Comments on: Does PPS want a teacher strike?

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:53 +0000

You know after I posted I did realize that when Mr. S was less drunk he taught us a lot about social studies that was not in the book that I appreciated

Everything you read these days is so disparaging of teachers and especially so straight out of Washington DC. Why are the inspirational stories not front page news? There are certainly thousands more of those than the hot for teacher style sex scandals. Teachers are saving lives every day, probably every minute. Where are those statistics? Many kids are clothed and fed by the school so they CAN learn from a caring teacher and pull themselves up by their bootstraps (Being facetious, I hate that term). In a time when the idea of protecting children is at it’s most intense people also seem to care less for and criticize more the heroes that have always been there for children. They are so ready to hand them off to the free market to fix because that is the solution to everything right? To quote my pal Rita, “Don’t get me started”

Can we start a “How a teacher has helped me” thread?

By: Miss Merry Sunshine

Miss Merry Sunshine — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:33:43 +0000

Great post, Stephanie, great post! You make me feel good about being a teacher!

That poor boozy teacher who fell asleep in class? I had a few real zingers in HS, too–they made me WANT to be a teacher, knowing I could do a better job. Sometimes poor quality and mediocrity is a motivator to others, sad but true. It gave me the impetus to pursue a career in teaching. REALLY!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:49:38 +0000

I attended the rally as a parent in support of my teacher and school and brought my daughter. She is 6 so I told her it was a teacher parade and that we were helping their bosses know that we think teachers are really great. I did not see the news but am disappointed to hear that the teachers were represented in a negative way. I thought the rally was really positive and the testimony was wonderful. I believe I am accurate in saying that the entire event was planned with PPS and proper permissions were granted. The guy with the bullhorn was shushing everyone while the children performed before the school board meeting started. I view this as using the system properly and wish that people would use the right to peacefully assemble more often actually. It is frustrating that teachers airing a grievance in a peaceful and legal way would not be celebrated. Teachers saved my life. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Gentry at King School in Urbana allowing me to stay with her after school and even giving me a ride home. I may have never developed empathy for others and would certainly be a long forgotten statistic. Sure I had a teacher that was famous for falling asleep in class while we sniffed his cup to confirm it was booze and then changed our grades but the good far outweighed the bad. I will never be able to understand why we don’t put teachers on pedestals. I do not have enough knowledge to comment on the pros and cons of merit pay but if I was a teacher I would be against it. There are too many unsung heroes that would get passed over and I don’t think it would foster good competition but rivalry.
Where I do agree with comments on the other side is that we do have to figure out how to use the system and also partner with PPS. Public education is in the toilet and in Portland for all of it’s major problems the community still cares to make it better (even if we don’t agree yet on what better looks like). In many large districts I have heard the community has totally turned their back on the schools. I don’t know how we do it but I do detect sincerity in pockets of PPS admin and we frankly need the taxpayers to vote for more funding. I personally expect PPS to be the one to bridge the divide but also hope the teachers can meet them halfway but without selling out their integrity. Go teachers!

By: Steve Buel

Steve Buel — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:19:19 +0000

Justa Guy, While the cost of higher education is not in the first tier of relevant topics concerning a teacher contract, it does have two points of relevance. First, huge numbers of young teachers have huge debts from the high cost of college. Seems like this might make these teachers even more interested in their salaries. Secondly, in the Oregon Legislature college education is played off against K-12 education — most often by the unions representing K-12 education. These unions control a lot of what goes on in the legislature and since they don’t represent college professors etc. colleges are way underfunded in Oregon.

P.S. It would be nice if we could just sit down and calmly come to an agreement. Never seems to happen that way and one reason is that the people in power are often pretty unreasonable. Ask anyone who has tried to bring about social change in this country. Heck, ask anyone on this site who have tried to get PPS to truly address the obvious unfairness of the equity issues. Try this: after 34 years of following PPS politics, teaching for 42 years (including the 1990’s in Portland), running 5 times for the school board — all in a responsible manner, though critical of much of what PPS does- I couldn’t even get appointed to a committee to help the district deal with the transfer issues. Yep, they really want to hear opposite viewpoints. It is this type of an attitude the teachers are confronting. It seems the criticism of people taking positions which run contrary to the districts’s positons is almost always done by the people holding all the power. “You could all be more reasonable and just agree with us.” Maybe this is not true in your case, but generally it is what happens.

