Waiting For Superman - Great Example of Why Unions Aren't Needed

A new film called Waiting For "Superman" opens in select theaters a week from today.  It will get a lot of interest for a short period of time.  It will be interesting to see if there are any changes that happen in education.  The bottom line of the movie is teachers union are hurting our kids chances for success in life more than any other factor in our country.

Unions were needed in in the early 1900s for obvious reasons.  Why do we need unions today?  Teachers Unions have turned into the number one reasons the United States of America is losing its competitive edge.

First off, I don't believe that crap that kids in Washington, DC can't learn.  I believe the issue comes down to the the idiots running the Teachers Union who want to protect their jobs more than they want to help kids learn.   Don't think this is true?  Then, why in the hell would the Teachers Union in Washington, DC NOT allow a vote that would have doubled the average teachers salary for the top teachers if the Teachers Union would have given up some of their protectionism of bad teachers in return? UPDATE: This was presented on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday September 24th, 2010.  Also, On Meet The Press on Sunday the 26th, it appears that the Union eventually allowed the vote to occur.   Why would the Teachers Union have not wanted the vote to happen?  Because those who are running the Teachers Union in Washington, DC KNOW HOW THE AVERAGE TRIPLE DIGIT IQ TEACHER WOULD HAVE VOTED.  The Teachers Union know that MOST teachers would gladly give up protectionism of bad teachers for a doubling of salary for the top teachers.  The Teachers Union also know this would have highlighted the question, "why do we need Teachers Unions"?

Don't get me wrong, I know there are some GREAT TEACHERS, SOME GREAT COUNSELORS AND SOME GREAT ADMINISTRATORS in the Washington, DC school system.  

Michelle Rhee was the first breath of fresh air leadership in Washington DC schools - DC EVER.  Do I think Michelle Rhee can be overly blunt?  Yes.  But that is feature, not a bug, when you are trying to create a revolution and not an evolution. 

I am lucky that my kids went to very good schools with very good teachers. We were able to move to an area where the schools were new and they had top notch teachers.    In new schools the Principals can hand select their own teachers.  Not surprisingly, new schools are great not because of new bricks and mortar, but because they bring in the best teachers.  There is a great section in the movie Waiting For "Superman" that shows how principals simply trade their bad teachers like old worthless baseball cards each summer instead of addressing the issue directly.  The principals know they can not address the issue of crappy teachers directly because the teachers union is simply too powerful.

The idiots in Washington, DC's School System seem to think that keeping worthless teachers around is more important than helping students.

I am sure the new mayor of Washington, DC will get rid of Michelle Rhee.  I am also sure Michelle Rhee will have many offers to run a school system in a number of major cities in the US.   I am also sure that the the Teachers Union leaders in that major school system will do everything it can to stop that from happening.

This is no longer a Teachers Union issue, this is a moral issue.   The facts are startling and irrefutable that we are turning into a nation of haves and have nots.  A good education, just like good health care should be a right and not a privilege in the United States of America.   Yesterday, thanks to President Obama's leaderhip, we are moving closer to have health care as a right and not a privilege.   It is too bad the democrats can't show that same level of intelligence and courage when it comes to unions.  I guess the difference is that Teachers Union have money and votes and our kids don't.  It always comes to money and votes....