Professionalism

What is professionalism? Is teaching a profession, are teachers professionals? The definition of profession is a vocation requiring knowledge of some department of learning or science; a learned profession is any of the three vocations of theology, law, and medicine commonly held to require highly advanced learning. A professional is someone who is following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain or someone engaged in one of the learned professions. By definition then, it must be seen that teaching is indeed a profession, and recent regulations such as the requirement of a masters, national certification standards, and increased licensing procedures would lead me to believe that teaching is trying to become looked at as one of the learned profession, and therefore held to a higher standard of respect within the community. So then we are left with the question of what role, if any, unions and regulations such as HB 79, 190, and 428, have in elevating the status of teaching.

In 2008 the Education Sector and the FDR Group surveyed over 1,000 K-12 public school teachers about their views on teaching professionalism, unions, and many reforms within the profession. According to the survey most teachers see unions as vital to their profession, 54 percent feel they are absolutely essential and only 11 percent see them as something they could do without. Three out of four teachers strongly value the traditional protections of the unions. Seventy eight percent state that “without a union, teachers would be vulnerable to school politics or administrators who abuse their power. “ Only twenty one percent of teachers agree that the profession would be held in high prestige if collective bargaining and lifetime tenure were eliminated. (Education Sector Reports, Waiting to be won over)

I do not think that the presence of unions hurts teaching as a profession, and it is clear that teachers feel the need for the union. I do think that negative publicity and the publics’ views regarding tenure, teacher misconduct, and the quality of teaching in the public schools all hinder the professions ability to gain the prestige that educators want to see. I agree with the article Union Bashing Won't Reform Our Schools when it is stated that school districts and their local teachers unions have formed a symbiotic partnership in mediocrity. Teachers not fulfilling the role they were hired for need to be removed and it is sad that because it is viewed by administration as easier to keep these poor teachers in the schools then fight to have them removed lowers the standard of all teachers. Administrators, not unions, are ultimately responsible for the hiring and firing of teachers and they have been neglectful to their profession, and their students, by choosing to take the easy road. If poor teachers are removed, regardless of the struggle, then the profession as a whole will gain credibility with the general public.

With regards to HB 79, 190, and 428 the article How should Ohio deal with teachers accused of crimes states that most teachers are properly disciplined when a violation of profession codes of conduct are committed. It also stated that in actuality there are a relatively low number of convicted or accused teachers overall. The media sensationalism of a few cases (such as those pointed out in Lindsey’s presentation) also hinders the teaching profession. I agree with Rep. Matt Lundy who voiced concern that HB 428 could jeopardize the careers of upstanding teachers if charges prove false. Lundy is concerned that the current laws do not provide for proper due process and could lead to the punishment of good teachers who become targets for angry students. I personally agree with back ground checks and the removal of teachers found guilty of the crimes listed in the legislation, however I also worry that without proper checks and balances, a large number of good teachers could be punished due to the actions of a very few bad ones. However, I do not think that HB 79, 190, and 428 jeopardize the professionalism of teaching instead it is the increased media attention of the actions of a few horrible teachers has irrevocably harmed our professions reputation with the public.

Teachers want to be recognized for the hard work they do, they want their chosen profession to be elevated to the status of doctors and lawyers. I do not feel that unions or recent legislation hinder that. I do feel that it is almost impossible to alter the publics’ view of teaching and teachers, often due to negative media attention to test results, the few sensational stories of abuse within the profession, and the misconduct of administrators. Regardless of the steps the profession takes to increase accountability, until we can move forward and take steps to erase years of negative publicity our profession will continue to be viewed in a slightly negative way with the general pubic and therefore unable to be held in the level of prestige it deserves.

