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Re: [Phys-l] Kozol fasts to protest NCLB - defense of unions



-- -- --
...unions ...foster a 'blue-collar' attitude on the part of far too many
teachers. ...too many teachers are 'punching the clock' rather than
being professional educators. That, unfortunately, seems to be the
nature of the union beast. [Seen personally and related to me by my wife
who spent half her career in public schools--never a willful member of
the union--both as teacher and administrator.]
-- -- --

First, if something is wrong, fix it. When my union says something I
disagree with, I tell them. They represent me. If I sit & watch my
union do something I disagree with, I am part of the problem. Anyone
that says they do not like what their union says, should discuss those
items with their union. If not, your silence tells them you agree.

The administrators can get rid of any teacher they want to. Follow
protocol. Granted it is much easier before the teacher earns tenure.
Then the administrators should get rid of the bad teachers before they
earn tenure. If someone has a great first 5 years and then slumps, it
is the administrations job to tell them to pick it up a notch. It might
not be popular, but that is their job. Bad teachers won't like it, good
teachers do. If the teacher continues to stink after a good start, then
get rid of them. Follow protocol. It can be done.

It is not a union's job to hire & fire staff members. I don't know of
any union (I am sure someone will point out the exception) that hires &
fires the company's employees.

Truth of the matter, the perception of the US educational system tends
to mirror the perception of unions..
Most folks believe that schools (in general) are not doing as well as
they should. However, the public tends to believe that their own school
is pretty good.
A number of folks believe that unions & bargaining units are for lazy
clock punchers. However, "my" bargaining unit / union is not like that.


1 union 1 spot 1 person's observation 1 time.

If I choose to put the same effort into data collection of college
professors based on my experience with a single prof teaching a thermo
class he didn't want(& told us so), then I don't think you'd much care
for the result...



Paul Lulai in Lake Wobegon... where the h.s. got rid of 10% of their
teaching staff last year because they weren't towing the line. An
unusual necessity last year.

Physics Instructor
Saint Anthony Village Senior High School, ISD 282
3303 33rd Avenue N.E.
Saint Anthony Village, MN 55418

(w) 612-706-1144
(fax) 612-706-1140

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
[mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Rick
Tarara
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6:50 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Kozol fasts to protest NCLB - defense of unions

While I fully understand the reasons for the 'need' for teacher's unions
in
public education, the net effect has not been entirely positive. When
teachers act like teamsters, they will be viewed in
the same light--perhaps positively by other union members but negatively
by
the general public.

Teacher salaries are not necessarily out of step. Look at the average
income of American workers and look at experienced teacher salaries--and

compare those to other government workers--never losing site of the fact

that these are nine-month jobs (for the most part) -- with many more
holidays than the general worker. Yes I know all the outside work that
many
put in, but not everyone is as dedicated as the people on this list or
their
immediate compatriots. The public perception is that teachers have
20-25%
fewer work days than most people for salaries that range from 30 up to
80,000 dollars a year. Sure if you choose to live and work in San
Francisco
you can only afford a 3rd floor walkup, 3 room apartment, but you can
get
'free' health care from the local socialist government. ;-) At least
around here (Midwest) the top end of public teachers salaries are about
the
same as associate/full professor salaries at smaller colleges (which is
either a sign of good teacher pay or lousy College pay).

The 'merit' component of those salaries is only in the educational level

which is folded into the years of experience to set the pay scales.
Unfortunately, that system then promotes a cottage industry of
educational
businesses that provide academic credit for various workshops that too
often
are taken ONLY to get the credit--not to improve skills and knowledge
(part
of the 'blue-collar' thing.)

As with most human endeavor, there is good and bad with unions. They do

protect workers from the abuses that seem to naturally flow from
management,
but when they get big and powerful, they seem to morph into a kind of
abusive management of their own. [Locally we've had illegal strikes
with
the union and union members abusing those who chose to remain law
abiding
and continued to work.] Then there are the economics. The UAW may
have
gotten high wages for its workers, but those same high wages have
crippled
the American auto industry. There is no mystery why unskilled and
semi-skilled labor jobs are being outsourced--the cost of local labor.
That's not to say American workers should be paid Chinese wages--it is
costly to export the technology and import the goods--all of which can
go
into higher wages here, but when the labor costs are many times what can
be
had on the world market, just what has been accomplished. {Compare the
hourly rate for teachers and auto workers!}

So, IMO, unions--more importantly the attitudes fostered by unions
amongst
what should be a highly professional group of people--is part of the
problem. Administrations are clearly another. But I do agree with John

that without more support from the home--the task of educating our
children
will be extremely difficult. Now if we want to get into political
philosophies and tossing around blame for things--we could look at the
disintegration of the family and cultural (sub-cultural) attitudes
towards
education, but maybe we should skip that for now. ;-)

Rick



----- Original Message -----
From: "John Barrer" <forcejb@yahoo.com>

Finally, I would argue that teachers unions have
generally been unsuccessful at maintaining the
standard of living of most teachers, relative to the
rest of the workforce. So, on several grounds, I
believe that portraying teacher's unions as a
significant part of the problems facing our schools is
just a bit disingenuous. I think the real emphasis
ought to be on dramatically increasing out-of-school
(parents,etc)support of and co-operation with the
in-school educational process. I have no insight as to
how to accomplish this, but I don't think it's an
issue that can dealt with by classroom teachers.

John BArrere

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