriously flawed and how it flies in the face of conservative values. I keep that position but I have read an article today about something that both of the major teacher unions are vigorously fighting against. It seems that there as a provision in the bill that gives a bonus to teachers who teach their students well. Wow! There is something that actually makes sense in the new law. What a novel concept, rewarding teachers for being a good teacher. Apparently according to the Unions this is appalling. Both the AFT and the NEA could never support anything that would differentiate between good and bad teachers. Who cares that in every area except education and government, employees compensation is strongly tied to performance. One statement made the teachers unions logic clear they said that they oppose any measure that provides teachers compensation without first going through collective negotiations. The unions are simply afraid of loosing control. How would it go over among there membership if a teacher was given a bonus without the union fighting for it. Maybe that employee would begin to wonder if the union is really of value to them. I have been a teacher for 10 years, and it only took me three to realize that the unions were far more detrimental to education than they are a help. I found out that the liability insurance that they provide can be purchased for a fraction of what my union dues were. The Unions will fight against anything and everything that reduces there power or influence, even if it is to the detriment of our teachers, and our students. For them power is the most important factor.
If you’ve been a teacher for 10 years, then I seriously feel your students pain. If your own inability to proofread your blog is any measure of what you have taught your students, then you should be ashamed of yourself. Grammar is something you should bone up on before you start proselytizing about the evils of the union. It is a shame that the union has enabled someone who publicly demonstrates their lack of basic writing skills to keep their job and continue teaching students. People like you should thank their lucky stars that the union exists, because without it, you’d be out on your *** faster than a speeding cockroach.
When I read posts like yours, it almost makes me ashamed of the fact that I actually agree with your underlying point. There was a brief moment when I thought that your post might have been intended to be ironic before I realized that you were being serious.
Unions were and still are a necessary tool for workers rights. However, unions have to become more than just a tool for ensuring job security. Job security is important, but should be reserved for those who are qualified to do the job. It should be the province of the union to ensure that the membership maintains a standard of excellence. There are a variety of mechanisms for doing this, which you could perhaps make a topic of a future blog post.
I hope you don’t teach English mate, because the grammar in this article is atrocious.
Thank you for the kind comments regarding my grammar. I did not take the time after rough drafting this article, to proofread it. I understand now that there are many people out there who can not get past poor grammar or spelling to see the point of the article. I will make more of an effort in future posts to correct my grammar.
Perhaps the unions still have a place, but the direction they are going is not the most beneficial to teachers or students.