A Teachers' Strike in Paradise
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- South Orange County is a suburban paradise is southern California. The climate is unbeatable, the surfing is great and the public schools are performing well. But not everything is perfect in the Capistrano Unified School District.
In April 2010, 2,200 teachers went on strike for three days after the school board imposed a 10 percent pay cut. The children who attended school during the strike had to walk past their teachers who, instead of preparing for class, were marching in front of the school with picket signs reading "It's not about the money" and "We'd rather be teaching."
Some parents honked in support of the union as they drove by. Other parents were frustrated by union members who were unwilling to work out a compromise with a district that is facing a $34 million budget deficit. Lots of parents talked about using the strike as "a teaching moment."
Reason.tv's Paul Feine talked to the school board president, the president of the union, teachers and parents to learn more.
Approximately 8.5 minutes. Produced and hosted by Paul Feine. Shot by Alex Manning and Paul Feine. Edited by Alex Manning.
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I'm finding it hard to feel sympathy for the people earning 81K per year with nearly 2 months off for the summer.
Then you must be super sympathetic to the teachers of south florida who starting out make 39k which is completely unlivable wage down here and who 30 years later end with 70k which is laughable for 30 years of service.
I'd trade with a person who makes $39,000 a year, gets all kinds of benefits and two months vacation in a heartbeat, even if it means I have to live in Florida.
@@chillombia39k is not a bad amount of money. I've helped teachers with college work their classes were some of the easiest classes in college. Unfortunately more people go into teaching for the benefits health care retirement most time off of any job instead of for educating kids.
I'm sure more illegal immigrants will fix this
So charter schools are bad because they work? Union teachers can't be fired and they don't see an issue? This is insane and this is why the system is broken.
You need to be fired.
sooner or later the teachers unions will try to co-opt charter schools
@@dektran4843 Sadly I think you are predicting an accurate future.
$81K a year?! I'll leave my job for that salary!!
$81,000 to $98,000 BEFORE benefits, for 9 months work ( actually far less ). Sounds like they're doing fine to me.
Jollyprez for 9 months? Do you understand how many hours teachers actually work? Absolutely, teachers get summers and Christmas, but they work 60+ hours a week to get the job done. Because, unlike most 9-5 jobs, outside of school hours they are grading papers, planning lessons, etc. they spend HOURS to do this, and they spend their own money to make it happen! This is why so many kid come home with "supply lists" because if they don't, then that comes out of that teacher's pocket
+Kaitlin F you think a mechaanical engineer doesnt bring home work from the office?
are you kidding me? have you been so overprptected from the free market you caant even even describe what you see in the mirror objectively?
My mother was a public school teacher for 25 years. I know EXACTLY how much work is done and where. I used to help grade papers as a kid. Today, the number of actual classes has been reduced, and the number of study periods increased. Teachers can - and do - much of their paperwork during these periods. In addition, there are "teacher work days" where students are home, and teachers are at school - getting paid. Teachers get all the important holidays off AND get one or two entire weeks off for "spring break." As far as modern curriculum, particularly so-called 'common-core' - most teachers just follow pre-digested lesson plans with very little leeway for extemporaneous explorations. Every time an article about bad performance comes-up, teachers' unions scream that the teacher-student ratios are too high, and more teachers need to be hired. It's ridiculous - my mother had class pictures taken from 1958 to 1972 - and her AVERAGE class was 39 pupils. Today - elementary schools are approaching 20. Yet student performance diminishes, without fail, every year.
I remember how hard my 5th grade public school teacher worked. He was a pool guy during the summer, and spent most of his time studying about pools. In class. He used SRAs to teach us about reading - put the box of SRA sheets on a table, and had us go and get color coded cards and fill out answer sheets while he read pool books at his desk. Finally he got frustrated with the students constantly interrupting him to have their answer sheets corrected, so he put the answer book near the SRA box and told us to correct them ourselves.
