Biggest Obstacles to Quality Teaching: Teachers’ Unions
Last week I was at an education conference in Orlando and heard some very interesting presentations on a wide range of education reforms. One of the most interesting sessions I attended featured the former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, Roy Romer (Romer is also a former Democratic governor of Colorado) and current NYC public schools chancellor, Joel Klein. (If Klein’s name rings a bell for you it may be because he was one of the lead attorneys that represented President Bill Clinton during the impeachment hearings.)
Klein’s presentation centered on getting quality teachers into every classroom because that is where the most bang for the buck is in terms of improved student achievement. This is no surprise. What did surprise me, given Klein’s long-standing political affiliation, was his top three reasons (which Romer quickly seconded) why this isn’t happening, and they all point squarely to the union. Klein’s top three barriers to getting quality teachers:
- Seniority
- Tenure
- Lock-step Pay
While the teachers’ union consistently claims to be real pro-education advocate, it appears that the chorus on both sides of the isle is growing ever louder that they are actually becoming the biggest hurdle to bringing about the types of change needed to deliver a quality education to Utah’s (and the nation’s) children.
jasonthe said,
June 25, 2008 @ 6:59 pm
Before I take any of this seriously, I have know, is this another conference like the “We’re Not Funded By Exxon, We Swear” Global Warming sham you attended in NYC a few months back?
This is a reasonable debate to have, if we can just get part out of the way first…
Lyall said,
June 25, 2008 @ 11:51 pm
Jason,
This conference was even better. It was the “Wal-Mart, competition saves all, vouchers rock, flat brain conference.” Mickey and Minnie mouse were the keynote speakers
.
Sorry, my sarcastic nature just begged to respond to your comments.
Here’s my response to your “sham” comment. Jason, I find it very interesting that you diligently look into funders of conferences like the NYC conference I went to in March and yet you never deal with the actual science and qualifications of the scientists who are presenting. They are not afraid to be scrutinized, to debate, in fact they welcome the dialogue.
I’m going to flip your seriously comment back on you and say before I can take your criticism of my post or argument seriously, I want you to show me where the group of scientists I heard in NYC got it wrong. Show me what’s wrong with their science. I don’t really care if you don’t like the source of funding. If all you can do is get hung up on who is funding the research you might just throw out the answer (to global warming, education, etc.), because you can’t see past who made it possible.
Bottom line here is that ALL science is paid for. There is always an agenda—corporation, university, government, philanthropist, etc.. So in the end…does it matter where the money is coming from? Yes to some extent, as it helps me understand the lens I’m looking through. I can better understand the potential biases that may or may not have colored the research. But to throw out what a scientist presents because his research grant came from a corporation instead of doing purely for the “good of science” is like saying that we should not consider any composition Mozart wrote while being paid by the king as not being truly masterpiece because the driving motivation was “impure.” Sorry, your argument just rings a little hollow.
BTW, the conference was put on by Gov. Jeb Bush’s non-profit Excellence in Education, which looks like to me his attempt to keep his foot in the political fray and continue the reforms he instituted while governor in Florida.
Fire away.
Reach Upward said,
July 1, 2008 @ 8:41 pm
Look, I have no problem with workers choosing to unionize. That’s their business. And when you work for a monopoly (i.e. education), it’s probably the best way to get your concerns addressed.
But let’s stop this silly business of running around and claiming that educator unions represent the interests of the children. They don’t. They’re not designed to do that. It’s a clever PR ploy, but it’s false.
Educator unions have every right to exist and to represent their members. But let’s recognize them for what they are. They do not represent my children.