Over the past few years working in 5 different schools, I’ve felt like a piece of meat that two dogs are fighting over. Both administrations and unions have thrown their weight behind policies good and bad.
Unfortunately, the one group of individuals that are in the best position to teach and evaluate the process of teaching are not really given a seat at the table – the individual teachers.

Now that is a scary thought. Alas, in my experience, the teachers unions are more likely to be enablers of harebrained policies than opponents. In fact, I continue to be surprised by how selectively teachers unions stand up for teachers.

For example, every teacher knows that a few disruptive students can significantly reduce learning. If things get so bad that a student has to be sent out, the teacher needs to know two things: 1) the student will not come back that day, 2) something will be done with the student. At the very least, someone should talk with the student and let the student know that someone is concerned and someone is keeping track. There should be some consequence, perhaps an after-school or Saturday detention. Perhaps the student should get an alternative placement.

Much disruption is caused by students who come into the class not being able to read or write as well, or whose preparation is in other ways inadequate. A union which truly fought for teachers would make sure that students were prepared before they were put into a class–which means they would be kept out until they could earn their way in. And for those who are less interested in academics, it would support alternative models.

But my union does the opposite. It wants everyone is the same classroom, which it calls “inclusion.” Knowing that this will not work unless extra steps are taken, it expects the teacher to “differentiate instruction.” In a reduction ad absurdum, I used to know a teacher who actually prepared three lesson plans for every class. One was a basic plan. One was for the students who “didn’t get” the basic plan. And one was for the students who got it quickly and otherwise would be bored and left with nothing to do.

Until we get leaders with sound ideas (hey, how about studying European public ed? Just an idea) American public education will remain mediocre.

Sorry, no links about California’s debacle re mandating smaller class sizes.

By the way, California’s experience with smaller classes illustrates that passing a law doesn’t necessarily result in the desired outcome.

When the California legislature mandated smaller classroom they should’ve also mandated that the classroom be run by a good teacher, not a warm body with teaching credentials.

CTEN is a source of information for California’s teachers (yes, sometimes that information is unpleasant for the union), not an anti-union advocacy group.