Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In Minnesota, nurses recently ended a three-day strike. They’re highly trained professionals, mostly women, who are tired of being underpaid and overworked. Sound familiar? Educators know this experience all too well. In recent weeks, the “teacher shortage crisis” has loomed […]
unions
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Self Care Won’t Solve Teacher Burnout. Organizing Will.
The Self Care Trap There was a time (I suppose we’re still in it) when an endless stream of “trauma-informed” initiatives passed through my Facebook feed, e-mail inbox, and classroom. A lot of these offered some variation of mindfulness training for teachers or students. Whether it was through yoga or meditation, numerous programs promised safer, […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Teachers In Action: From the Classroom to the Convention
It was a busy week. My student government kids teleconferenced with the Broward Education Foundation to award them $1,000 they had collected through the spare change in the cafeteria. The SCA students wanted to help the victims of the Parkland, Florida school shooting. The organization receiving the gift looks after the social, economic, and academic […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Teaching in a Post-Union World
The week before school begins, our education association is fortunate enough to sit down with the new educators hired in our district and encourage them to sign-up for our association. While this seemed pretty cut-and-dry when I was first hired 10 years ago, the discussion has rapidly changed and the difficulty increased. As more educators […]
Posted inThe State of Education
Teaching, Unions and Parenting in New York
Teaching these days drives one to read and research whenever possible about what has been going on. I read an old article with a title that grabbed my attention. My search was driven by curiosity regarding the roles of teacher unions moving forward, as well as what they have been doing (or not doing) for the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
Why I Favor Fair Share
On Monday, February 9th, 2015, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner told the Chicago Tribute that he felt “government union bargaining and government union political activity are inextricably linked,” causing him to sign an Executive Order eliminating fair share policies for unions across the state. And for this, he is fundamentally wrong. Let’s explore a few questions to understand […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
10 Myths and Facts about Teacher Unions
I admit that I sign up for education haters’ email lists, and one thing that seems to be trending is differentiating truths and myths. Most recently in the cross hairs are teachers’ unions. It’s time you heard from someone in the field about some honest truths. Myth 1: Teachers are forced to join unions Fact: […]
Posted inFeatured, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
Politicized Purpose: A Reassessment of Teacher Unions Today
In February 2011, about 1,000 Wisconsin teachers protested Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to hinder union bargaining rights. Ripple effects were felt throughout the nation: political leaders sought to reform unions in each New Jersey, Nevada, Indiana, and Florida, to name a few. In her report on these stories, Jennifer Epstein of Politico writes, “Teachers unions, […]