Hating, Loving, The Union

My always very mixed feelings about teacher’s unions have recently bubbled to the surface.

First, they came with my own receipt of a permanent contract. It brought a mix of validation and horror. At 25, after only two credentialed years of teaching, my district saw fit to offer me a tenured position. To me, this is crazy. I feel like I am still on such a steep learning curve, not even I know what kind of teacher I will be when it finally levels out. It is really hard to fathom how administrators and unions feel that there can be a sufficient sense of a teacher’s maturing practice to give them tenure after two years. Tenure should be earned, not assured, and it should take many years of excellence, not two years of general competence.

Simultaneous with this, I have been closely watching our district handle a school mired in its fourth year of Program Improvement, the phase where the school plans for its serious restructuring and alternative governance. Rebuilding the school’s staff and leadership is an option under the law and, in my opinion, often a good one. The union, however, is contending that the law is superseded by the district’s contract (yes, you read that correctly), ---failing teachers cannot be fired or forcibly moved from this school no matter the mandate of Congress. I find this ridiculous. At some point, and following six years of failure seems like a very reasonable point, someone must be able to powerfully intervene at a failing school. At some point, the walls must come crashing down on teachers who continually underserve their students. Professionals should be protected by procedures and processes, certainly, but those processes cannot end in their invincibility.

Finally, though, the last couple days have given me a powerful reminder of the necessity of unions, contracts, and tenure in our schools. A friend of mine was recently the subject of a ludicrous accusation. While her sensible principal saw through the allegations to the mother’s real concerns, a better placement for her special needs child, many other administrators would not have. The situation was ripe with potential for escalation and serious consequences. Teachers, often alone and often the face of many different sources of frustration for students and parents, are constantly at risk of facing false, angry accusations. The contract, with its guidelines for handling such complaints; the union, with its mandate of advocacy for the teacher; and tenure, with its protection of teachers from dismissal for parental/political expediencies; all were suddenly reaffirmed for me.

I’m left with the same frustrations as when I began, but a better appreciation for the depth of the impasse we face. We, as frequently inadequate professionals, are not at a point where we can be trusted with lifetime, invincible positions, but we, as an often irresponsible and selfish society, are not a point where we should leave our teachers without those tremendous protections.