Introduction Historically, unions have a long and proud presence in the United States. They have served as a powerful force for change, providing support for transition eras, such as during women’s suffrage and Civil Rights movements. Unions have also broadened the scope of professionalism for teachers, while also securing the rights and benefits of those who dedicate themselves to serving students (Bascia and Osmond, 2012). However, the question has been raised about the actual effectiveness of unions regarding actually increasing student academic achievement. Education reform movements are ever changing, and the reach of the powerful unions cause contention in some minds. Ultimately, are teacher unions and school quality potential allies …show more content…
In fact, it can easily be argued that unions play a very significant role regarding the direction reform movements go. Furthermore, it must be noted that they do not completely shut down all reform efforts. While one might argue that collective bargaining is a particular significant threat to current reform efforts, teacher unions ultimately serve to improve the quality of education for all stakeholders beyond simply focusing on employee benefits and rights. Teacher unions have been in place for well over a hundred years. Bascia and Osmond state that “the earliest form of the NEA can be traced back to 1857, and the first local branch of what became the AFT came into being in 1897” (2012). As the number of teacher associations engaging in collective bargaining expanded throughout the latter of half of the 20th century, so did the scope of rights, protections and benefits contained within the agreements. Class size limites, mandated evaluation procedures, and a guaranteed voice in curriculum decision became common provisions. Furthermore, rules about staff decision-making processes, preparation time for teachers, and the use of regular professional development sessions also took center stage (Bascia and Osmond, …show more content…
With all eyes counting on education reformers to improve student achievement and success, teacher unions work to balance new ideas with reality. All the blame for school system failure must not rest at the hands of teachers unions. There are many stakeholders and circumstances that ultimately make the education field unique. Teachers unions are not halting the school reformers every move and effort. In fact, teachers unions play a large role politically and socially working to improve education and working conditions of the teachers. They have never taken a backseat, and in an imperfect business centered-around human beings and human ideas, it is never a bad idea to have a support system who can look at the details and double check
Teacher Unions are one source of controversy in Education because of how it seems that Teacher Unions have allowed poor performing teachers to remain. In “The Teacher Wars”, it articulates, “Teacher Union movement was (and remains today) a pragmatic, even sometimes
The case of the Pleasant Ridge Board of Education and the Pleasant Ridge Classroom Teachers Association (PRCTA) is to negotiate the teachers’ concerns and to determine the terms and conditions of the school’s teachers in the new contract. The two parties are bargaining to resolve the problems and to reach for good settlement. So, It is worthy to mention that collective bargaining outlines most of school districts’ education policy like how to allocate resources and assigning teachers to schools and classes. While bargaining is a district-level endeavor, it follows the state laws of collective bargaining. (Rotherham 2006, Collective Bargaining in Public Education)
Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.
In the text, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, author Diane Ravitch explores her ideological shift on school reform and the empirical evidence that caused this shift. Once a proponent and contributor of testing, accountability, choice, and market reforms, Ravitch’s support began to diminish as she realized that these current reforms were not viable options. She came to realize that the new school reforms focused entirely on structural and managerial adjustments and that no focus was given to actual learning.
Today the AFT continues to uphold the rights of teachers to help form school policies and programs. The AFT Motto is " Democracy in Education and Education for Democracy." The AFT continues to list as it's chief objectives the promotion of professionalism in teaching as well as securing appropriate wages, better working conditions and job security for it's members. AFT members still believe that collective bargaining along with discussion between those representing teachers and administrators is the democratic process that allows them to achieve their goals.
The term “union” tends to be interchangeable with “brotherhood” in many unionized workers’ perceptions. Many of those workers view union representation as protectors from corporations for the sake of the quiet worker. However, unions subject the represented worker to many disadvantages that in turns affects the economy. In a time when unions are political giants and overstep their boundaries on worker’s rights, surprisingly the organized workforce gives workers incentives to not perform at their best and slow down industries. Only when the unionized workers are educated to the misconceptions that accompany unions, the nation can witness the return to productivity that leads to a superior workforce.
