Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

No public employee union can compete with the Teachers Union in notoriety, prestige & raw power. The Teachers Union is everywhere in relatively large numbers, are socially integrated into the community, and have a direct connection to every family with children and every property owner who has to pay taxes for schools. Their voter turnout guarantees every school bond levee is passed, and if it does not pass the first time, they have the clout to resubmit it over & over until the opposition simply gives up. There is no other example of cynical power like that anywhere. And, of course, the only oversight is a token School Board, where the members are usually the parents of students, and totally in the thrall of Teachers Union. No arm of public employee power is more exemplary of the abuse & exploiting of the lack of negotiating power as the Teachers Union. Just consider the fact that even though Public Employees are barred by law from striking, the Teachers Union has no scruples in doing so, and without ramifications if the do. Teachers Unions have a fiduciary responsibility to utilize their leverage to maximum potential to promote the agenda of teachers, and they do: teachers unions are about teachers.

But all of that is secondary to the stranglehold Teachers unions have on learning. For education in this country to advance out of the Dark Ages we need other options besides 15th Century sophistry, but Teachers Unions fight tooth & nail against anything that doesn't center around them. Home Schooling should be integrated into the public system, and there are a plethora of innovative educating techniques just waiting to get the opportunity to prove or disprove their viability, but teachers are against any other form of education that does not include “teachers,” and even teacher-based Charter schools face tremendous opposition from Teachers unions because they are marginally subject to Negotiation, such as opposing sides, feedback via accountability, and an adversarial relationship. In that environment, teachers can prove how much they're really worth.

Teaching is the focus of the didactic type of learning, where one person controls the actions of many, which is obviously the opposite of liberty. It would be wonderful if we had a choice in how we & our children are educated.