As I finished
reading this book, I was struck by the WE story. That is one of the current problems
in my district. WE do not have a contract and WE are being picked on and
bullied by OUR governor. WE are going into our third year without a contract. WE
are state operated and final control lies with the governor that hates
teachers. WE try to sit down and negotiate terms of the contract, but THEY
won’t play with US.
WE won an award
for back pay because THEY violated the block-scheduling clause in the contract.
Now, THEY have to pay thousands of dollars in compensation to US. THEY won ‘t let that go and are trying to
find new language to change that part of the contract while holding up 3200
other people in the unit.
HOW do THEM, and
WE get to US? WE have hired a mediator, again. Every contract year the union
needs to do this to move the district to action and to develop a contract. The
district has been state run for 22 years and it only gets worse. It is no
wonder we are a failing district, although I believe all districts throughout
the country were expected to fail under NCLB because of the business of charter
schools and big business.
OUR children are
the ones who are suffering. WE ask, WHERE are the parents? WHY aren’t THEY
screaming foul when THEM, (the district), fired ALL world language teachers,
art and music teachers, librarians, tech coordinators, and academic support
teachers? ALL of US, do the downward spiral, yet WE are blamed. WE are held accountable
and evaluated by test scores that are a poor judgment of how and what children
really learn.
So, how do WE
become US? At this point in time, WE don’t. THEY won’t let US be. What has
happened here? How did it get so out of control? There is no happy ending here
right now. THIS has to be played out with mediators, arbitrators, and patience.
US, THEM, WE, OUR, I, it doesn’t matter, THEY are all unreasonable and ALL of
US suffer. Oh MY!
Image Source: Microsoft Office Clipart: MP900309634
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very passionate and emotional. There seems to be quite a bit of discontent at your school. It is a shame that you have been working without a contract for three years and have been ran by the state for over 22 years. Why haven’t the teachers went out on strike? It seems as thought it may be time for that process to move forward. I don’t know everything in regards to rules when the state takes over. Do they have the right to layoff staff if they go on strike? I agree with your assumption that NCLB truly set districts up for failure. Charter school s are definitely not the answer! Our children are suffering and the communities within schools that are failing are reaching out. Is there a parent committee that could be started so that they parents in your community know that they have a voice? I know that sometimes, based on the community, that the families are working at a survival level and do not have the time or energy to raise political support because they are just trying to make ends meet to pay their bills and feed their families. Maybe see if the teachers are interested in starting a parent group.
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteYou could only write a blog post like this if you truly understood the WE concept. I am sorry that the situation seems so bleak in your school districts. You are right of the push for charter schools and the privatization of education. Some places are trying to get public education to fail, no matter how it hurts current students or the students who will not be able to afford the education later. I hope they THEY will get with Y'ALL (sorry, I'm from Texas) and the US can move forward to find an educational solution that will benefit everyone.
Ouch. I'm so sorry that you are living through such an obvious example of the failure of leadership to see that there is no US or THEM and when they work against teachers they are working against themselves.
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