Professionalism

I believe that there have been many instances that have contributed to the increasing requirements to be a true professional teacher. However the single greatest influence has been the evolution of the union. The union has stood for many years to make life better for all people. Whether it is hours an individual was allowed to work safety issues or pay increases the union has always been the first in line to defend an individual’s right. For years people would graduate college, get a teaching job and work there for the next 30 years without ever trying to gain new knowledge or new instructional techniques. Through time the unions contributed to teachers being required to receive their masters in a certain amount of time to constantly stay fresh with the new techniques. Also required was that when teachers apply for their licensure renewal that they have taken 6 credit hours to show that they are continuing their education. With these improvements that teachers are taken they are receiving compensation for the willingness to be more of a professional. Another improvement that can be contributed to teacher unions as well is the L.P.D.C. hours where an individual each year has to take 7 hours worth of outside course improvement workshops. These 7 hours are then compensated with a teacher receiving a day off of work. If teacher unions had stayed in the same mode we may not have seen these vast improvements in our profession. These improvements have made teachers an even more highly regarded profession. In jenny’s presentation she also made a statement about unions being our voice for our collective bargaining. If we did not have these unions to back us up we would never be able to negotiate a contract to receive the compensation deserved for the work that we do. So I believe that due to the vision of where the unions would like to be it has contributed to the increasing professionalism of teaching.

Professionalism

I think like anything else, unions have their ups and downs. As Jenny stated..”Unions are advocates for public schools, teachers, children”. They are put in place to protect teachers. They want to see children in public education receive the best education by trying to provide good incentives for teachers. They offer you protection against arbitrary firing, they offer you protection against unreasonable demands, and etc. In Jenny’s powerpoint she talks about the issue with “tenure”. This makes it difficult to remove poor teachers. I think this is one of the biggest problems with a union. We have teachers in the system that just shouldn’t be there anymore for one reason or another. They are not benefiting the children any longer. Another problem with unions Jenny states is the seniority issues. A lot of first year teachers taking on positions that are least desirable. New teachers feel obligated. This is the last thing first year teachers need to be doing. The worst year for a teacher is the first year. Everything is brand new to you. You are trying to figure out what lessons to teach, how to get across to your students, classroom management tips, etc. I currently work with a first year teacher who said this may have been the worst year of her life. She has bought every classroom management book there is, and she feels like nothing is really working. As if that is not bad enough, the school keeps asking her to be on all these different committees. Teachers are not prepared for their first year, so, why do the school systems feel its okay to throw extra jobs at them. As if they don’t carry enough weight on their shoulder. I guess, you honestly just have to weigh your options. I’ve never been apart of a union. I have heard a lot of positive and negative points about them from my mother who is apart of a school union. I don’t feel I am educated enough to make a stance on it.

Union Professionalism/Teacher Misconduct

Are Unions professional? Historically, unions have been linked to blue collar workers, laborers if you will; and white collar positions are non-union, highly professional positions. So, it’s not too surprising that teachers are not considered professional when affiliated with a union. However, I do not feel that unions are completely to blame for the non-professional association with teaching.
It doesn’t bode well when teachers are having relationships with students, becoming pregnant by students or coaches in the schools pushing their athletes so hard that they collapse or die due to heat exhaustion, or deprived of water as part of their conditioning for the sport they are playing. As Lyndsey outlined in her presentation during class these events are sensationalized in the media and the punishment does not always fit the crime. In some, the cases are dropped because the parents want to protect their child from the media circus and the teacher goes on to teach another day (“passing the trash”), in another school system or the state system for reporting these crimes are not structured to keep track of the offenders and there is no way of knowing about the true crime committed.
Teachers have a huge responsibility when they go into the profession. Not only are they responsible for the education of those students they are also responsible for the safety and well-being of those students. I believe teachers in the past have been considered professional and given the respect associated with the position; however, when teachers are publicized in the media as predators they have become that diminishes any respect which the profession may have been given. Teachers are in a position of power. They are looked to on many levels by students and when that teacher crosses the line and takes advantage of a student they do not deserve the respect to be called professional.
As presented by Jenny, Unions were established to provide a voice to those who needed the support of an organized group to address poor working conditions or ill-treatment of workers by management. I doubt that when unions were established there was any thought given to situations, such as, teachers taking advantage of their students for them to address how best to handle it or to put in a contract how misconduct of a teacher will be treated; hence, the development of House Bill 190. This bill is an attempt to protect students and to communicate to unions the education system will not tolerate misconduct by a teacher(s).
As mentioned in the Edweek article, “The Power of Progressive Thinking”, unions and school administrators need to collaborate with another to come to an agreement on how to best serve the students and teachers. They need to come to together to improve the safety and teaching of students.