I'm not satisfied with the idea of a nationwide school choice system mandated at the federal level. The FBI needs to go after the teacher unions using the RICO statute. Nothing is going to change until the leaders of public school unions start going to jail for their outrageous crimes.
Lol. When I was in school during the 80s, we had tests and materials that were recycled year after year. Grading was done with Scantron. Teachers photocopied stuff and had the students hand out the photocopies. Sometimes it was the students that did all the photocopying! Makes you wonder what exactly teachers did in my school???
IF they don't want a pay cut, cut 10% of the teachers and increase class size.
Will California please slide into the ocean already?
YES! Maybe we can pay mexico to take California for us.
How do you decide which teachers are fired and which are promoted?? Well in a private school, the principal and his deputies know very well who the high and low performers are. When you remove the right of the boss to be a boss, you end up with California's school system.
Teachers have priced themselves out of a job. Good riddance. Go find an equivalent job in the private sector and find out that you have been living in fantasy land, not paradise.
Unions existed to fight uncontrolled corporate interests. But who are the government unions fighting?
Taxpayers.
I moved to California in 1979 because of all the job opportunities and great weather. Orange County was bedrock conservative and very rich. The democrats move in and now Orange County is turning into a cesspool just like the rest of California. Once the last republican governor was elected California keep raising taxes to give to their base of poor and illegals. Will me moving out now and let some fool buy my very expensive house before people realize what a cesspool Ca has become and then real estate will start to collapse because of the ever rising taxes and destruction of the middle class. Thank the progressives for destroying the golden state.
"How do you decide which is the first person that goes?"
-how many students have switched classes
-what are the grades of their students
-how many assignments have they missed
-how many sick days did this teacher take
-what is their attitude like
-do they make children excited to learn
-do they have a history of mistreating students
-do they allow their own opinions to influence their work
ITS NOT FUCKING DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE THE PERSON WHO SUCKS AT THEIR JOB
we homeschool.
@UtherPendragan I know it's not saying much but you are the most enlightened person I've ever seen on youtube.
81k for a school teacher....fuck it im moving to cali
fire all the freaking high paid administrators who sit on their asses all day being important, shuffling papers, eating free lunches and going to expensive meetings!
I love how these people think they're entitled to a 5% pay raise every year, in good times or bad. Meanwhile everyone else's income went up 13% in the last 10 years. But, with so few of us actually participating in this democracy can we expect any better? We get the government we deserve.
I have to say, teachers get paid pretty well. They get good pay, good pension and good benefits. If the economy tanks, how do these people think the pay will stay so good? I guess they just expect the regular folks will stop eating so they can keep living high on the hog.
Public unionization should be outlawed
Why? Isn't it the right of individuals to band together, even for stupid reasons?
Bruno Behrend No way. They are in the most need for unions. Not like there is a lot of competition.
No, we just need to get rid of a union's ability to monopolize the area it affects.
It's really nice to hear VanDamme Academy mentioned.
"Teachers have no rights, they can be indiscriminately fired"
How do a person's rights include having a job they can't be fired from?!
Is this a natural right? Were these teachers born with the right to not be fired?
God I hate government employees.
Still how can a class room cost 360 000$ yet the teacher get payed 60 000$ and the kids can't read.
where's all the money going?
I hear a lot of people talking about not paying for education...Teachers aren't worth it...Lets save money. I guess they're right. Maybe we should scratch the whole system if no one values it.
@RSCII I totally agree. I would love to have their job even after the 10% cut. I understand the area has an expensive cost of living but 80k per year. People are lucky if they make 30k. The teachers around here average 40k per year but they always point to the salaries of first year teachers which is low as being representative of their pay. It is not. The good teachers get snapped up by private schools which often times pay them less money.
It's similar to having the govt ensure all citizens have available to them clean water. However, if some citizens don't want to drink tap water, they can buy bottled water or buy a special filter on the private market. The availability of bottled water and water filters is no reason to get rid of water plants that provide clean water for all citizens.
