Reply to WTU rallies for new contract

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Reply to "WTU rallies for new contract "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am never really sure if the toxic, combative, resentful attitudes (from both parents and teachers) on these boards are representative of attitudes in the district. Most discussions of teachers/the union on these boards go exactly as this one has, with people talking past each other and getting angry. And this really is a "both sides" situation -- I'm appalled by the way some posters talk about teachers but I also find some of the comments from teachers and union advocates incredibly offensive. People get nasty and start saying things about all involved parties (teachers, administrators, parents, even kids!) that are really upsetting coming from some who claims to care about public education.

We need a less combative system. And the PPs saying that the union needs to consider coalition building are right. It makes no sense to for the union, or individual teachers, to try and improve the contract or the general attitude toward teachers by antagonizing parents. For better or worse, parents are the best natural allies teachers have because they are the ones whose interests most closely align with teachers. Most parents want teachers to be happy in their jobs and get the resources they need. Most parents respect what teachers do because they see the benefits every day in their own kids. When you look at other districts that have done a good job of treating teachers well and retaining good teachers, you often see a close relationship between the union and PTAs and other parent organizations, because the parents in those districts want the schools to be as good as they can possibly be and they know that begins with teachers.

As for parents who are always putting down teachers and teachers unions, I wish y'all would just move to charters/privates or move out of the city like you are always threatening to do. You are not helping![/quote]

This is a great post. I would argue that consensus building also extends to other social media. I followed a bunch of vocal teachers on Twitter during the pandemic, and I was horrified at some of their posts putting down parents as “wine moms who want the kids out of the house so they can do yoga” etc. I still follow them because they provide an important insight into education (a space I’m not familiar with), but man those posts sting. And they still periodically happen. I would love to see more transparency into what is holding up the contract negotiations and more of what they aspire to get, rather than punching down on Bowser and Open Schools parents (whatever that means). (And 100% agree that parents are just as nasty, if not more so. I just think they are less likely to post those views if not anonymous.)[/quote]

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