Driver paid $97,500 from teachers union

[David_Paul]

Ann Coulter:

ADVENTURES IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

While flipping the radio dial trying to locate Dr. Laura recently, I happened to catch an advertisement paid for by the United Federation of Teachers.

The commercial disparaged a Republican candidate – George Bush or Rick Lazio, I believe – for supporting “discredited merit pay schemes” for teachers.

I don’t know, “merit pay” seems to work pretty well for bankers, businessmen, waitresses, caterers, salesmen, lawyers, tailors, actors, painters, radio personalities, comics, writers, doctors, computer technicians, publishers, developers, real estate speculators, the newspaper delivery boy, and everyone else I can think of who doesn’t work for the government.

So it’s probably not quite fair to characterize the notion that remuneration should bear some relation to output as “discredited.”

In fact, government is the only place in the history of the universe where the concept of pay-for-work remains a novel and jarring concept.

From all-encompassing governments like the Soviet Union’s to government schools, the capitalist mechanism of paying people for what they do has never really caught on . . .

uexpress.com/anncoulter/?uc_full_date=20000531

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From People’s Weekly World Newspaper (" The official publication of the Communist Party USA"):

"Bloomberg’s and Klein’s hidden agenda is to break the unions that serve the hundreds of thousands of people who work for the Department of Education, beginning with the principals’ union Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and AFSCME DC 37. "

"Perhaps most shocking is that Klein’s educational “program” was devised without any consultation with the United Federation of Teachers. "

pww.org/article/articleprint/3997/

---

AFSCME DC 37 is considered the most corrupt local in the nation. Connected to Coia. It endorsed a Communist Party USA official for a school board in the Bronx in 1999.

---

United Federation of Teachers member goes on the pro-wrestling tour (in Japan among other places):

Matt Stryker loses teaching job due to calling in sick to work wrestling events

Mr. Stryker explains himself here:

Pro-wrestling Insider

 

[Richardols]

Lance:

My daughter is a public school teacher in Aurora, IL. There is very little prestigious about her work. She teaches 3rd grade, spends her own money to decorate her room and buy books for her room so the kids will have something to take home and read other than ‘school books’.

She’s doing what so many teachers do or have to do.

She spends the week before school starts getting her room ready and the week after it is out taking all the stuff down.

Right.

She workes about a 9 hour day,

Right. Work includes what she has to do correcting papers and working on the curriculum at home after supper.

Anyone who talks about teachers only working from 9 to 3 doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

 

[Adonis33]

condan:

Private schools consistently outscore public schools and the teachers are paid,on average, 50% of what the unionized public school teachers make.

There is nothing wrong with the hiring pool. Education graduates come out of the same schools. The ones who opt for the private environment are the ones who are truly dedicated to the children, as proven by the fact that they do it for far less money. Public school teachers are looking for a presigious union gig with summers off.

Ive taught at both, a Catholic School and a Public School. Comparing public and private schools is not an apples to apples comparison. Private schools are selective about who gets enrolled in the school - you have to apply to get in. You also have to maintian an certain grade point average to stay in private schools (at least the Catholic schools here in SA). Plus - parents have to serve so many community hours in service to the school as a condition of enrollment.

Public schools are not allowed, by law, to turn down anybody. Everybody is entiltled to a free and public education. From my experience - it is the lack of parent involvement that has more to do with the detriment of the childs education than the quality of the teaching staff. Many parents use the public school system to babysit their kids.

Hoever, it may be differferent in other states.

 

[Adonis33]

Richardols:

Anyone who talks about teachers only working from 9 to 3 doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

I do not understand where some people get the notion that teachers work few hours.

Don’t get me wrong - we have a few “clock watchers” at my school, but most worrk really long hours - and spend a great deal of their summers off going to professional development conferences.

Their have been many time that I have put in 10-12 hour days at school. Maybe I’m just incompetent.

 

[Lizzie]

David_Paul:

ADVENTURES IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

While flipping the radio dial trying to locate Dr. Laura recently, I happened to catch an advertisement paid for by the United Federation of Teachers.

The commercial disparaged a Republican candidate – George Bush or Rick Lazio, I believe – for supporting “discredited merit pay schemes” for teachers.

I don’t know, “merit pay” seems to work pretty well for bankers, businessmen, waitresses, caterers, salesmen, lawyers, tailors, actors, painters, radio personalities, comics, writers, doctors, computer technicians, publishers, developers, real estate speculators, the newspaper delivery boy, and everyone else I can think of who doesn’t work for the government.

So it’s probably not quite fair to characterize the notion that remuneration should bear some relation to output as “discredited.”

In fact, government is the only place in the history of the universe where the concept of pay-for-work remains a novel and jarring concept.

From all-encompassing governments like the Soviet Union’s to government schools, the capitalist mechanism of paying people for what they do has never really caught on . . .

uexpress.com/anncoulter/?uc_full_date=20000531

---

From People’s Weekly World Newspaper (" The official publication of the Communist Party USA"):

"Bloomberg’s and Klein’s hidden agenda is to break the unions that serve the hundreds of thousands of people who work for the Department of Education, beginning with the principals’ union Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), and AFSCME DC 37. "

"Perhaps most shocking is that Klein’s educational “program” was devised without any consultation with the United Federation of Teachers. "

pww.org/article/articleprint/3997/

---

AFSCME DC 37 is considered the most corrupt local in the nation. Connected to Coia. It endorsed a Communist Party USA official for a school board in the Bronx in 1999.

---

United Federation of Teachers member goes on the pro-wrestling tour (in Japan among other places):

Matt Stryker loses teaching job due to calling in sick to work wrestling events

Mr. Stryker explains himself here:

Pro-wrestling Insider

Why do teachers’ unions get the highest praise the Communist Party?

Why do teachers unions say the concept of merit pay is discredited?

Why wont teachers’ unions purge criminal teachers from their ranks?

 

[Philip_P]

Lizzie:

Why do teachers’ unions get the highest praise the Communist Party?

Why do teachers unions say the concept of merit pay is discredited?

Why wont teachers’ unions purge criminal teachers from their ranks?

Why do corrupt corporations get the highest praise from the Republican party?

Why do conservatives say that the concept of paying teachers competitive salaries is discredited?

Why won’t conservatives get involved in their school districts and become public school teachers to push for these reforms they care about instead of taking the easy way out and carping from the sidelines?

Why must we play this game of accuse and counter-accuse instead of realizing that unions aren’t the problem, and working together (teachers, administrators, and parents) to solve the problem?

 

[condan]

Philip P:

Why do corrupt corporations get the highest praise from the Republican party?

Why do conservatives say that the concept of paying teachers competitive salaries is discredited?

Why won’t conservatives get involved in their school districts and become public school teachers to push for these reforms they care about instead of taking the easy way out and carping from the sidelines?

Why must we play this game of accuse and counter-accuse instead of realizing that unions aren’t the problem, and working together (teachers, administrators, and parents) to solve the problem?

Unions are the problem when you can’t get rid of inept and incompetent teachers.

 

[condan]

Richardols:

Also, there’s nothing prestigious about being a member of a union. Like joining any union, one asssociates with one for the benefits it can provide.

Exactly.

 

[condan]

Richardols:

Let me tell you from direct experience and that of my wife that a teacher, even with a Masters+ as she has, is, as I said, “treated by their school boards as any other group of workers.” In many schools districts, a teacher is like a janitor is like a cafeteria worker is like an administrative assistant.

A union means solidarity and in solidarity is strength. Teachers gain, not lose, by their association with a union, and even when they are not members, gain by what the teachers’ union gains for all of them.

Certainly the janitors in the NYC school system have a very strong union and are rife with graft.

