AT WAR WITH THE TEACHERS UNIONS: Part 1 - Are You Ready to Enlist and Fight the Great Battle?

DFU | 11-9-05 | Doug from Upland

[doug from upland]

NOTE: this is the first in a series of posts in which we will discuss concrete steps to do battle with and ultimately substantially defund teachers unions. These unions are clearly a subsidiary of the DemocRATic Party, and they are a big part of what is wrong with public education.

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Proposition 75 was defeated yesterday in California. The teachers union spent over a hundred million dollars to defeat it. They were quaking in their boots at the thought of actually having to ask permission of its members before spending money on partisan politics. Not surprisingly, they spend virtually all of the political money on DemocRATS. California teachers who are not DemocRATS should be angry. We have an opportunity to help them do something about it.

Okay, so the proposition was barely defeated. What next?

I had a lengthy discussion today with Ryan Bedford of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. EFF has been very successful in it's efforts to reign in the Washington Education Association. They have beaten them in court, and a huge number of teachers have "opted out." If it can be done it Washington, we can do it in California and all the other states. This is going to be a national effort. It needs your help.

Your suggestions and your offer to enlist in the battle will be greatly appreciated. We are going to use email or other methods you may suggest to inform teachers of their rights.

Conservative teachers can demand a return of a portion of their dues used for political purposes, and they have the right to take a religious exemption. With the religious exemption, ALL OF THEIR DUES will go to a charity. If succeeding threads, we will be explaining how teachers can take action. We will provide examples of forms.

For this thread, we are hoping that you will check in and offer suggestions and a little of your time to send email to teachers. According to the EFF, we can get the email addresses through a FOIA request, but that might take six months.

A google search such as "California teacher email" yields results for teachers' emails at a huge number of schools. It may be that you can begin with the schools closest to you.

The power of the teachers unions within the DemocRATic Party is enormous. A big percentage of delegates at their conventions are teachers.

Can someone start by volunteering to be in charge of an AT WAR WITH THE TEACHERS UNIONS ping list? Will someone or several someones volunteer to help with assigning tasks?

Make no mistake about it. Hillary Clinton is depending on these foot soldiers to carry her back into the White House.

[moog]

We the People OWN those schools. We are PAYING EMPLOYEES to operate them CONSTITUTIONALLY. And we are going to take our turf BACK.

Working together, people can make a difference. I do it in my own classroom. I absolutely love the parents this year as I have every year. My little first graders are SO excited about learning and progressing rapidly too. We need to get the petty politics (in my state that means both sides) out.

[moog]

Government schools curriculum and policies can NEVER be politically, culturally, or religiously neutral in content or consequences. NEVER. Why? Because childhood education is fundamentally in its very essence the transfer of values from one generation to another.

When a child attends a government school they are taught that the government can and does restrict their free speech, free press, free expression of religion, and free assembly. Government indoctrinated children also learn that if they refuse to cooperate, government can and DOES send out armed police to force them into centers that restrict their human rights,

I'm not saying it doesn't exist. It definitely exists in California probably and maybe in other areas--I don't know, haven't been there. But I haven't seen it in 10 years of teaching and I certainly haven't taught it either. These things are foreign to me and my classroom. What I do enjoy are the excitement when the kids learn something new, a parent expressing appreciation, the satisfaction the child gets from working hard to achieve a goal, and so on and so on and so on.

[moog]

Doug, Got your northern flank covered.

Hope his flank isn't as big as mine. It takes a lot to cover mine--a school bus might cover part of it. I'll go ask Mayor Nagin if he has any extras.

[moog]

56k? Where do I sign up? And how much are the living expenses?

[moog]

Abosultely NOBODY can whine like a teacher..


I'm just grape at whining. I haven't done any raisin kids though.

[TaMoDee]

Was using the term "flank" in a military meaning. I'd of used "hip or butt" in an anatomical sense. However if "Doug" was "Debbie-from-Upland" then the reverse would maybe be true. (But I'd have to inspect the "flank" first.) If your flank is the size of a school bus then you are on your own without any covering fire, so to speak, from me! :>)

Serious note: We need to regroup and figure out just how to get this mess straighten out by November 2006 or we are going to be in REAL trouble!

[abclily]

Teachers are not paid a lot?

$56,283/180 teaching days = $312.68 per day.
$312.68/8 hours per day = $39.08 per hour.

How much do you think they should be paid?

[MileHi]

BTTT and I want on any ping list for this.

[wintertime]

<> ( Doug) So....hm?....How can it be constitutional to herd unwilling children from homes with unwilling parents into buildings for 6 or 7 hours a day? If they refuse, police with guns on the hip ( real bullets in those guns) and social workers threatening foster care or juvenile prison will FORCE attendance. Don't we have a thirteenth Amendment to protect us from this type of government imprisonment? Then once in the so-called "school" the children are forbidden to assemble freely with people of their or their parent's choosing, the child can not express his most deeply held religious and cultural beliefs, nor can he freely publish them. On the other hand, if First Amendment Rights to freely speak, freely publish, freely express religious belief, or free assembly were allowed a few things would happen: 1) Chaos 2) The rights of the other children not to be indoctrinated in another's religion would be violated. Then there is the sticky problem of a curriculum and school policies that do not establish the moral and religious worldview of some while trampling that of others. This is impossible to do since education of the young is the transfer of moral, and cultural belief than can never be neutral in its political, cultural, and religious consequences. This is axiomatic. Gee! Isn't there a clause in the First Amendment that says government must NOT be in the ESTABLISHMENT business? Solution: Remove your child from government school today. Work to establish a universal system of private education for every child in the nation. The following is a good essay explaining why government schools are not constitutional on either a state or federal level: http://www.newswithviews.com/Stuter/stuter9.htm

[wintertime]

To All:

When I wrote my previous post it had paragraphs. How can I prevent my posts from being converted to one long paragraph?

