From: elg@elgamy.sccsi.com (Eric Lee Green)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.elections,misc.education
Subject: Re: AFT
Date: 2 Sep 92 23:05:15 GMT
Organization: Eric's Amiga 2000 @ Home

From article <1992Sep1.154627.26429@fid.morgan.com>, by joec@fid.morgan.com (Joe Collins):
> In article <00714892536@elgamy.sccsi.com> elg@elgamy.sccsi.com (Eric Lee Green) writes:
>>When I asked about membership in the HFT (the local affiliate of the AFT),
>>I asked "What have they done for teachers?"
>>
>>Well, here's an example:
>>
>>At many schools, teachers were being required to work as unpaid
>>administrative assistants. Teachers had to fill in as much as 45 minutes
>>worth of paperwork every morning, paperwork that could have been done in
>>three minutes by a computer or by central office staff if central office
>>staff actually worked for a living.
>
> Sounds like they are salaried and need to be flexible, i.e. pitch in where
> needed. I am salaried and always pitch in where needed - thats one way to
> advance.

I'm perfectly willing to pitch in. I contribute to faculty meetings,
probably will be serving on one or two committees soon, fill out all
sorts of IEP's and such required by the federal government, etc. etc. etc.
However, the fact remains that I was hired to teach children, not to churn
out paperwork for the bureaucrats in the central office to use to justify
their do-nothing jobs.

The way I see it, the biggest problem wasn't the 45 minutes worth of
paperwork. It was the fact that the paperwork had to be done first thing in
the morning -- the most productive minutes of a child's schoolday. When
kids get to school, they are fresh and if not eager to learn, at least
ready to learn. By the time afternoon comes around, kids are tired and
cranky and you can't do a whole lot with them. At my school, afternoons are
used for social studies, health, and other such "non-essential" coursework,
because after 1pm or so the kids have just had it. Their little minds have
gone as far as they can go. They need a break. If we had extended school
days I could give them a break to rest and recharge their batteries, but
given that this isn't possible, well, the kids are at least learning
SOMETHING about health and social studies.

So 45 minutes of paperwork at the beginning of the day is roughly 1/3rd of
the total available academic-on-task time. Meaning the kids learn 1/3rd
less than they otherwise would.

It's a shame that it took a lawsuit and a state law to change that
situation... of course, I'm not going to say that the AFT did it out of
interest for the kids. But this is one case where the interests of the kids
and the interests of the teachers were one and the same.

> Its great that their primary role is to teach but, again - lets all
> be flexible towards the common goal. You *never* hear of a private employer
> suing his employer to define his job - most employers would toss the
> employee out, since we don't have the luxury of tenure. But I gladly give up

You seem to believe that the common goal of school central offices is the
education of children. It's not. The common goal of school central offices
is to justify their jobs. They could care less about the kids.

That's what comes of having a public monopoly. Any private business which
ignored its clientelle (the kids) in favor of petty power games and job
justification would soon become uncompetitive and slowly go bankrupt.

In other words, a private employee doesn't have to sue his employer to
define his job -- his job is defined by the clientelle. If the clientelle
aren't served, the business dies. But large school systems don't work like
that. Past a certain point, people are more interested in protecting their
derriere than in serving the kids.

> job security so that I then have job flexibility, an even better form of
> job security.

I agree. But right now, due to the public school monopoly, I do not have
job flexibility. Given that I lack this job flexibility, I'm going to take
any advantage I can get towards my goal (which, alas, is not the common
goal): Educating kids.

>>I've had to fill out two different kinds of forms since I started my
>>current job: the daily attendance report, and my book request cards. That's
>
>>If this action had been possible via individual action, I wouldn't have
>>been interested. But as long as local school districts hold a virtual
>>monopoly on teaching positions (I can't afford to teach at a private
>>school), there is a definite place for organizations such as the AFT
>>and HFT.
>
> Why not leave or change careers if it becomes intolerable?

Because of the kids.

The kids are there whether I'm there or not. And they deserve better
teachers than the sort of scum that floats to the top of dead ponds. If all
us good teachers get out of the profession because of the petty power games
and nonsense politics, who's going to teach the kids?

I must admit that organizations such as the AFT and HFT are not primarily
about the education of children. They are about pay raises and job
grievances and other such things. That doesn't mean that they're not
useful, however.

> Local school districts have enormous power over teachers and parents.
> I would much rather have it be a cooperative partnership between parents
> and teachers and with everyone else excluded.

Definitely agreed!

>>None of this would be a problem if we had school choice, which is why I am
>>an advocate of school choice. When schools are responsible for their own
>>results and parents can choose accordingly, teachers can choose the schools
>>in their area which have a compatible philosophy and be rewarded for
>>results accordingly. Right now, though, with the virtual monopoly power
>>that public school systems have today, I need any advantage that I can get.
>
> Interesting view point....I want school choice for very different reasons
> and we come from different perspectives but we share the same goal.
> I still *detest* unions and the whole concept but I see your point.

I'm not particularly fond of the rather strident tone taken by the local
union, myself. It's a shame, really, that we teachers have to join such an
organization just to have a tiny bit of influence into the local education
scene (because, alas, central administration NEVER gets teacher input when
they're about to do something that'll affect us -- they do it now, tell us
later).

--
 Eric Lee Green  elg@elgamy.sccsi.com         Dodson Elementary
 (713) 437-6908  uunet!nuchat!elgamy!elg      Houston, TX
                "Kids are kids, no matter what"
Newsgroups: alt.politics.elections