I would agree with you, that's why I am one of the few. I refuse to join the teacher's union for the simple fact that I think they do more harm to teachers than good.
Actually, you are lucky that your allowed the choice of joining the union or not. In Pennsylvana, you do not have a choice.
1. Give every teacher in this country a 50% salary increase, effective September 1.
2. Now make them pay for health care like everyone else in private industry.
3. They can have their summers off but that will count against retirement. Or they can work in the school teaching summer school to students that don't score well enough on the new tests.
4. There is no accumulated sick time or vacation time. When you leave, you leave with your pension which you will now contribute to.
When I eat out, I never begrude the bill when the meal is excellent. I always tip my waiter generously for good service, and 15 percent for bad since I know how hard his job is. However, when the food is mediocre, I always feel let down, and rue how much I have to spend even if the meal is inexpensive.
If the kids were learning, this backlash would not exist. Why do they not learn? I've heard all kinds of excuses: Broken homes, parents on drugs, materialistic culture, spoiled kids. Let's be honest, that defines the 1980's, and test scores have worsened since then.
Is there so much cheating the kids never learn and consequently do poorly on standardized tests? Are you not allowed to insist on good performance? Are writing skills ignored? Are you forced to entertain children? Is there no ethic of excellence taught to the kids? Certainly, if no moral standard is enforced, a group of kids can quickly devolve along Lord of the Flies lines.
What is your biggest challenge in the classroom? Do you think the material you teach now is comparable to what you learned in school, better, worse? Is appropriate material taught, but the children don't make an effort? Do parents cheat for their children and do their children's homework? Do parents call the school to complain about every little thing and insist that grades get changed?
Can students read? Are they taught phonics? Do all students memorize math equations? Is elementary algebra taught to all students?
Please, does anyone have an opinion? Mastery of one's intellect is one of the greatest gifts in life. We are cheating our children by neglecting their intellectual development. We want teachers to earn their salaries, but we need teachers to solve this problem.
People, being a teacher is one hard job. I look forward to the day when teachers regain the professional respect they deserve. Can you imagine having to step foot into a classroom day after day and earn respect from a bunch of nine-year-olds, plus teach them something? I want to pay good teachers well. But I want my kid to learn. I want to trust my kid's teachers. We all do.