I'll start by saying that I believe in public education. While I have no qualms about the many fine private or charter schools, I've chosen to cast my lot in public education because I believe in the role that it plays in educating any and all of our citizens. Public schools work to educate the poor, the rich, the middle class, the able and those with special needs. I attended both private and public schools growing up (my father was in the navy and we moved a bunch) and I had good and bad experiences in both. This might sound odd, but as the son of a long, long, line of military men, and as one who didn't join the military because I wanted to be the first in my family ever to graduate from college, I have in me a desire to carry on my family's tradition of service to our country. It might sound hokey, but I teach because I want to serve.
Being a public employee, however, means that I am constricted to some extent in the kind of autonomy and latitude that is probably at work every day in the Montessori schools or thousands of other mission based prior schools (by mission I do not suggest to mean solely religious. Mission as in the mission of a Montessori or KIPP in their approach to curriculum and pedagogy). Largely, the mission of public schools is not created at the highest levels by educators, but rather, our mission is dictated by politicians and the interests (some private, some corporate, some altruistic) that they are beholden to. While the tides of political favor shift and go through their cycles, educators are often called to fall in line to the whims and demands of each passing fad or crisis. I don't think that this is very good for education.
My belief is that the teachers union serves as a vital check on the dictates of political popularity and interests. While I am an outspoken critic of some of the shortcomings of my union, and often agree with many of the criticisms that are put out there, I need the union to work towards keeping the teachers' voice in the conversation and to ensure that our education system doesn't become a direct wing of the government (I have many international teaching contacts and often discuss the abuses of education perpetrated by a centralized government in regards to state mandated propaganda materials and blatant misrepresentations of history in their course materials.) As I believe is the instance with the current legislation, sometimes the education system can become a pawn of political posturing and power broking. Some may argue that the left has done the same type of political maneuvering as we see today. And I believe that they are undoubtedly correct when doing so. To me, a need the union because I need a collective body to represent my interest as an educator, and WAY more importantly, to look after the best learning interests of our students.
Do I think the union needs some work? Absolutely, that's why I became involved more deeply with the union in my last two years. While I feel that I need a representative body at the table when big moves are made, I also recognize that I have the opportunity to work with my union to suggest changes, challenge assumptions and long-held practices, and to join in the chorus in such instances as I find myself in agreement and solidarity with my co-workers.
continued in Pt. 2
Original conversation on the Observation Deck
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=9907
Being a public employee, however, means that I am constricted to some extent in the kind of autonomy and latitude that is probably at work every day in the Montessori schools or thousands of other mission based prior schools (by mission I do not suggest to mean solely religious. Mission as in the mission of a Montessori or KIPP in their approach to curriculum and pedagogy). Largely, the mission of public schools is not created at the highest levels by educators, but rather, our mission is dictated by politicians and the interests (some private, some corporate, some altruistic) that they are beholden to. While the tides of political favor shift and go through their cycles, educators are often called to fall in line to the whims and demands of each passing fad or crisis. I don't think that this is very good for education.
My belief is that the teachers union serves as a vital check on the dictates of political popularity and interests. While I am an outspoken critic of some of the shortcomings of my union, and often agree with many of the criticisms that are put out there, I need the union to work towards keeping the teachers' voice in the conversation and to ensure that our education system doesn't become a direct wing of the government (I have many international teaching contacts and often discuss the abuses of education perpetrated by a centralized government in regards to state mandated propaganda materials and blatant misrepresentations of history in their course materials.) As I believe is the instance with the current legislation, sometimes the education system can become a pawn of political posturing and power broking. Some may argue that the left has done the same type of political maneuvering as we see today. And I believe that they are undoubtedly correct when doing so. To me, a need the union because I need a collective body to represent my interest as an educator, and WAY more importantly, to look after the best learning interests of our students.
Do I think the union needs some work? Absolutely, that's why I became involved more deeply with the union in my last two years. While I feel that I need a representative body at the table when big moves are made, I also recognize that I have the opportunity to work with my union to suggest changes, challenge assumptions and long-held practices, and to join in the chorus in such instances as I find myself in agreement and solidarity with my co-workers.
continued in Pt. 2
Original conversation on the Observation Deck
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=9907
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