Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Zachary C. Carpenter
S. Cato
EH 102-2CD
February 26, 2014
We dont dun need no reform
Lisa Berry, a Principal at Hewitt-Trussville High School is an advocate for better schools,
but knows theyll never be a reality. It [the current school system] just doesnt work, and we
know it doesnt work, but we cant reform, because if we do, we [teachers and administrators]
lose our jobs (Berry, 2014). Teacher unions protect those who the public needs most: the
educators; however, in their protecting, they have become detrimental to the educational system.
Due to the fact students have little control over their education, primarily caused by the lack of
representation for students in the legislative process; it is the teachers unions who have the most
influence. The United States public school system is extraordinarily outdated due to lobbing by
Teacher Unions which leads to poor standards, an education system that is not structurally sound,
and a national educational system that lacks cohesiveness.
In its history, the United States has only had a single education system, and while that
system worked pre-1950; it simply doesnt work today. The school system of today was not
designed with thirty to forty person classrooms in mind (Roberts, 1984). The school system that
we currently have in place was designed for the children fortunate enough to stay in school, and
not have to work on the family farm after eighth grade. Those class rooms tended to have only
five to seven pupils, making individualizing learning possible. This individualization is
extremely important in education. Everyone learns differently, and because of that, it makes it
extremely difficult to teach a single class of forty and have every student understand (Steinitz,
1996). As the instructor spends more time teaching the same topic in a different manner, to get
the entirety of a class to the appropriate competency level, less topics can be covered. Ultimately,
this crowded method of learning is simply ineffective.
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So, what is the solution to overcrowded classrooms? Many experts say it might not be the
size of the room that matters, but the mix of students. Dr. Kelly Tremblay of Northwestern
Universitys School of Communication establishes in The Time Course of Auditory Learning:
Neurophysiologic Changes During Speech-Sound Training that rather than a random sampling
of students, students should be matched together depending on the style of education that suits
them best (Tremblay). For example, students who learn math best through auditory lessons,
should be paired together. From there they could be taught fractions via a music lesson, as done
by Richard Steinitz during an experiment for his paper published in The Musical Times titled
Music, Maths & Chaos (Steinitz, 1996). Students who learn math best visually, could be
grouped together in order to learn math through an art lesson. However, this is where teacher
unions become problematic. Schools that use this structure and form of teaching are called
Charter Schools. A charter school is simply a school that does not abide by government
standards. In the words of Professor Michael Mintrom, an authority on charter schools, The
concept of charter schools is one of several educational policy reforms designed to give parents
and students greater choice in public schools (Mintrom, 1997). Charter schools are essentially, a
private school that receives public funds from the government. Charter schools are extremely
risky for less than talented educators, though, because quarterly testing on students easily reveals
any undercompedency on the part of the educator (Mintrom, 1997). Additionally, most charter
schools do not offer their instructors tenure (Mintrom, 1997). Tenure is the assurance of a job
after a prolonged stay. Due to the extreme testing and lack of tenure, most teachers oppose
charter systems.
As mentioned before, teachers have much more influence over the structure of school
systems than student or parents, because they are unionized. These teacher unions hire powerful
lobbying organizations to block legislation, such as charter school systems. A lobbying
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organization is a company that represents the interest of their clients in government, in this case,
teacher unions. For example, say a bill HB203 has been written is going to be voted on by the
Alabama state legislature. This bill would authorize charter schools systems in the state of
Alabama. Teachers, and therefore teacher unions do not like charter schools, so they hire out a
lobbying organization to make sure the bill does not pass. The teacher unions tell the lobbying
organization they have a budget of fifty million dollars to devote to the non-passage of HB203.
The lobbyist would then approach politicians and tell them that if they voted against HB203,
they would receive a portion of the allotted fifty million dollars as a campaign contribution to get
them reelected. This money is almost never refused, as politicians need it to stay in office. It is
this pseudo-bribery that gives teacher unions such power (Murray, 1976).
Standards in curriculum are what allow students to travel between schools, and not fall
behind. While moving within state lines is not problematic (because all schools within a state
abide by the same standards), moving out of state, can pose a challenge (Porter, McMacen,
Hwang, & Yang, 2011). Currently, every state has its own set of academic standards, meaning
public education students in each state are learning to different levels (Common Core Initiative,
2012). A student in tenth grade in Minnesota might learn molecular biology in the fourth week
of their biology class; however, a student in Mississippi may learn it in the first week. That
means, if a student from Minnesota transfers schools in the second week of school, they have
missed the molecular biology lesson, and therefore may not understand subsequent lessons,
causing them to fall behind. Because we live in such a globalized society, where people often
move several times in their lives, the lack of national standards is extremely problematic (Porter,
McMacen, Hwang, & Yang, 2011).
Common Core, is a set of standards that is slowly being adopted across the country is
helping to correct the lack of standards. Unfortunately, Common Core is extremely controversial,
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particularly to conservatives. Common Core is not required to be adopted, and due to its
controversial status, it is not being adopted in states with large numbers of conservatives (2012).
