Teachers protest outside Seattle’s Franklin High School
In case you’re wondering, the Seattle Times editorial board isn’t too pleased with today’s one-day teacher walkout in the Seattle, Mercer Island, and Issaquah school districts, because the children!
The only clear consequence of Tuesday’s walkout by Seattle teachers is that students will lose one precious day of instruction.
Oh no! The children are going to lose one precious day of school!
This one-day protest extends the last day of school from Monday, June 15 — ending on a Monday is a strange decision itself — to Tuesday, June 16.
Wait. Um, doesn’t the second sentence in their editorial totally contradict their first? (Not to mention their entire thesis?)
I know, I know… their argument is that moving the day from now to then makes the school year functionally one day shorter, but that’s just plain stupid. Their lede is factually wrong. Jesus. What a bunch of fucking morons.
I was going to fisk their entire editorial, but if they’re not going to take their work seriously then neither am I.
Damn those fucking teachers for wanting society to take its (Constitutional no less) responsibility to adequately fund PUBLIC education seriously…the fucking NERVE.
DAMN THEM!
Funk The Seattle Times.
The think of the children argument is a joke when we’re talking about striking one day on behalf of the children.
ill give them credit for uncovering the Jay inslee allowing neurotoxin to be dumped in our bays to kill midshrimp, but most of their 15 dollar an hour min. Wage shit has been a hyperbolic joke.
That’s why there’s estranger, horses ads and Joel Connelly, even if Joel spends half of his articles trying to bring down Sawant.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/def.....=41.56.120
@3 What’s your point? Are you suggesting the state should attempt to break the teachers unions like Reagan broke the air traffic controllers? You want to shut down the schools, that’s one way to do it.
@4, Sounds like a plan.
Yawn,
Don’t you realize that laws don’t mean anything to DUMMOCRETINS or unions? The ends always justifies the means!
@5 You’ve got a point. We don’t need college-educated, certificated teachers to teach public school kids that climate change is a hoax, evolution is bunk, and praying more will solve all their problems. From your perspective, that curriculum can be taught by immigrants who just got off the boat and will work for $7.25 an hour.
Then again we could actually consider what it takes to have a world class education system. One where our children receive a real education. First not all superior education takes place in the classroom so the whole total classroom hour thing is an American thing we take way too seriously and the rest of the world laughs at us. Students who can’t cut college or don’t want too should have be able to attend a technical school that is paid for by the pubic. Music, art, history, geography, acting are also subjects our children should at least be exposed to. Children should be taught how to do real research and spend time in the library. They should have an after school program whether it’s sports, chess, music that they participate in after school at the school for 1 to 2 hours and yes it’s also about them developing social skills. Summer school should be cool an not just for the slow kids.
School teachers should be among the highest paid professionals in every community across Washington state as they are in most of the world. They should also be respected members of the community. Their concerns should be addressed and they shouldn’t have to go on strike to make a point to the legislature.
I doubt any of the proposals are going to met this level. It’s what we should be doing or striving for. If we want to compete in the world economy like all our politicians say is important. Then again for education to achieve what is possible it does mean paying for education at all our schools.
It may also mean a different parenting attitude where we push and demand that our kids achieve and that may require us to spend many hours with our children. Sometimes at the table helping them struggle through a math problem. A writing project. Taking them to a museum. A zoo. Taking advantage of teachable moments. Going to the library. Reading to your child. Having your child read to you.
Perhaps our legislators should consider what Plato thought our brightest and best should have as an education and contemplate that cost. Equestrian lessons don’t come cheap.
@5,
really? So fill us in on the rest of your plan. Because unlike federal Air Traffic Controllers, these employees you’re targeting mostly have adanced educations and lots of practical experience doing things employers in the rest of the marketplace look for. So after you’ve closed all the schools, and locked them all out, what then?
What happens after you’ve broken the union and the ranks of certificate holders available to be re-hired have been thinned by about a third? What then? Who do you plan to hire to replace them? Describe that applicant in detail.
@9 See #7, that’s his plan.
@3, @5 – I suspect that most teachers would gladly take the right to binding arbitration in exchange for a specific prohibition on striking. You okay with that deal?
@9
Actually Air Traffic Controllers are highly skilled people. Often trained at tax payer expense. Reagan got lucky for the following reasons
1. There were no major accidents in the aftermath of the strike.
2. There were military Air Traffic Controllers who could step in during the strike. (Guess who takes over the skies if the ball goes up.)
3. Reagan was allowed to manipulate the rules allowing a whole bunch of military Air Traffic Controllers to replace the strikers in the aftermath. For awhile there was a shortage of military controllers, and tax payers got to pay big bucks to keep the ones to stay in by paying big reenlistment bonuses.
4. The Air Traffic Controller strike wasn’t just about money. In fact the money issues were not the main reason for the strike. The FAA was pushing for certain programs that would mean fewer controllers. In recent years there have been accidents caused by fatigued controllers or by the highly centralized around large airports that was created. Small airports may have only one controller on duty in a tower at any one time. While it may not be busy sometimes fatigued controllers fall asleep. Sometimes things happen because there is not a second pair of eyes in the tower. Or another set of hands not available for normal operations, and nothing extra for extraordinary circumstances. No one there to tell that 747 trying to land that the runway isn’t long enough or just what the heck are you doing lined up for an approach.
The victory over the Air Traffic Controller union has cost the American tax payer an untold amount of money. There have been accidents and deaths caused by the breaking the strike. It’s also possible that the strikers who were around during the 70’s and created certain policies to deal with Air Piracy and terrorism were fired and replaced by controllers who lacking that experience were too slow to take actions they could have after the first aircraft hit the twin towers.