Shut down the public schools and all these problems go away - plus the children get a better education privately. Problem solved.
@MarmaladeINFP Thanks - I read that and know all of this already! These people here need to read AND understand what is going on and stop being duped and led to their own demise.
its Not Sacramento's fault! its the poor management of money by the schools !!!! they wast so much money !!! Then try to put the blame on the Goverment!!
Government schools, and districts: Screws over the teachers, the children, the parents, and the unions.
@walterrosenbaum In California, 60,000 dollars is like 40,000 dollars a year in Texas. You have no idea how expensive it is to live here.
@libertyfizz Good on you and your co-workers for doing what is best to keep your jobs.
@duanescot She isn't explaining her own opinion, she's explaining how it is. The seniority system was agreed upon through law.
Government employees that are members of a union. Fire every damm one of them. Problem solved next?
I just took an additional 25% cut in my pay today. Thats a total of 40% since I started two years ago. Screw the public sector, bitchin about 10%.
I love how all the teachers and the union people can sit around saying "well.... how could you decide? How could you make a choice as to who needs fired, or replaced?".... and yet the private schools never have this problem. You don't do a good job, you get replaced. How is it that all these non-union schools seem to have no problem whatsoever in locating and removing bad teachers? Why devilry is this? What black magic spells are they casting? We all need to know!
teachers what do want, MORE MONEY, how much INFINITE. will you take raises being based on merit, HELL NO.
@BillySmooth55 You aren't kidding, for weeks worked (they have several weeks off during the school year) you're looking at roughly $2,300 per week before benefits. Bring in the charter schools and when attendence drops they'll be forced to lay off several teachers... budget problem should be solved.
"It's not about the money"
Then why are you not willing to take a pay cut to balance the budget?
@bullpcp My mom didn't get lunches off because she had to watch the kids. She had afterschool duties. So, she was already working more than an 8 hr day before she brought even more work home. Plus, there was continuing education. A person working 250 8 hr days would work 2,000 hours a year. That is approximately the same number of hours a teacher would work in 187 days a year if a teacher was averaging 10-11 hours per day.
@rstar3000 It got that way, because California used to be the only progressive state where College Education had absolutely NO tuition. It was free up until the 1960's! People were so happy to come here for that reason. Then, we watched more and more programs taken away with people who didn't want to lose that freedom.
they should tell em fine, 10% of you are fired then. Or they can give everyone a 50% increase and then pay everyone with IoU's.
@bullpcp Also, there was a higher quality teacher in the 1950s. There is no reason we couldn't decrease the admins back to 1950s levels. But women have more opportunities today and so it would be hard to attract the same quality of teacher without paying higher salaries. Nonetheless, the 1950s was a time when public education in general was high quality which proves the problem isn't simply that public education is inherently bad.
@libertyfizz The median salary of teachers in the US is between 40 to 50k. Some states have higher median salaries and some states have lower. The average entry salary for a teacher (w/ a bachelors degree) is 32k.
@MarmaladeINFP My mom was a teacher. Rarely brought work home. She had her entire summer free which was great for long camping trips. Her continuing ed was an evening class two times a week for 1 hour taking the bare minimum. I know and don't buy the teachers' whining. My mom believed her own propaganda and financially blocked me from getting certified. Even if I could go back and get certified now there are 10 to 20 applicants for every one teaching spot in a deeply flawed system.
@fourmanfilms I'll never understand why people can complain about paying teachers too much money when they have the most important job in all of society. And yet few people complain about all of the money we waste on the military. If you took a tiny fraction of a percentage of the Pentagon budget, we could easily pay for all teachers' salaries. But apparently maintaining our empire around the world is more important than giving quality education to our own children.
@Steve83B There were multiple layoffs at my partner's company and those employees lucky enough to stay had to take a 5% pay cut so the company could survive. But we did it and now that things are a little better the 5% came back. Not even making half of what those teachers are making even if they took the 10% cut.