Wintertime

[Aquinasfan]

Teachers are not paid a lot?

I think they are paid a lot. But the rate should be determined by the market. As a comparison, private school teachers earn about $30k/year.

Teaching is a special vocation since it should regard the truth, which, ultimately, is God.

Socrates opposed the professionalization of teaching since he believed that he who paid the piper would call the tune. He was pretty much right.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

" http://www.newswithviews.com/Stuter/stuter9.htm "

Thanks for the link.

[Cincincinati Spiritus]

Teachers have rarely been paid their due at anytime in history (except when they are not teaching as in the case of the public schools). Being a Catholic school teacher, I certainly can vouch for that.

The reason is simple: although education (broadly signified) is the parents' and society's highest obligation, (attested to by every philosopher of depth), by nature we neglect the most important things.

To tell the truth liberals have long understood this far better than conservatives. The battle in my opinion is essentially lost both in public and private schools. The only real positive signs seem to be coming from the home school movement. Through parents dissatifaction with formal school, I see some signs of good things, but it may be too little to late.

[Aquinasfan]

The reason is simple: although education (broadly signified) is the parents' and society's highest obligation, (attested to by every philosopher of depth), by nature we neglect the most important things.

To tell the truth liberals have long understood this far better than conservatives. The battle in my opinion is essentially lost both in public and private schools. The only real positive signs seem to be coming from the home school movement.

Agree, agree, and agree. Unfortunately.

[Antoninus]

Nice work, Doug.

Bump.

[rbedford]

Unions generally specialize by industry. The National Education Association and its state and local affiliates represent teachers and education professionals. The SEIU represents some state workers, nurses, health care employees, etc. AFSCME represents public employees.

Generally, members have to be associated with education to join the CTA. Members get to vote on leadership and contracts. Members receive benefits just as an AAA member would. Benefits vary by local association but generally include travel discounts, credit card programs, the ability to vote on leadership, etc.

Conservative and Republican caucuses exist in the NEA. However, the NEA has consistently refused to accommodate them.

NEA officials suppress and silence voices that question their hard-line ideology. Throughout the union’s July 2005 convention, a number of teachers introduced resolutions supporting neutral or conservative ideas. Instead of welcoming the opportunity to make the NEA a more diverse place, officials booed and stonewalled the teachers and their resolutions.

In one instance, a delegate proposed the NEA support “intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas.” Liberal officials loudly criticized the proposal as “the beginning of a witch hunt.” Another resolution would have approved the statement: “The association deplores the advocacy of adult/minor sexual contact.” This was angrily rejected and sent back to committee.

NEA president Reg Weaver has proudly claimed the NEA is the largest democratic body in the world. With a reported 9,000 voting delegates attending its annual convention, he should be right. But the touted democracy is void of diversity.

[rbedford]

Organizations have already accomplished the footwork for you. Contact the Association of American Educators or the Christian Educators Association International and they will give you what information on insurance they have.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Look at the first two characters in your post. As soon as you used those, you must use html to create paragraphs or any other html features.

[truth49]

What on their site lead you to that conclusion? This is what I found:
http://www.effwa.org/main/page.php?number=32


"EFF provides research and commentary on education reform efforts and current practices in our education system. Our goal is to establish student-centered education in Washington state by providing educational choices for all parents, children, and teachers, in a safe environment, where high academic achievement can flourish.


Objectives for public education reform

The primary relationships fostered and protected are among parents, teachers and children in individual school settings. Other institutional relationships are secondary.

Parents are allowed to choose the school that best meets the needs of their children.

Schools are highly autonomous and competition for students is encouraged.

The management of each school is allowed maximum flexibility is in allocating resources and rewarding achievement. The management is also responsible to ensure academic achievement and financial accountability.

Accurate information about cost and academic performance for each school is readily available to parents, teachers, policymakers and the public.

A good teacher is in every classroom and the learning environment is safe and orderly.

Emulation of successful schools, teachers and management practices is promoted.

Schools have a clear, focused academic mission and are organized to deliver it.


Strategies


Deregulate schools to basic health, safety and civil rights standards.

Mandate that 90% or more of allocated education dollars follow each student to the school chosen by parents.

Change teacher licensing requirements. An adult with a degree in a necessary field (English, history, computer science, business, etc.), who does not have a criminal record, and who has demonstrated the ability to teach students, should be able to do so in Washington state public schools.

Prohibit mandatory unionization of schools.

Abolish tenure.

Redefine core academic standards and mandate scientifically valid and reliable testing.

Require annual academic and fiscal performance audits of each school.

Allow flexibility in the teacher salary allocation model."

[chalkfarmer]

I've been a public school teacher for almost 23 years and I've never belonged to a union...