We needed to get rid of the Federally Corrupt Department of Education (thanks, Mr. President), which was an ATM machine for the corrupt politicians and unions. The 30% of the valid programs will be moved to other, more responsible departments. Now we need to finish off the unions and school boards, which they control. We have 10,000,000+ people employed in the K-12 education system in the US; only 4,200,000 are teachers. Even as taxpayers, we pay some union workers directly? We don’t have a money problem; we have a management problem.
Eliminate the unions and the very ineffective middle and upper management, and pay teachers 50% more, with incentives included. The poor teachers also pay the unions for nothing but grief.
30%+ of teachers have quit the unions, and the tipping point will be 40%. That’s when the unions can’t penalize or, better yet, terrorize the teachers who quit. We totally believe in organized labor, but the teachers need to run their organizations themselves by state.
The leaders should not be paid; they should do it for two-year terms for the prestige of doing the right thing for their fellow teachers but will need some paid support staff. At $25.00 a year in dues per teacher, that’s $125,000,000, which is plenty of capital to run their support system, negotiate higher pay, equal rights, and better working conditions. Then, stay out of politics as a group—let the teachers handle their own politics individually.
A voucher system is a must to protect the underserved and less fortunate, allowing them to have a voice and expose the bad teachers. There aren’t that many bad teachers, but enough to make the good ones mad and look bad.
I think teachers are the most important profession we have. Let’s let them do their job with the parents, who need to step up.
