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“ The teachers unions have more influence over the public schools than any other group in American society. They influence schools from the bottom up, through collective bargaining activities that shape virtually every aspect of school organization. And they influence schools from the top down, through political activities that shape government policy. They are the 800-pound gorillas of public education. Yet the American public is largely unaware of how influential they are--and how much they impede efforts to improve public schools.
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The problem is not that the unions are somehow bad or ill-intentioned. They aren't. The problem is that when they simply do what all organizations do--pursue their own interests--they are inevitably led to do things that are not in the best interests of children.
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Teacher’s unions are one of those pet causes of the conservative right that never seem to vanish. Yes, if only teachers couldn’t organize then our kids would all be learning so much better! In reality education policy is a complicated affair and there are no simple answers. Yet the right continues to “blame teachers first” for the many problems of public education. Are teacher’s unions perfect? Of course they aren’t, but they serve a useful purpose in society.
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| Teacher’s unions
are greedy “When unions negotiate with school boards, these are the interests they pursue, not those of the children who are supposed to be getting educated . . . The resulting contracts often run to more than 100 pages, and are filled with provisions for higher wages, fantastic health benefits and retirement packages, generous time off, total job security, teacher transfer and assignment rights, restrictions on how teachers can be evaluated, restrictions on nonclassroom duties, and countless other rules that shackle the discretion of administrators.” |
The great American playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “To me the sole hope of human salvation lies in teaching.” Mr. Shaw had a point, however American society does not pay teachers in a way commensurate with their task. Despite what Mr. Moe may think, teachers are some of the hardest working and least appreciated of society’s professions. As the Economic Policy Institute has shown, public school teacher’s “weekly wages have fallen behind those of other workers with similar education and experience.” Further, studies such as this one in the Journal of Instructional Psychology show how stressful teaching is, as well as how crucial it is for teacher’s to find conditions that can help ease stress (such as having a decent standard of living). |
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There is no evidence that smaller classes are better for kids
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If by “no evidence” Terry Moe means “massive amounts of evidence” than his assertions are correct. As this Educational Testing Services paper shows, reviews of multiple scientific studies by respected nonpartisan organizations clearly show that “students in small classes perform better than students in large classes, they also found that the effect is most pronounced for students in the elementary grades in classes of less than 20 students.” |
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The way to get better schools is to bust teacher’s unions
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Is this really the best way to improve schools or further erode any organizations that are supportive of progressive causes? While the argument flows logically from Moe’s article the issues it touches on are larger than even education. Organized labor has been on the decline for decades. Public sector unions, like the AFT are one of the last bastions of unionization, so it makes sense that the right wants to target them. |
Teacher’s unions are one of those pet causes of the conservative right that never seem to vanish. Yes, if only teachers couldn’t organize then our kids would all be learning so much better! In reality education policy is a complicated affair and there are no simple answers. Yet the right continues to “blame teacher’s first” for the many problems of public education. Are teacher’s unions perfect? Of course they aren’t, but they serve a useful purpose in society.
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