Unions can only be as professional as the people holding the position in the profession.

Standard and Expectations

House Bill 79 was introduced to address reports of teacher misconduct and even though it became effective several years ago, it is still not clear what "conduct unbecoming to the teaching profession" means. Legislation directed the State Board to define the term for purposes of reporting requirements. However, to date no rules have been filed. Legislation also required districts to keep reports of misconduct in eployee's file. However if ODE doesn't take action on the individual's license, then the report must be taken out of the employee's personnel file and moved to a seperate public file. Majority people are not aware that regardless of where the report of misconduct is kept, the report itself is still a public record and can be accessed. As noted in class, approx eight months after HB 79 was introduced, HB 190 came into effect (11-07), extending criminal record check requirements to all school employees not included in HB79, but licensed by ODE and nonlicensed school employees. Even though HB190 just passed, HB 428 is now the new and "improved" legilation that is in effect to address employee misconduct changes. HB428 requires the State Board to deny or automatically revoke the license of any educator who commits one of more than eighty offenses, and requires districts to remove an employee from the classroom if arrested for "certain" offenses-too open ended.
As Jenny presented in class through the video, if the teacher isn't convicted or the victim doesn't follow-up, the teacher is free to continue teaching. The can go to another school, another district, even another State and not have past "issues" follow them. I believe this is where consistency and standardization needs to come in so that there are standard of practice and professionalism across the board. How do you define professionalism when there are different standars and different criterias among districts and States? Professionalism has to initially come from within ones self. Professionalism is part of one's character. As to paraphrase Jenny from her blog "the people who choose to abuse are somehow lacking character." As for unions hindering or supporting professionalism...they did not hire the teachers, administrators did. The union is there to support those who were hired into the system and who pay their dues so that when they need help, their union rep is there. So, possibly administrators need to do a bit more research/investigation of those who they are hiring and exposing our children to. The schools are suppose to be a safe haven where children are nurtured and educated.

Unions and Professionalism

School unions have been around for quite some time. If you were to research about school unions you would see that they have held the same standards throughout history. Their purpose is to be another voice for the workers or in this case the teachers. The unions are to make financial decisions and to be a collective voice for bargaining. They are there to provide preofessional development for teachers through workshops, conferences, and grants. They are there for protection against arbitrary firing and unreasonable demands in the workplace. From what I have seen I believe that unions do have a strong relationship with teacher misconduct legislation. Unfortunately I believe that in many cases the unions are the escape route needed in order to protect the teachers who have committed crimes and should not be in our classrooms. If you think about it there are a ton of cases that have never been reported and have passed through the system because school unions protect their teachers. How do they protect their teachers? One way is that they unite and agree that "taking an employee to court to get him or her dismissed can be expensive and time consuming" according to the article in Education World (12/9/98) regarding "passing the trash" issues. On the other hand I do believe that with the current legislation of (HB 79, 190,428) teachers will be held more accountable for their actions and the unions will not be able to protect them because of the crimes that they may commit. Finally the teachers who any parent would not want around their child may be dismissed and possibly have their license terminated. I was astounded by reading recent reports in Education World that 16 states do not require criminal background checks for first time applicants for professional certificates. If someone does have a history of past offenses, these states will never know. Also in 16 states educators convicted of a sex crime against students will not automatically lose their licenses, therefore a teacher who has a history of having sex with students may teach again! In response to the reflection question there is proof that the legislation that is currently being reviewed and updated will play a major role with teacher unions and professionalism. On another note I will share two quick stories with you. The first one is that an eighth grade teacher at my jr.high school when I attended was arrested for having inappropriate relationships with three of her students. I believe after being convicted of different counts of sexual crimes she remains in prison today. It was found later that a previous district had dismissed her for what they called "inappropriate conduct" just two years prior to her arrest. Where was the background checks then? Who wants these teachers in our schools? I actually cringe to the thought that I could have had this woman as my teacher. I think it is fairly obvious that more needs to be done with the legislation issues so these so called teachers can teach where they belong and that is behind bars. Our unions do need to make clear to their employees their intentions, their job responsibilities, and the consequences that can occur as a result of breaking the law.

