August 26, 2008
Schools Roundup: Union Baiting Edition
Speaking at an A-list (among education reformers at least) event in Denver on Sunday, Mayor Adrian Fenty let loose some choice words for the teachers’ unions that have been balking at D.C. public schools chancellor Michelle Rhee’s proposed contract, which centers on merit-based, rather than seniority-based, pay for teachers. When asked by News Hour reporter John Merrow about the union’s opposition, Fenty responded, “The American Federation of Teachers, which I don't think does anything for the people of the District of Columbia, is weighing in against it. And the only thing I can think of is that the heads of the union, they want to keep their jobs."
The Post isn’t feeling any love for the unions either, writing in an editorial this morning, “the fierce opposition is as perplexing as it is troubling.” However, the Washington Teachers’ Union has yet to budge, and even filed a law suit against the District last week, claiming that the termination of 70 teachers who had previously been on probationary status violated due process.
So what’s a chancellor to do? Go to the mattresses, apparently. As we mentioned this morning, Rhee has told the press that should the union reject the contract on the table, she will enforce accountability in other ways. "I can't wait forever," she told the Post. "We've got to move and I'm going to do so aggressively. If we can do it through this contract, great. If not, then I've got a Plan B."
It’s particularly interesting that this conflict is being played out against the backdrop of the Democratic National Convention, considering that teachers’ unions have traditionally constituted a large part of the Dem base, and Dem leaders are consequently hesitant to speak out against them. In a way, it’s sort of refreshing to see student interests being placed above political ones (remember that Rhee, a Dem, has spoken admirably in the past about McCain’s education positions) but she also isn’t a politician. Fenty, of course, is, which is why his union attacks are so provocative. However, it seems we probably shouldn’t expect Obama, who favors merit pay, to jump in the fray any time soon.
Photo by stacyviery
Questioning Capital Gains: Marc Fisher sees quiet racism in the District’s new pilot program that pays middle school students for behavior, attendance, and achievement, and argues that similar programs only exist in low-income, high minority districts. We see his point, but aren’t convinced that bribery is only a ploy for minority kids– check out this NYT piece about the trend. The real difference, points out Ta-Nehisi Coates, is “the flood of distraction that weighs on poor black kids. Chief among them — getting your ass kicked.”
Pick a Profile: In case you’ve been living under a rock, or don’t know anything about Rhee besides that she’s an Asian woman, you’re in luck this week, as Newsweek, the AP, and the Post (here and here) offer up four remarkably similar profiles of her career and controversial tenure in D.C.
Schools Notes: “On the day before I returned to my regular job, I assured them that I would come back when I could. ‘You won't come back,’ one student told me bluntly. ‘No one ever comes back.’” – Journalist details her time as a part-time instructor at Cardozo High School… New “green collar” curriculum to prepare students interested in entering construction trades after graduation… Five D.C. universities rank among the best in the nation... New DCPS athletic director is energized... At the DCPS back to school rally, teachers boo contract, break into Eastern Motors theme song.
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Hooray for Fenty! Perhaps for the first time since I've been old enough to pay attention to what's going on in DCPS, it seems like someone is willing to do something different that the same shit that hasn't for the last 25 years.
I have a number of friends who are public school teachers and when one of them attended their first union meeting back in the day, he compared it to Nuremberg in '38. There are a lot of dedicated, hard working teachers in our public schools, but it has become abundantly clear over the years that the teacher's unions aren't serving them or the students.
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If the WTU isn't serving the teachers, then why aren't they leaving the Union, en masse?
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Like most unions, it isn't monolithic. The veterans want preservation of the status quo at all costs. New members are willing to compromise to get the job done. Unfortunately, those new hires have zero influence on how decisions are made. And the vets are willing to take everyone with them when the ship goes DOWN.
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Not sure if Fenty has much to fear from the teachers' union threats. It's not like most of them live in DC so they can vote him out of office.
And I think Fenty and Rhee have tapped into that great silent majority of DC voters - their anger at the schools sucking for generations and their growing discontent with teachers more concerned about protecting their own, rather than teaching children.
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If the WTU isn't serving the teachers, then why aren't they leaving the Union, en masse?
I'm not sure about WTU, but membership in many unions is compulsory if you want to do certain jobs.
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i don't envy michelle rhee's position--and i wish her the best of luck. i am happy to see the extent to which adrian fenty has backed her up. good for him. she is going to need all the support she can get....
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Washington Teachers Union is, to put it bluntly, run by a bunch of self-absorbed pricks who bear a huge amount of the responsibility for DC's schools being so stunningly bad. I'd go even further and say that since DC schools are a major reason DC in general sucked for the last 40 years, the WTU was in fact instrumental in the continuation and severity of the fucked-up-edness of DC for decades now.
It's way past time they just slithered away.
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i'm a union fan, but kudos to the teacher's union bashing here....time to go, old timers
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Why not leave? Compulsory or as good as. Even if you leave teh union, they take your dues and retain the right to organize on your behalf. So you still line their pockets but you lose the ability to bitch to them as an insider.
So how does leaving help? I can't see that it does. the whole system becomes insufferable for new (not always young) employees who are, as far as I can tell, almost never equally represented.
(like how our union rep (different union) did not even KNOW we didn't have the option of the swank health care she had. She had never looked to see what new hires got (which is crap and dysfunctional and why I was calling her for help) because SHE DID NOT know anything about new hires' benefits. Read: she did not care. So much for helping us out, eh?)
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Howard ranks higher than Catholic?
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"their anger at the schools sucking for generations and their growing discontent with teachers more concerned about protecting their own, rather than teaching children."
Anyone who knows anyone who is a teacher knows the crap they have to put up with. The administration is almost always a joke and if it weren't for the unions, the older teachers would be literally pushed out for young little puppets who'll do whatever the principal tells them to do ... and then take the blame when the schools get even more F'd up.
If you honestly believe that the teachers are the reason the public schools (everywhere, not just DC) are messed up, then you need to wake up!
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Howard ranks higher than Catholic?
Why so surprised? Higher tuition does not automatically equal a better school.
Also keep in mind the metrics they were using to calculate these rankings "offerings of a range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and Ph.D. programs". Catholic U. is relatively small and has fewer offerings than Howard.
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If the WTU isn't serving the teachers, then why aren't they leaving the Union, en masse?
One alternative is to call the NEA and have them try to start organizing a competing union, but I doubt that either of them want to start a turf war, or that the AFL-CIO wants to see members in a pissing match against each other.
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At the DCPS back to school rally, teachers boo contract, break into Eastern Motors theme song..
In other cities, unions are have mob ties. Our teachers union has idiot ties -- am I the only one who feels cheated somehow?
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Why so surprised? Higher tuition does not automatically equal a better school.
That’s not what the Registrar told me.
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It takes more than "good" teachers to hook and keep students’ interest in learning. I'm sure there are a lot of very good teachers in the Teacher's Union serving DCPS and i'll wager they would be even better if the collection of union members who are unwilling to change would disapear.
DC students have needed someone like Michelle Rhee who is courageous and willing enough to take “real” ownership of the root causes to the problems within the DCPS System.
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I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about the school system or teachers union here, but does it seem to anyone else like this is just setting teachers up so politicians have an easy group they can blame for the many problems the DC schools face?