Go To School

Bob Parks: Black & Right ^ | 6/13/07 | Bob Parks

[bocopar]

Radio Script for 6/15/07

As a parent, there are certain things we have to do when it comes to raising kids. One of those things we have to deal with, from time to time, is getting kids to go to school. There are all kinds of reasons, some legit, and some insultingly stupid. But the bottom line is we make them go to school because it’s the right thing to do, and it's the law.

So, talk about giving a bad example, we have... teachers!

Here in a Boston suburb, as well in many cities around the country during the year, some teachers have decided they don't want to go to school. While my kid misses a day of schoolwork, teachers on strike shut down the school, tossing hundreds of kids on the streets to get into all kinds of potential trouble.

One day they remind us it's all about the children. Then, all of a sudden, it's all about them.

I mentioned the law. Here, we have Massachusetts General Law Chapter 150E, section 9A, that says: "No public employee or employee organization shall engage in a strike, and no public employee or employee organization shall induce, encourage or condone any strike, work stoppage, slowdown or withholding of services by such public employees. Any employee who engages in a strike shall be subject to discipline and discharge proceedings by the employer."

It doesn't get any plainer than that, but it would seem the very people teaching our kids to read, have seemingly forgotten the craft themselves.

One problem is the penalty hardly ever gets enforced. We’ve all heard the horror stories on how hard it is to fire a bad teacher, let alone a whole school full. And we wonder why kids aren’t afraid of punishment.

As the son of an educator, I've never said teaching is easy. There are long hours correcting homework and tests, even though there are some that want to do away with homework altogether.

But being a teacher is not that bad a gig. The health benefits aren't to be scoffed at, they get numerous holidays off with pay, winter vacation off with pay, spring vacation off with pay, the whole summer off with pay, and retirement benefits that most of us can only dream of.

But when they don't like or get their contracts on time, instead of practicing what they preach about the importance of good attendance, and how much it's all about "the children", some teachers won’t think twice about kicking the kids to the curb, and in this case, during the last week of school.

I can understand the importance of having a good contract, but no one forced these people to be teachers, and it's not like a normal job where a day off only impacts a few people. A teacher’s strike impacts sometimes hundreds of kids and their families.

So to you striking teachers, stop saying it's all about the children. It's always been all about you. Stop your whining and go to school.

[Snoopers-868th]

Not to worry, this may be coming to your neighborhood.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1849120/posts

[Christian4Bush]

bttt

[massgopguy]

I know many teachers in my city have Summer jobs with the City so they can double dip.

[Inquisitive1]

Any employee who engages in a strike shall be subject to discipline and discharge proceedings by the employer.

The city of Quincy can't fire them all and they [the teachers] know it. It's an unenforceable statute.

[goodnesswins]

Need to shut down the public schools.

[jmyrlefuller]

I couldn’t have put it any better myself, Bob.

I know Buffalo, NY had the same problem a few years back. They’re still whining and begging for a bigger chunk of pie after they almost drove that city to ruin with their perks and refusal to make concessions. Oregon had a similar problem too. Go aroud the country and you’ll hear the stories of how supposedly children-first teachers will prostitute themselves for money, power and influence.