Richard Whitemire
Are Teachers Unions Really to Blame?
The Huffington Post
February 25, 2011
Complete URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-whitmire/are-teachers-unions-reall_b_827181.html
Richard Whitemire makes valid arguments that teachers unions are not the “villains blocking national reform.” In the example of Michelle Rhee versus teachers unions in Washington DC school reform, the unions did not stop aggressive teacher evaluations from being implemented and unions made no attempt to block the firing of weak teachers. The author does note that there were clashes between Rhee and the teachers union, but ultimately the unions did not hinder Rhee from carrying out reform measures. “So if the unions weren't the key villain, who gets cast in that role, both in Washington and elsewhere? This is a target-rich environment: Inertia, a disbelief that schools will never change, suspicion, knee-jerk attempts to blame parents…” The idea of inertia being part of the problem struck me. The problem(s) like Mt. Everest seem insurmountable but if we are unwilling to move then we must stop pointing fingers – unless we point inward. The intended audience would primarily be practioners and administrators, but the general public could benefit from exposure to this point of view. I find this article extremely relevant in light of current events – especially those in Wisconsin.
I have been thinking about the idea of "inertia" for the last week or so too. As Richard has made it so clear in Ed. Psych, people are very stubborn. More or less, we believe what we want to believe.
ReplyDeleteI know an older man who is generally brilliant who believes that teacher unions are the entire reason for our economic collapse. No matter how you try to reason with him, he won't believe otherwise. Unions have too much power, they don't fire bad teachers, their benefits are choking the state budget (may be partially true), etc. It is interesting to read an article that basically refutes some of his claims. I'll have to e-mail it to him.
This whole issue has been a problem for me as I have been traditionally more anti-union for a variety of reasons, yet by becoming a teacher I know that I will probably have to join one. With the issue in Wisconsin, it seemed to be pretty cut and dried to me that the union needed to give up some power and accede to some of the demands of the governor, which the unions had done. Re: giving up the collective bargaining, I was still on the fence - until I read this attached article.
ReplyDeleteThough it is from Huff Po, which people may or may not like, the writer of the article is from Forbes.com and the information it gives seems to be pretty good. The basic point is the taxpayers of Wisconsin are NOT paying for their state workers' pensions and health plans. The quote starting the article is:
"Gov. Scott Walker says he wants state workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to “contribute more” to their pension and health insurance plans. Accepting Gov. Walker’ s assertions as fact, and failing to check, creates the impression that somehow the workers are getting something extra, a gift from taxpayers. They are not. Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin’ s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers."
Here is the link (as it is not a long read so you can decide what you think:
http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/02/25/the-wisconsin-lie-exposed-taxpayers-actually-contribute-nothing-to-public-employee-pensions/