We at the Rio Grande Foundation have long stood on opposite sides from the unions on the issue of education reform. For the first time, the head of the local Albuquerque Federation of Teachers has agreed to discuss the issues at a public forum. The event will be held on Wednesday, October 12 at the Jewish Community Center on Wyoming. More details are available here.
It is easy to blame teacher’s unions for lack of reform in the schools. Nevertheless, I believe teachers unions are not primarily to blame for the schools failures. If any system was totally discredited in the 20th century it was Socialism and that is the real fundamental cause of public school failure. Our public schools are run fundamentally in the same manner that the Soviet Union ran everything.
I feel great sympathy for teachers who work in government schools because there is really nothing that can be done to reform government schools.
Surely teachers would rather work in the private sector schools with or without unions!
I actually agree with you. Unions are NOT to blame for the failure of a socialist education system. Problem is, the unions are working to deter accountability and maintain the current system. So, while they are not to blame by themselves, they do share a great deal of the blame.
Teachers need to decide whether they are professionals or production workers: They can’t have it both ways. I have seen effective partnerships between unions and private companies that encourage performance and accountability. Part of the problem in schools is that there is no balance of power between unions and management — with the result that unions block accountability because school boards will not stand up to them.
Mayor Berry’s move to hire outside professionals for city union negotiations was a good move that school districts should emulate.