teachers’ unions

#rsrh “IN-JUR-IES! IN-JUR-IES! IN-JUR-IES!”

Nanny Bloomberg versus the NYC teachers union. Hard to say who I want to see smacked around more on this one:

The city teachers union yesterday demanded a review of the school system’s hiring practices in a move derided by the Bloomberg administration as a distraction from teacher misconduct.

In the wake of record numbers of arrests of teachers on charges of sexual abuse or misconduct involving students, the city has been lobbying for a law giving the chancellor final say in how misbehaving teachers should be disciplined. That power currently resides with an independent arbitrator.

But rather than support the city’s bid to protect students, the United Federation of Teachers turned the tables and pointed at the city’s hiring practices as a potential area for reform.

Continue reading #rsrh “IN-JUR-IES! IN-JUR-IES! IN-JUR-IES!”

#rsrh Wisconsin kids pay for teachers’ sickouts.

(Via @vermontaigne, via Gateway Pundit) Apparently kids in Wisconsin are going to have to stay in school an extra twenty minutes a day for the rest of the school year. Why? Because of the teachers union’s unscheduled four day vacation from their responsibilities in order to go fight the ever-so-noble cause of not paying their fair share of their healthcare costs. Dan Collins notes that the kids are going to love this; speaking as a parent of two, I’ll add that so will the parents. Particularly the ones who rely on after-school activities to fill up the time between the end of classes and the earliest that a working parent can make it home. Ach, well, you can’t expect the leadership of a public service union to understand the concept of empathy towards others.

On the bright side, unexcused absences by teachers last month won’t be paid for and teachers using phony sick notes are going to get suspended. So there’s that, at least.

Depressing realization of the day, Mikey Kaus edition. #rsrh

After commenting on this depressing article about how hard it is to fire an incompetent teacher in the LA school system (short answer: very, very, very hard. No, harder than that. No, harder than that, too), Mickey sighs:

I know this item reads like it was written in 1984 (when Gary Hart made an issue of firing incompetent teachers in his campaign against Walter Mondale). That’s because the situation in the unionized public schools has not improved markedly in 25 years. Believe me, I wish the neoliberalism of the late ’70s weren’t so relevant.

I have no desire to get into a fight with Mickey Kaus – those never end well – but I would like to suggest that perhaps he should start remembering that last sentence on future Election Days.