As an ongoing joke, a friend gave to me...not a partridge in a pear tree, but a virulently anti-education union tome, "The Worm In the Apple". Written by Peter Brimelow and all but co-authored by Mike Antonucci, the bookgoes on to posit how the teacher unions are destroying American education. It's good to know we're not responsible for the tech stock bubble bursting, or africanized bees hitting the country.
I'll give my book report when I finish it.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
Union Bouquet #8: Holiday Edition
Blue Mass Group gets it right.
Harvaaaaard teachers are workin' to the rule! (No silly, not that Harvard.)
Ashtabula Teachers Association now has strike authorization. Update: I must have missed it, but then they reached a tentative deal. A strike during Christmas would not have been fun.
Can you believe I found this on the EIA website? It's old, but man...
Was I the only person who missed this press release from AFT regarding Diane Ravitch's findings on why unions are necessary? Even small-schools millitant Mike Klonsky saw it before I did...I think.
What would it take for all the teachers in the United States to go out on a one-day strike? This question was asked by Karen at AssortedStuff. I don't think you could ever get everyone (and by everyone I mean all of the organized locals throughout the country, not each and every teacher 'cause we know there will always be a few) to strike for one day, and I explained why on her site. It's a thought provoking question, though.
UTLA contract negotiations aren't going where they need to...so UTLA members have been instructed to boycott faculty meetings starting January 9th. Only the unpaid, after school ones. UTLA has told its members not to worry about being written up or being docked pay, as they won't accept a contract without a "no reprisal" clause. Here is the FAQ about the job action. The funniest question: What should I do to prepare? A: Uh, just don't go to the meeting, dude. (Okay, so the italicized answer was mine. Though all of you that laughed out there in the blogosphere know that we get the most inane questions at job action meetings like these.)
I shouldn't even mention it, but a D11 school board member in Colorado (what's up with these western states and their numberical school boards?) has a blog and he talks about the union but it just seems to go on and on without purpose or without reason, even so much as to be interesting or brief or even to the point or allow my eyes to stop crying for wasting those precious seconds of my life that I will never get back because I have wasted them reading this blog entry. Don't read it, I'm not responsible for lost lifespan because of it. (Yes, I fully intended that to be a run-on sentence).
This strike cost $100,000 for security. Teachers are armed with weapons of mass destruction, after all. Er, instruction.
Did this school board commit an ULP (unfair labor practice) when they pretty much threw out this contract?
"Time to describe the room. The room is 20 by 24 carpet tiles. I think the tiles are 18 inches each which makes the room 30 by 36 feet. At the moment I am writing this there are 42 people in the room. When we come in we have to sign a book. Someone said they counted 100 pages in the book. There is no window. The room does seem a little light today and so I will try to count each day. Maybe I should give my weight like Bridgett Jones. There are two desks in the room 3 rectangular tables and one round table. My understanding from some of the veterans is that there used to be more tables but some were removed. One of the things we had to sign when we arrived said that we would not put our head down on the table and sleep. I suppose that is why the tables were taken away. Chairs are just scattered around the room but because we are still human beings many of the chairs have been formed into informal circles. I started by sitting in a chair facing no where and talking to no one, but gradually I became part of a circle. I have no awareness of how this happened or when it happened." Life in the Rubber Room.
When you get accused of something in NYC, you get put in a "rubber room". That is, pulled from your position, warehoused and paid. To sit. All day. This accused teacher blogs from the rubber room. Hence his blog title. It reminds me of the scene in Johnny Get Your Gun (the book, not the movie) where he's trying to feel the sunrise with his face. I don't think he's making his situation any better by blogging about it (apparently the "man" seems to know about it) but it's still an interesting read.
Technorati Tags:
Teacher Union
Job Action
Contract Negotiation
Strike
School Board
Breaking News....Chicago Teacher Strike Possible?
For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.
Merry Christmas Chi-Town....
And here I thought I had the blogosphere exclusive, but Victor beat me to it just a few minutes ago. Dang.
On a side note, the history teacher quoted works at Fenger High School, also known in the blogger world as "Regnef", or "Fast Times at Regnef High". The guy that wrote that is gone. If Fenger is half as bad as Regnef, er, Fenger sounded on the blog, then I wouldn't be surprised why the guy is leaving.
