New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an ultimatum in his 2012 budget that unless individual school districts develop a system of teacher evaluation then state aid will be cut off from that district. This, in theory, sounds fair and reasonable. It both pleases the Republican minority who have long tangled with NYSUT over many issues, and it backs the Democrat majority into a corner in part because the “Race to the Top” money promised by their party nationally would be cut off as well.
Make no mistake about it, politics has plenty to do with this issue on the national and state levels. Had the Obama Administration’s “Race to the Top” been proposed by a Republican, New York State would have told them to stick it and that we always went above and beyond federal mandates and what the other states were doing in regards to education anyhow. Instead, because it was proposed by a Democrat, New York fell into line.
Public outcry against unions, particularly teacher unions, is louder than ever. Most of the reasons are because we have poorly painted what we do and why our unions in education are necessary. Our salaries are called into question when other public employees like firefighters, police officers, prison guards, nurses, are not. I am not asking for them to be, either. I am simply pointing out the obvious. The difference is we are required to go to six years of education and complete an extremely costly Master’s Degree for our jobs while the previously mentioned, in some cases, require from zero to two years. If, theoretically, you want to pay us less or take our benefits then drop the educational requirements. Let’s be honest, teachers do not go into the field for pay. The benefits and job security are the only real perks. If you take them then what incentive would it be to pursue six years of education for a salary a prison guard could make without the in some cases six figures of debt? Intrinsic rewards only go so far.
So why is the teachers union vital? I am speaking as a strong philosophical conservative, mind you. I am opposed to unions in many ways. I have seen, to some extent, the harm that they have done in my region of the Northeast. In public education, however, all eyes are on teachers. Since everyone went to school everyone is an expert on education in their minds. The parents (and students to some degree) have been so empowered by cowardly school districts that teachers are under a microscope daily. This can be good, like any other arena, anyone working with children needs extra scrutiny. With a union to protect, however, one accusation from an angry parent that little Johnny is upset because he didn’t get his way with a teacher could result in immediate dismissal. My colleagues at the local factories do not face such public scrutiny. The union serves as a buffer to protect the employee from the whim of an angry parent and to help differentiate the offenses between the silly and the severe. Without it, because profit is not to gain by employers, then dismissal is simple.
Profit is the key here. If I worked for a large company, like Xerox, my standing with the company would be how I contributed to their profit. That is how capitalism works. And it should. In education, I am not working for profit. My usefulness is not measured by people with that motive. Therefore, finding ways to dismiss me because I might have been a boat-rocker or simply, based on years of service as a higher wage earner could be easy if not for unions and the system of tenure.
So what are they doing to circumvent tenure? Developing a system by which tenure no longer matters. They are getting rid of “first in, first out” because there is a perception the newest teachers are good and the oldest are stale. The trouble is there is no mechanism that can adequately measure this even if there was some truth to that statement. And there is no truth to that statement. There are teachers, good and bad, that are the newest and the oldest. What is good and bad, anyway? The easiest way to judge this is by asking the question-who likes kids? Most, if not all, teachers that do are effective. Sure their styles might all be drastically different but that is a good thing. In preparation for the real world these students will be getting all different styles of bosses as well and must be prepared to cooperate with all of them.
Part II tomorrow
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