[hexpoppy]

My daughter teaches middle school in Florida. Many of her students are "from hell" She and the other teachers are threatened with lawsuits on a regular basis. " I can do what I want, and if you do anything to me , my mom will sue your butt off." When parents are called in, (if they even show up) they often accuse the teacher of lying, She tells of one incident where she sent a female student to the office because she showed up to school wearing thong panties and a skirt so short you could see them!(and everything else) When the furious mother showed up--guess what? She was dressed exactly like her daughter. This lawsuit threat is why many teachers join the union. They are not political, but think they need the insurance . My daughter is conservitave and non union. The union dues are $40 per week.!! And the non union teachers are under constant pressure to join.

[Theodore R.]

Wonderful post. And this is a "right-to-work" state -- FL. Maybe Jeb Bush needs to address pressure by unions to join those organizations.

[SoftballMominVA]

I also teach middle school and know the pressures your daughter is facing. She should immediately contact the American Association of Educators at

http://www.aaeteachers

She can join online right now. This is a conservative organization (not union) that provides excellent liability insurance of $1 million and is an alternative to NEA. They have offices in every state. I joined about 2 years ago when I was afraid of a suit and was sick and tired of the NEA drones scaring me to death.

It costs $125 a year and it lets me sleep at night.