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

["John M Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

> While I fully understand the reasons for the 'need' for teacher's 
> unions in 
> public education, the net effect has not been entirely positive.  In 
> my 
> mind, the most serious problem with unions is that they foster a 
> 'blue-collar' attitude on the part of far too many teachers.  That 
> is, way 
> too many teachers are 'punching the clock' rather than being 
> professional 
> educators.  That, unfortunately, seems to be the nature of the union 
> beast. 
Teachers will have less of a blue collar attitude if administrators 
treated them more like professionals.  Unfortunately in HS, and even 
more so in the lower grades administrators will make demands that have 
little to do with good education.  Also teachers are subjected to 
innane pop-psychology and other things in the name of "educational 
improvement".  All of this is not very professional.

As to unions promoting punching the clock, the actor's union is one of 
the most powerful unions, and actors hardly punch the clock.  They 
often work for long hours and subjected to dangerous conditions.  The 
average actor does not really make much, but the stars are probably 
overpaid.  The reason for the sctor's union was the abuses where 
promoters would leave town and take the night's proceeds with them. 
The studios would subject actors to even more dangerous conditions, 
and not provide the necessary care after injuries.  I doubt that 
actors think of themselves as blue collar.

Unions also server another increasingly important function in today's 
society.  Teachers are now being sued and the unions provide insurance 
for this.  In our litigious society teachers are increasingly being 
sued for "malpractice".

Of course the schools and districts are doin a CYA job because they 
hide incompetent or even abusive teachers.  They will let them resign, 
and then not reveal the problems to other schools.  I know of cases of 
teachers who were caught in the act with a student, were allowed to 
resign, and then ended up in another district.

Now some schools do treat their teachers like professionals, but all 
too often they do not.  In the most extreme examples they require that 
teachers be covering the same pages of the book on the same day and 
give the same tests even across a district.  This is not only 
demeaning, but also bad pedagogy.  They also provide totally scripted 
lessons in some schools, so where is the professionalism?

In Japan, and in Europe teachers are accorded  much more respect and 
are treated like professionals.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX