Do Unions Get in the Way of Education Reform?

It safe to say that being a public school teacher is not what it used to be. With programs and jobs being cut left and right due to exponentially shrinking revenues, teacher unions nationwide have been circling the wagons to protect their members' hard fought jobs and benefits. And while facing such adversities, educators are still charged with providing a top notch education to the students of the 21st century.

In the midst of battle it is quite easy for teachers and their unions to confuse attacks on their benefits and jobs with calls for education reform. Generally such reforms are often tied to increasing test scores, but education reform is much more than that. Reforming the 21st century classroom means the incorporation of technology into every day lessons, creating a virtual classroom for you students to access when not in the classroom, making sure that the best teachers retain their jobs, and changing instruction strategies to favor the learning styles of the 21st century student.

Unfortunately due to the current political climate, calls for such reforms are often lumped together by teacher unions as being attacks on their members. Such a response is only natural, unions have been created to protect their members. However, even in the worst situations we as educators have to look through the constant political barrage and allow ideas that will assist our students come through. After all are the students the reason why we are educator. So, I pose this question: Do unions get in the way of education reform? Read the articles below, search this subject on your own, and feel free to post a response.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/17wisconsin.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/nj_education_chief_chris_cerf.html#incart_mce

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/feb/17/teacher-roundtable-last-first-out/

http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/feb/14/two_new_groups_step_into_debate_over_teachers/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Take a Break

So nearly a week after Blizaster 2010, my association is still digging my community out and NJ state highways are finally beginning to return back to normal. I know that public works employees and independent snow removal workers are tired and are in the need for a much needed break. So why not follow the lead of your Governor and Lt. Governor, take a break and hop on a flight to the magic kingdom and/or a resort in Mexico. Sure the snow will still be around why you return, but at least you'll have a tan! (Legal Notice: The term "Blizaster" was coined by The Grimie Foundation for literary excellence in 2010)

Article on Vacationing During a Crisis

Will Congress Ever Work?

I was listening to NPR while heading home from work today. I listened to a story on how the U.S. Senate was unable to get the votes needed to vote on two bills to raise taxes for individuals making more the $250,000 a year and it dawned on me, we are so screwed. Now you may be asking yourself, why is Grimie working on a Saturday and why did the Senate fail to get enough votes to vote on a bill to raise taxes? In some strange coincidence these two questions are linked in more ways than one.

Like many other people in this country I need to work on Saturdays to help make ends meet. Yes I have a full time job and so does my wife, but working on a Saturday is not an option for us. Now strangely enough due to the cosmic alignment of the moon, Venus, and three moons of Saturn, the U.S. Senate decided to actually meet and work on a Saturday to vote on allowing the Bush Era tax cuts to expire for individuals making $250,000 or more and a separate vote to allow these tax cuts to expire for individuals making $1 million or more. In a political climate where federal deficit spending is the top subject of our congressional representatives one would think that these votes would be a slam-dunk. After all President Obama just announced the freezing of federal employee salaries are being frozen for two years, so wouldn't it make sense if everyone including the wealthy shared in some sacrifice? Not to the U.S. Senate, who decided in both instances not even to bring the above bills to the floor for a vote. Not a bad job to have on a Saturday huh?

So rest easy America. While you are working six or some cases seven-day weeks to make ends meet Congress is working hard to attempt to work for you. While 9.8% of Americans are unemployed and many of their unemployment benefits will be running out, Congress is "working" for you. While tax cuts for all Americans expire on 12/31/10, Congress is "working" for you. While seniors contribute more and more to Medicare and health coverages are slashed for those on Medicaid, Congress is "working" for you. And while you are looking for answers and clues to solve to the mounting problems of our nation so is Congress, "working" to have a clue.

What to Be Thankful For

It has been quite sometime since my last posting. Graduate school, a new baby, and working six days a week do take up some time. However despite a busy schedule I must take some time to take part in one of the greatest of our nation's traditions, giving thanks on Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for having a job that I love. As I told my students today, get a job that you love because you will never work a day in your life. I am thankful for having a house to live in, as many do not even have this luxury. And finally most importantly, I am thankful for my family because they provide all of the support that I need even during the hardest of time.

So this Thanksgiving be sure to give thanks and share with other what you are thankful for. You'll be surprised how being thankful can go a long way.

Why You Never Want to Reopen Your Contract

If you are a public employee in the state of New Jersey, you are in a time of great crisis and stress. Every time you open a newspaper, go on a local website, or turn on a local talk radio station you are perceived to be the enemy. To reinforce this situation, if you are an employee in N.J. public schools you have already faced cuts due to cut in your districts loss of state aid and are facing additional cuts if your district's budget failed. You are being told by your Governor to reopen your contracts and take a wage freeze and you are being promised by your local school board that jobs will be saved if you do so.