Removing Poor Teachers

A problem that I noticed with teacher unions is that in some cases teachers are not being held accountable for their actions. For example, because of tenure it can be difficult to remove poor teachers if they have seniority. It is extremely difficult to get rid of ineffective teachers because of the cost. Governor Strickland stated that the state of Ohio would remove ineffective teachers from the classroom but I would like to find out more about how he is going to do this. Deborah Delisle, head of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District, said it cost over $200,000 the last time she went through the process with an ineffective teacher. The students are the ones who are getting hurt when they have and ineffective teacher. There needs to be a way to remove poor teachers without spending so much money.

As Lyndsey stated in her presentation about House Bill 190 abuse will happen in schools and the administrators will fail to let others know about it and there will be too many legal loopholes so the offender will get away with the crime and will stay in the classroom. She also stated that many teachers who have been offenders will go and teach at another school district putting more students at risk. House Bill 190 is a good form of legislation because it requires all teachers to get a background check. A new bill under debate in the statehouse would allow the Department of Education to automatically revoke the teaching license of a teacher convicted of anything included on a list of 80 crimes (John Vettese). I know that when I apply for jobs the application always asks if you have committed a misdemeanor and you have to explain what the misdemeanor. However, offenders of sexual abuse may be lying on the application and administrators may not investigate the offense. It is very necessary that all teachers get background checks so that we can make sure our students are safe at school,

Education legislation and how it relates to teacher unions

As we have already seen in class, teachers today have numerous issues to deal with regarding their professional careers. Current (and recent) legislation has brought ideas of professionalism even more into the spotlight. Specifically, House Bills 79, 190 and 428 have introduced more standards for teacher conduct and require background investigations (state and federal) to be completed before anyone can work in a school environment. As Lyndsey stated in her presentation however, House Bill 190 was so broad that when a teacher was found to be in non-compliance with the provisions and lost their job, they could go to almost any other school district and get another one.

In relation to teacher's unions, I am of the belief that a lot of the misconduct that occurs in schools goes without consequence. While looking at Wikipedia's definition of the NEA it states, "With the recent scrutiny placed on teacher misconduct, regarding specifically sexual abuse, the NEA has been criticized for its failure to crack down on abusive teachers. From an AP investigation, former NEA President Reg Weaver commented, "Students must be protected from sexual predators and abuse, and teachers must be protected from false accusations." He then refused to be interviewed. The Associated Press reported that much of the resistance to report the problem comes from "where fellow teachers look away," and "School administrators make behind-the-scenes deals". This quote goes along with the fact that many have stated dealing with the cost of the lawsuits and completely following through with allegations of abuse/miscounduct. Although I do believe that unions protect teachers from being wrongfully let go, I also think that they can protect the teachers that should no longer be in the classroom due to inappropriate actions.

It is my belief that as teachers we are set to a higher standard regarding our personal actions, because we are supposed to be role models for our students. Although this is not necessairly fair, it is reality and it does make sense. However, we are also human and we do make mistakes. Depending on the severity of the offense I am of the belief that some infractions shouldn't be made out to be something to lose a job over. On the other hand, I do believe that there are some actions that should result in an immediate loss of a job/teaching license, as stated in HB 428.

When we discussed the issue in class of teacher professionalism and whether teachers act differently if they are part of a union, I can see both sides of the issue. Teaching is one of those jobs where there are not necessairly set "hours", but this does not mean that schools should expect or require their employees to attend countless meetings that frequently spill over into their "personal" time. Although I have not had any personal experience with unions yet in my career, I can see how they are complicated because on one side they support teachers and make sure they are not being mistreated, but on the other hand they can protect those that should not be able to have the jobs that they do based on their behavior. I think that the laws are trying to adress these issues, but it will take some time to truly see how they are working out.

