No big deal, it's just the students!

[Lilly]

So my teachers have been working without a contract for a year. Now is the time, they feel, to start "renegotiating." Exposition: The last superintendant we had put us $6+ million in debt, and we just recovered last year. So yeah, we don't really have money to negotiate with. Contract after contract is drawn up and shot down. That's fine with me. Good for the teachers, they need to be paid with better wages. My problem comes in here in the teacher's mentality that they won't get anything done until parental calls are put into the school board. Ok so that's not a bad plan. Their idea to get parents' attention? Work to contract. Meaning, no overtime, no taking papers home to grade them. And for me, now biology reviews on the weekends, meaning my entire class wasted a year because we're all going to fail the test without those reviews. They also want to boycot graduation. Which is slightly less important academically, but far more important emotionally. The teachers whom I have spent the past 4 years of my life with will not be there to see me graduate.

Ok, so that was more of a rant than a post. But my question here is, is it right for the teacher's union to use the students as a tool?

No. It just isn't. It's disrespectful to the students. It also is just wrong to manipulate the learning of 1300 students in order to get a better contract.

[kobayashi]

if you disallow industry specific workers to strike, they will be screwed by their employer. it appears that it is legal for your teachers to strike and they are already getting screwed. imagine how much worse it could be if the right to strike were taken away from them?

at the same time teachers should not be using the education of students as their tool in a labor battle. but what other tools do they have available?

the same situation arises with some other essential services, paramedics or police officers for example.

i've always thought these types of contract negotiations should be handled by an autonomous 3rd party with representatives from both sides, the government and whichever essential service is in question. they should begin negotiations early as well. and they should all be discouraged from brokering through the media(i can't believe i just said that ).

what a dream world....

[pax]

I understand the concerns of your teachers, certainly. I don't know a whole lot about how unions and labor negotiations work, but I will say that I think it's shameful that they're thinking of boycotting graduation. Everything else, they *might* have an argument for, though I wouldn't agree. But boycott graduation? That's kinda mean, the way I see it. Graduation is for the students, and it has everything to do with celebrating the students' achievements. To boycott graduation would be not only unnecessary and pointless, but would probably be a PR disaster for them as well.

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Well, the God I believe in isn't short on cash, mister. --Bono

But a day will come
In this dawning age
When an honest man
Sees an honest wage.
--The Edge

[martha]

Originally posted by Lilly:
So my teachers have been working without a contract for a year.

Work to contract. Meaning, no overtime, no taking papers home to grade them.

You situation sucks, to be sure. I doubt if your teachers enjoy what they're doing right now. Teachers care deeply for their students (I know, some of them are assholes), but giving your weekends up for free to do reviews and then not have a contract for a year is outrageous. I'm afraid I'd be doing the same thing. Very few people understand how much time we give for free in our profession. Grading papers on our own time is a given, and we do it because we knew the job was like that when we took it. But to keep doing that when the school board doesn't give a shit is out of the question. The parents may have to get involved. I don't know the specific situation, but I wanted to offer another side to the story. Lilly, how will you fail the test? Do the teachers write the test, or is it an AP test? Have the parents considered paying the teachers for the weekend time they ususally give for free? The school board won't.

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You have fairly generic bunions. --my podiatrist, 4-11-02

[Lilly]

Originally posted by martha:
Lilly, how will you fail the test? Do the teachers write the test, or is it an AP test? Have the parents considered paying the teachers for the weekend time they ususally give for free? The school board won't.

It's an ap test. Let's put it this way, ap biology is not an easy test by any means. Getting an a in the class does not assure you good marks on the test. Without my teacher reviewing with me I'm afraid I will fail, no matter what. Then I wasted a year and $45 to fail and that irks me. We have considered paying my bio teacher in example as a private tutor. However, that would put him out with the union, and we don't want to do that at all.

I understand the teacher's position, I really do. And I see that it hurts them to work under contract. Hell, when I went and spoke with my bio teacher, he had tears in his eyes saying "I just don't know what we're going to do." Aside from the tears, it touched me so deeply to hear him say "we" as opposed to "I." I know they put so much time in for us they don't get paid for. I understand that. Maybe the union should allow these reviews...I know they don't want to screw us over that bad. As far as graduation, I am in complete disbelief about it still. My French teacher teared up when she told us about the possible boycott. It's a terrible situation for everyone. Though I like Kobe's idea, we have approx. $0 to pay a 3rd party. Basically the third party are the parents. Which sucks cos that's where the screwing the students to get the parents involved enters...sort of a catch 22. But to me there must be an easier way. I just haven't figured it out yet.

[This message has been edited by Lilly (edited 04-22-2002).]

[martha]

Originally posted by Lilly:
I'm afraid I will fail, no matter what. Then I wasted a year and $45 to fail and that irks me.

Lilly, you won't fail. You are smart and you will do well. I'm so sorry this is going on for you. You know the material, and you can review it.

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You have fairly generic bunions. --my podiatrist, 4-11-02

[MEMHPIS-EVE 007]

Sorry to hear about your situation Lilly. I guess some things don`t change no matter in what country you are. We suffer from the same problem when teacher decide to stirke to raise their paycheck BUT we still have to do ours tests on time -doesn`t matter if we finished the subject or not.
And then,if we real ensist on it, then they prospone it in a few days, doing us a major favour!!!

TO your question-it`s not right, it`s very wrong. For some reason young people are always used as tools because they have very little affect and that`s WRONG!


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"And there`s no mountain to high ,no river to wide. Sing out this song and I`ll be there by your side.Storm clouds may gather and storms may colide...
I love you untill the end of time.
Come what may! I will love you until my dying day!"

MOULIN ROUGE

[WildHoneyAlways]

Lilly,
As a teacher and someone who has taken the AP bio test I can understand your dissatisfaction with your situation. However, AP tests are not part of standardized cirriculm and you should be reviewing for it on your own. It is a test to give you college credit. Trust me, college professors won't review with you like high school teachers do. (TA's might though )
Some teachers are assholes, granted, but please be patient with the ones who are not.