Teachers Unions Are Not the Devil

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Sunday August 19, 2012 · 2:35 PM PDT

2012/08/19 · 14:35

Teachers unions may be good for student achievement, or at least their absence may have a detrimental effect on a state's educational attainment.

Where I live in Washington State we are once again debating the issue of charter schools. However you feel about charters, the power of a teacher's union is undeniably reduced when bargaining units are limited to teachers at one school. Invariably in this kind of debate, people start throwing around the idea that eliminating the teachers unions would be a worthy goal, in and of itself.

Teachers unions are illegal in five states. Coincidentally, these five states have some of the lowest student achievement in the country. Although many articles have cited this fact, most of the statistics used are outdated or incomplete. To better illustrate the point, here is the most recent and comprehensive data I could find: (after the jump)

Poll

56 votes Show Results

Do you think teacher's unions hinder student achievement?

56 votes Vote Now!

Do you think teacher's unions hinder student achievement?

Yes, they should be eliminated

8 votes

No, they serve important functions for students, like keeping class sizes small.

44 votes

Yes. They shouldn't be eliminated but their power should be reduced.

4 votes

Andrew Breitbart Said... What?

jenyum

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Wednesday January 12, 2011 · 10:13 AM PST

2011/01/12 · 10:13

"I used 'blood libel' because I thought using analogy of lefties at pinball machine in Jodie Foster film 'The Accused' was too obscure."

34 minutes ago, via his Twitter stream, Andrew Breitbart unleashed this disgusting comparison of "lefties" to the gang rapists in Jodie Foster's film, "The Accused."

I know I should not make this diary a "stub" but I don't know what to say. I don't really care to examine this comment in detail I just want to know: why does anyone listen to this disgusting man?

Books are Weapons in the War of Ideas

jenyum

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Wednesday September 08, 2010 · 3:05 PM PDT

2010/09/08 · 15:05

Books cannot be destroyed by fire.
People die, but books never die.
No man and no force can put thought in a concentration camp forever. No man and no force can take from the world the books that embody man's eternal fight against tyranny. In this war, we know, books are weapons. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

jenyum

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Wednesday February 24, 2010 · 8:07 PM PST

2010/02/24 · 20:07

It's very trendy right now to pay lip service to the idea that America's kids should eat healthier. Michelle Obama has just kicked off a big campaign to fight childhood obesity, but will this mean real change for the nation's kids or just a tiny green garnish on the big plate of corn dog nuggets served up every day in schools across the United States?

Teachers are tired of watching their students bounce off the walls after a meal of red food dye, corn syrup and breaded commodity chicken. One such teacher - "Mrs. Q" - has taken her frustration to the blogosphere, where she is showing the world what her kids are forced to eat every day, by ordering her own school lunch and photographing the evidence. At her school, absolutely everything aside from the rare fresh apple comes pre-packaged and re-heated in a plastic film.

jenyum

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Monday December 21, 2009 · 10:33 AM PST

2009/12/21 · 10:33

By now, political geeks of all persuasions are familiar with the little spat that occurred last night during the health care debate, in which Senator Tom Coburn of OK appeared to be invoking the wrath of the almighty to strike down a fellow senator and prevent the cloture vote from moving forward.

But what you might not know is that Coburn is not new to this kind of bombastic politics. Recently, he cast himself in the role of hero in a little play entitled "Coburn Takes on The UN" -- at the expense of veterans' health care.

jenyum

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Saturday December 19, 2009 · 3:14 PM PST

2009/12/19 · 15:14

Correctly, no less!

During today's Senate health care bill debate, Senator Tom Coburn held up a big graphic displaying a quote from Thomas Jefferson:

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical

This quote resided in the background while Coburn went on and an about earmarks, and abortion, and waste and fraud in the federal government. If Senator Coburn had actually read the original source of the quote, however, I don't think he'd be so quick to use it.

jenyum

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Friday March 13, 2009 · 9:32 AM PDT

2009/03/13 · 09:32

Today, California is expected to issue pink slips to at least 26,000 teachers across the state.* Teachers and supporters will be marching in the streets, wearing pink to show their solidarity with those facing lay offs. The saddest thing about Pink Slip Friday is not the teachers losing their jobs (although that is a tragedy) but what it signifies for students in California and America as a whole.

This Fall, I opened up a Stand for Children meeting with an excerpt from the Nation magazine from the last great depression. At that time, I thought I was reading a distant cautionary tale. Today, just a few months later, it doesn't seem quite so far off.

jenyum

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Tuesday March 10, 2009 · 3:03 PM PDT

2009/03/10 · 15:03

As I mentioned in my last diary entry, I've been busy lately campaigning for a local school bond issue. One of my self-appointed tasks has been to argue the case for school construction, whenever it comes up on local websites.

Of all the arguments raised against modernizing our schools, my favorite is the ever popular "dirt floors were good enough for Abraham Lincoln."

Did you just spit coffee through your nose?

Believe it or not, this comes up fairly often. In an effort to grapple seriously with this statement, I thought I'd share a few facts about life in America, in the days of Lincoln's childhood.

jenyum

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Thursday March 05, 2009 · 6:01 PM PST

2009/03/05 · 18:01

I am deep in the throes of campaigning for a local school bond election. Every year or two our school district has to undertake this ritual, the legacy of a state constitutional amendment that limited property taxes to 1% of assessed value, unless voters approve a bond levy by a 60% majority. "So what?" You say. "Shouldn't the voters have a say?" Well, yes, in theory, but in practice it means that necessary school construction projects are put off until our schools are literally crumbling around the kids. It also means that in times like these, when construction prices are low and construction jobs are desperately needed, voters balk at the idea of any additional property taxes.

But all of that is just talk. It is easy enough to say "fine, but not now" to school construction until you see the reality of what some of our kids are asked to live with every day.

jenyum

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Monday September 22, 2008 · 11:41 AM PDT

2008/09/22 · 11:41

It's not the one you're thinking of.

jenyum

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Monday September 08, 2008 · 10:00 AM PDT

2008/09/08 · 10:00

It doesn't get any more "kitchen table" than that. By now, many of us have probably seen the email from Anne Kilkenny, a long-time Wasilla resident, outlining her concerns upon hearing of Palin's selection as McCain's running mate.

She mentions many important issues in her well-written letter, but this one jumped right out at me and deserves a little more attention:

She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax, which taxed even food.

Now I am a mom, actually shortly I will even be a "soccer mom," and nothing is impacting my life right now more than the rising costs of food.

RSS

Teachers Unions Are Not the Devil

Andrew Breitbart Said... What?

Books are Weapons in the War of Ideas

1 More Dollar a Day for Healthy School Lunches, Healthy Kids

Senator Coburn, American Hero

Dear Senator Coburn: Liberals Can Quote Jefferson, Too

Pink Slip Friday: 26,000 Teachers May Be Laid Off

When Abraham Lincoln Went to School...

Rebuilding our schools: the legacy of "no new taxes"

Another Reason Why the Supreme Court Matters

Sarah Palin: Taxing Your Groceries