UPDATE #1: Edspresso picked up on the story and opined why it's the union's fault here.
UPDATE #2: Props to Victor from CTSO, as he surmised the idea of a Chicago strike as Detroit was in full-on strike mode in September, a full three months prior to it hitting the papers.
UPDATE #3: For whatever reason, the Homeslice Radar didn't pick up on this article out of San Fran's Examiner.
One teacher called the strike talk "unprecedented" so far in advance, but when 80% of your membership joined after your last strike (in the late 80's) you, as a union do not have the needed institutional memory to keep alive the ideal of a strike-- that is the a battle picked, joined, fought and won.
Never having been through a strike myself, I can remember as a young teacher many years ago hearing the "old timers" reminiscing about it like it was a battle. Some would shake their heads. Others would recount the friends they lost in the process of the job action because their friends crossed the picket lines. Others would name those who crossed the lines and were still in the system, with a venom or detachment unlike I had ever heard.
In the beginning I was surprised how much the strike was mentioned, even though it had happened about ten years before I started. In fact, I thought it was overkill to mention it so much. Things are fine now, why do they keep bringing that strike up? I thought. Then it came to me:
The reason things were "fine" now was because people went out on a limb and struck for each other and every single teacher that would come after them.
In solidarity,
Doc.
Technorati Tags:
Chicago
Teacher
Union
Job Action
Strike
Illinois
Merry Christmas Chi-Town....
And here I thought I had the blogosphere exclusive, but Victor beat me to it just a few minutes ago. Dang.
On a side note, the history teacher quoted works at Fenger High School, also known in the blogger world as "Regnef", or "Fast Times at Regnef High". The guy that wrote that is gone. If Fenger is half as bad as Regnef, er, Fenger sounded on the blog, then I wouldn't be surprised why the guy is leaving.
UPDATE #1: Edspresso picked up on the story and opined why it's the union's fault here.
UPDATE #2: Props to Victor from CTSO, as he surmised the idea of a Chicago strike as Detroit was in full-on strike mode in September, a full three months prior to it hitting the papers.
UPDATE #3: For whatever reason, the Homeslice Radar didn't pick up on this article out of San Fran's Examiner.
One teacher called the strike talk "unprecedented" so far in advance, but when 80% of your membership joined after your last strike (in the late 80's) you, as a union do not have the needed institutional memory to keep alive the ideal of a strike-- that is the a battle picked, joined, fought and won.
Never having been through a strike myself, I can remember as a young teacher many years ago hearing the "old timers" reminiscing about it like it was a battle. Some would shake their heads. Others would recount the friends they lost in the process of the job action because their friends crossed the picket lines. Others would name those who crossed the lines and were still in the system, with a venom or detachment unlike I had ever heard.
In the beginning I was surprised how much the strike was mentioned, even though it had happened about ten years before I started. In fact, I thought it was overkill to mention it so much. Things are fine now, why do they keep bringing that strike up? I thought. Then it came to me:
The reason things were "fine" now was because people went out on a limb and struck for each other and every single teacher that would come after them.
In solidarity,
Doc.
Technorati Tags:
Chicago
Teacher
Union
Job Action
Strike
Illinois
Techno-Grumbling.
- Apparently I and three other people don't want to change to Blogger's "new" system (that used to be called beta. So now, I am an "Old Blogger". Boo.
- Somehow, some worthless spambot has figured out how to post comments (anonymously, of course) to my Union Bouquet #7. I am honored that I am worthy enough (and high-traffic enough) to be spambotted, but c'mon....I'm also annoyed, and tired of hearing about Cialis. Anyone else have this problem? (The spambot thing, that is.)
- I am trying to figure out which stat provider I like better; sitemeter.com or statcounter.com. Both have their ups and downs. Your thoughts?
- Anyone know from any of those sites how to figure out how many people are checking you out on RSS readers? Thanks.
Technorati Tags:
Spambots
Sitemeter
Statcounter
RSS Hits
Ugh, Christmas Hangover.
Ugh.
Christmas hangover. When I was a kid, it always began pretty much after all the presents were open. All that buildup, the songs, the propaganda, the wishing, hoping, thinking, wondering....done in a few swift tearing movements of a very efficient child. Still feel that way, too.