Professionalism: Character Trait or Legal Mandate

If the authors of the teacher misconduct legislation expected HB79, 190, and 428 to stop educators from inappropriate behaviors toward their students, they were sadly mistaken. Laws are not going to stop deviate behaviors. Laws cannot change a person’s innate character. I would speculate that most of the folks who were featured in Lindsey’s presentation did not go into the profession of teaching thinking, “Gee, maybe I can sexually abuse one of my students!” No, most of us do not go looking to hurt someone or to break the law. Some of us cannot pass up the chocolate brownies sitting in the teacher’s lounge, even though we know it will go straight to the hips. Others can come into the lounge, get their mail without even giving the brownies a second glance. The people who choose to abuse are somehow lacking the character trait that draws the appropriate boundary line between student and teacher. It would be interesting to look back into these people’s lives to see if there were any telltale signs of inappropriate boundary issues. No amount of laws can stop the behavior: they only can help with the prosecution of the crime.
So what are we to do to protect our children, and how does the union fit into this equation? Traditionally, teachers have been held at a high level of professional standards. My handout of a teacher’s rules for a school in Iowa in the mid–to- late 1800”s is evidence of the high professional and personal standards teachers faced years ago. School boards had ultimate authority over their teachers. Unions are in place today to give a voice to the educator and to guarantee fair treatment of teachers. As I mentioned in my presentation, the teacher union began as a professional association and is still a professional association. On the issue of professionalism the 2006 NEA Representative Assembly adopted this statement:
“Professionalism. We believe that the expertise and judgment of education professionals are critical to student success. We maintain the highest professional standards, and we expect the status, compensation, and respect due all professionals.”
Unions hold our profession to a high standard. The union does not want teacher misconduct in our schools. They want our “judgment” to be sound. At the beginning of the school year, our union representative stated strongly that we were not to give cell phone numbers to students, text students, and a list of behaviors that could be considered inappropriate. Union leadership has come out in favor of peer reviews and mentoring. Their goal is to help teachers be the best professional they can be, and to protect our students from those who would harm them.

Professionalism

I believe unions have the best intentions in making teachers and their job viewed professionally. After the presentations and reading articles it seems like unions hinder certain aspects of improving certain areas within the profession of education but do so with the attention of protecting the teachers and administration. One example is the ideas of teachers receiving tenure after teaching for three years. This is good for teachers because they know they are safe from being fired but it may also be bad because some teachers start to slack off once they have tenure. I couldn’t believe, in the article in the Plain Dealer called Good teachers are key to student achievement, but bad ones are hard to fire, that Lakewood school district had to spend $350,000 to take a teacher step down from their job after they were accused of teasing students to make them step down from the job. Looking at the other side I understand that the union was protecting the teacher from false accusations. I think as teachers we do need this protection because some kids will say and do anything if they are mad enough. But at the same time students should have the right to have teachers who are committed to their job and want to be there to help them improve their education.
The same problem comes with the idea of protecting both teachers and children when there is a felony being brought against the teacher. I believe protecting the children is number one but at the same time I think teachers should be protected till being proven guilty. I know in class it was mentioned that any accusation would be documented in a teachers file forever. I think if they were shown to not be guilty it should be erased from their file. I was shocked when I read that more then 1,700 educators had to be disciplined in Ohio in the past seven years. ( Speak Out) Something does need to be down to limit these numbers for parents trust us with their children and children trust us that they will be safe. So what can we do to protect both the teachers and students? This is a tough question and one that should be looked at by unions, educators, and the state together to create a balance system protecting everyone rights in the end.

Are Today's Teacher Unions Professional Organizations?

