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Please note, I am not defending the Educational System of Texas. It has backslid miserably since the late 90's. I am defending the teachers who were falsely indicted as the root cause.

We need to educate our kids. We need to stop paying the retirement and healthcare of past teachers until we get back to our past ratings as the best schools in the US.

The Teachers fully fund their retirement account through payroll deduction. The TEA negotiates favorable insurance rates for retirees. The retirees pay the premium. So taxpayers are not paying for retired teachers in Texas.

Not every teacher is bad, but it is rare to find one that will place any blame on their co-workers.

Again I do not know your location or environment, however your statement may incorrect for the Texas School Systems I have had contact with. Teachers are critical of both the commitment and performance of their peers. Texas teachers also are subject to observations where their performance is critically reviewed and included as part of their annual summative. I qualify it as may, since my level of contact is limited to the school districts my children attended or that my wife was employed.

You see, I already bought my curriculum this year and MI has recently passed Virtual Charters into the mix.

Ah, location is revealed. I spent my first 27 years in Michigan so I better understand your position. My sister in law is a retired teacher and I used to play weekend basketball and softball with several teachers and elementary principals so I am well aware of the problems of the 70's and it would seem things got worse over the years.

Having experienced the environments of both Texas and Michigan I can unequivocally state the problems in Texas are not the problems in Michigan, both structurally and financially. Of the two, if given the task, I would prefer the problems in Texas as a starting point.

>>I am defending the teachers who were falsely indicted as the root cause.<<

Well actually, I said the Union was against both of us.
Someone who wasn’t looking to pick a fight might have stated that while TX has no union contracts, they have Associations which are on the side of the National Teachers Association and the National Education Association. Then the blame would have gone there.

>>The Teachers fully fund their retirement account through payroll deduction.<<

Current law requires that the state contribution rate
cannot be lower than the member contribution rate.
The current member rate is 6.4%. As a result of a ruling
by the Texas Attorney General, the state contribution
rate for fiscal year 2011 is 6.644%, making the
combined rate 13.044%.
http://www.trs.state.tx.us/about/documents/trs_value_brochure.pdf

Again, the US has slipped far down in education. Texas isn’t in the top 10 of the states. Of course you’ll be less than happy with those who do your job ourselves. We’re not happy with paying for a product that is substandard either.