Outside+Readings

[|Unions and Budgets in Wisconsin] I know you guys have probably been hearing a lot about this, but I think it is very important and fits in with some of my ideas about the readings this week. Gov. Walker's bill will affect us profusely when we become teachers. Without unions we have no one to fight for anything, but our wages. So if they decide we are going to make classroom sizes 36 then we as teachers cannot argue, if they decide they are going to cut art, music, or p.e. we cannot argue, and this bill allows them to walk into our classroom one day and say we don't want you anymore you cost too much money as a teacher for 30 years with a master degree don't come back tomorrow and no one can fight for our right- no job security. Not only will we not be able to fight for our rights, but teachers will take a pay cut and have to may more for the benefits. My mom is currently a teacher and she told me that right now teachers get paid for 9 months out of the year, but with the cuts/benefit payments it will be like taking a months worth of pay cut (so getting paid for about 8 months of work). THATS SCARY TO ME.

This is how I have interpreted the information please correct me if I am wrong about anything. -Katie

[|Some Area Private, Charter Schools Test-Driving Merit Pay] It's a coincidence that I found this article because we actually touched on this subject in class today. As we mentioned, a test-driven merit pay system would be very difficult for teachers who believe in Progressivism or Critical Pedagogy. Looking at it from an Essentialism angle, I think it would be beneficial for a lot of school. It would drive teachers to work harder and help their students learn more. Just like they call it in the article, a little extra bonus. For the core subjects, they would use typical standardized tests which everyone loves. For subjects such as art or gym, they are eligible for merit pay based on whole school achievement and their evaluations, though they cannot earn as much as core-subject teachers. This article was interesting to read. And it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. --Kylie

Teachers protest Walker's bill I also found an article on Scott Walker's new budget bill. Seeing how this bill with directly affect us, it really concerns me. I don't see why Walker is trying to do away with a system that has worked for so many years. Teacher unions have a purpose and that's why we have them. This article continues to talk about how teachers are very upset with Walker's new bill. The president of the Verona teacher's union stated that if a teacher made 55,000 dollars a year they could expect a 6,000 dollar cut in take home pay. Now I think that is a TON of money to be cut. In my opinion this bill is making some dramatic changes and is being rushed. Walker needs to think about what he is doing and how it will affect many people. It was be interesting to see the outcome and if the bill will be voted on this Thursday. -- Kayla

[|Overlooked facts about charter schools] written by Shawgi Tell

The entire debate that you guys have brought up with respect to the whole Walker bill and merit-based pay is very interesting to me. I don't think that I have ever read so much news before these last few weeks. I find myself continually influenced to sympathize with a different side of the argument. I am not saying that I support Walker's bill or that I am anti- teachers' unions, but in an effort to better understand both sides of the debate, I have tried to open my mind some. I've come to decide that one thing that really bothers me about the unions is their unwillingness to compromise and to allow various forms of education.

A great example of this for me is the charter schools. I think that charter schools are a wonderful idea, and it was hard for me to imagine why anyone would be against them. They have such wonderful reputations for having high quality of education, and I love the idea that teachers with different philosophies can all implement their ideas in different ways. We should have a variety in education because we have a variety of students.

The article that I have found actually lists several negative facts about charter schools. Althought the article is obviously very heavily biased, it does cause me to reconsider my ideas on charter schools. I'm wondering now if the wonderful reputation is actually a media hype that is not necessarily true, a little like the "nation at risk" that convinced the whole country that the education system was failing even though in reality it was seeing slow but steady progress.

- Since posting the above article, I have noticed that the article is no longer available. It appears as though it has been removed. However, while searching for a new link, I found this [|response] to the article that Tell had written. It defends charter schools and looks to disprove the arguments made in the above article. I am suspicious that the first article was removed because it contained statements that were misleading or inaccurate.

Whatever the case may be, the point remains that there are good and bad charter schools and there positive and negative aspects of each one just like in public schools. The response article describes one successful charter school but also mentions two other failing schools that lost their charters.

The conclusion I have come to is that charter schools are not all that they are perceived to be and that they suffer from many of the same problems that traditional public schools do. However, I do not believe that opposition to them is a necessary or beneficial stance. They offer the opportunity to experiment with and experience various methods of teaching and allow students and their parents to discover the learning environment that is best suited for them or their children.