I have a very unique perspective concerning this issue. I once was the enemy. During my stint as a Councilman in my town I sat on the committee in charge of contract negotiations. Yes, I have been to the dark side and lived to tell the tale. The knowledge that I have taken with me after my term ran out is priceless. I now have a unique perspective on the issue of contract negotiations and can see and understand the total picture. Trust me, as someone who used to sit at the other side of the table during contract negotiations you do not want to reopen your contract.

The risks to reopening your contract greatly outweigh to the supposed rewards that are being promised. Reopening a negotiated contract is the same as renegotiating a new contract, all items are on the table. Everything from health care, to tuition reimbursement, to stipends for coaches, to mileage reimbursement for travel...it is all on the table. Reopening a contract is starting from the beginning and will result in years of unknown repercussions.

Promises that a wage freeze will save jobs and/or prevent further layoffs are nothing but a pipe dream. No governing body legally can guarantee such a promise. Politicians want to create a crisis scenario to force the its constituents to act on raw emotion rather that reason. Politicians also often make decisions to solve immediate problems and very rarely think of the fallout of their decisions.

If you are a public employee in the state of N.J. don't panic. Take a step back and think rationally because that is what the powers that be do not want you to do. Do not reopen your contract.

Facebook Alone Will Not Save The World

Political activism has taken many forms throughout American history. During the Enlightenment of the mid to late 18th Century pamphlets such as Common Sense were written to question the political status quo. In the 19th century the nation saw reform movements bringing like minded individuals together to propose solutions to the ills of society such as alcoholism and the horrendous conditions of insane asylums. Political activism moved from newspaper to radio to television media in the 20th century, reaching a greater percentage of Americans than ever before.

In the 21st century political activists can look towards social networking sites to promote their political ideals or support a charity or even urge a boycott of specific products. As someone who is currently engaged in a political struggle that I never thought that I would face so early in my life, I find myself reaching out to my social networks to save fellow public workers' jobs, save the quality of education in my state, and stop my Governor from succeeding in causing damage to my state that will only take another 20 years to undo.

On Facebook I am a fan of the page "New Jersey Teachers United Against Governor Chris Christie's Pay Freeze". I have been following this page as long as it has been created and have started to notice that many followers have grown frustrated after the results of the N.J. School Board elections on April 20th. There have been countless comments to the tune of, "We aren't doing anything on this page, the cuts are still happening". Why isn't this Facebook effort succeeding? Do Facebook causes or political activist groups actually accomplish anything?

The key to social networking is not just using the virtual world to get your message across. My social networks include a mix between the virtual and real world. Nearly every day since Governor Christie has been in office, I talk to my friends, my colleagues, my neighbors, and my political contacts about ways to stop the Governor from cutting funding to school districts, towns, volunteer firefighter training and volunteer EMT training. These discussions go on person to person, over the phone, through emails, through Facebook and even through this revived blog. Bottom line, if you want to make your virtual activism achieve its goals you have to take your cause into the real world because Facebook alone will not save the world.

Where Do We Go From Here?

If you have children in N.J. public schools, know someone who works in N.J. public schools or you are a N.J. public school employee, tonight is not a good night. Before the next chapter in our fight to save jobs and the quality of education in our state, we must all understand that this is not your typical union vs. the governor fight. Tonight has proven the fact that the old strong arm tactics that our teacher's union has used in the past for influence in our state and its government simply will not work in the current climate of the state.

People in the state of New Jersey are angry. Unemployment is high, property taxes are through the roof, and people are looking for someone to blame. The Governor has chosen the scapegoat for all of the state's problems: teachers and the employees of N.J. public schools. He has successfully directed the anger of the populace at us, not because he's spiteful and wants to see our demise. He was successful because our union walked right into his trap. Instead of focusing on getting the budgets passed on a local level, union leadership focused on the proposed cuts in state aid to school districts. All of the money spent on T.V. ads about state aid cuts to education means nothing if you can't get out the vote to support a simple local election asking people to vote YES on a budget. What we needed for the school board elections was a political style campaign, not rhetoric and a thirty second sound bite.

Christie succeeded today because he ran a better campaign, and to him that is all today was. He honestly does not care about the thousands of N.J. public school employees that will lose their jobs because he sends his kids to private school. He does not care about care about what happens when towns have to cut police officers due to aid cuts because he has a 24 hour personal security detail. And he does not care about the thousands of public employees who will lose their homes because he's living in a nice suburban home and can spend as much time as he wants in the Governor's mansion.

Tell your local elected officials to fight for your towns. Demand that your school boards look elsewhere for cuts. Call, write, and email your state representatives and let them know that if they vote for the current budget that they will lose your vote next time they come up for re-election. Or you could just sit and wait, because that is what your Governor wants you to do. Where do you go from here?