Americans Losing Confidence in Teachers Unions

Rasmussen Reports™: The most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a presidential election. reported two-thirds of U.S. voters (66%)

Just 2/3? The other 1/3 must be asleep (or teachers).

say the teachers’ unions – the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers – are more interested in protecting their members’ jobs than in the quality of education.

Jazz Shaw blogged This brings up two related issues: unions in general and education policy in specific. I’m not one of the “destroy the unions” types and I recognize the important role they played in our nation’s early days of industrialization and the useful purpose they can continue to serve today.

I agree with the fact that they did serve an important role in the early days of industrialization, but seeing how the UAW was not willing to compromise any in the efforts to save the Big 3 Automakers, I wonder if they have not passed the point of being useful, and I certainly hope congress does not pass the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act

However, as the economic battleground shifts, I have become increasingly aware that some unions have grown into self-feeding beasts which can - in the wrong hands - grow into positions where they cease helping their own members and begin to damage the industries providing the jobs their workers need. While this has been more apparent in the auto industry of late, the current state of education in this country certainly warrants some attention to their policies and practices.

Unions seem to fight any change to the status quo, such as charter schools, vouchers, home schooling and other alternative theories.

Because they all offer to do a better job than the public school system.

With the sad state of affairs in American education, it would seem that anything might be worth a try. I’m not terribly surprised that voter confidence in the unions may be on the decline and this may be a well timed wake up call to union leadership. If we are truly moving into a “post partisan” age of new politics, here’s one opportunity to get started.