A Union Parable

To unionize or not to unionize: as a first year teacher I decided to join the National Teachers Union. I thought that this would grant me the opportunity to see the real issues in education and listen to seasoned teachers' thoughts about teaching and instruction. Dues were paid and meetings were made. The first meeting was postponed which I thought was a fluke but after the union found a new time, I made my first appearance at a union meeting. The meeting was packed and teachers bustled in and out of the small community center. I found a place in the front row and waited.

Order was finally found and union business began. However, to my dismay, the entire meeting focused on…money and duties for teachers. The words education, instruction or students were not uttered during the entire hour-long session. Instead, a few very vocal older teachers dominated the meeting, with talks of FCAT and low-test scores. They pointed the finger at anyone and everyone, and neglected their own responsibility. I was confused and disheartened. I thought the union was created to better the situation for teachers as well as students. I was wrong.

During the school year these same teachers became known to me through informal student conversations and teacher comments. I was informed through the administration that some of the older teachers had had their certification lapse and the county was at a loss because of the union approach to these 'veteran' teachers. I also took it upon myself to watch their classroom. As a first year teacher I had two hard and fast rules: 1) don't eat in the teachers lounge, 2) take everything with a grain of salt.

I ate alone for over 20 months and I also found out information first hand. This included observing these seasoned teachers. I asked permission, during my planning, to sit in on their class. I brought paper and pen and began to observe. It was startling. Students running around, teacher behind a desk with check book open, textbooks open to random pages, students asleep or listening to music, and to my utter surprise the instructor saw no reason to explain what was going on to me or the students. The only semblance of instructional plans was a vague instruction on the white board, which read: 'pg. 130-145 odd problems only'. This math class was disjointed and collectively absent of any real instruction. During the 90 minutes of classroom time most interaction between pupil and teacher consisted of failed classroom management. I got the feeling that I was the only one learning anything that day: what not to do.

It seemed that this 'teacher' had become complacent. Even down right pessimistic in the face of her students. Her attitude was one of blame the student first and then the parents second. "Those children just don't know how to act." "I'm not their mother or father". "I remember when they were respectful and cared about education". These were the comments I heard after class and her need to explain the situation to me. I quietly nodded and left for my 6th block class, having learned a valuable lesson: some teachers need to leave the profession.

With unions as a shield against extermination, I think that unions should start vetting their own members. Unions have a stake in teachers that are incompetent. It gives Unions a bad name and influences the perception of all teachers. Unions should observe their own members and take calls from administrators when teachers are not performing well. Also tenure should be done away with, give teachers' incentive to be innovative and creative, even if they have been teaching for many years. I understand many feel that tenure is a right; it is not it is a 19th century construct and a privilege. Schools need to be more flexible and viable. Teachers must expect, like all other professionals, to be held accountable for their work or lack there of. Teachers need to be evaluated every year, but most importantly for veteran teachers, they must also be observed on a regular basis.