Education, Unions

I heard Bill Bennett talking on the radio this AM. Normally, I think he is level-headed and thoughtful. Today, he was talking about unions, with some specific talk about the teachers' unions.

OK, the teachers' unions are not necessarily good for quality education. Yep, they protect lousy teachers, making it hard to get rid of them. Of course, they can still be fired, but the process is so cumbersome (thanks to the unions) that lazy administrators, with little sense of integrity, have the heart to follow through on the removal. And unions, esp teachers' unions, most often support the very worst of political candidates, the very worst. It's obvious the teachers' unions are not primarily concerned with quality education, not at all. No, not every teachers is the greatest, most aren't even particularly good--but to listen to the unions, oh boy! All teachers are God's gifts to education. Sorry, not so, not by a long shot. But, I am thankful the unions were strong enough at one time to get tenure laws passed. I don't know if I was a great teacher or not, but I wasn't lousy. I didn't deserve to be fired. But I get the feeling that, without tenure laws, thanks to the unions, I would have been given the ziggy. For one thing, each of the four principals I worked under was not happy with the low grades given out in my classes. They wanted them higher so they wouldn't have to face angry parents (and for the big money they were getting, note I didn't say "earning," why should they have to do anything that makes them "uncomfortable?"). Each them stopped coming to see me about low grades when I said we'd compare my grades with those of other teachers and then matched the grades with test scores to see whose grades more accurately were reflective of students' progress. Yep, each of the four came to see me just once. For another, how many times, in public, did I stand up (or sit down) and criticize the silly programs and policies coming from the administrators? How much easier their jobs would have been to just have the bobbleheads agree to all the stupidity! And, as I've said a number of times, I don't tolerate stupidity very well and I just got sick of it. So, I see both sides to the unions and I don't know if I support them or not. Besides, our local teachers' union was pretty feeble. I often said the community and the school board should have been required to pay the same dues I did because the union often took their sides in apposition to that of members.

Bennett, a week or so ago, also made a statement I found terribly wrong, even naive. He claims to have visited "over 600 schools" in the nation. Yet, he has said a number of times that if we "raise the bar" in education, that is, require higher standards, students will rise up to reach it. What schools is he visiting? My experiences, in almost 40 years, is that many students, rather than striving to reach the bar, will just quit. That's in the high schools and the colleges (and I can show many examples of that right now!). I spoke with several teachers over the past 10 days or so and, without hesititation, they agreed. We know that most teachers won't hold students to those "higher standards" Bennett talks about. Teachers won't fail students. Rather, they'll give passing, even really good, grades to students so they don't have to face angry administrators and parents. OK, to call it what it is--many teachers lack courage and integrity. I remember Patrick Allitt, a history prof at Emory U, writing in his book. He said something like "8 student deserved to fail. They didn't do the work, showed little skill in historical method, couldn't write, etc.... They'll get the B-s." "B-s!?!?!" Yep, all too typical.

I've written before that many teachers have no concept of quality education and the rigor it demands--they just don't know because the schools of education are Mickey Mouse. Academically, to those outside of the schools of education, they are the jokes on the campuses. And, the biggest problem is with administrators. They could solve some of the problems with teachers, but can't or won't for a variety of reasons. Perhaps more about that later in the week.