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| No | 74% | 46 votes | Total: 62 votes | |
| Yes | 26% | 16 votes |
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Add to FavoritesMany people and politicians will have you believe that teachers unions are harming America's schools. In their eyes, all unions want is more pay, and less work. It's easy for them to spin, because on the surface, unions are looking for more money and smaller class sizes. I also wish to avoid portraying teachers as flawless and benign, as they do have their faults. However, without the unions, schools would not be even up to the level they are today.
Money is the first issue at hand. Of course teachers wish to be paid more. Who doesn't want to be paid more? The fact remains though, that teachers are grossly underpaid, and the cost of sending students to school is less than it would cost to send them to a childcare facility. The unions DO ask for more money though. Often, they want lots of money... for the schools. Teachers unions fight for safe and updated schools. If life imitates art, we need look no further than The Simpsons, where the teachers went on strike, because they wanted better school conditions, such as "textbooks which don't refer to the Women's Rights Movements, as 'trouble ahead.'" New books, technology, a safe and healthy environment; these are things schools need to give students a chance at success. So yes, teachers unions are greedy, but for all the right reasons.
The unions fight for other changes in school that benefit teachers and students. One of the stronger changes being pushed, is smaller class size. Nay-sayers point to teacher laziness. Closer inspection and research shows that smaller classes benefit students. It makes perfect sense. Fewer students in a class room means fewer distractions, and more individual attention. I have heard arguments from folks talking about how they took classes with forty other kids, and they turned out fine. I'm sure that is true, however, we live in a different world now. Forty students in one classroom in the world of ADHD is simply too many.
For those who still believe teachers unions are ruining public schools, I encourage you to research schools which hire non-union teachers. Some of them are very good schools with high achieving students. Most are not. Charter schools, and private schools, especially those created by voucher systems, do not require that teachers have teaching certificates. Unionized schools do. It makes sense. Are unions as they stand today ideal for schools? No, but they are the best we've got.
Learn more about this author, Josh Komon.
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Yes
Teacher unions are, unquestionably, the bane of our public education system. Unlike other unions, teacher unions proclaim that their efforts are, in large part, on behalf of "the children" as opposed to only their dues-paying constituents. Unions came into existence to protect and assure fair compensation to a vulnerable workforce at the mercy of unscrupulous employers. Initially, unions represented workers in manual labor-intensive jobs such as mining and manufacturing where unsafe conditions were killing people and child labor was standard practice. The premise was simple. For a fee (dues) a worker received a tenacious advocate to fight for his or her economic and personal well-being in the workplace.
Today, unions represent employees in every line of work. When personal safety is not an issue, a union's sole function is to obtain economic benefit (wages, job security, retirement, insurance, paid time off, etc.) for its constituency, period. Of course, teacher unions would have you believe that they are the exceptions to the standard and long-standing role of a union in the workplace. Teacher unions claim they are not just advocating for teachers' wages and benefits, but for the children as well. This claim is akin to a cashier union advocating for both the store's clerks and the store's customers. It is patently impossible for one advocate to fairly represent multiple parties. It is outrageous that teacher unions propagate this falsehood.
Teacher unions consistently denounce and oppose validated measures that would improve our public schools, and thus the quality of education our children receive. Charter schools, vouchers, individual teacher accountability standards, reasonable termination policies and merit pay never even make it to the "bargaining" table. No, teacher contracts are negotiated and settled long before their expiration dates by politicians seeking to obtain or retain the power of their elected offices. Teacher unions are well-financed and well-schooled in how to get what they want for their constituency which consists of teachers, and ONLY teachers. The true advocates for our children, our elected officials, are bought and sold by these unions to the detriment of our failing education system and, more importantly, our children. It is clear that teacher unions possess an absurd amount of influence over our public education system without serving the interests of our children or the system itself. Teacher unions control and corrupt the system out of pure self-interest using the piles of money accumulated through union dues. Simply put, money and power usually corrupt. Teacher unions are flush with both. Our failing public schools are the result of this corruption.
Learn more about this author, Robin Barbetta.
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