@achmedthedeadterror5 The median salary of teachers in the US is between 40 to 50k which is about what an office manager makes. Some states have higher median salaries and some states have lower. The average entry salary for a teacher (w/ a bachelors degree) is 32k which is about the same as salary/benefits of someone with no higher education entering the military.
@bullpcp I'm not against private schools existing as an alternative option, but I am against getting rid of public schools. We don't need to get rid of public schools for private schools to exist. It's good that private schools are places where new teaching methods can be tried out. Some new methods will work better and some will work worse. I think there should be a process where this private experimentation can, when proven effective, be incorporated into the public school system.
"Teachers can be indiscriminately fired". Much less a problem where teachers cannot be fired at all.
What do we get for our money? Not so much. Illiteracy is climbing, along with taxes. Both faster than the rate of inflation.
Privatize education, before it is too late.
And, if you can possibly afford it, put your kids in private school. Yes, you pay twice-- once for the public school taxes, and once again for your kids. But, time marches on, and you don't get "do overs" for your kids.
I'm so tired of teachers unions. They work for us.
@bullpcp The amount of paperwork that exists now isn't inherent to the public sector. It was Bush's No Child Left Behind that created tons of paperwork. There certainly is no agreement that all of that paperwork that Bush forced on teachers has improved education.
@loqutor You won't be happy as a teacher. I know, my mom just retired at 70. Its a thankless job. You pay out of YOUR pocket for school supplies, the Union has a committee at the top who don't sympathize with what teachers go through and the government will cut YOUR pay, first, before they will raise taxes.
Government should have nothing to do with education,not merely because they don't do it as well as the private sector,but because to put the state in charge of the development of hearts & minds of young people is as bad as having a state religion to help develop the souls of people. Education is none of government's business because our self development is not something with which it can ever be trusted.
Abolish Public Education. We shouldn't support our public institutions.
Exactly what do these teachers expect?
You need a certain amount of private sector jobs just to fund 1 public job. In a recession you can't just raise taxes to try to make up the difference when the private labor market shreds jobs. That will just cause more unemployment and that means more public expenditures in sectors other than education.
Take the paycut! Or else who will find yourself in a perpetual cycle of taxes, spending and eventual desolation.
@irisojects How's that Hooked On Phonics worken out for you.
@MarmaladeINFP Congratulations for TOTALLY "getting it". Spread the word and halt the lies and misinformation.
@libertyfizz I've heard of literacy rates being higher in the past, but there is a lot more to education these days than literacy. In the past, if you learned how to count and read, you were considered highly educated. There are many factors that are causing problems with education in our society. There is a high drop out rate now in the black community. Private or public, if a kid drops out, he isn't going to get an education.
@achmedthedeadterror5 The pay of public teachers is a state issue, but I was talking about the average salary for all states. A union is just a collection of people who have the power to lobby and protest. Any group of people can form a special interest group to lobby and protest. If you want to change the salaries of public teachers in your state, then start a grassroots organization or look for an established political group that represents your views. That is how democracy works.
@MarmaladeINFP EXACTLY - WHAT THE HELL are teachers going to bust their asses for a Bachelor's or Master's degree and take on a MOUNTAIN of debt if they are going to work for SHIT wages?
@ajpmathwiz First, I'm not against tenure per se. I just think it should be based on something other than just seniority. Tenure in universities has to be earned. Second, I'd be fine if someone tested the removal of tenure in a few school districts around the country. Study those districts for 10 yrs and see what the results are. Experimenting with other methods is useful as long as the results are carefully studied.
@kev3d should read "has" instead of "have", as in "It HAS always burned me when.." Damn public school typing....
