As this is written, I’m not sure if teachers in the Saint Paul Public schools are going to be going out on strike today. It seemed very likely.
One things for certain: the teachers unions PR people have been earning their money. Minnesota Public Radio’s coverage of the strike in particular sounds as if it is written directly from teachers union talking points.
Seriously. You be the judge:
St. Paul educators lead the nation in a strategy of using their contract negotiations as a lever to not just get better pay for themselves, but to make their schools a better place for their communities, said Lesley Lavery, an associate professor at Macalester College who studies education.
“Teachers are continuing their strategy of bargaining for the common good which they started about a decade rago,” Lavery said. “They’re trying to listen to community members and listen to teachers’ concerns on the theory that teachers are working most closely with students.”
Raise? Hell, you’re almost wanna give them a medal, don’t you?
Seriously – the entire time of MPR is coverage smacks of one pseudo-governmental fiefdom scratching another pseudo-governmental fiefdoms back.
The center of the American experiment has some facts about the SPPS:
On the surface, these salary increases may seem reasonable, but a deeper dive into the numbers provides more clarity around the union’s demands. Pay increases are built into the salary schedule for the first 20-or-so years of a teacher’s career. The 3.4 percent and 2 percent increases would be on top of the salary increase formula already included in the existing union contract, commonly called the “step and lane” progression. Despite participating in countless media interviews leading up to the strike, the teachers’ union has neglected to mention these built-in increases that already exist.
Unexpectedly.
but to make their schools a better place for their communities
What does that even mean?
Isn’t attendance dropping, because of the quality and the crime? Was it St. Paul or Minneapolis that saw a 90,000 student drop in enrollment in the previous year?
Worst teacher I ever had was a former Marine. Still wore the haircut. Completely stifled our individuality, suppressed our free speech, refused to be swayed by tearful excuses. Complete dictator.
Despite that, his was the class where I learned the most. Isn’t that weird?
What? The Saint Paul School system will no longer have unionized teachers after today. Obviously God and Nature are showering the city with love.
The first legislator that has the guts to call out Education Minnesota for spending money for lobbying and for contributing to political campaigns, will be my hero. Then, every time that they come to congress for more money, demand that they provide their balance sheets to prove that they aren’t doing so.
How about this: The teachers get a raise equal to the percentage rise in students passing the Basic Skills test each year. Starting today. No excuses, just a straight incentive system.
There are obvious problems with the public school system. And I think everyone would like to see it improved. This strike will not improve it. Parents taking responsibility for their children’s education and behaviors will improve it. And right now, their is no political will to hold kids, parents accountable.
There has always been tension between what teachers earn and what the parents or taxpayers want to (or can) pay. My grandfather attended a one-room rural schoolhouse in the early 1920s. The teacher, who rode a mule to and from the school, was paid from a fund the parents in the community agreed to contribute to. One year she told them she need an extra $1 a week or she was going to get on her mule and ride out of the county. They didn’t pay, and she rode away.
I’ve written about this before, but . . .
I think that most tax payers would be appalled if they learned the plans the education administrators and managers have for teaching their children. Most people want a well-adjusted child, learned in the the things that will make him or her an independent citizen, well versed in the knowledge he or she needs to fit into tomorrow’s workforce.
Nope, nope and nope.
It’s all social justice and socialism.
Have you ever seen the demographics of NPR listeners? Lilly-white, older, and an awful lot of government union members, especially school teachers.
And BTW, public school teachers are pretty much interchangeable with fast food workers. Look at their SAT scores. It’s like they were afraid they might fail the exam to become a realtor and so they went into education instead.