If you want to understand what’s wrong with our public schools, you have to look at what is arguably the most powerful force in shaping them: white parents.
The above quote is from the podcast called Nice White Parents. The PSEA (state teachers' union) wholeheartedly agrees with the above statement --in fact, agrees so much-- that they offered a 10 hour training to teachers based on this podcast.
The NEA (National Education Association) is affiliated with state and local unions, and as such, is the largest labor union in the United States.
Teachers' unions are taxpayer funded** and the union believes that white parents are the problem. (Did you know that 74 percent of the population of WCASD are white?) This means that the union sees 3 out of 4 people in the WCASD as the problem with public education.
Curious about what else the union believes, and does with their money and their influence? They:
spend 80 percent of members’ dues on administration, politics, and lobbying;
influence local school board elections here in PA, and around the country;
fought to keep schools closed (which has hurt more than it helped);
participate in censorship by removing lessons for Presidents' Day;
oppose parental rights, curriculum, and fiscal transparency.
This is just a short list of the stronghold that the union wields over *politics!
Teachers: if you are happy with the NEA agenda, then by all means, continue supporting them with your union dollars. However, if you are starting to question the hundreds of dollars you're giving to them annually, consider opting out of the union.
**This topic deserves a post of it's own, but until then, very briefly: Unlike traditional unions (such as electrical) where the union members work for a variety of employers, the members of the teachers' unions work for school districts that are funded by taxpayer dollars. Union dues are deducted directly from members' paychecks, meaning that the school district is transferring the money to the union, rather than the employee writing a check and/or transferring the money from the employee's account to the union. This might seem like a minor distinction. But when union membership is compelled or coerced, it becomes an important distinction. For those who are interested, you can read about the Janus decision, which bans union fees as a condition of employment.
*Back to Basics believes in keeping politics out of the classroom. But the union is working hard not only to bring politics to your child's classroom, but they are working to advance their political agenda at the federal level, on many issues, some of which have no place in the K12 classroom.
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