EAGnews.org :: Education Research, Reporting, Analysis and Commentary

By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

ABINGTON, Mass. – Teachers in the Abington school district wore matching shirts on Friday sporting the question, “How can you put students first when you put teachers last?”

They might as well have worn shirts saying, “You can’t put students first when teachers refuse to cooperate.”

It seems the teachers union in Abington has been working without a new contract for 16 months, according to PatriotLedger.com. That has prompted union members to “resign” from all volunteer activities involving students.

That means no advising student groups, clubs or teams, and no attendance at student events like the senior reception or graduation, the news report said.

So the teachers want to demonstrate their commitment to students (and how that should make them eligible for higher pay) by refusing to do anything out of the ordinary to help students. Hmmm.

That tells us the teachers’ commitment to students expires when their contract expires, even though their paychecks are still always on time. That’s not the type of teachers we would want staffing the schools our children attend.

What did the students do to deserve such treatment? How can they be blamed for the lack of progress in adult contract negotiations?

If we were members of the Abington school board, we would announce that there will be no more contract negotiations until the teachers end their silly protest and perform all the duties they traditionally perform.

The teachers shouldn’t have a monopoly on stubbornness.

Comments

Tags: #edgap, #edpolitics, #edreform, #edreformtribe, #education, #parentpower, #schoolchoice, #schools, #seniority, #teachers, @AFTunion, @kyleolson4, @NEAToday, @rweingarten, Abington schools, Abington teacher, AFT, American Federation of Teachers, collective bargaining, collective bargaining reform, EAG, EAGnews, Education Action Group, education reform, National Education Association, NEA, Randi Weingarten, StudentsFirst, teachers union