@simontimon2 I'm all for decreasing costs on unnecessary expenses, but I don't include teacher salaries as unnecessary. If you pay for a high quality teacher, the classroom could be mud hut and the kids would still get a high quality education. Most money that goes to education probably gets wasted on overhead costs such as paperwork. Many teachers spend as much or more time on paperwork than on teaching kids. Get rid of the bureaucratic red tape, but don't sacrifice the teachers.
@anarchylogic I think we are on the same page. Shopping was a response to a lot of comments here with people who can afford the luxury. Most can't.
If you make more than the median income, and you work for the public sector, you don't have the moral ground to stand on when protesting against a pay cut.
@whoo689 Most teachers don't make that much money. Only rich schools get paid like that. Most teachers make $30,000.
@MarmaladeINFP And sadly they blame people who are not necessarily to blame - teachers - and side with people who ARE to blame - rich assholes trying to get out of paying taxes for better schools WHILE blaming teachers and unions come to mind.
@achmedthedeadterror5 A similar argument could be made for education. A private school only cares about making a profit and doesn't have any allegiance to our country. Private schools could even be owned by foreigners. Of course, you can regulate private schools to ensure that foreigners are teaching objective data instead of teaching propaganda. But a privatized military could be regulated in the same manner. Anyways, many people in our military joined in order to gain citizenship.
Vouchers are the solution then outlaw unions for government workers
holy fucking shit the teachers in us are insane i would like to see them in lithuania teaching they would go insane the work is harder and the pay is mutch less then in us
@anarchylogic Great, then explain why the private sector teachers jobs are declining faster! Its because the people who lost their jobs in middle class can't afford private school any longer. Also, in the private sector, there are unqualified teachers who have no business teaching kids as well as qualified. You have to shop around. I'm thankful for private school in some districts, its great. In others, like mine, our public schools are better than private schools with a waiting list.
@MarmaladeINFP : eh? your point being? (now, without getting into Jane Meyer's crackpot journalism) The Koch brothers also fund the Museum of Natural History, the NYC Opera, the Mets and the list goes on. If had millions to spare, I would too gladly donate my money to support the same causes. How is this any different than the powerful unions who buy & influence politicians / political process in their favor at the expense of everyone else (in this case, parents and children)?
@achmedthedeadterror5 I don't care if it's private or public schools. Also, unions can exist in both private and public sectors. The real issue as you point out is getting good teachers. The only way to get good employees in any industry is by paying them high salaries. There is a reason all of the smartest people go into fields like banking because that is where the money is. The question is: Why as a society do we not collectively value the education of our children?
VOUCHERS NOW
@MarmaladeINFP Blaming teachers in all cases is a scapegoat.
@bullpcp I doubt that there is an objective way to compare private and public schools. Public schools have operate even in the poorest areas where a private business would never operate. Public schools have to deal with more kids who have major problems (low IQ, learning disability, social problems, etc). I'm fine with changes being made such as using incentives to attract better teachers, but lowering salary wouldn't be one of those incentives.
@libertyfizz I know that the government doesn't want competition, but the reason why the government is regulating a profession that is public is because America's constitution was "A right to education." Thus, at the very beginning, public schools helped American citizens. The reasons you state as to why we are having problems is myopic. You need to educate yourself on the topic instead of parroting others. I value people with original thoughts and your not coming up with your own.
@MarmaladeINFP So you are saying the ability to read and count is not important. Because when people say that kids are illiterate they mean they can't even read. It might help if schools were not run like prison systems. Your child is convicted and sentenced to a school by bureaucrats. If you don't comply the bureaucrats threaten to kidnap your children. If you child has a personality conflict with a teacher good luck trying to get them moved to another class or school.
@montichan SO if you're an intelligent, noble and ambitious teacher, why have you subscribed to union and teacher hating ReasonTV?
@truvelocity There is no national education system in America in spite of the Dept of Ed which doesn't teach a single kid. School districts are broken down into States some of which are actually the size of Belgium. Vouchers and school choice the Belgium model can work here. A closed monopoly system by the fact that they can take your money even if you don't use their service is the first flaw that needs to be addressed. Don't agree about the War no space left to explain.
