Teachers Unions

[Steve Stuck]

Maybe Mr. Horning can help me with more information on this, but we have a serious problem in our education system..........teachers unions and tenure. Just this past weekend, I was at a gathering and heard a teacher currently employed in a local school district preach about how teacher unions helps him get the salary he deserves. When I held up my wallet and told him not to bite the hand that feeds him, he wasn't amused.

Education in this country has been in decline with what were teaching kids and letting unions dictate hiring practices of teachers. Education is supposed to be more locally based without the federal government involved. National Education Association has a major strong hold on the ability of teaching kids in our school systems. The NEA has no benefit of kids learning correct material. They benefit strictly from schools hiring teachers so they can get union dues. The NEA response to education is more money. More money always solves problems, right?

The NEA even takes union dues and goes into states when they are cutting property taxes. Most schools in America are funded by local property taxes. Many states, in an effort to cut taxes, has faced opposition from the NEA because it would be less money in schools. So lets break this down:

Taxpayer works and makes an income - Taxpayer saves up and buys home - Taxpayer gets hit with a property tax to fund local school - Property tax money pays Teacher X salary with union dues coming out and going to NEA - NEA sits in Washington DC and dictates policy for local schools - Property taxes for Taxpayer gets too high and the taxes are cut - NEA sees this happening and then spends union dues to run commercials in that state to not have property taxes cut - Taxpayer speaks up and gets labeled for hating teachers because they are cutting money to schools

Another thing with teacher unions is they have no concept that the teachers are there to work and must follow rules. Couple of stories have come out concerning teacher unions wanting their teachers to wear campaign buttons and to wear certain colors to support a presidential candidate. The schools have said not to do it. These teachers still come out complaining about freedom of speech. Don't believe me, look at the statements in these articles. No matter who the candidate is, this shouldn't be happening.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/02/teachers-union-e-ma...
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10022008/news/regionalnews/teachers_get...

Education is very critical in the future of our nation. Teachers are an important tool to get a well based group of kids to be productive in society. I am a true supporter of school choice and letting the money follow the kid. Today we have the kids following the money. Test scores and performance in tests are stagnant, but we keep going back to failed policies and not standing up to this problem of school unions and tenure that protects bad teachers.

My solution for Indiana is too bring a lawsuit to the federal government under the 10th Amendment and get the federal government out of our schools. I know this won't happen, but if we did it and won, many states would follow. Some wouldn't and I understand that. Relying on the federal government has been ingrained in us during many public education classes.

[Steve Stuck]

Please indulge me on how teacher unions benefit our education system? On top of that, how tenure helps get quality teachers.

[Stephen D. Charlesworth]

After reading some of John Taylor Gatto's work I'm convinced the way schooling is done in the U.S. is broken and needs to be replaced with something better. So I guess the teachers Unions won't be my big fans, but I hardly blame them. Kids pretty much succeed or fail in spite of their schools rather than because of them.