Education in our nation is in crisis, and in order to confront the problem we need to tackle it at the center. We need to target school boards; they control funds, education, and more or less the community. With school boards these days being counter-productive, there seems only one way to solve the problem. Get rid of school boards across the nation and provide each school with its individual power much like private schools, or initiate the creation of a nation-wide school board. With the whole nation on the same page, maybe together we can help save education, and ensure the future of our country. Only until something is done to school boards will there be a positive, productive change towards education.
The National Education Association began in 1857 when 43 educators gathered after there was a national call to unite as one voice in the cause of the public education. Nearly one hundred years before the NEA was formed the requirements for teaching were to read, write, and stay out of trouble. This lead to a reform that transformed to the education system we see today, including public schools and professional training for teachers. Even after these changes, many teachers made less than $100 a year, and worked in a one-room schoolhouse. Although education associations existed at the state levels, including 15 of the 31 states in the Union, there was no national organization to serve as a voice for teachers in America. At this time an invitation to the nation’s educators would be sent out to unite and form, as we call it today, the National Education Association.
Teachers’ strikes seem to occur whenever satisfactions are not met in the contract. Whether it happened in recent times or many years ago, salary improvement has always been the number one issue. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) think that teacher’s salaries are lower than other workers in other private companies, the service, or some of the organizations. Government reduced the budget of the education through cutting down the salaries and dismissing a number of employees.
The results of low proficiency test scores that affect student’s academic performance have encouraged political activist and parents to speak out to state legislatures for permission to change their school’s leadership. In California, the “parent trigger” concept has encouraged parents to create a petition that insist on the option of closing a school, firing, reorganizing faculty and/ or
An article from the Los Angeles Times showed that the majority of Californians give California schools “a grade of C or below” and half think that the quality of schools will continue to decline (Watanabe). While the economic downturn affected the public school system in a negative way, it was not the sole root of its problems. It just simply exacerbated existing issues. Because of widespread discontent with the public school system, many different solutions to reform the mainstream public school system have been brought up in public discourse.... ...
Labor unions have been in America for a very long time. There are many unions in a myriad of different fields. Labor unions were and are used to allow for equal treatment of workers. Employers always want to maximize their profits and they try to give the least to get the most in return. For reasons such as this is why unions were formed. Generally a union boss is appointed or hired to protect the rights and privileges of the employees. The union boss is generally very representative of the demographics of the workers. The leader of the employees needs to know what they want and what is fair for them and this is why he tends to represent one type of work force, such as the teachers union. This type of representation is made easier when most of the workers come from the same background. Background meaning family size, education, race, etc. Labor unions have helped shape the American work force, as have the backgrounds of the men and women who have worked in them. America was founded on diversity and the freedom to choose. Many different backgrounds have found their way into America and labor unions. As stated earlier, labor unions have people of the same background in them. America’s first settlers were generally of the same background and because of that, so were the members of the first labor unions. As the United States expanded so did the work force and the diversity in it. Diversity and understanding the challenges and benefits is what enables America to be great. In the pages of this paper we are going to look at the change in the make-up of labor unions by the entrance of African-Americans and how they have influenced America and the labor unions for the better. This paper is and expansions on my paper “A Shield Against the Power of Industrial Capitalism”.
Unions have an extensive history of standing up for workers. They have advocated rights of steelworkers, coal miners, clothing factory employees, teachers, health care workers, and many others. The labor movement is based on the idea that organized workers as a group have more power than individuals would have on their own. The key purpose of any union is to negotiate contracts, making sure workers are respected and fairly compensated for their work. “In theory” unions are democratic organizations, resulting in varying inner authority. Workers look for security within a job a...
As you can see the school board handles many issues from budgets, to tenure, to performance scores, to conferences. Although this paper did not cover everything in the meeting, it summarized what took place, and what affects it would have on teachers. The decisions made no matter how big or small can influence how and what task a teacher performs. The school board meeting was interesting because you are able to see how the changes could affect you personally.
Education is a vital tool for lifelong success but there are many areas of concern in the current system of public education. Education reform has been a constant occurrence since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Every year, specialists develop