I think we already know what the union leaders think of their constituants! The CTA leadership just unilaterally levied a $60 per person, per year tax on their members to finance some of the ballot measures that Arnold has managed to put on the ballot -- namely, 1) Public Employee Union Dues, 2) School Funding, and 3) Teacher Tenure. The union leaders view their folks as sources of income. Not all of these employees appreciate this levy. But they were not asked --how sad!

Jerre

I thought this was a blog about educational issues. Why do correspondents keep bringing up Bush? There must be thousands of blogs about Bush so if that's who you want to talk about, go to one on them. As teachers like to say "stay on task."
Jerre

Because Jerre - If they talk about Bush, they don't have to talk about:

Deteriorating Facilities
Teachers unhappy with union leadership
No plans to manage growth
No arts in schools

etc...etc...

If they can bash NCLB, and Bush, and keep the focus off what's really wrong with our schools, well then they'll be able to control the agenda, and the salaries and benefits that go along with it.

But alas, the blog attempts to keep them honest.

Tim,
Do you need a tissue? Anyway I will inject some facts, even though I know truth is not appreciated on this blog. By law any member of CTA can make one call and say they want none of their dues going towards political activities. I assume you both own stock in private companies. Try calling them and saying you do not want them to spend money on political campaigns and they will laugh in your face! Without the American Labor movement there would be no middle class. Tim, in terms of NCLB please quote the article of the Constitution that gives the Federal government control over public schools. I can quote the Constitution, powers not given the federal government are states right! This special election is nothing but an attempt to turn our governor into a dictator who has no checks or balances. Arleigh

Tim,

I am not familiar enough with NCLB. Does it fund or have anything to do with art?

I think it promotes testing. Which can be good. But that takes away from things like art, that are not tested.

Brian

Jerre,

Union Members can vote for their leadership and hold it accountable if it doesn't act in their best interests. Or as in 2004, they can elect them, like george W. Bush, the man you don't want us to mention.

Brian

Jerre and Tim,

You ask why Bush gets brought up so much. Well, i ask why does the teachers unions get brought up so much? Post after post.

I dare you to go after school board members, parents, The President, the governor, anyone besides union members for 30 days. Same goes for Tim.

If you accept the dare, i will dare Arleigh not to mention Bush or Arnold on this board for the same length.

I suspect people go after unions because they suport Democrats. And for the same reason Tim, Jerre, and to a lesser extent Scott don't go after Arnold almost ( I did say almost) ever.

brian

Jerre and Tim,

You ask why Bush gets brought up so much. Well, i ask why does the teachers unions get brought up so much? Post after post.

I dare you to go after school board members, parents, The President, the governor, anyone besides union members for 30 days. Same goes for Tim.

If you accept the dare, i will dare Arleigh not to mention Bush or Arnold on this board for the same length.

I suspect people go after unions because they suport Democrats. And for the same reason Tim, Jerre, and to a lesser extent Scott don't go after Arnold almost ( I did say almost) ever.

brian

Creative reporting Brian, but I am not biting. The reason is simple. If you'd actually READ my posts, I defy you to find one Topic I have posted where I "go after" the union, with the exception of "Arleigh's Army" which brought him into this much needed debate anyway.

I will continue to ask questions, hold leadership accountable and inform the public. I just hope we can start getting some answers to topics I've posted, instead of the same, tired talking points.

Tim

Tim,

I still hold to my point. The unions are an easy target and Republicans agree they are the major cause of the lack education success and budget problems in California.

Some of your posts are about nonprofits, test scores etc. But, I still would like you to go after:

1. Board members by name. If the board is the problem, call them out. ( Local boards, County Boards)

2. Something that Arnold or George have done wrong. They are humans, yes? Then be bipartisan. You quote Bill O'Reilly. Bill is conservative but he does go after both sides.

And if you barely ever post about the Unions, then take the bet. And I will ask Arleigh not to mention George or Arnold here. I say here because his duties as a union leader means he has to mention them in other media outlets. It wouldn't be too tough for you guys would it? Arleigh what do you think?

