I Don’t Give A F Wins Another One?

Generally in teachers union elections the position of “I don’t give a f***” gets the most votes  in contract ratifications, election of officers, and so forth.  In other words non-votes far outpace votes.

Looks like despite all the noise about the contract and everything else there is a small participation problem in D.C. (pdf) and that Mr./Mrs. I don’t give a…is poised to win again.

Remember, can’t have charters because they get in the way of all this teacher voice!  And remember, no one has ever seen teachers in DC so fired up…

Update: Antonucci has more.

16 Replies to “I Don’t Give A F Wins Another One?”

  1. And now, the other side of the story:
    Saunders said the election committee has never had a complete membership, so the sudden concern about its composition is bogus. He also said he never asked AFT to intervene in the election, only to clarify the rules. He said that with Weingarten’s stake in the ratification of the contract, the notion of AFT’s involvement in the contest is ludicrous. Saunders made an unsuccessful attempt to get the Dept. of Labor to oversee the race.

    “It is absolutely crazy,” Saunders said. “The AFT can’t hold an impartial election.”

    Parker did not return a phone message Thursday.
    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/

    And George Parker’s stewardship of the union:
    While the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) office was opened Friday for business- no WTU Executive Board meeting was scheduled this second Saturday of the month as required. Not only was a meeting not scheduled by President George Parker- there was ‘NO NOTICE ‘ of our regularly scheduled meeting this time, not even a notice that there would be a cancellation. I checked with three other WTU Exec. Board members to see if I had missed something. Well other executive board members have not heard nary a word either.

    Do I detect a pattern here or what ? So it seems that under the helm of WTU Prez’ George Parker we have once again failed to hold another monthly executive board meeting. Who pray tell is conducting the business of our teachers’ union ? Certainly it is not our elected membership.
    Here is a list of seven in total of the WTU Executive Board meetings and Representative Assembly meetings that have been cancelled recently by President George Parker :
    February 13, 2010 WTU Executive Board meeting (not held)
    January 26, 2010 WTU Representative Assembly meeting (cancelled abruptly)
    January 28, 2010 WTU Executive Board meeting postponed
    December 12, 2009 WTU Executive Board meeting cancelled
    November 13, 2009 WTU Executive Board meeting cancelled
    October 10,2009 WTU Executive Board meeting cancelled
    September 12, 2009 WTU Executive Board meeting (not held)

    http://thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com/2010/02/no-wtu-executive-board-meeting-for-you.html

    Sly Stone:
    “I caught you smilin’, again.”

  2. All teachers want is someone at the table with a voice. Teachers pay their union dues to let their leaders to do the talking. Much respect to Michelle Rhee, but if I were a teacher in DC I would want her to have to think about how a unionized teacher force would react to her policies.

    Most of the “DGAF” crowd still pays dues, don’t they? Union membership would drop, not anti-ratification votes, if the union stopped doing that.

  3. Virtually all teachers I know put their energy into their teaching.
    They focus on the union when salary comes up and when a putz of a principal wants to shat on them (like the principal who dropped a porno mag shot of cunninglingus on the lap of one of his teachers and said, “Hmm, that looks good.”)

    So teacher “buy-in” doesn’t mean what the unions want, but what the teachers want.

    But what do teachers know?
    Obviously, not as much as rock stars “reformers” like Michelle Rhee, Andy Rotherham or Mike Antonucci.

    What’s that line from Shakespeare’s Henry VI?
    “First, let’s kill all the teachers.”

    (“Yeah, I was cured alright.”-Alex)

  4. So teacher “buy-in” doesn’t mean what the unions want, but what the teachers want.

    Wow. Hold on tighter next time you’re on the turnip truck.

  5. The idea that teachers don’t show up for elections because they don’t care is ludicrous. They don’t show up because they are busy professionals taking care of their students and their own families.

  6. Teachers want someone at the table who is on their side for other reasons than the fact that they pay union dues. Often times, people forget that teachers are professionals who have received either a bachelors, masters, or sometimes doctorate in education. Therefore, they want an official that will actually show them respect.

  7. Mike, I prostrate before your decades of work in the classroom.
    Or maybe it was three years, like the Baltimore Miracle.

    I want your ugly
    I want your disease
    I want your everything
    As long as it’s free

  8. Yes, teachers in DC and across the nation are fired up! They are demanding real changes for children: health care, social supports, preschool, parent involvement, experienced and fully credentialed teachers. These effective teachers are especially needed in our most challenging schools where students often get new and inexperienced instructors with “emergency” credentials. Needless to say, these people are rarely, if ever, hired in the affluent suburbs.

    Teachers are also fighting to make sure school tax dollars go to students and do not disappear into corporate pockets. Charter school fraud is rampant in many states and needs to be stopped before it is totally out of control. We can depend on our nation’s teachers to guard the tax dollars.

    Most of all, teachers understand that to attract talented men and women to the profession we need to make teaching an attractive career for young people. We can start by showing the teachers we have some gratitude and respect. The vast number of these people are hardworking and dedicated public servants. Teaching is the most self-selective of all professions with 50% dropping out in the first five years. Some of these people understand that they are not suited to the challenges of teaching, but others need more help in order to be successful. We need to do a better job of offering that help.

    Teachers are among the most dedicated and selfless workers in our country. A big thank you to those of you who are still in the classroom.

  9. Linda, you are absolutely right. We are in constant need of solid, effective teachers. I’m sure many individuals who would be teachers do not enter the field, because they realize that teachers are often shown little respect. However, new teachers must realize this coming into the profession. They simply have to be in it for the students above all else.

  10. Yes, I’m sure new teachers must realize the lack of respect so many people show for teachers. Some want to teach so badly that they have eyes only for the classroom and that is a very good thing. However, research tells us that many capable students would not consider K-12 teaching because of the lack of respect, professional autonomy, working conditions and salaries. This is the biggest problem we face.

    We must do better.

  11. The 2009 PDK poll showed that 7 out of 10 Americans would like one of their children to teach in the public schools, the highest approval rating in more than 30 years. I don’t see widespread lack of respect there at all.

  12. The “lack of respect” comes from the beautiful people, those who know better as Andrew Rotherham described them.

  13. Art, that is really interesting the PDK poll showed 7 out of 10 parents would like one of their children to teach in a public school. However, I still think that we need to be critical of one poll. I would be willing to bet that parents would rather see their children become something that pays better than a teacher. Plus if teachers were held in such high regard, why don’t they have better wages and working conditions.

  14. I do believe that the majority of Americans have much respect for teachers; that probably explains why so many citizens support teachers in political contexts. In my state, teachers are second only to the clergy, and ahead of physicians, in terms of trust the public accords them.

    That said, teacher morale is quite low right now because of the teacher-bashing that is being carried out by a sizable group of people intent on discrediting our schools for personal and financial gain. These individuals, almost never teachers themselves, are constantly talking about those few teachers who are less than effective, making the rest feel stimatized and unappreciated. Sadly many of these teachers are no longer encouraging their own children or students to enter the profession. As I have said many times before, I believe this is likely the most serious problem we have in education in our country.

    Those who care for our children value the people who serve them.

  15. The 2008 Met Life teacher survey reported ..

    “A majority of teachers (62%) are very satisfied with their careers, compared to 40% in 1984.

    More teachers (66%) feel respected in society today, compared to 47% in 1984. Nearly twice as many teachers in 2008 agree that their jobs allow them the opportunity to earn a decent salary (66%), compared to 1984 (37%).”

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