Cross-posted at edusolidarity.us
I am a teacher.
There was a time when those words, when spoken, would automatically elicit respect and deference. There was a time when people would openly thank teachers the way they thank our servicemen now.
Not so much now.
Now, people lay all the blame for the educational system solely upon the backs of teachers.
Especially UNION teachers.
The way people throw around the term "bad teachers" one would think that schools are populated with nothing but "bad teachers". And these "bad teachers" are "grossly overpaid" at 50-75 thousand a year for the most experienced teachers
The "reform" laws sprouting up lately have been touted by their promoters as a "way to get better teachers into the classroom".
Let's examine some of these. We have laws eliminating collective bargaining rights for teachers. We have "merit pay" laws. There are laws eliminating seniority when it comes to layoffs. There are increased financial burdens in terms of contributions to health care and pensions. If there are any pensions. One has an urge to ask these lawmakers just HOW these "reforms" will attract "better teachers"?
And that's why teachers unions exist. Although I am not currently a Union member, everything unions do benefits me, and strong teachers unions are one of the keys to attracting and retaining the best professionals possible.
One of the most overlooked parts of the 1983 report "A Nation At Risk" was the section regarding teachers. In the findings on Teaching, the report said that:
The average salary after 12 years of teaching is only $17,000 per year, and
many teachers are required to supplement their income with part-time and
summer employment. In addition, individual teachers have little influence in such
critical professional decisions as, for example, textbook selection.
Now, salaries have grown with inflation, but the rest of the above finding has not changed.
So what does the Union do for me? And how does the Union benefit all teachers?
First and most obvious, the union enables non-union teachers to be paid on a par with their counterparts. Private and charter schools would not be able to recruit nor keep teachers unless salaries were "competitive". Also, benefit schedules are close to a par with many Union contracts.
Unions also provide a much needed voice at the table when it comes to the discussions about the education system as a whole. Without the strong voices of teachers, decisions regarding process and pedagogy are placed in the hands of those who have never spent significant time in a public school classroom.
What kinds of decisions?
Textbook and curriculum decisions. Optimum class sizes. Appropriate aid and materials in the special needs classrooms. Teacher evaluation procedures and rubrics.
Unions also advocate. Through the power of the unions, teachers have a measure of due process with regards to their job security. A troubled child who gets a bad grade can make an accusation just because he doesn't like a teacher. The due process that unions have fought for prevents this teacher from being terminated out of hand, and allows for proper investigation.
But those are material things that unions provide. Unions also preserve Democracy. A teacher making $30,000 a year does not have "access" and can't influence debate on issues of import. A Union, however, is a concentrated voice--where thousands of individuals can speak with one voice, making that voice very powerful. And that voice is used to keep the profession of teaching one of the most respected and trusted professions.
As a recent article in the New York Times suggests, the constant vilification of teachers has had an effect.
To improve its public schools, the United States should raise the status of the teaching profession by recruiting more qualified candidates, training them better and paying them more, according to a new report on comparative educational systems.
Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the international achievement test known by its acronym Pisa, says in his report that top-scoring countries like Korea, Singapore and Finland recruit only high-performing college graduates for teaching positions, support them with mentoring and other help in the classroom, and take steps to raise respect for the profession.
“Teaching in the U.S. is unfortunately no longer a high-status occupation,” Mr. Schleicher says in the report, prepared in advance of an educational conference that opens in New York on Wednesday. “Despite the characterization of some that teaching is an easy job, with short hours and summers off, the fact is that successful, dedicated teachers in the U.S. work long hours for little pay and, in many cases, insufficient support from their leadership.”
And ultimately, this is why I support the Union. Without it, the profession of teaching would crumble. Think about it. There are all these laws taking away due process, seniority, job security, and massive cuts that will affect pay and benefits, and yet state politicians believe that "laws like this will attract more of the best and brightest".
After all, why be a hedge fund manager making 15 million a year with a guaranteed golden parachute when you can be a teacher for 30 grand a year with little benefits and no job security?