It's Not Just About The Kids
You wouldn't know it from how long it's taken me to post something,
but I thought there was some really interesting and useful stuff in
Rick Kahlenberg's Washington Monthly piece about unions and liberals (Inequality and Solidarity)
-- even if I'm not convinced that a union resurgence is on the
horizon. What I got from the piece was what seemed like an honest
assessment of the love-hate relationship between liberals, unions, and
the Democratic party, and a good reminder of what unionism can -- at
its best -- do in terms of pushing large-scale public policy. All you
hear about these days is how feeble unions are, or how obstructionist.
Sure, not all of us want to join a union or feel happy thoughts about
what unions do in the education space. But even without
collective bargaining for teachers, school reforms that don't give
stability, safety, and long-term financial viability to classroom
teachers don't seem to hold much chance of succeeding in the long
haul. This is something that reformers would do well to remember. It's not just about the kids.
Digg
Del.icio.usThere can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
But the union makes us strong.
CHORUS:
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
Solidarity forever,
For the union makes us strong.
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
For the union makes us strong.
It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
Now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
But the union makes us strong.
All the world that's owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
We have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
It is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own.
While the union makes us strong.
They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong.
In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies, magnified a thousand-fold.
We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
For the union makes us strong.
While on one level of course there is truth to it: an education system is made up of many groups and the kids are only one of those groups, however, I do believe that all groups looking to change the education system are wise to state their goals in direct relationship to the kids.
Teachers should receive better pay and more professional development because it will lead to a higher quality education for students. I am tired of hearing teachers, union members or not, complain about their salaries or any part of their jobs in comparison to other professions. You hear people constantly complain here about how police officers got a better contract, or so and so doesn't have the same residency requirement.
If you really want the non-teaching public to back you up you need to start explaining how the changes you propose would benefit the students. It's not hard to do.
Instead of saying I want to live outside of the city because everyone else gets to (which pretty much sounds like when I used to say to my mom, "Why can't I have that, all of my friends do?") say, "If teachers are allowed to live outside of Chicago they are less likely to defect to suburban schools when they decide to have a family of their own. And without a residency requirement CPS might be able to attract teachers from a broader pool of applicants. This in turn is positive for students who badly need consistent and experienced adult role models in their lives."
When we forget that it really is all about the kids, we lose sight of the battle we really should be fighting. Happy teachers, make good teachers; good teachers, make well-educated students.
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