Merry Christmas to everyone (as it is still Christmas here, wherever here is) and Happy New Year. Blah Blah Blah.
I will be back posting soon, but for now, I'm enjoying the off time.
Christmas hangover. When I was a kid, it always began pretty much after all the presents were open. All that buildup, the songs, the propaganda, the wishing, hoping, thinking, wondering....done in a few swift tearing movements of a very efficient child. Still feel that way, too.
Merry Christmas to everyone (as it is still Christmas here, wherever here is) and Happy New Year. Blah Blah Blah.
I will be back posting soon, but for now, I'm enjoying the off time.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Comrade Homeslice, bring everything in your desk with you to the office...
From time to time, I check my traffic stats to see where my traffic's coming from, what they're looking at, how long they're staying-- okay, I'm a nerd when it comes to stats....though not quite as bad as Three Standard Deviations to the Left (though it's a great blog, I draw the line at putting uh, scatter diagrams of my classes' performance on my blog).
Anyhow, I've been getting a handful of hits from China, which is kind of funny-- unions and China don't seem like they'd mix. Seeing as how the communist party there is the people's party, why would there be a need for a union? I speak Marx:
"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need."
Anyhow, I got a hit the other day from somewhere in China, albeit cool, but their activity was surprising to say the least. Why do I say surprising?
They translated my post about "How to explain a layoff" from English into Chinese. Wonder what it was used for...or who got screwed because of it. You can see what this blog looks like in Chinese here.
(Somewhat long post follows inspired by that football email every teacher in the free world has been forwarding around. Except me, of course.)
I can imagine it now...somewhere in Communist China nestled in the back alleys of an overgrown, over industrialized city among the stores selling our pirated videos, DVDs and music there exists a smallish factory.
In the central office, the manager turns around from his computer and stubs out his cigarette. He clicks the factory's public address system, and speaks to the entire factory. Out of respect (and fear) the workers on the assembly line floor stop their work and anxiously look up at the speakers. Their machines fall silent.
The manager never addresses us twice in the same day, they think. Once in the morning with a reading from the Chairman's little red book to inspire us, and then nothing until the end of the day announcement by his assistant.
"Comrades, please pardon the interruption.” Announces the manager. “Would Comrade Machinery Operator Number 451 please report to my office immediately?"
A gasp goes out among the workers. No one has ever been summonsed to the manger's office for anything good. A few workers knowingly glance at each other, but nothing is said. The din of the machines begin to fill the recently silenced void as the overseers look on. The large North American discount retailer expects their order to be fulfilled and on time, thought one worker, and there are not good things that happen when it's not.
In the office a few minutes later, a knock at the door alerts the manager.
"Come in." says the manager.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" said Machinery Operator #451, his hat in his hands.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say this to you, but I'm going to have to lay you off." replied the manager.
"Lay me off, sir? I don't understand what you're saying." said #451.
"Uh, yes, it is a western term. You see, we aren't making enough money as a factory to keep you as a worker and pay you your wage. Therefore you're going to be let go."
"Oh. But I thought this factory was subsidized by the People's Republic of China, and that's who paid our salaries. Has the government run out of money?" queried the worker.
"Heavens no, he government hasn’t run out of money! The factory is subsidized, but not as much as it used to be. You see, recently the 56th People's Party Congress passed a law at the behest of the President to make sure that our factories were putting out the best product. It was odd, government officials that usually do not agree agreed and got this law created." the manager looked around. "Some groups actually accused the factories of not working as hard as they should or putting out the best product."
"Sir," said the worker, "I am the first one here and the last one to leave. Rarely do I get a break, and when I do get a break usually I use it to put out a better product. My days here are devoted to being the best possible worker I can be. I put my all into this product."
"I know you do. I am proud of your work, and I am honored to have you in my factory. But this law....what is it called, let me see. Ah yes, it is called the Strengthening Trademark Unification and Preventing Industrial Defects law."
"That's a long name." said the worker.
"Yes, it is. Most of my fellow managers have just shortened the name to STUPID."
"Ahh. I see. So what does this STUPID law do?"
