I'm curious as to why teacher unions are said to be so bad. All I hear is how wonderful they are because they fight for jobs. However, how about the teachers that have tenure but really should be retired??? Other than that reason, why are they not good?
2007-02-09 04:40:53 · 4 answers · asked by Jada C 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
Other folks have pointed out why unions are bad since "bad" teachers stay in their position, but even without a union, you can still have ineffective teachers that stay in the profession. What if there aren't many teachers to chose from?
In NC, we need teacher unions since our teachers are paid almost the lowest salaries in the United States. The teacher burn-out rate is very high. New teachers are placed in the poorest schools. I agree unions can cause damage if they try to get wages for teachers the community can't afford, but what happens when communities could care less about paying for education? This state does everything it can to bust unions, so pay will probably stay low for teachers.
I work at a community college in NC, and again our salaries are some of the lowest in the nation. People are retiring in droves, and there aren't people available with masters and doctorate degrees who are willing to teach for such low wages.
Our NC universities on the other hand, are some of the best in the US and professors get paid some of the top wages in the nation...it's the rest of us who are forgotten. I'm getting my master's degree now so I can work at a university. There's no future at a community college or the public school system in this state.
Good question!
2007-02-09 08:32:13 · answer #1 · answered by edith clarke 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The teachers unions are difficult because it's almost impossible to get a bad teacher out of the system. Also, if there are cutbacks, the younger teachers without tenure will automatically get the boot, even if they do a better job than the tenured teachers. Another point is that it pushes the salaries through the roof. In my area (Chicago suburbs), the average salaries for grade school teachers is around $75,000. Of course, the district has a very weak science program (can't afford the equipment), low end technology (again, can't afford the equipment), very few student workbooks (too expensive). See where I'm going with this? The teachers unions put the welfare of their members above the students' best interests.
2007-02-09 12:47:54 · answer #2 · answered by SuzeY 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The downside to teachers unions is that they protect the jobs of very bad teachers. They also insist that very bad, undeserving teachers are paid the same as good ones.
2007-02-09 12:45:03 · answer #3 · answered by Lisa A 7 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Read John Stossell's latest book he has a section on that
2007-02-09 12:45:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