What say you (two) ?

Brian

Brian:

I am concerned. You say I never go after Arnold to a lesser extent, but I would argue that I never go after anyone and if I have then that was not my intention. I believe in the concept of TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More and have offered solutions that would neither hinder the power of the unions nor undermine running schools better and getting more money to the classroom.

My war is against the bureaucracy that has tied the hands of teachers and made the system completely unmanageable. My war is with the lack of innovation that could cut costs at the local level.

I guess what I am saying is I DON'T CARE WHOSE FAULT IT IS. I believe Arleigh's, Jerre's, Brian's and Tim's frustrations are all valid to some extent and are not mutually exclusive.

Here are some questions I put to this blog...

1. Why is it not in the union's interest to stop wasteful practices at their respective districts?

2. Why can't unions and business leaders sit down and come up with plans to fix and innovate at local schools? Where is our educational roundatble that includes all parties? We need to build a better boat not sink each others boats.

3. Why are we putting our efforts toward slamming each other instead of coming up with third way solutions around the disagreement to fix our community challenges?

4. Why do we keep creating "false choices" or "wedge issues" for the voters?

5. Why are all elections about the lesser of two evils instead fixing and uniting the community, state, and country?

6. What happened to the concept of compromise from our leaders?

I guess in the final analysis, I don't have the answers and to argue about what is on the ballot is to be a follower instead of thinking for myself. I don't attack unions and I don't attack Arnold because I think it's irrelevant. The most productive question to ask is, "What the hell can I do to fix the schools?"

If you flip this question on me, I'll openly say I haven't done enough for our schools. Then, I'll ask Arleigh, Tim, Jerre, and Brian where do I sign up to help?

Our founders knew a great deal about power and designed a system that pushed for engagement not destruction. Here is my analysis about the system.

"You solve your own problems by solving your enemies' problems!!!"

We can and should work together even if some hate each other.

We need to start to look across the aisle to see what issues others have, solve them as best we can to get reciprocity on our demands. It doesn't take Einstein to figure this out. We can all win or we can all lose, but in the end it's up to us.

Scott

Arleigh:

I'm really not sure where we are going with education is not a federal responsibility at all. I think desegregation was a good thing under Brown v. Board of Education 1954. Do you?

Since you asked about federal encroachment let me quote you a line from James Madison, the father of our constitution.

"Without educated citizens popular government is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or perhaps both."

Our founders felt that an uneducated citizenry was an open door for despotism and I do believe that federal accountability standards and funds ensure the liberty of our citizens.

Of course, just as a point of fact, NCLB only modifies the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which has existed for numerous years prior to NCLB. I am still researching whether ESEA was ever challenged on federalist grounds, but since it has existed for some time, I would think that the state would have a compelling interest in protecting and ensuring educational needs of the citizenry.

Of course, the above would only be relevant if you were a judicial activist like O' Connor or Stevens. What would it be if you were a judicial constructionist like Scalia or Rehnquist?

If you are a strict constructionist, one could argue that federal involvement in education is consistent with the needs of the 1st amendment, which guarantees the right of the citizenry "to petition the government for a redress of grievances." Education is prerequisite of this even if you read the constitution literally.

Since you have invoked the 10th amendment, I want to put a full reading here for the blog...

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

I want to point out that since "the people" in the last part of the federal elect their federal officials in the house, senate, and president it is entirely consistent to implement a federal education policy. I want to add emphasis that it says powers are reserved to "the States respectively or the people" it is entirely consistent that NCLB be an opt in or opt our policy that we have seen so far.

Article I sec. 8 states, Congress has the right to "promote the progress of science and useful arts..."

14th Amendment says..." No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life liberty, or property, without due process; nor deny to any person within its jurisdictions the equal protection of the law."

Since all states have some sort of education system it is not entirely inconsistent for the federal government to guarantee to right to the citizens in those states to an education as a right.

