...An MCEA endorsement raises serious concerns about any candidate for the Board of Education. Board members oversee education in Montgomery County and bargain with the MCEA regarding teacher employment. Candidates who curry favor with the MCEA before an election cannot be expected to deal at arm's length with the MCEA after the election. Such candidates (particularly incumbents) have signaled a preference for satisfying the demands of the union rather than the interests of the public...
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Educating Montgomery voters on teacher endorsements
The Washington Post - Letter to the Editor: Educating Montgomery voters on teacher endorsements
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I want to know why it would be so bad to have a Board of Education member who wants to work with the teachers? Do you really want to send your child to a school in a system where the teachers don't feel supported? Why would you send your child into a potentially hostile enviornment?
ReplyDeleteYes, as a teacher I expect the contract I voted for to be honored. I do expect to get paid what my multiple degrees say I'm worth. I have more education than any lawyer, yet get paid a fraction of their paycheck. As teachers most of us go to school on our own dimes, getting several degrees past our Bachelor's degree. I would also think that you would want the BOE to work with the teachers to make sure your child's teacher made enough money working in the district that they wouldn't have to get a second or third job just to get by. Wouldn't it be better if that time were spent making engaging lesson plans for your child's class, giving effective feedback on your child's work, or grading the reassessment that the BOE says we must give your child to make sure they are successful?
I know I am a public employee, but I would think that after 10 years of working in MCPS that I should be able to afford to buy a house in the county I work in (I can't). I live in an adjacent county and am actually happy that my children won't attend school in MCPS. MCPS BOE doesn't listen to the teachers. They have cut electives, arts, and music even though it has been shown they help raise test scores because they aren't explicitly tested. It hasn't listened to the Math teachers who for the past 9 years have said an excelerated Math curriculum isn't best for all students and DOES leave students behind. Their response...form a study group, which has been "studying" the problem for 3 years, with little to no change. Had they worked with the teachers 9 years ago think of how many students would have had the appropriate math classes and skills instead of being pushed ahead just so the BOE could flaunt the percentage of students who took Algebra I in 8th grade.
So my question is this...why wouldn't you want a BOE who works with the teachers? Ultimately it is the teachers who are teaching your children, not the BOE. Teachers are looking out for your child's best interest...as a teacher I question whether the BOE truly is.