~Professionalism, to me, implies that one acts in a matter full of integrity that displays the proficiency gained by the education and training one has received. When teachers do not display such integrity, it is my opinion that they need to be removed from the profession. The focus of our teaching needs to be on our students and what is to be in their best interests. So often I see unions and union leaders quick to stand up for their own "rights" while neglecting the needs of their students.
~Unions have certainly aided teachers and other laborers in that there is a collective bargaining agency that will be a voice to management. As Jenny pointed out in her presentation, unions were created to give a voice to the laborers. She mentioned that teacher unions provide many positive attributes such as professional development, a collective bargaining voice, and legal representation. But the teaching profession is more than just a "labor force" working with machinery and the like. We are working with the children and all that we do must be for the best interest of those children.
~As stated in "Union Bashing Won't Reform Our Schools", "the fact is that many American school districts and their local teachers' unions have formed a symbiotic partnership in mediocrity." The adversarial relationships between administrators and teachers do not help the children. All should work together to "clean house" and remove ineffective teachers. Did anyone notice the inset picture in the Plain Dealer article? There was a van with "Vote for the Worst Teachers..." and a web site entitled "www.teacherunionsexposed.com" at the bottom of it. I went to this link out of curiosity and found some interesting comments from teachers concerning the teacher unions. Jeralee Smith shared that she does not feel that the adversarial relationship the unions bring is beneficial to the children, teachers, or the districts. Ken Shelton echoed her thoughts, adding the idea that as we are all adults, we should be able to work out our differences in a professional conversation, one to one. Yet, this is discouraged by our unions which say that "you must not go into a meeting with an administrator unless you have representation with you". The other issue with unions is that much of the money that goes beyond funding the local needs is put to use in political arenas, many of which the majority of union teachers may not support themselves. Personally, I would not want my hard earned money going to support some of the causes endorsed by the NEA. If the union is indeed a representation of its members, it should consider the members' desires as to where the money should be spent.
~It seems that Tom Mooney, as reflected in the articles "Mooney Institute Tries to Blend Unionism, School Reform" and "The Power of Progressive Thinking" has indeed sought to reform the idea of unions so that they are able to be agents of collaboration, working with districts and administrators to unify them in order to "improve the quality of teaching and learning". When districts and unions work together, the "initiatives gain credibility", solving problems with instructional issues, teacher compensation, and teacher quality. Peer evaluation is also stated as a way to "develop good teachers and weed out ineffective ones."
~ We as teachers need to be reminded that we are indeed educated professionals, experts in our field, and should present ourselves as such to our children, parents, fellow staff, administrators, and the community as a whole. As my school district posted a strike this past fall, I was faced with the decision of 'crossing the line' (by the way, I am not on contract). I was told that it was not "about money", but I later found out that money(salary/insurance) was indeed a main issue; I felt lied to by my coworkers. As the date of the strike neared, it was apparent that neither side acted professionally. There was a lot of 'mudslinging' from both sides. While I appreciate the fact that the union is there to represent the teacher in the case of a charge of misconduct or to protect against unreasonable demands, I am not always in agreement with the "collaborative" requests. I am there for the children. If there is an issue that concerns the children that is not being addressed properly, I will be there to support the children. We are coming into difficult time economically. There are many out there who do not have a job or the security of health benefits. As Dr. Scott addressed in class, we may be coming into a time that the membership may "fall out". Our school survived the strike and settled two days before the scheduled walk out. The teachers demands were met and they got their raises and their lowered health care payments as they wished (for example, payment from $45/mo. for a family to $20 - I wish I could pay $45 for my private insurance!) Yet now we are faced with Reduction In Force as the school district cannot afford to keep a full staff.
~Can unions be professional? Perhaps they can, but they must be reformed to be a true representation of the professionals they serve. Unions should promote more collaboration between staff and administration. The leaders in the unions seem be a product of the generation of people who believe they are "due" certain "rights" and monetary benefits and wish to promote their own political agenda. The union should strive to truly represent all teachers, not be a political organization using compulsory fees to support their agenda.

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. 

Do Teacher's Unions Promote Slackers?