The goal of common core is the have a set of standards adopted in every state, which would
allow all students the ability to learn simultaneously. In addition to offering a cohesive system,
Common Core offers a competitive one. The Common Core standards are on par the with rest of
the world, something the current education system is not. As of 2012 the United States ranked
twenty ninth in education globally (Chapel, 2013). The Common Core Initiative, author of the
common core, claims that adoption of Common Core would make The United States education
system one of the most competitive in the world. (2012) This systematic overhauling of the
structure of national standards would allow students to seamlessly transition between classrooms
in separate states.
Much like the poor standards, it has been demonstrated time and time again that leaving
education to the states, simply doesnt work in a globalized society like the one we live in.
Funding of public schools has become a major issue as students relocate during the school year.
Funds are allocated by the state government depending on the number of children in attendance.
If a school gets a large surge of new students mid-year, which is often the case with urban
schools, the school will simply not have enough funding to adequately provide for their students.
However, if there was a federal education system, funding would not be so strict, as education
funding could be distributed equally across all fifty states, allowing for a reserve of funds that
could be tapped, should schools need it mid-year. Similar to charter schools, teacher unions
block legislation for a national school system. This is primarily because of national certifications
that would be required should the United States adopt a national education system. At this time,
teachers need only be licensed by the state in which they are employed; however, should a
transfer to a national educational system occur, all teachers would be required by law to hold a
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national certification to teach. Many fear they would not be able to pass, or in many cases afford
to take, a national certification.
Teacher unions arent all bad, however. Protecting teachers is just as important as
protecting those whom they educate. Teacher unions allow teachers an effective means of
voicing their concerns. When used correctly, teacher unions can be a powerful tool for change.
They often help protect teachers voicing their concerns. Teachers can face backlash when
speaking out against the government, who are ultimately their employers. The protection of
teacher unions, help quell that fear. Alicia Maud Wein, a member of New York State United
Teachers said in an interview:
"Without job protections, the balance is tipped so heavily in favor of administration (who
must prioritize issues like the budget, school reforms, and legislation) that teachers are
silenced. I know in my 15-year career I have had to respond in writing, at meetings or by
speaking publicly on all of the above issues as a matter of course when advocating for my
students and what's best for their learning. Frequently, I have been in the position of
airing those concerns to transient or inexperienced administrative staff with whom I had
not yet developed a working relationship. I would have been far too wary to do so if I
thought it could mean a dismissal from my job without due process, and those students
would not have benefited from my experience and support Teachers living in fear of
losing their jobs are not in a position to speak up for their kids, fight for appropriate
curricular decisions, special education accommodations, funding, disciplinary actions,
etc. (2012)"
Additionally, a study from Arizona State University shows that school that employ more
teachers who are members of teacher unions tend to produce better test scores. The study
established the causal link, That should make perfect sense if unions are creating work places
where teachers are better paid with better working conditions. (Carini, 2002)
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While they protect teachers, and advocate on their behalf, teacher unions block legislation
that is essential to moving the United States education system forward and not backward. So,
while teacher unions are a necessary evil, the lobbying they utilize is extremely harmful and
must be stopped. As the United States continues to fall in the world education rankings, its up to
the public to pressure teacher unions to stop acting like a cinderblock, and start acting more like
a parachute.
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Works Cited
Berry, L. (2014, Feburary 19). (Z. Carpenter, Interviewer)
Buddin, R. (2005). Student Achievement in Charter Schools: A Complex Picture. Journal of
Policy Analysis and Management, 351-371.
Carini, R. M. (2002). School Reform Proposals: Teacher Unions and Student Achievement.
Bloomington: Arizona State University.
Chapel, B. (2013, December 3). U.S. Students Slide In Global Ranking On Math, Reading,
Science. Retrieved Feburary 19, 2014, from NPR: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwoway/2013/12/03/248329823/u-s-high-school-students-slide-in-math-reading-science
Common Core Initiative. (2012). The Basics of Common Core. Common Core Initiative.
Mintrom, M. (1997). Charter Schools as a State Policy Innovation: Assessing Recent
Developments. State and Local Government Review, 29(No. 1), 43-49.
Murray, M. A. (1976). Defining the Higher Education Lobby. The journal of Higher Education,
72-92.
Porter, A., McMacen, J., Hwang, J., & Yang, R. (2011). Common Core Standards: The New U.S.
Intended Curriculum. Educational Researcher, 103-116.
Roberts, F. S. (1984). The Introductory Mathematics Curriculum: Misleading, Outdated, and
Unfair. The College Mathematics Journal, 383-385.
Steinitz, R. (1996). Music, Maths, & Chaos. The Musical Times, 14-20.
Tremblay, K. (n.d.). The time course of auditory perceptual learning: neurophysiological changes
during speech-sound training. Northwestern University.
Wein, A. M. (2012, August 17). (K. Rawls, Interviewer)