Article IV Sec. 1: Full Faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state...

Often called the commerce clause, it essentially means and has been deduced to mean that since states do business outside their own state, congress has the right to regulate. Essentially this is the basis of Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case, which argued that congress and the judicial power of the 14th amendment of "equal protection" could be enforced because the state was involved in inter-state commerce. NCLB is constitutional because the state does business with entities outside the state through contracts. This gives congress and the judicial branch teeth.

You want to stop the power of NCLB, urge school boards to opt out and send the funds back to congress and urge the state to stop doing inter-state business. If not, NCLB is perfectly in the purview of the federal government under the constitution .

Scott

First, let me address Brian’s comment. I hold the parents most responsible for the current conditions of the schools. Children fully realize when their parents are not interested. Parents fail to show up at school events, except for sports. Parents fail to check their kids’ homework, and some don’t have a clue what the homework assignment for a given night is. Parents choose to pull their kids out of school for almost anything – vacations, etc. When the kid earns a poor grade, it must be the teacher’s fault (ignoring the fact that some of the other kids in the class earned good grades). I don’t know why some parents don’t take an interest. It was a high priority for me to be involved. When I was a kid and a note came home from the teacher, I was in trouble. Now the situation exists all too often that it must be the teacher’s fault. Teachers who continually are not supported by parents finally give up. And why not! Negative reinforcement usually stops a behavior – for all of us!

Most of the teachers are highly qualified, in that they are teaching subjects that they earned their credential in. Administrators typically have Master’s degrees, especially in education. It’s only the parents who have few demonstrated qualifications. The typical parent comment is “well, I went to school, so I must know how the teacher should teach.” The parents that really slay me are the ones that expect the teacher to cater to their kid. Get real! The teachers have ~ 180 students to attend to. The teachers cannot teach 180 different ways each day. It’s the students that need to be flexible. I doubt that the kids’ future bosses are going to cater to them.

Now, what have I done to aid the schools? Fair question. In the early 90’s I was convincing people who were trading up from their first computer to donate it to a school. I bought educational software with my own money and loaded it onto these donated computers and put the computers into classrooms. I was a charter member of the school improvement committee at the school my kids attended. I served on that committee even after my kids moved on. My crowning success was a program I started at the local high school. There is an organization known as FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The program involves pulling together interested students and building a four-foot tall robot that operates by remote control. I first conned my company into making a sizable donation. I recruited a teacher who was willing to put in 30 more hours each week, beyond class time. I went door-to-door in the business community and raised more than $17,000 the first year. I recruited several other engineers to guide the students. Each team built a robot from a box of identical, but miscellaneous parts. There were no directions. We worked our butts off, each person putting in 20 – 30 hours of work after the regular job. In 6 weeks we had a robot capable of performing the desired tasks. The team went to Orlando to compete in a national event. No, we didn’t win the event, be we all won by being part of the program. Then I did that 4 more times, and the team did win the President’s Trophy. The second year, I brought in students from CSUN to help. The third year I won the Principal’s Award at the school, and my kids we not even going there. I moved on after that to start a similar program at the middle school level. I provided start-up funding and leadership to two schools. One of the schools participated fully, built a Lego robot and participated in a regional competition. The other school built the robot but did not take full advantage of the whole program. That school was a SVUSD school.

As Tim likes to say “what say you?”

Jerre

Jerre:

Great post!!!

Where do we go from here?

Scott

Jerre, Scott,

Good posts. My point is the unions seem to get brought up alot. I think it would be refreshing to hear more stuff like whta Jerre just shared.

Like the other poster that claimed union painters stand on the curb making overtime. Or union people come in on the weekend to put up the flag for overtime. Undocumented, conspiracy stories get tiring.

I am a teacher, and I know that this election is going to get ugly, with teachers and our unions getting hit hard. I am just asking for a reprieve from the union attacking machine.

Jerre, good post about parents by the way.