When did teachers become the enemy?

teachers are in no way the enemy, they are the heroes. It is the unions that prevent meritorious recognition of good and great teachers and culling of poor teachers. It is the unions that strangle the goose that laid the golden egg. It is the unions that care more about their power structure than they do about education and outcome. There is no reason any industry shouldn't be able to easily replace the worst 2% of employees without any hassle. I don't want my hospital giving a bad doctor a couple years to practice and get better. I don't want my airlines giving a pilot a couple years to get her act together while continuing to fly commercial airlines. However, if that doctor, or pilot or teacher is better than 90%, they should certainly be well rewarded.


The administrative bureaucracies in bad schools also tend to be a large part of the problem. They suck out money that should go to the class room and to teachers. Here in DC they spend as much or more money per student than anywhere else, yet have about the worst outcomes. And yes the socioeconomic background of the students plays a roll, but not nearly enough to explain it. There are so many incompetent administrators and teachers it would make you cry, but the unions won't let you fire any of them, and if you do it is lawsuit city and $2 million to elect a mayor they can control.

Ironic isn't it, that we spend more on healthcare than other industrialized nations but don't have as good results, so we want to have the government control it to bring down costs, yet the government controls education and we spend as much or more than other industrialized nations and yet are way behind them. What it the answer?



"to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world,"

Sorry, but I don't see any attention to the last part from the NEA.