Detroit Teacher
Sickouts © 2016
Students are being hurt
more than teachers
For the umpteen time this year, Detroit teachers have staged a “sick out.” Each time these strikes occur, Detroit parents look for alternatives for their children. They’re fed up with the ongoing “food fight” between the teacher’s union and the school district.
For its part, the teachers have created a fake “us” versus “them” scenario that portrays teachers as victims and “saviors” of Detroit’s public schools. But in reality, it is the students who are the victims, and it is they who are being hurt the most.
Detroit parents have been seeing the quality of their children’s education decline for years. They didn’t stick around for matters to get worse. So, when teachers stage these regular “sick outs,” it drives even more parents to look for alternatives.
At one point, the Detroit Public Schools had over 250,000 students. It now has barely 40,000 students today. A lot of that has to do with the quality of education and the never-ending strife.
The teacher’s union has a history of staging strikes (sickouts) to get higher wages, even before building conditions, pay issues, an emergency manager, and even before Gov. Snyder was in office. These latest sickouts are a continuation of that history.
Detroit’s teachers have fought hard to keep Detroit students on the educational reservation. They’ve opposed vouchers that would let parents take their children out of failing schools. They’ve resisted academic improvements. They’ve opposed charters. They’ve opposed efforts to get rid of incompetent teachers. The only thing they’re for are higher wages and benefits.
Like the City of Detroit’s unions before the city was forced to declare bankruptcy, the teacher’s union kept demanding higher wages and health insurance benefits. Obviously, the teacher’s didn’t learn from Detroit’s experience or from the experience of the United Auto Workers who stop fighting with the Big Three and saw themselves as partners.
To be fair, Detroit has some excellent schools in Cass Tech, Martin Luther King, Renaissance, and a few others. That said, too many Detroit schools are failing at educating Detroit’s young people, and the ongoing “sick outs” don’t help.
Sickouts © 2016
Students are being hurt
more than teachers
For the umpteen time this year, Detroit teachers have staged a “sick out.” Each time these strikes occur, Detroit parents look for alternatives for their children. They’re fed up with the ongoing “food fight” between the teacher’s union and the school district.
For its part, the teachers have created a fake “us” versus “them” scenario that portrays teachers as victims and “saviors” of Detroit’s public schools. But in reality, it is the students who are the victims, and it is they who are being hurt the most.
Detroit parents have been seeing the quality of their children’s education decline for years. They didn’t stick around for matters to get worse. So, when teachers stage these regular “sick outs,” it drives even more parents to look for alternatives.
At one point, the Detroit Public Schools had over 250,000 students. It now has barely 40,000 students today. A lot of that has to do with the quality of education and the never-ending strife.
The teacher’s union has a history of staging strikes (sickouts) to get higher wages, even before building conditions, pay issues, an emergency manager, and even before Gov. Snyder was in office. These latest sickouts are a continuation of that history.
Detroit’s teachers have fought hard to keep Detroit students on the educational reservation. They’ve opposed vouchers that would let parents take their children out of failing schools. They’ve resisted academic improvements. They’ve opposed charters. They’ve opposed efforts to get rid of incompetent teachers. The only thing they’re for are higher wages and benefits.
Like the City of Detroit’s unions before the city was forced to declare bankruptcy, the teacher’s union kept demanding higher wages and health insurance benefits. Obviously, the teacher’s didn’t learn from Detroit’s experience or from the experience of the United Auto Workers who stop fighting with the Big Three and saw themselves as partners.
To be fair, Detroit has some excellent schools in Cass Tech, Martin Luther King, Renaissance, and a few others. That said, too many Detroit schools are failing at educating Detroit’s young people, and the ongoing “sick outs” don’t help.