Teachers’ unions have too much power: report
Teachers’ unions hold too much sway over what happens in the Canadian public education system, says a new report released Thursday by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) in Halifax.
The study, “Getting the fox out of the schoolhouse: How the public can take back public education,” recommends more standardized testing, pay incentives for teachers if their students score good grades, and reduced power for the teachers’ union.
I don’t quite qualify as an authority on the subject, but as someone who was raised in the public education system and as someone who eventually plans to be employed by it, I think I’ve got an idea what’s up.
I’m totally in support of teachers unions, and most unions in general. Teachers are a necessary function of society, and I feel that anything that protects them from being exploited as workers is a good thing. However, I think that this report is right in saying that teachers should receive bonuses based on the performance of their students.
Teachers are supposed to inspire kids to think for themselves and go against the grain. They’re supposed to foster a deep craving for knowledge and excellence and help ready the next generation of people for the real world.
Teachers who lack interest in their job and only show up for the paycheque are the downfall of the education system. They show up, they spout off shit lectures in monotone, leave as soon as the bell rings and give shitty assignments that involve looking up the answers to questions in a textbook for the bulk of the term, and then at the end give a test that involves nothing more than memorization. And unfortunately, the unions protect them, coddle them, and give them no reason or incentive to do any better than they are. Whether the class average is 9% or 90%, they walk away with the same amount of pay.
You could say that a teacher who’s really into their job doesn’t care about the money in the first place, and you’re probably right, but this isn’t about keeping the good teachers good. It’s about making the mediocre teachers who’ve got potential to be better have a reason to do so.
As far as I know, teachers unions currently block such catalysts of change from being offered.
The report also suggests that lockouts and strikes be banned as a means of contract negotiation, which is an issue I’m on the fence about. I think a strike, or the threat thereof, is a great way to whip an employer into shape. On the other hand, as someone who’s been in the student’s seat when a strike happens, there is definitely a sense that it puts the interests of the student aside.