“The fact remains that it's difficult and expensive to get rid of a veteran teacher who isn't getting the job done” (Starzyk and Stephens). Examples of the cost of getting ride of a veteran teacher are also listed in the article “Good teachers are key to student achievement, but bad ones are hard to fire”, from the Plain Dealer, November 30, 2008. In class, I personally mentioned a tenure teacher in my high school who shouldn't have been teaching. The teachers’ unions obviously place a significant road block to physically removing incapable and unprofessional teachers from their positions. I can see why some school districts would not want to waste the money to even try to have them removed. How do these enabling unions increase the professionalism of the teaching profession? They don’t!

Do teachers' unions promote professionalism in the area of work ethic? Do the teachers’ unions perpetuate slackers in the profession? If unions say to it’s members that they only have to attend so many meetings in a scheduled period of time, and they only have to work so many hours in a day, then perhaps the unions are perpetuating slackers. Is it professional to only give the bear minimum to a profession? What ever happened to high standards and high work ethic? What ever happened to giving more than what is required? In the Plain Dealer article mentioned above, it discusses ordinary people’s complaints about the teaching profession’s "entrenched mediocrity." Many ordinary people’s biggest complaint about teachers was that “they did not really care about their job”.

The State Board of Education adopted the new teacher, principal and professional development standards in October 2005. The Standards for Ohio Educators book details the standards and how they can be used which is found on the ODE website. On the website is a PDF on the Ohio Standard for the Teaching Profession. In this document is listed the following: “Teachers assume responsibility for professional growth, performance and involvement as an individual and as a member of a learning community.
• Teachers understand, uphold and follow professional ethics, policies and legal codes of
professional conduct.
• Teachers take responsibility for engaging in continuous, purposeful professional development.
• Teachers are agents of change who seek opportunities to positively impact
teaching quality, school improvements and student achievement”.

The big question is: Are the teachers’ unions helping or hindering teachers from accomplishing these goals?

More Questions Than Answers

I am new in the professional field and I don’t pretend to have all the answers. However, I do have an important question and I find it puzzling that no one can answer it, “why aren’t teachers seen as professionals?” I cannot understand why the pay for this important position is so significantly low, why there is a need for unions to ensure appropriate working conditions, and why this is still not valued as one of the most important professions. We constantly hear “children are the future”, we know that many parents cherish them more than life itself, and I’ve had some friends say they value the work I do and could never do it themselves. Where does this disconnect occur?

Both teachers unions and misconduct legislation are responsible to play a role in accountability in education. And accountability is necessary, but is this system working? The misconduct legislation holds teachers accountable for professional and appropriate lifestyles. Or, at least it is supposed to as we saw in the presentation by Lyndsey. Teacher unions work to ensure that teachers are receiving rights and those around them are treating teachers as valuable professionals. That is if they are carried out accordingly. A number of classmates in our discussion supported unions saying that they make it so the workload isn’t unreasonable and their rights are protected. This I understand, but why don’t other professionals need the unions also? Aside from the possible lawsuits from families, why do teachers need something concrete to support their rights?

The article “What should Schools Do With Bad Teachers” talked about the expense with removing “bad” teachers from the schools. It always seems that the staff knows who “those teachers are” and if this is the case, why are they still employed? In another field they would be “let go” for not following protocol, acting inappropriate, and not doing their job. If unions are good for the profession then they shouldn’t make it so difficult to dismiss those who are ineffective. I can’t believe some of the ways administrators “look the other way” in this sense.

It was brought up in class that for teachers to be treated like professionals, they must act like them. And I think for the most part teachers do. There will always be those who give the group a bad name. But, I know many who arrive to work early, stay late and spend countless additional hours at home working towards the success of their students. They brainstorm with colleagues, dress the part, and utilize professional development opportunities. Pretty hard to do when their friends in other fields work 9-5, leave work at work, and get to drink coffee on the job all while receiving twice the pay. (I worked as an administrative assistant last year and I could not believe I could drink coffee and listen to the radio while get paid, seriously.) With this reputation are we going to be able to recruit the best possible teachers for the future?

Misconduct legislation VS. Unions?

