Judges Lock Up More Teachers

Star-Ledger ^ | December 6, 2001 | SUE EPSTEIN, BEV McCARRON AND KELLY HEYBOER

[ZULU]

Another 88 Middletown teachers -- including a woman recovering from cancer, a man with spina bifida and a veteran teacher who hadn't missed a day of work in nearly four decades -- were led to jail in handcuffs yesterday as one of the nastiest strikes in New Jersey history dragged through a fifth emotional day without a settlement.

[joathome]

I don't know what school district you're in, but I can assure you that most teachers don't have 3/8's of the day off. Methinks whoever negotiated that contract for the district is on the take. :)

[jackbill]

What is really lacking in this article (at least I didn't see it) is the question: Do teachers in this district have the right to strike? Or is it illegal. If it's illegal, they should be given 24 hours to get back to work and if they don't, they should be fired. Just like President Reagan did with PATCO (air traffic controllers).

Is this just another question of lazy journalism or am I having a senior moment?

[monkeyshine]

Teachers on strike in New Jersey.

[Rustynailww]

"lots of 10 hr days at school"...that can not be, i read here that teachers only work 8 till 3. lol. winter well.

[gatex]

"...If I refuse to show up to work, my boss has a fundamental right to replace me...."

But if you are a teacher, can you be replaced by someone who is not certified as a teacher ? May an engineer get a job as a teacher (e.g. teaching math or science ) ?

[Labyrinthos]

Methinks whoever negotiated that contract for the district is on the take.

At least we've agreed on something. Please note that my information is pretty solid. Not only do I have several neighbors and friends who are public school teachers, but my mother worked as a CSEA employee in the school district for 26 years.

[ZULU]

Government workers aren't allowed to strike either. How would you like it if cops, firemen, etc. decided to strike?

I think they should lock up the whole rotten mess of them - with the exception of the very few good patriotic teachers out there. But the NJEA and NEA are the formost supporters of liberal causes and opponents of conservatives and Republicans.

[joathome]

"In my school district, middle school and high school teachers only actually teach for 5 of 8 periods a day, which means they have three hours to do the other stuff."

In fact, I think your statistics are off somewhere. If teachers aren't working eight hours a day, as many of you claim, how can a teacher get three hours off (8-5=3)?

I think part of the problem your school district is having is overcrowding. One of the "solutions" offered by administration is to shorten classes, and tack on more classes at the end of the day. We used to have six classes a day here in our school district, but then went to seven. That means that teachers were then responsible for 180 students (6 X 30) instead of 150 (5 X 30). High school was never meant to be as impersonal as college. Tack on an extra period and they'd be responsible for 210 students. That's just ridicuous. No fourteen year old's English teacher should be responsible for 209 other students. The solution is to hire more teachers, and to pay what the market will bear to hire them. RAISE STANDARDS. Get rid of colleges of education. As a conservative, I'm sure I share many of your own views about what's wrong with public high school, and high schools in general, but having had students in one recently, I know that the teachers are but a small part of the problem, and often one of the best things going for the school.

[Don Myers]

"The problem is not with parents. "

A lot of the problem is with parents who don't want to take an active role in rearing their children. And many times, the parents are deadbeats, flower children who thought they could raise children.

[joathome]

"Carol Ann Drum did the school district a huge favor. Every district in the state would love to have their older teachers retire, so they can be replaced by younger teachers with lower salaries."

EXACTLY. My neighbor, a wonderful, experienced teacher with 12 years of teaching had to substitute teach in a district that was hiring like mad because administration wanted new hires. She subbed a lot, and the principal then hired her for the next year.

[xsmommy]

i was with ya, at the beginning of the article, tear jerking because of the cancer-ridden and crutch-dependent teachers being hauled off to the slam, but geez, OPH, when i read what issue the strike was over, you lost me completely. i am sorry, that is a respectable salary and there are plenty of people making plenty less $ that pay their own full freight on health care premiums.

[freeperfromnj]

I live in the neighboring town in the same county as Middletown. Our teachers have been working without a contract for the past couple of months but have decided to put the interests of the children first while negotiating. The Middletown school district has a decade-long history of this behavior. The teachers in Monmouth County are among the highest paid in the country. Most of them live in the area and have no more than a half hour drive to work. I’m sure there are many qualified teachers who would truly appreciate the opportunity to work in the district. This is predominantly a middle to upper-middle class town with a tremendous amount of parental involvement and support in both the scholastic and athletic programs (although there are a couple of affluent areas - like where Geraldo and Connie Chung live). The children will pay the ultimate price. They are already almost two weeks behind. College forms that are due next week have not yet been processed, sports teams haven’t been able to compete because their coaches are in jail. The NYC Catholic High School teachers that are getting paid a mere $30,000 are making the Middletown teachers look quite petty and selfish.

[Don Myers]

"What do you call 100 NEA members in jail? A good start?"

Are we forgetting the NEA leadership?

[xsmommy]

let me add that my perspective is that of a Fairfax Co. school district resident, who sends her kids to Catholic school and who has seen teachers leave that vaunted and well paid school system to come and teach in a lesser paid but more respectful environment.

[hobbes1]

i am sorry, that is a respectable salary and there are plenty of people making plenty less $ that pay their own full freight on health care premiums.

You left out...And work 12 months to get it.

[Don Myers]

"But is it a fundamental right to be able to work as a teacher---or are there restrictions on who can get a job as a teacher ?"

Just wait until you start getting replies to your question. Find the thread about a sub-teacher telling the kids there is no Santa. You wouldn't believe.....

[joathome]

"The problem is not with parents."

HAHA HAHA You're kidding, right? I had two kids graduate two years ago, and as far as I'm concerned the leadership of the NEA and the all-too-many stupid parents share equal blame. Most rank and file teachers burn out not because of teaching, but becuase they're tired of being SURROGATE PARENTS.

[xsmommy]

oh yes, that is my other pet issue. and i have 2 in-laws who are public school teachers, and this is quite an inflammatory subject for holiday dinners....

[Don Myers]

"Remember that the next time someone is prosecuted for possessing a firearm deemed inappropriate by a state or a community. Besides, the firearms owners just should have worked harder to get those anti-gun laws overturned. I think I see a big ol' double standard here."

Funny. The rest of us don't see that.

[hobbes1]

Hey I grew Up in Hazlet...

As to anyone else, I can vouch for that, they have a history of this kind of BS which makes it even more reprehensible.