[quote=EconProf][quote=CA renter][quote=EconProf]I agree, Paramount, especially about voting yes on Prop. 32.
Its main result would be to end compulsory public employee union donations, which fund political advertisements the union members may not agree with. The fact is that many teachers and other union members do not agree with the political stand of their unions, yet are forced to pay for candidates and views they personally oppose.[/quote]
Those who prefer to work in a union-free environment are free to do so all day long. They can work at private schools if they don’t want to pay union dues. What’s funny is that they don’t go there. Nope, they gravitate toward the superior jobs that are (surprise!) made better because of unions.
More “something for nothing” mentality where the deadbeats want something (pay, benefits, working conditions, etc.) that somebody else is paying for (via union dues).
As for getting union money out of politics…I’m all for it, but only if ALL money (and bribes of all kinds) is taken out of politics. No money from “associations” (no different from unions)…no AMA, no NAR, no corporate lobbyists of any kind, no environmental lobbyists, no immigrant lobbyists…nothing. NO money in politics — and no promises of jobs or other positions of power in the private sector.
If capital gets a seat at the table, labor will have a seat at the table. Otherwise, no deal.[/quote]
No, actually, good teachers much prefer the private school/voucher/non-unionized teaching environment. In fact, private schools generally pay far less than the unionized public schools, and have vastly higher productivity. Of course, the weak teachers and time-servers prefer the unionized public schools with tenure protections because it is practically impossible for them to be fired.
Can any teachers–public or private–weigh in here with what they’ve experienced?[/quote]
No, absolutely not. Most “good” teachers, if they work at private schools, do so because they are trying to get the experience necessary to be hired by a public school district.
I’m a former teacher (worked mostly in public schools, but briefly in a private school), come from a teaching family (dad, grandfather, etc.), and have a disproportionate number of friends and relatives in the teaching profession — both public and private. Never once have I heard anyone say that they worked in a private school because they didn’t like unions. Either they work there because they’re religious and want to work in a religious school, or they are trying to get experience for their resume to submit to a public school district, or they are just looking at it as a temporary situation so not willing to put in the extra work required to be a public school teacher (maybe waiting to have kids and become a SAHM), but never once has anyone mentioned working in a private school because they dislike unions.
There is no question that public schools have much higher standards for their teachers than the vast majority of private schools, both with respect to experience and education. I’ve worked at both, and there is no comparison. Public schools have much higher standards for their teachers, but they also have to deal with all of the kids that private schools will not accept (indigent; serverely disabled, developmentally delayed or emotionally disturbed; significant behavioral problems; drug problems, etc.).
Just an example, but the private school I attended (one of the top schools in the nation at the time) only accepted kids with above-average I.Q.s and had a ZERO tolerance policy WRT behavioral problems. This is not at all unusual among top private schools. If a student so much as had a disrespectful tone toward a teacher, they would never be seen again. Literally, gone in a day. It’s easy to see how they had such high scores when they only had to deal with kids who were disciplined, respectful, and highly intelligent… with very supportive parents who were willing to spend a pretty hefty sum for their kids’ education (the parents had to sign contracts where they agreed to hold their kids accountable for their educational progress and their behavior).
You cannot compare private schools with public schools; they couldn’t be more different, and it has nothing at all to do with the “quality” or skill set of the teachers.