"Well, basically it says we must be the best factory in China by making the best product, and our product must pass all of the quality control tests administered by the government. If our products do not pass these tests, we face penalties from the government. You see, each of us in this factory must work as hard as we can."
“Who wrote these tests? Were they workers like me, or managers like you who are familiar with how factories work?” asked the worker.
“No number 451. They were written by government officials who probably have never set foot in a factory in their life or thought about how complicated factory work can be.” The manager looked around nervously. “But I’m sure they wrote these laws with the best interests of the Chinese people in mind.”
“When are these quality control tests?” asked the worker. “Are they each day, each week, month….when are they?”
“They are in the 4th, 8th and 10th or 11th month—I can’t remember which.” Said the manager.
“But that doesn’t make sense. If these quality control tests are so important….” The worker trailed off, perhaps because of the glare from his manager. “But I’m sure they wrote these tests with the best interests of the Chinese people in mind.”
The manager nervously wiped his sweaty brow.
“Have they given us extra workers to meet these new standards?” asked the worker.
“No.” answered the manager.
“What about new machinery or more resources?”
“No.” said the manager again.
“Were we given any money to train workers to get ready to make a product to comply with these quality control tests?”
“Some money,” said the manager “but it is not enough to do what must be done. However, we must make do with what training we have and are able to provide. We must also make do with the equipment and resources we have because there isn’t any money to update them.”
"But my equipment is old," cried the worker, "it must be from before the Great Cultural Revolution! It breaks down often, and there is no money to replace it! Often times I have to fix it with my own means, including chewing gum, tape and my own money!"
"I know." said the manager. "But as I said before, there is no additional money to fix these machines or buy new ones, even though we could make a better product with better machines and resources. In fact, if our products don't pass enough of the government's quality control tests, they will take away some of our machines to focus our efforts. Then we’ll have to do better with whatever equipment and resources are left."
The worker looked astounded. How could a factory be expected to meet its production quota each month and maintain the quality if the means of production were taken away?
"But sir," said the worker, "sometimes the raw materials we are given to make our product require us to take extra time to prepare them to be made into our product. I don't mind taking the extra time, that's what we are here for, and I am committed to producing a quality product. However, I know for a fact that the factory on the other side of the valley gets raw materials that do not require as much preparation time as our raw materials do. That means that they have an advantage over us, one that seems to be unfair. Yet we are expected to compete with them. Why is this so?"
The manager looked out the window at the snow that was softly falling onto the Stalinist-era concrete buildings.
"I don't know, number 451. That is a good question. A good question indeed. I think our factory does an excellent job with the preparation of the raw materials and the creation of our product. Our workers, such as yourself are devoted employees and go above and beyond their required responsibilities. I would venture to guess that the workers and managers in the valley factory might not have to work as hard as we do, given the condition of their raw materials when they receive them. But we have recently run into a problem."
"What is that, sir?" queried #451.
"Well, because some of the raw material suppliers have not been happy with our preparation of them or the products we create with them, some of our suppliers have chosen to divert their product to other factories." said the manager.
"Like the one on the other side of the valley?" asked the worker.
"No, that one is too far away, and due to where they are located, the suppliers will not be able to send their raw materials there. Instead, there have been newer factories opening up in some of the empty buildings around town, and many suppliers have been sending their raw materials there.
"In empty buildings? They do not sound safe or the proper place for a factory. A lot of things are needed for a proper factory. Are they inspected by the People's Republic Building and Manufacturing Comradeship as we are? And are their workers required to be trained on their machines and raw material preparation methods prior to being hired?"
"No." responded the manager.
"But that's not fair!" exclaimed the worker. "They've got our raw materials, they aren't being held to the same government regulations that we are and it sounds like their workers might not know what they are doing because they don’t have the training to do things correctly. With this lax attitude, these factories can’t be doing well. In fact, I bet they put out the worst possible product out there.”
“Many are putting out inferior products. This is not due to the raw materials they are receiving, as I have said before, these are the same raw materials we are getting and you see what we have been able to produce with them.” Said the manager.
“How then are these factories staying open?”
“Well, it must be that they are an alternative. Despite the fact that they produce a shoddy product (if they are able to stay open) for whatever reason, it seems that suppliers send their raw materials there, even though those factories aren’t truly doing everything possible with those raw materials.”