It's possible to imagine a relationship between teacher's unions and teacher misconduct legislation but that does not mean that the relationship is vital and thriving. I imagine that it is one that is reaching to connect but just missing the mark. I think that's because each side has it's own to protect: the unions protect the teachers and the legislation protects the students. It's not to say that the unions don't care for the child's best interest, but it's true business is teachers.
"The evolution of teacher/education/employee misconduct legislation" article breaks down the components of the bills 79,190,and 428 and the challenge facing those who wish to understand the true nature of those legislations lies in the definition of misconduct. HB 70 does not offer a clear representation of what "conduct unbecoming to the teaching profession" happens to be. The other bills have recommended code of conduct that make them credible. It is impossible, I think, to label something professional when it is unfinished. It is entirely "unprofessional" to speed a bill through that is unclear and incomplete.
When rules are defined and standards for teachers are in place (ODE Standards for Ohio Educators) then professionalism exists. Those teachers that break those rules and laws, as within any profession, should be held responsible and consequences faced. The idea that some may feel (as Jenny spoke about in her presentation) it's easier to just let the"close to retirement teacher" finish out the remaining years even though her teaching may be shoddy, is just preposterous to me as a parent. What parent would agree to that? The article "What should schools do about bad teachers?" states that it could cost $200,00-350,000 to complete the years long process to fire that poor performing teacher. Whose fault is that? The unions? Maybe the protection that the unions create costs some students a better education.
I think that the unions do promote the idea of professionalism. NEA's website and publications offer the reader insight into the exciting world of education. I like that the unions are able to give the teachers a voice and that it can be backed by thousands/millions strong. Political maneuverings, I think, make unions lose a little of that professionalism that they so strongly encourage because motivations then are driven by agendas.
Not sure if that relationship between teacher legislation and unions can be made whole or even if it's supposed to, just as long as the main goal is in the student's best interest.

Learning Teams...What's the Problem with a Little Support?

I had never heard of this team learning prior to the class presentation and various articles which I read, as well as the powerpoints. From all that I have gathered, I can't see why this approach/tecnique should draw any opposition. It seems that the team learning approach is a win-win situation. School systems/districts would benefit in that they would be retaining good/veteran teachers while encouraging new teachers to join the team and most importantly...STAY! As pointed out in the article Learning Teams:Creating What's Next,"the U.S. will lose 1/3 of its veteran teachers during the next 4 years and more than 1/2 in less than a decade. At the other end of the spectrum, beginning teachers are being driven away by antiquated preparation practices, outdated staffing policies & inadequate career rewards."
It would seem to be by utilizing this team approach new teachers would be working with veteran teachers, student teachers working with actual in class teachers as well as interacting and being involved with students in the classrooms, and allowing new teachers to be creative. When I was in nursing school, we had to perform clinical rotations in the various settings or topics that we were currently studying. For example, when we studied the area of adult/pediatric intensive care we had to work in that hospital setting with actual patient assignments and take on the duties/resonsibilities as the nurse for that patient for that 8 hour shift and did that for that whole term. That applied in the areas of psychiatry (inpatient, outpatient, child, teen or adult), we were in labor and delivery areas, emergency rooms, and even home health care. This is all to say that as we studied an area we also had a hands on experience in order to give us exposure and make us aware of the different areas and what that area/field may involve.
This learning team approach I believe equates to teacher preparedeness. Also pointed out in the article Learning Teams..."retention results in improved student learning." Teachers feel supported and not overwhelmed or bogged down. Teachers would be more apt to be happy or at least content in their careers and as further pointed out in the Bank School College of Education video,as stated by Jon Snyder. "research has shown if you have a really talented teacher, a really expertly prepared and supported teacher the kids do better." Isn't the bottom line the education of our children ? In turn the preparation of the future? In order to make them GLOBALLY prepared? To me, the question of funding, teacher preparedeness/development should all lead to the end result of adequate, if not superior, education. Once again, as pointed out in Learning Teams "it is time to build a 21st century educatin system." This would have to start from having those funds available to train teachers and support continuing ed programs in order to stay abreast of new techniques and updated technology therefore leading to innovative and creative teaching approaches thereby encouraging students and hopefully resulting in increased testing scores.