Ah, the battle cry of the "reformers." Schools are for the children, not for the adults that work there. If the adults are treated well, the children must be getting a bad deal. I suppose, therefore, public school teachers in NYC must be the best since we have the lowest pay, the highest class sizes, and the worst working conditions in the area.
Oddly, though, the theme song of Mayor Bloomberg and his "reforms" is still "Children First." Now he's managed to worsen working conditions for teachers considerably, so you'd think he'd be satisfied. But every time the UFT tosses away another hard-earned right, he demands more.
Perhaps he's just jealous. In New Orleans, they've beaten Mayor Bloomberg at his own game. After President Bush did a heckuva job with Hurricane Katrina, he managed to privatize, voucherize, and charterize most of those nasty public schools. And it turns out that the new charter schools don't offer health benefits to retiring teachers.
So when Dennis Mischler went back to work after a leave of absence, he couldn't return to his former workplace. Now this certainly shows that the Lusher Charter School, where he worked before it became a charter school, is not concerned about adults. Bravo!, cry the "reformers." Parents are less convinced:
...one Lusher parent complains that Mischler feels forced to leave midyear -- and that other teachers might need to leave school shortly before their retirements as well."I just find it very frustrating that the School Board would think that it would be an educationally sound move to yank a teacher out of a classroom," said Lonnie Smith, whose four children attend Lusher.
After the parents, the only hitch for the "reformers" is the children they care about so much. The sad truth is that they're very likely to become adults (the same selfish oafs we have to stop worrying about), and will face a world of fewer and less desirable opportunities. Who wants a career that dumps you after 20 years with no insurance? Who wants their kids to have such careers?
You can't minimize the importance of medical insurance. I just got a bill for some medical tests that came to almost $2,000. GHI paid $136, and I have to send $15, so the company was able to profit even after offering GHI a 90% discount. The poor shmoe without insurance is out of pocket for 2000 bucks. Should teachers have to wait till they're eligible for Medicare to retire? Will the prospect of a miserable future attract the best and brightest?
Clearly some think so. But young people don't always consider they'll one day be old people, and things are not getting easier in these United States. When I was a kid, I lived across the street from a guy who worked in a bread factory. He was the sole support of his family of six. Today, they'd be living in a tree, and not one in a very good neighborhood either.
There's more to life than test scores. There's the future of our children, and as far as I can see, once they pass those tests, the "reformers" don't give a damn about them. Let's leave things better, not worse, for our children, for the people who will have to work here.
Thanks to Schools Matter and Schoolgal
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