It seems today that the most unbelievable stories come out of the educational system. The 4 year old who brings a tic tac to school and get’s suspended until he’s 17. You know–those stories.

Well here is a post that unfortunately isn’t shocking. It’s not shocking because the teachers unions have the states tied up just like the UAW has the big three automakers.

This story is important for a lot of reasons. It shows a pattern. It’s not just my own beloved State of Utah that is getting shellacked. It’s lots, if not all states. Teachers right now are fighting for money. States are in the red and need to cut operating costs. Teachers are actually picketing against cut backs. They think EVERY teacher is valuable.

This report shows that every teacher is not valuable. You don’t have to be a molester to not be valuable. The real point of this story is that it is almost impossible to get laid off as a teacher. Teachers that are just not that good need to be let go. Not just the really blatant ones.

These are our kids. They deserve the best. They don’t deserve a situation where the unqualified can’t get let go.

Think about it. Do you want to eat at a Burger King that absolutely won’t let go of its employees? Do you want to go to a doctors office that won’t let go of its employees? Do you want to take your care to a brake shop that won’t let go of its employees? Then why do you want your 5 year old spending 35 hours a week with a teacher who can’t be let go?

Read this….

My boy Hunter is in 7^th grade. It’s his first year of junior high and this semester he is taking health class. Based on the subject matter it sounds more like sociology than health. Recently they have been talking about drugs, mental problems and blended families. So in order to learn about these topics they watch television shows and movies. They watched ten minutes a day of the movie “What about Bob” and “Man of the House”. They even watched the show “Full House.”

Unfortunately that is the best Alpine School District can do. But I guess I would rather him watching Full House than leaning investigations math. 

It’s a well known fact that college educators are predominantly liberal. For years I ignorantly assumed that this didn’t apply to K-12 educators. I thought they were “normal” meaning they were just as likely to be liberal or conservative as other citizens. I no longer hold that opinion. Educators tend to be liberal.

I think my previous assumption came from the fact that K-12 educators are not as personally vocal on liberal causes. University professors use television and publishing to champion their beliefs. Even those working for state schools are given tenure which allows them to champion personal beliefs while at work. Since K-12 educators are working with children I think there is an unspoken pressure stay silent to avoid the appearance of indoctrinating children.

For the last eight years I have had children in elementary and junior high schools. In dealing with teachers, teachers unions, principals, school districts and organizations such as the PTA; I have realized that they are fierce liberal organizations. They believe in the tenants of liberalism. They agree with the platform of the Democratic National Committee. They are outspoken on issues that have nothing to do with education.

The California Teachers Association is the #1 contributor in the fight against California’s Proposition 8 marriage amendment. They have donated over $1.3 million dollars to that cause. Don’t be fooled. They are not doing it to defend the interests of a few gay and lesbian teachers. They are doing it because as an organization they are liberal to the core. There are definitely thousands of teachers around the country who are conservative or even non-political but the organizations that represent them are liberal. 

We must stop thinking of teaching as a high and noble calling. It is a job. Teachers teach because they want a paycheck and they believe teaching will be an enjoyable way of earning the money. That’s not a put down. That is why mechanics fix cars. They want a paycheck and they believe working on cars will be an enjoyable way of earning the money. 

Every teacher should be treated individually and with the respect owed to any human being but teachers unions, school boards, school districts and the PTA are liberal bastions. They fight for liberal ideas and values. They are not centrists. They should be treated like the NAACP, NOW, ACLU, MoveOn, Sierra Club etc. Those organizations are recognized for being liberal and when they speak you know what is going to come out of their mouth. 

Liberal organizations have a right to exist and be respected but they should be known for what they are. Educational organizations have not been categorized with other liberal organizations because they want to work both sides of the fence. They want to be free to push a liberal agenda but be considered mainstream and centrist. They want to hide behind the facade of being, “for the children”. They are not “for the children”. They are for liberalism.

These organizations are always run by former educators and they are supported by educators. Educators are wholly responsible for their liberal message.

“In my daughters parent teacher conference we expressed our concern about the lack of spelling words and tests. And that my daughter really struggled with spelling.  Her teacher’s response was, ‘all she needs to know is how to click the spell check button on her computer. No one needs to know how to spell anymore.'” Teacher in Jordan Utah School District

“I want my boys to be able to add up their groceries as they shop. ‘Now everyone has a calculator on their cell phone. We don’t need to be able to add up numbers in our head anymore.’” Principal in Alpine Utah School District

I have zero confidence in the Utah educational system, but I assume this is common around the country.

Though we all need to express outrage over these responses, I believe this trend will continue. It is easy to relax standards and difficult to get them increased. That is especially true of government programs and departments.

I recently took a test from a career recruiter. It was a one hour test and had a section on math. Calculators were NOT allowed. Here are a few samples from the three page math section:

5.5 / 2 =

3.06 – 1.25 =

.19 * 1.2 = 4(-2)² + 8(-2) + 3(-2) + 5 = 

30 + (.0835 x 30) + (15% x 30) = 

548% / 26% =

4/5 x 1 1/6 =  

Now I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed but it’s been fifteen years since college; I found working these problems by hand was a little awkward. In high school and college I did untold pages of these types of problems. Doing them without knowing how to carry, borrow, use long division or having my times tables memorized would be extremely difficult.

My point is this; children need to be taught the basics. They need to be able to work out problems on a piece of paper and not have to rely on a calculator. They need to be able to write a note on a Post-it and stick it to someone’s door without having to use a spell checker.

Bottom Line: We need to push for vouchers so we can select the school that will most benefit our children.