How would you like school and classes to run in Fall?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

What should we do if it takes 3 years or more to find a vaccine? Just accept that kids of our nation will not have an adequate education?

No one is saying we don’t go back until there’s a vaccine. They’re saying we don’t go back and throw caution to the wind, full capacity and no protections. It’s not “if” that will cause a massive uptick in infections, but how many. The union is demanding masks, testing for all staff and students, temperature checks and a strict sick child policy. If they can’t make those things happen, then going back to the buildings is off the table.

The unions shouldn't have to be demanding widespread testing and masks before big buildings fill up with kids and adults again. The Federal Government should be providing those, and they've (we've) had months to get it together. I'm so sorry that it falls on unions to make such demands. It's nuts. Widespread testing, contact tracing, mass distribution of masks are necessary if cities are to reopen before a vaccine is available.

We have orders of magnitude more positive cases in DC than we had when we shut the city down 2+ months ago. Case numbers will absolutely skyrocket when we open even a fraction of the city back up. It's unthinkable to do that without the basics - testing for all, tracing, masks for all.

I agree. It’s ridiculous that it fails to labor unions to demand these basic protections. Even more ridiculous? Parents here saying that teachers who expect these measures should lose their jobs. So depressing.

I criticized unions, but not over masks. That’s pretty basic.

I’m annoyed at Unions over distance learning. Some of the unions negotiated only 4 hours of work per day. Some unions negotiated no Zoom or living teaching is required. Unions represent teachers, but not our children.

You don’t understand the function of the union. Of course the union protects teachers. Every paycheck some of our money gets taken out for union dues. We are paying for collective bargaining power. They represent us.
The union doesn’t just protect us, though. They protect your children. When a school tries to put 40 kids in a class, the teacher calls the union and they step in. When the union tries to put a class in a mildewed windowless room in the basement, the union steps in. When schools suppress information about positive COVID cases among staff and students, the union steps in. When a teacher who is not certified to teach a subject is told that they must teach the class anyway, the union puts the kibosh on it. It is very naive to assume that if teachers lost their unions that your children wouldn’t suffer the effects. Administrators and educational policy makers are looking at the bottom line. They do not care about your children.

The union doesn't care about the children either. Its job is to put teachers first. Actually its job is to put the union organization first, then teachers second, and not to worry about anyone else.

The union is made up of teachers. If you don’t think that teachers care about children at all then you have other issues.
If you’re okay with your child being in a class of 40 in a moldy basement with an unqualified teacher then by all means.

Let's be honest here- yes the union helps kids by helping teachers with class size, preps, planning periods, etc. The union also protects every teacher even ones that should not be in the classroom. And teacher interests are not always the same as students.

Teachers can't stand up to administrators without unions. Teachers can't say, "This child is terrorizing the rest of the class and putting us all in danger,"-without risking their job-unless the union has their back. Teachers can't stand up and say, "My students are only getting x program one day a week when they should be having it three times." Teachers can't get funding for school supplies that benefit YOUR children (not us), get access to training and curriculum materials, etc without the union.
If you don't want a union to have any power over your child's education, send them to a charter school. Public school teachers have fought long and hard for our rights and we aren't going to forfeit them because you've decided that they're inconvenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

Where are you located?

NP. Progressive Democrats like myself are now rethinking support for teacher unions. Unfortunately, the reality is, a major impediment to a high quality and nimble education system are unions. I come from a union family, so it’s significant for me to acknowledge this.

I’m a progressive Democrat and very politically active. I have no heard anyone say that who wasn’t quite right of center. Most Democrats need union votes and know pulling support for any field’s union raises quesrooms in the minds of other fields. Solidarity.

NP. Also some support unions just b/c they support unions (even if they don't always agree with their stances). Some basic knowledge of history and why they are needed, and the good they did for worker safety for example, should lead everyone to this conclusion. It has nothing to do with "votes" for me. And, fwiw, I'm not in a union and in my career often had unions/union member on the other side of the "v."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our union leadership has already stated that we are not childcare and there is no possibility of all students attending school at the same time. The buildings are too crowded and we will not go back to work packed in like sardines against all common sense and medical advice.

Parents should think about how they will manage this-nanny share, one parent stays home and you downsize, etc. This will likely be our new reality until a vaccine is developed.

Where are you located?

NP. Progressive Democrats like myself are now rethinking support for teacher unions. Unfortunately, the reality is, a major impediment to a high quality and nimble education system are unions. I come from a union family, so it’s significant for me to acknowledge this.

I’m a progressive Democrat and very politically active. I have no heard anyone say that who wasn’t quite right of center. Most Democrats need union votes and know pulling support for any field’s union raises quesrooms in the minds of other fields. Solidarity.

NP. Also some support unions just b/c they support unions (even if they don't always agree with their stances). Some basic knowledge of history and why they are needed, and the good they did for worker safety for example, should lead everyone to this conclusion. It has nothing to do with "votes" for me. And, fwiw, I'm not in a union and in my career often had unions/union member on the other side of the "v."

You seriously don't see any distinction between unions in industry and those in government?