As for strength in solidarity, if someone is well-qualified, then she or he doesn’t need someone else to vouch for them, fight their battles or negotiate the worth of their product. Unions are great for those who cannot speak for themselves. If those that are teaching our young are not able to do this, then we are in deep trouble. This fact is supported by the disasterous state of the NYC school system. Sure, there is apathy aplenty on the part of the parents. That is an immense hurdle but having a union that protects incompetent, burned-out and, in this case, criminal teachers exacerbates the problem our schools face today.

The goal should be the eduction of children not the benefits one can reap at the taxpayers’ expense.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Philip P:

Why do corrupt corporations get the highest praise from the Republican party?

Which corporations get “the highest praise” from the Republican party, and what’s your evidence those corporations are corrupt?

The fact is, it is a Republican administration that’s prosecuting corruption in business – corruption that was tolerated in the previous administration.
Philip P:

Why do conservatives say that the concept of paying teachers competitive salaries is discredited?

We hold the radical idea that you should EARN a raise.

If teachers are not now performing to standard, how will paying them more make better teachers out of them?
Philip P:

Why won’t conservatives get involved in their school districts and become public school teachers to push for these reforms they care about instead of taking the easy way out and carping from the sidelines?

In fact, many conservatives are teachers – and are under pressure from the leftist teachers unions, which want either to co-opt them to their radical agenda, or drive them out.
Philip P:

Why must we play this game of accuse and counter-accuse instead of realizing that unions aren’t the problem, and working together (teachers, administrators, and parents) to solve the problem?

Because the unions, administrators and many teachers ARE the problem, of course! If they weren’t the problem, there wouldn’t BE any problem.

 

[Richardols]

condan:

Certainly the janitors in the NYC school system have a very strong union and are rife with graft.

Some evidence to support your accusation of graft?

if someone is well-qualified, then she or he doesn’t need someone else to vouch for them, fight their battles or negotiate the worth of their product.

You are opposed to attorneys, then, in addition to unions, I take it.

Unions are great for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Do you seriously think that each public school teacher in the NYC should negotiate individually with the School System regarding the terms of the next year’s contract?

If those that are teaching our young are not able to do this, then we are in deep trouble.

Teachers are not contract negotiators.

 

[Richardols]

vern humphrey:

Because the unions, administrators and many teachers ARE the problem, of course! If they weren’t the problem, there wouldn’t BE any problem.

How nice of you, Vern, to exclude politicians (why am I not surprised?) and parents as part of the problem. Everything would be just perfect if teachers were forbidden to organize, if all administrators were fired, and if less than outstanding teachers were also fired.

 

[Karin]

Just some more good news on how well the NYC school system is doing…

By DAVID ANDREATTA

Nearly 1,000 public-school teachers have been given failing grades on their report cards this year — a 46 percent jump over last year and the highest number in recent memory, according to figures released by the city Department of Education yesterday.

Overall, 988 teachers were given the dreaded U rating by their principals this year based on a variety of criteria, including their ability to control a classroom, engage students, improve achievement and show up for work on time.

Last year, just 679 teachers were deemed “unsatisfactory” by principals.

Under the teachers’ contract, an unsatisfactory rating is the first step toward dismissing a teacher, although it is generally accepted that tenured teachers must flunk their annual evaluations at least twice to be in jeopardy of losing their job.

Rookie teachers who flunk their annual performance evaluation are usually fired by the city.

This year’s jump is notable because city students posted record gains on state and city reading and math exams — an improvement which Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Mayor Bloomberg both attributed in part to the hard work of teachers.

The hike also comes as tensions between the United Federation of Teachers and the Bloomberg administration over the lack of a contract are at a boiling point.

The union has been without a contract since May 2003 and earlier this year convinced a state labor panel to intervene and come up with an agreement.

Union President Randi Weingarten was dumbfounded by the figures.

“The numbers just don’t make any sense to us,” she said. “[Kids’] test scores are up in record rates, and they’re saying more teachers are incompetent.”

Despite the hike, the number represents just over 1 percent of the 80,000-teacher workforce and rivals those of prior years.

In the 2000-01 school year, for instance, 944 teachers were given unsatisfactory ratings as then-Chancellor Harold Levy pressured principals to weed out ineffective teachers.