Why were these new factories allowed to open anyway?" asked the worker.
"They are operated by private citizens-- wealthy private citizens and their factories. Many of these private citizens petitioned the government for these factories to open, saying they would be able to make a better product in place of many of the state-run and operated factories. They said factories like ours were inefficiently run and could not put out a quality product. So they allowed raw materials to be diverted and loosened or got rid of the many rules that we have to deal with so that these new factories could open."
"These rules are for the benefit of everyone. Workers, managers, products and raw materials." said the worker.
"Yes. Now, because our resources are diverted, we do not have enough raw materials to keep the number of workers that we have in the factory. We must get rid of some workers." said the manager.
"How are you to do that? How do you figure it out?" asked the worker.
"The fair way is to do it in order of when workers were hired. Loyalty over time should be rewarded. It is also a true objective measure for determining worker order.
"What about how hard I work?" said number 451.
"That is subjective. When I walk the floor, you might be feeling ill and not working up to your usual standards. If one of my subordinates walks the floor, they might be unfair to a worker or give a certain worker an advantage based on their human nature. That is not the right way to judge a worker."
"You're right. So I am to be...how do you say it-- laid off? I would like to continue to work here sir. Perhaps if another job opens up here, you'll consider me?"
"I know you would like to work here." said the manager. "However, I only expect to lose more machinery and more raw materials with the suppliers changing and the government sanctions. We will have to do more and more with less and less. I expect our workforce to shrink and additional workers to be laid off."
"It sounds as if this factory might go out of business." posited the worker.
"It might. It just might, comrade number 451. If it is not forced out of business, it will be irreparably damaged. Imagine that, a state-run institution created for the greater good effectively destroyed or incapacitated by a private sector institution that was created by the government itself."
"Sir, there's just one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Where will I find work if I no longer have a job?" asked the worker.
"Well, you could always sell your body parts." said the manager.
China
No Child Left Behind
Anyhow, I've been getting a handful of hits from China, which is kind of funny-- unions and China don't seem like they'd mix. Seeing as how the communist party there is the people's party, why would there be a need for a union? I speak Marx:
"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need."
Anyhow, I got a hit the other day from somewhere in China, albeit cool, but their activity was surprising to say the least. Why do I say surprising?
They translated my post about "How to explain a layoff" from English into Chinese. Wonder what it was used for...or who got screwed because of it. You can see what this blog looks like in Chinese here.
(Somewhat long post follows inspired by that football email every teacher in the free world has been forwarding around. Except me, of course.)
I can imagine it now...somewhere in Communist China nestled in the back alleys of an overgrown, over industrialized city among the stores selling our pirated videos, DVDs and music there exists a smallish factory.
In the central office, the manager turns around from his computer and stubs out his cigarette. He clicks the factory's public address system, and speaks to the entire factory. Out of respect (and fear) the workers on the assembly line floor stop their work and anxiously look up at the speakers. Their machines fall silent.
The manager never addresses us twice in the same day, they think. Once in the morning with a reading from the Chairman's little red book to inspire us, and then nothing until the end of the day announcement by his assistant.
"Comrades, please pardon the interruption.” Announces the manager. “Would Comrade Machinery Operator Number 451 please report to my office immediately?"
A gasp goes out among the workers. No one has ever been summonsed to the manger's office for anything good. A few workers knowingly glance at each other, but nothing is said. The din of the machines begin to fill the recently silenced void as the overseers look on. The large North American discount retailer expects their order to be fulfilled and on time, thought one worker, and there are not good things that happen when it's not.
In the office a few minutes later, a knock at the door alerts the manager.
"Come in." says the manager.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" said Machinery Operator #451, his hat in his hands.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say this to you, but I'm going to have to lay you off." replied the manager.
"Lay me off, sir? I don't understand what you're saying." said #451.
"Uh, yes, it is a western term. You see, we aren't making enough money as a factory to keep you as a worker and pay you your wage. Therefore you're going to be let go."
"Oh. But I thought this factory was subsidized by the People's Republic of China, and that's who paid our salaries. Has the government run out of money?" queried the worker.
