Certainly had OUSD officials, staff, or Board members booed and hissed during a press conference by the union we wouldn’t be hearing a repeated refrain from the union and/or its teachers that we ought not talk about such behavior and focus instead on the actual contractual disagreements. Nor should we as a community turn a blind eye toward how these two parties (and, again, their members) behave toward each other. I’d want to know it (for the same reasons) if OUSD staff and officials heckled the teacher’s union at a public forum. It would certainly tell me something about them as well. It would tell me a lot about the relationship between the two parties and, again, would probably presage how their relationship would progress in the future.

Teaching schoolchildren who were not wealthy was originally the purview of pre-married women earning starvation wages supplemented by the food and coal donations of grateful parents. It has never been a lucrative job! As the economy demanded more educated workers, the job was professionalized and unionized to increase stability, while still relying mostly on goodhearted and college-educated women willing to work for less than their college-educated male counterparts who pushed paper in offices.

But now, because of our regressive tax structure and dependence on phony economic bubbles that serve a tiny minority of high-rollers, we are looking at a steep erosion of what has been accreted through decades of strikes, economic growth and public pressure. Already charters like KIPP are demanding teachers work longer hours for less money, while districts like Mt. Diablo are wholesale slashing their workforce, cutting PE and so on.

And older teachers seeking security are not just angry for themselves — we see our qualified peers leaving every year for suburban districts or other professions when they are faced with real-life choices surrounding raising their own children, health problems and so on.

When teachers are underpaid or mistreated it is the students who will suffer, mostly from the devastating effects of constant turnover, as well as absenteeism as teachers moonlight to make ends meet. Many work side gigs in addition to summer jobs, even as we lay out hundreds or even thousands of our own money to support our classroom.

Young teachers see older teachers who they don’t necessarily respect — and yes, some are “burntout” — as supporting the union and think the union’s defensiveness is harming the improvement of schools. Of course, unions can be extremely conservative institutions and thus often don’t mesh with the mindset of a twentysomething. But these young folks need to see the forest for the trees: Grieving small violations of the contract is part of holding ground that was won through enormous sacrifice.

Many young teachers who flood into the empty spaces in OUSD every year are definitely not in this for the money, nor do they need much. However, as high-minded as they are, just like everywhere else in America, the reality of the job and the opportunities they have elsewhere in life — travel, children, money, advanced degrees — siphon off at least half from the profession by five years out, and many more leave “ghetto” districts for the stability and support of wealthier districts.

Olson-Jones is a true believer, and I mean that in the best way possible: She was a classroom teacher of poor children and believes that to succeed in the classroom teachers need respect, support and, yes, proper renumeration. She believes in the goal of equal educational opportunities for all. And she sees that the issue of OUSD salaries goes way beyond Oakland.

Much has been made of how the OEA’s demands were “political” in nature. The point of this is that there are much larger political issues at stake in determining teacher salaries: This is a statewide issue related to taxation, values and political agendas.

OEA is telling the state, you need to find this money if you want to make this system equitable for poor children. Don’t tell us you don’t have it, because we see the fabulous wealth all around us. You can’t go 50 feet without running into a $70,000 car, a $200,000 kitchen or $100,000 landscaping job.

And save your free market stump speeches. We’re not talking about socialism here, we’re talking about taxing and budgeting enough money to a system which creates order, productivity and growth in the state and nation.

Sorry for the long comment…

I also agree with Harlemoon. It just isn’t professional. I wonder what the union people would say if Tony Smith or Vince Mathews did the same while they were speaking. It’s totally disrespectful.

turner

http://pageonekentucky.com/2009/01/21/mcconnell-bush-booed-at-inauguration/

Save the “professionalism” for meetings behind closed doors, in fact isn’t that the buzz word to “get someone” behind closed doors anyways…boos, hisses, and pies are to be expected in the Court of public opinion…What are you basing such “morals” on anyways?

Boos, Hisses, Pies in the Faca are all AMERICAN…

Yesterday, I heard part of Tony Smith’s speech. Do you know where I can get a copy of his entire speech.

I heard a couple of disturbing things – even things that parents should not complain or question although they are in the teacher contract. I want to make sure I did not mis-hear what he had to say.