 |
CAT Tracks for August 3, 2013
DEMANDING 'GREATNESS' FROM TEACHERS |
From the article below:
The full article:
From the Washington Post...
The problem with ‘the problem with teachers’
This article especially resonated with me in light of an article e-mailed to me earlier this week from a colleague somewhat to the right of me on the political spectrum.
Well, as you will note, the article has since been "updated, corrected" to cast doubt upon the claims made in that original defense, considerably undermining any "ammunition" that it may have provided.
From the forbes.com website...
How Much Would A Big Mac Cost If McDonald's Workers Were Paid $15 Per Hour? (Updated, Corrected)
Well, it is certainly not surprising that defenders of the realm would quickly lash out at such heresy. After all, "po folk" don't tend to subscribe to or read Forbes magazine. The readers of Forbes would be in the board rooms sipping their lattes, not in the kitchen flipping burgers.
But, one thing in the article remained the same...
...the closing paragraph:
The answer to low wages in the United States, my friend, is its public education system...
...and those damn not-so-great teachers.
There's your basic hypocrisy...
The driving force, the deep pockets behind school reform decry an allegedly substandard public education system, pointing the finger of blame squarely at "bad teachers" when, in fact, it's what they want...
...for other people's children.
With unlimited greed, the well-to-do want their children "out of the system", but they resent having to pay for the privilege. So, they put down public education, pushing for vouchers and charter schools that would reduce their out-of-pocket expenses for segregating their precious little darlings. But, hey, squeezing every penny is how the rich became rich in the first place.
What is the chief obstacle - the only obstacle - to their desire to maintain low wages in the food industry (and every other occupation except CEO?)
Unions!
As pointed out in the first article:
Using the self-righteous smoke screen of wanting to save poor children from "failing schools" and "bad teachers", deep-pocket school reformers are accomplishing their actual agenda...
...eliminate tenure for teachers, allowing the powers-that-be to weed out those ingrates (radicals!) who would stand up and demand higher wages and better working conditions.
The leaders behind the "school reform" curtain envision a "fast food" teaching force...
...teachers who will shut up and...
Every day, capable, caring teachers and prospective teachers opt out of the profession simply because they see that the buck stops unfairly at them, that it is the teacher’s fault that they are not great enough to accomplish the impossible.
Also:
Even indirectly blaming teachers for the symptoms of poverty can divert attention from those who profit from having the poor available to do menial work for subsistence wages.
NOTE: My conservative friend expressed trepidation at providing me with "this kind of ammunition", the original article being a defense of fast food workers being paid a "living wage" - twice the going rate - the argument being that such a wage would not have the impact on fast food prices as opponents argue.
The article:
Dr. Bittlingmayer described discussions on fast food wages as a symptom of a larger problem: the U.S. school system. “Low wages for adults are a sign that something didn’t go right in terms of education and work experience,” he said. “We’re not addressing the cause.”
Placing blame also can and will break one of the last labor unions capable of delivering middle class compensation packages for its employees and damage teachers’ political clout.