"Heavens no, he government hasn’t run out of money! The factory is subsidized, but not as much as it used to be. You see, recently the 56th People's Party Congress passed a law at the behest of the President to make sure that our factories were putting out the best product. It was odd, government officials that usually do not agree agreed and got this law created." the manager looked around. "Some groups actually accused the factories of not working as hard as they should or putting out the best product."
"Sir," said the worker, "I am the first one here and the last one to leave. Rarely do I get a break, and when I do get a break usually I use it to put out a better product. My days here are devoted to being the best possible worker I can be. I put my all into this product."
"I know you do. I am proud of your work, and I am honored to have you in my factory. But this law....what is it called, let me see. Ah yes, it is called the Strengthening Trademark Unification and Preventing Industrial Defects law."
"That's a long name." said the worker.
"Yes, it is. Most of my fellow managers have just shortened the name to STUPID."
"Ahh. I see. So what does this STUPID law do?"
"Well, basically it says we must be the best factory in China by making the best product, and our product must pass all of the quality control tests administered by the government. If our products do not pass these tests, we face penalties from the government. You see, each of us in this factory must work as hard as we can."
“Who wrote these tests? Were they workers like me, or managers like you who are familiar with how factories work?” asked the worker.
“No number 451. They were written by government officials who probably have never set foot in a factory in their life or thought about how complicated factory work can be.” The manager looked around nervously. “But I’m sure they wrote these laws with the best interests of the Chinese people in mind.”
“When are these quality control tests?” asked the worker. “Are they each day, each week, month….when are they?”
“They are in the 4th, 8th and 10th or 11th month—I can’t remember which.” Said the manager.
“But that doesn’t make sense. If these quality control tests are so important….” The worker trailed off, perhaps because of the glare from his manager. “But I’m sure they wrote these tests with the best interests of the Chinese people in mind.”
The manager nervously wiped his sweaty brow.
“Have they given us extra workers to meet these new standards?” asked the worker.
“No.” answered the manager.
“What about new machinery or more resources?”
“No.” said the manager again.
“Were we given any money to train workers to get ready to make a product to comply with these quality control tests?”
“Some money,” said the manager “but it is not enough to do what must be done. However, we must make do with what training we have and are able to provide. We must also make do with the equipment and resources we have because there isn’t any money to update them.”
"But my equipment is old," cried the worker, "it must be from before the Great Cultural Revolution! It breaks down often, and there is no money to replace it! Often times I have to fix it with my own means, including chewing gum, tape and my own money!"
"I know." said the manager. "But as I said before, there is no additional money to fix these machines or buy new ones, even though we could make a better product with better machines and resources. In fact, if our products don't pass enough of the government's quality control tests, they will take away some of our machines to focus our efforts. Then we’ll have to do better with whatever equipment and resources are left."
The worker looked astounded. How could a factory be expected to meet its production quota each month and maintain the quality if the means of production were taken away?
"But sir," said the worker, "sometimes the raw materials we are given to make our product require us to take extra time to prepare them to be made into our product. I don't mind taking the extra time, that's what we are here for, and I am committed to producing a quality product. However, I know for a fact that the factory on the other side of the valley gets raw materials that do not require as much preparation time as our raw materials do. That means that they have an advantage over us, one that seems to be unfair. Yet we are expected to compete with them. Why is this so?"
The manager looked out the window at the snow that was softly falling onto the Stalinist-era concrete buildings.
"I don't know, number 451. That is a good question. A good question indeed. I think our factory does an excellent job with the preparation of the raw materials and the creation of our product. Our workers, such as yourself are devoted employees and go above and beyond their required responsibilities. I would venture to guess that the workers and managers in the valley factory might not have to work as hard as we do, given the condition of their raw materials when they receive them. But we have recently run into a problem."
"What is that, sir?" queried #451.
"Well, because some of the raw material suppliers have not been happy with our preparation of them or the products we create with them, some of our suppliers have chosen to divert their product to other factories." said the manager.
"Like the one on the other side of the valley?" asked the worker.
"No, that one is too far away, and due to where they are located, the suppliers will not be able to send their raw materials there. Instead, there have been newer factories opening up in some of the empty buildings around town, and many suppliers have been sending their raw materials there.
