Unions and Teacher Misconduct....What's the link?

Throughout history, many different types of people have become teachers for many different reasons. As a society, most of us hope that these people are interested in children, learning, and good people at the core. But, as Lyndsey showed us in class during her presentation, not all teachers possess these qualities. I don't think this is so much an issue of why they choose to conduct themselves unprofessionally, but why they got to be in a position of that much power in the first place. Lyndsey also presented us with information on HB 190, and after reading the FAQ article on ANGEL, I understand that each current teacher and new hire must obtain a fingerprint and background check, which is an attempt to prevent these types of hires. The problem is, that we also learned last week, that most of these "teachers" who are being charged are being saved by unions and school districts who are trying to protect their own name, instead of thinking about the individual who needs obvious help and the current and future children that this individual will affect. So, do I think there is a link between misconduct and unions, absolutely. I agree with the Goldstein article in that "Teachers who are not adequately serving children, and who do not improve when provided with support, need to be removed from teaching, and quickly." But, unions are set up to protect these individuals in ways that keep them in the system until they are either forced out by their peers or they finally reach an age to remove themselves from the situation. I am not just thinking about inadequacies academically, but also ethically and professionally. This brings to mind the term "passing the trash" that Lyndsey presented us with. This type of protection and negligence is causing schools to hire teachers with questionable intentions to teach the vulnerable children of America. I think what the Mooney Institiute is trying to do by guiding unions into the ways of school reform is beneficial because school reform is a hot topic right now. We want our students to compete globally and we want them to achieve higher standards than ever, but unions and administrations are stuck in an old way of thinking and through these processes are slowing down the reform that we as individual teachers all the way through the federal level of our government are trying to achieve. I think unions need to stay concerned about the rights of individual workers and are a beneficial tool for protecting those who truly need it, not those who need to cover a scandal and have questionable intentions in this profession. When listening to Lyndsey's presentation, all I kept thinking is this does NOT represent a majority of teachers in America, and then I thought, thank goodness or we'd be in more trouble than we already are. Hopefully the unions will work towards a screening process to eliminate not only those already convicted of such terrible misconduct, but to weed out those who have been suspected in the past or have the potential to commit misconduct in the future. Through a process such as this, I think reform in education can truly begin.