By: marcia

marcia — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:43:57 +0000

Shrill and hostile…Yep, that would be me/

By: JustaGuy

JustaGuy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:29:15 +0000

Steve and Ms. Merry:
Thanks for the responses. Couple of things; in my earlier post I meant to state that the cost of higher education was not relevant to the current discussion. I also could have been more clear; I get my news from many sources, so my greater point was/is that although many things have occurred across many years, you as Portland Teachers are essentially attempting to close a business deal with PPS. You need the public to support you as that will add leverage and also assist when future bond measures come up, as they always do. Many Portlanders saw the news clips and it was not pretty for the cause. The question in this particular contract negotiation is not what sacrifices were made 1, 3, 5 or 7 years ago by educators. I recognize that many of you have in fact made such sacrifices, but that ship sailed, although the memories remain. The issue is what can you obtain right now, based upon the facts on the ground, and where is the tipping point at which the public looking at 12% unemployment decides that you as a group are no longer sympathetic figures? Again, I come from a union household, and I negotiate for living, so I have an academic interest in how this is playing out. I believe your leadership is doing a poor job of managing the discussion and the rank file as interviewed by TV did nothing to further your cause in my opinion. You got me with the Mary Kay Letourneau reference. Thanks for the give and take.

By: Miss Merry Sunshine

Miss Merry Sunshine — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:03:09 +0000

Hey, JustaGuy–some interesting points and a good laugh with your Jimmy Hoffa point!

I’ve got one for you–teaching also gave us MaryKay Letourneau……GUESS THERE ARE LEMONS AND BAD APPLES EVERYWHERE, EH?

The bumper sticker is real and valid, and union bashing doesn’t accomplish anything. It’s ironic that my experience has been most people who bash unions don’t have one.

Back to the issues: What the public, and board fails to remember is that teachers took pay cuts, freezes, and other concessions LONG BEFORE THIS RECESSION. We literally have been sacrificing in this district for years. We are not asking for the “moon” while some are jobless, etc. If the sacrifice were shared, my tenor, and that of people on this blog might have been different–but when folks in admin get raises and perks–and teachers are asked to SACRIFICE AGAIN….welll……geee, I’m getting a little “emotional” here!

Let me address the “emotion” issue before I go off into the sunset and zip my lips for awhile. (Intermission while I go check to see if I’ve taken my hormones today! A little estrogen keeps those pesky emotions in check . If you are a teacher, then PASSIONATELY CARING ABOUT KIDS AND EDUCATION IS PART OF YOUR PSYCHE. Not be emotional? If someone would tell me how to take the emotion out of teaching and punch a clock and let it all go at the end of the day, I’d give it a try, you betcha.

Couldn’t agree with you more on the district spending issues, most posts on Equity are dealing with that. It’s hard to stomach sales of surplus equipment, Blackberries, raises, etc. It undermines taxpayer confidence in the school district.

By: Steve Rawley

Steve Rawley — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:57:18 +0000

One problem with TV news is that it only pays attention when things bubble over into crisis.

This particular crisis has been brewing for 500 days…. The frustration of teachers slowly building up over a year and half while the district stonewalls is not very telegenic.

But the cameras are there when frustrations do finally bubble over, and teachers look “shrill and hostile.”

“I got a right to be hostile, man, my people’s being persecuted!” –Flavor Flav

By: JustaGuy

JustaGuy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:19:50 +0000

I am not involved in this matter other than as a grown man who pays taxes and hopes to live in a well educated, civil society. The problem I see is that you are all right and wrong, and many of you allow emotion to get you off topic. I think everyone can agree that a top down/bottom up audit of how and where the district spends the available funds would serve to aide the public in ascertaining if wise spending decisions are being made. Many citizens believe, and may in fact be correct that we do not have a funding issue as much as we have spending issues. Who can really say as of right now? It would be so easy to accomplish, yet where is such an analysis, and why isn’t it the centerpiece of this negotiation?
Additionally, Super Teach raises some great points, but many of the responses ignored the points and began emotionally arguing beside the point, and even mockingly doubting whether it was a teacher. For instance, one post began to discuss the cost of education, which is completely off topic to the issue at hand. Another response states that no laws were broken and the police did not have to act. Super Teach used the word “tantrum” not riot. To this tv news viewer, it appeared as a tantrum, and the teachers interviewed sounded shrill and hostile, especially when the local unemployment rate is over 12%. So much of this is about tone and tenor, and my opinion is that you need a contract, but your leadership is tone deaf and doing you no favors at all. This does not imply that all unions are either are good or bad. It simply means that in my humble opinion, you folks who have chosen a profession as essential as education need to have leadership that has a better read of the public at large. One more observation from a union household; lay off the bumper sticker slogans. The labor movement also gave us Jimmy Hoffa.

By: Steve Rawley

Steve Rawley — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:59:12 +0000

Marcia and Ms. Merry, we’re in total agreement about the importance of unions and collective bargaining, especially in a profession traditionally dominated by women. Before teachers were organized, their work wasn’t even considered a profession.

So I have no problem with folks giving lessons on the history of organized labor here.

No doubt the teacher corps is pretty stratified in PPS. For some, it’s just a supplemental paycheck. But for many, their jobs are the sole source of income for their families.

For those who are otherwise comfortable, who don’t question authority, and who believe in the benevolence of management systems, merit pay probably sounds like a nice way to make some extra money.

But for those who are sole breadwinners, speak up about injustice, or advocate for students in the face of managerial incompetence, merit pay is nothing but a ticket to the bottom. Not just for them, but for the entire profession.