With the uprising in Madison, WI about labor unions, collective bargaining and specifically teacher unions, I have begun to ponder whether the teaching profession is becoming the next “Food, Inc” documentary that will forever change the way education is perceived in this country. If you haven’t watched Food, Inc. yet, I highly encourage you to do so. It chronicles the history behind today’s food market, the politics of food subsidies and why “buy local” should be in everyone’s vernacular. The interesting part about that movie to me, though, was the fact that after I watched it, I simply couldn’t purchase chicken from the supermarket again. It changed how I think about food indefinitely. And so, with so much upheaval in WI and other almost bankrupt states, I am wondering if this will hold true with teacher unions and the teaching profession in general. Will this forever shift our educational system, or will it be a passing moment in a history of moments in America’s grand experiment of public education?
I have read a slew of articles the last few days concerning the mess in not only WI, but in NJ and OH and other states that are having major difficulties with their budgets. I believe in much of what they are purporting: you can’t continue to spend more than you bring in; cuts have to happen – it’s not pleasant, but must be faced; the public can no longer support the hefty pensions that are burying it alive. Look, if these budgets were our household budgets, we’d be doing some massive slashing with a red pen. If we had a $355,000 debt and brought in a $50,000 income but were living on a $76,000 income, we’d be doing some major renovations to our budgets. These, by the way, are the current US economy debt/income ratios put into “real life” terms. And so, we pay for the house, food, transportation and clothing first and then comes everything else. This is exactly how our government should operate – like mature adults.
And yet, here’s a major component that is missing in WI: mature adults. We have people running away from the table with their fingers in their ears screaming, “la, la, la” to ignore the crisis. We have a governor who is demanding his way or the highway. A budget is simply a written compromise for who gets paid after the essentials are taken care of.
Which brings me to education. Where does education rank in this whole budget mess? Apparently, either very low or very high, depending on how you view recent events. Either it’s so low that it’s worthy of slashing $900 million dollars from it’s budget within two years, or it’s so high that the country stops to watch (and perhaps participate) in what happens. And yet, I’m not sure that education is the real culprit. Yes, unions have been playing with fire over the last 40 years – they have gained political capital, garnered large pensions and fought to retain teachers no matter what the cost or record. If you’re a teacher, you know someone who shouldn’t be in the teaching profession and you’re frustrated by the red tape that keeps them there. But at the same time, unions do serve a purpose. They do protect the collective bargaining rights that have been a long time coming. I have been reading scathing comments from people across the internet and news media that outright spit on teachers for what they “make”. I have heard comments like:
“No one put a gun to your head to teach. If you are frustrated with the working conditions and hours, then quit and try something new”. No, no one forced me to teach. I do it because I love helping people learn, knowing that I can impact the future and because it gives me fulfillment. Why should I quit and try something new when I’ve found a passion that can effect change in myself and others?
“These teachers are the new rich. They are making more than their counterparts in the private sector.” Let me assure you – I’m not rich. I could be making twice what I make now in the private sector when you factor in my masters degree and experience. My pension and health care still wouldn’t validate your argument if they were added to my overall compensation.
“They only work 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months a year. Come on, that’s ridiculous.” I know of not one single teacher who only works 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 10 months a year. Most work 15 hour days, 6-7 days a week, 11-12 months a year as well as taking classes to keep abreast of changes in education and technology. They live and breathe teaching. In fact, teachers are paid only for their 10 months of contracted time. They are not paid during the summer – it is just spread throughout the year for easier budgeting. If you were to pay them for the hours they actually work, we’d have a whole new budget crisis.
What are we, in grade school? These uninformed and childish attacks on teachers are simply the vicious rant of people who either have lost their jobs (for which I’m extremely sorry) or who view teachers as lazy, mooching babysitters (for which I want to pity their stupidity). Sure, I understand that to a person who has been laid off and without work for over a year, teachers seem like a natural target and as if they have it extremely good. We teachers know that we are fortunate to have jobs. We also know that pension systems are an extreme burden to the public tax base, which we ourselves fund and support. I think most teachers have come to the realization that the pension system will probably go the way of social security at some point. So, if we can acknowledge this, then what is this fight in WI really about?
Some of it is about providing the respect teachers deserve, rather than casting them as the evil demons in an over-orchestrated play. Rather than making teachers into the witches in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, let’s try honoring what they do for a living and the amount of education and passion it takes to become great in this profession. In WI, it has become well-documented that the current governor walked in to a budget mess, proceeded to give tax breaks to large businesses and then wants to put that money back by taking it from the unionized workers within the state. That’s witch-hunting people, no matter what side of the political aisle you fall on.
Another issue at hand is acknowledging that unions are going to need to change if America is to survive. Unions can no longer take without giving. They need to recognize that part of their charter is going to have to be allowing for accountability and performance-based evaluation. Teachers should be rewarded for doing well and reprimanded for not achieving results. Unions must begin accepting this and working towards methods that embrace this reality if they are to have any credibility in moving forward.
Finally, it’s about money. Who’s got it, who doesn’t and making everyone feel the same pain. We have been living on a budget which we cannot sustain because we cannot support it. We must acknowledge that there will be cuts and that they will be painful. Yet, at the same time, everyone gets a vote. Everyone gets a seat at the table to make their voice heard. And if there is a priority for education, then we should budget to support it – create a map for how to pay for it and what to pay for. But don’t just go down the page, give the remaining money in the budget to big businesses and throw a big red line through the education fund. Because while this may all lead to a new reality in public education, there is one thing we all must remember:
The people that we will be depending on to change our diapers in old age are the very ones that we are choosing to not teach such skills now. And when I get old and gray, I want someone who knows what they are doing.
Follow Us!