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Speaks for itself with tons of info on how the AFT and NEA screw up our schools.
FWIW my wife is a teacher of 30 years experience and she totally agrees with this sites perspective.
FWIW my wife is a teacher of 30 years experience and she totally agrees with this sites perspective.
I don’t represent the children.
I represent the teachers.
— Al Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers
I represent the teachers.
— Al Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers
Everyone cares about public schools.
Whether it’s through values, taxes, the economy, or labor issues, we all have a stake in public schools, a dog in the fight.
Of course, some dogs are bigger than others.
There is no disputing that America’s teachers unions -- in particular, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- are the most organized and powerful voices in education politics. There are groups of people that care more deeply about public schools (parents, most notably) but they lack the coordination and vast resources that teachers unions have at their disposal.
Above all else, because of their easy identification with educators themselves, teachers unions enjoy a level of credibility with the voting public that any politician would envy. But is this credibility deserved?
According to the New York Times, an international comparison finds that the United States has the worst educational quality per dollar spent on schooling, ranking 18th in reading and 28th in math.
Why are we getting so little for our money?
Since its founding, the Center for Union Facts has collected a wealth of research documenting the impact of teachers unions on our nation’s children, schools, politics, and even teachers themselves. Here are some of our findings:
Teachers Unions Oppose Education Reform
While Americans’ opinions vary widely on education reform measures such as school choice, charter schools, and paying better teachers more money, teachers unions are in comparative lockstep. These unions fight tooth and nail against any meaningful change to their comfortable status quo -- to the detriment of schoolchildren and taxpayers.
Union Contracts Wrap School Districts in Red Tape
Countless studies have documented how unnecessary provisions in union contracts inflate the cost of education. But most parents, reporters, and politicians probably don’t know that those same contracts keep the neediest districts from hiring and retaining the teachers they need most.
Teachers Unions Protect Bad Teachers
Teachers unions defend the practice of granting educators “tenure†after only a few years. Tenure laws help keep bad teachers in the classroom by making it almost impossible to fire them. Few other professions feature this kind of ironclad job security; even some convicted criminals with teacher tenure don’t get fired.
Union Officials Misuse Teachers’ Money
Most teachers unions are exempt from the transparency required of private-sector unions, making embezzlement of members’ dues money especially easy. Many union officials have endorsed costly retirement plans for teachers in exchange for kickbacks. And many dues-paying teachers don’t support the political causes and candidates funded by the union dues they’re forced to pay.
Most teachers are doing a wonderful job under difficult circumstances. The overall effect of teachers unions on public education, however -- when lawmakers and voters leave their power unchecked -- is far from positive.
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Whether it’s through values, taxes, the economy, or labor issues, we all have a stake in public schools, a dog in the fight.
Of course, some dogs are bigger than others.
There is no disputing that America’s teachers unions -- in particular, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- are the most organized and powerful voices in education politics. There are groups of people that care more deeply about public schools (parents, most notably) but they lack the coordination and vast resources that teachers unions have at their disposal.
Above all else, because of their easy identification with educators themselves, teachers unions enjoy a level of credibility with the voting public that any politician would envy. But is this credibility deserved?
According to the New York Times, an international comparison finds that the United States has the worst educational quality per dollar spent on schooling, ranking 18th in reading and 28th in math.
Why are we getting so little for our money?
Since its founding, the Center for Union Facts has collected a wealth of research documenting the impact of teachers unions on our nation’s children, schools, politics, and even teachers themselves. Here are some of our findings:
Teachers Unions Oppose Education Reform
While Americans’ opinions vary widely on education reform measures such as school choice, charter schools, and paying better teachers more money, teachers unions are in comparative lockstep. These unions fight tooth and nail against any meaningful change to their comfortable status quo -- to the detriment of schoolchildren and taxpayers.
Union Contracts Wrap School Districts in Red Tape
Countless studies have documented how unnecessary provisions in union contracts inflate the cost of education. But most parents, reporters, and politicians probably don’t know that those same contracts keep the neediest districts from hiring and retaining the teachers they need most.
Teachers Unions Protect Bad Teachers
Teachers unions defend the practice of granting educators “tenure†after only a few years. Tenure laws help keep bad teachers in the classroom by making it almost impossible to fire them. Few other professions feature this kind of ironclad job security; even some convicted criminals with teacher tenure don’t get fired.
Union Officials Misuse Teachers’ Money
Most teachers unions are exempt from the transparency required of private-sector unions, making embezzlement of members’ dues money especially easy. Many union officials have endorsed costly retirement plans for teachers in exchange for kickbacks. And many dues-paying teachers don’t support the political causes and candidates funded by the union dues they’re forced to pay.
Most teachers are doing a wonderful job under difficult circumstances. The overall effect of teachers unions on public education, however -- when lawmakers and voters leave their power unchecked -- is far from positive.
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