@rayonic They HAVEN'T been like that all along. 30 or 40 years ago CEO's made less than 40 times the lowest paid worker in the company - now many make 500 times that. It's obscene. And women wouldn't NEED to be in the work force if a man earned enough to take care of his family the way he did 30 or 40 years ago. We HAVE been productive and there HAS been a growth in GDP over the same time frame - but the top 2% kept ALL of it. Median wages adjusted for inflation have stayed the same.
@achmedthedeadterror5 Blaming teachers in all cases is a scapegoat.
@anarchylogic If only it were that simple. You are forgetting all the hoops the bureaucrats would place in front of them. Then there is the cost of space and utilities. Do you know how many hoop daycares have to jump through just multiply that by 10. The government doesn't want real competition or real good teachers their goal is to make people think the government is needed to accomplish the task of educating.
Its not aprox. 8.5 mins as the description says, its over 8.75, as .5 of 60 is 30.
Ahh public school teachers: scraping the intellectual bottom of the barrel.
@anryth Man it's like shooting fish in a barrel with you - DON'T YOU THINK if they compared HOUSEHOLD incomes it would look as though the middle class were making MORE? As in, when you COMBINE incomes it's like DOUBLE?
So ACTUALLY if they were comparing household incomes it would be WORSE because if inequality was so great when comparing household (combined) incomes, don't you think it would be EVEN GREATER when comparing INDIVIDUAL incomes?
@achmedthedeadterror5 I see. Working on getting in the army... that means your young. Don't worry. As you grow older, your intelligence will mature and you'll be able to play with the big boys.
@MarmaladeINFP Also you are making some false assumptions about drop outs. Many had passing grades. Also not true that if a kid drops out they won't get an education. If you could opt out of a boring prison to get on with your life you would do it too. Many drop outs join military or get GEDs and enter community college career cert. programs or have jobs with family run businesses. Welfare is also a lure /trap for some of these who are sick of the prison like atmosphere in school.
@DeraJa Doesn't every student aspire to be some sort of public sector worker just so they will have a higher wage that the tax slaves they claim to serve. And if you aren't smart or connected to get one of those jobs just totally give up and go on welfare.
@luciferiexcelsil I stand by my comment - you're in awe of a 90K salary as if they're millionaires, when it's merely a middle class salary in California. They're paid well - not great. Sorry you make so little that it seems like so much.
@MarmaladeINFP Thank God SOMEONE hear can actually "reason" - just not the ReasonTV zombies.
Public schools need to go ha ha public school need to go ha ha public school need to go😂
Good to bruce jenner doing good things .
@truvelocity Another worshipper of government? When you realize the validity of the free market system you'll know where I'm coming from. Read some Ayn Rand and Austrian school of economics.
Could someone please call the wahmbulance? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
@luciferiexcelsil And you still need to realize that your thinking is warped.
I am sorry, it's a public school, your there to serve the public. Unfortunately thats been lost over time. I am sure being a teacher isnt an easy job, just ask the fire and police that work under far more pressure. The teachers union over all needs a huge lesson about economics. The problem for them, the teachers.. They're use to living under the tax payer, not the free market. Charter schools offer that alternative, and theres a million reasons to send your kids to one of them over the public school. They dont like that. Less students, less money coming in and it's not just a few bucks a head either. I think the best thing that ever happened to the public option is competition. I dont hate the public school, I hate waste and unaccountably and you get a lot of that with this current system.
Man, I hate whiners.
In Middle America a 80k job is a good living. Where I'm from NJ and in Cali and NY that's survival money. You can easily spend 50k a year in expenses with a family. Rent/morgage, property taxes, car insurance, car payment and your utilities. None of that is luxury just average living.
Kinda BS how teachers only get 6% of money when they make up most of the staff