The total dipped to 864 the following year and plummeted in 2003 to 624, even as accountability emerged as the catch-phrase of the new administration-controlled Department of Education.

Weingarten also questioned the numbers, noting the union has not seen a spike in the number of teachers who have appealed their U rating, which is usually the case.

Historically, roughly 85 percent of U ratings are appealed.

This year, just 54 percent of U-rated teachers have filed to appeal.

In accounting for the huge jump, Klein press secretary Jerry Russo said the number reflects “individual decisions by individual principals.”

Principals’ union spokesman Richard Relkin said there was no evidence that its members were pressured into failing more teachers.

Critics have argued that one percent of teachers receiving a U rating is not high enough, considering that tens of thousands of students in the city’s public school system cannot read or do math at grade level.

nypost.com/news/regionalnews/49984.htm

 

[Lance]

condan:

Unions are the problem when you can’t get rid of inept and incompetent teachers.

No, the problem is the inept or lazy administration who agreed to the contract with the clauses in it that allow bad teachers to remain. Most contracts allow for getting rid of bad teachers, the administrations are just to inept/lazy to do their work of documenting problems and following guidelines.

 

[condan]

Richardols:

Some evidence to support your accusation of graft?

Personal knowledge, New York Daily News and 60 Minutes profile.

Richardols:

You are opposed to attorneys, then, in addition to unions, I take it.

I’m not opposed to unions per se. Only for those who don’t need them, like educated professionals, i.e., nurses, doctors, lawyers and teachers.

Richardols:

Do you seriously think that each public school teacher in the NYC should negotiate individually with the School System regarding the terms of the next year’s contract?

No, I seriously think that teachers don’t need a contract any more than a doctor or a lawyer or a nurse needs a contract. Your skills and abilities alone should determine how long you stay on your job, not the skill and ability of your union head, i.e, Randi Weingarten.

Sorry.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Lance:

No, the problem is the inept or lazy administration who agreed to the contract with the clauses in it that allow bad teachers to remain. Most contracts allow for getting rid of bad teachers, the administrations are just to inept/lazy to do their work of documenting problems and following guidelines.

The problem is it costs so much in time and money to get rid of a bad teacher, it’s cheaper to keep a bad one on. This is due to both union rules and state laws supported by the teachers unions – which are very powerful lobbies.

 

[Philip_P]

condan:

I’m not opposed to unions per se. Only for those who don’t need them, like educated professionals, i.e., nurses, doctors, lawyers and teachers.

I’ve noticed this little subthread, and it kind of bothers me. It implies that those who do need unions are stupid, or at least lacking sufficient mental powers to take care of themselves.

Unions aren’t about protecting “dumb workers.” Simply because someone is not college educated does not make them less smart. Rather, unions are about providing a corrective to an the inherently unbalanced power dynamic between labor and management.

It really doesn’t matter how smart you are, how much education you have, how skilled you are. The fact is that workers, on their own, have less power than management. The entire rationale for a union is to give workers bargaining power to match that of management, whether the workers are sheet metal workers or teachers. All else is really irrelevant.

 

[David_Paul]

Indiana teacher pay low in light of property taxes paid

Munster Times, IN - Jul 12, 2005 … According to a recent NEA survey, the average Indiana public school teacher earned $45,791 in the 2003-04 school year, compared to a national average of $46,752 …

These are your teachers?
WorldNetDaily, OR - 18 hours ago
… Another resolution called for designating areas of NEA meetings as “fragrance-free zones.”; To study the feasibility of a boycott of Gallo wine . . .

The most hypocritical resolutions passed were the 9 to fight privatizing any Social Security. The NEA passed another resolution pledging to fight efforts to force teachers who are out of Social Security (there are many) into the system. Nearly 7 million government employees–most at the state and local level and most in unions such as the NEA and AFSCME–pay no Social Security taxes but are invested 100% in private plans

 

[Lizzie]

The NEA is still promoting homosexuality.

 

[Karin]

The NEA promotes everything BUT education.