"In empty buildings? They do not sound safe or the proper place for a factory. A lot of things are needed for a proper factory. Are they inspected by the People's Republic Building and Manufacturing Comradeship as we are? And are their workers required to be trained on their machines and raw material preparation methods prior to being hired?"
"No." responded the manager.
"But that's not fair!" exclaimed the worker. "They've got our raw materials, they aren't being held to the same government regulations that we are and it sounds like their workers might not know what they are doing because they don’t have the training to do things correctly. With this lax attitude, these factories can’t be doing well. In fact, I bet they put out the worst possible product out there.”
“Many are putting out inferior products. This is not due to the raw materials they are receiving, as I have said before, these are the same raw materials we are getting and you see what we have been able to produce with them.” Said the manager.
“How then are these factories staying open?”
“Well, it must be that they are an alternative. Despite the fact that they produce a shoddy product (if they are able to stay open) for whatever reason, it seems that suppliers send their raw materials there, even though those factories aren’t truly doing everything possible with those raw materials.”
Why were these new factories allowed to open anyway?" asked the worker.
"They are operated by private citizens-- wealthy private citizens and their factories. Many of these private citizens petitioned the government for these factories to open, saying they would be able to make a better product in place of many of the state-run and operated factories. They said factories like ours were inefficiently run and could not put out a quality product. So they allowed raw materials to be diverted and loosened or got rid of the many rules that we have to deal with so that these new factories could open."
"These rules are for the benefit of everyone. Workers, managers, products and raw materials." said the worker.
"Yes. Now, because our resources are diverted, we do not have enough raw materials to keep the number of workers that we have in the factory. We must get rid of some workers." said the manager.
"How are you to do that? How do you figure it out?" asked the worker.
"The fair way is to do it in order of when workers were hired. Loyalty over time should be rewarded. It is also a true objective measure for determining worker order.
"What about how hard I work?" said number 451.
"That is subjective. When I walk the floor, you might be feeling ill and not working up to your usual standards. If one of my subordinates walks the floor, they might be unfair to a worker or give a certain worker an advantage based on their human nature. That is not the right way to judge a worker."
"You're right. So I am to be...how do you say it-- laid off? I would like to continue to work here sir. Perhaps if another job opens up here, you'll consider me?"
"I know you would like to work here." said the manager. "However, I only expect to lose more machinery and more raw materials with the suppliers changing and the government sanctions. We will have to do more and more with less and less. I expect our workforce to shrink and additional workers to be laid off."
"It sounds as if this factory might go out of business." posited the worker.
"It might. It just might, comrade number 451. If it is not forced out of business, it will be irreparably damaged. Imagine that, a state-run institution created for the greater good effectively destroyed or incapacitated by a private sector institution that was created by the government itself."
"Sir, there's just one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Where will I find work if I no longer have a job?" asked the worker.
"Well, you could always sell your body parts." said the manager.
China
No Child Left Behind
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I've never...
You know, I've been reading blogs now for oh, at least 4 years or so. I've been doing this blog for the better part of a year now. I've never come across a blog that actually irritates me...until now.
So there I am, surfing, looking for some good things to put in the next edition of the union bouquet. I found a pretty good blurb, a blogger who explained how unions stand in the way of the public getting a great education for their kids, etc. I wrote out the lampooning, sarcastic intro, added the link...and for some reason decided to look at what the blog was about.
The blog?
"Teacher Trash". *
The blog isn't about what teachers throw out, either. We're the trash in this blog.
The writer collects media stories about teachers who "shouldn't be in the classroom". That is, this individual posts stories from around the country about teachers who are accused of doing horrible things within their responsibilities as teachers and make the evening news or morning paper.
You know, our profession is done enough damage by the idiots who do evil things in the guise of being a teacher.
(Dr. Homeslice turns to face the blog-writer, Mediaskeptic)
Your blog does nothing except anyonymously defame nation's army of millions of teachers who work their behinds off for the betterment of their students in the search to publish a smattering of salacious details about the happenings involving a few depraved individuals. It is a waste of a few lonely bytes on a hard drive and the bandwidth that is needed to transmit it. You proclaim you are here to gather information on teachers that shouldn't be in the classroom, but you simply post old news stories that someone else breaks. You do nothing for the common good or the enlightenment of humankind. Go help tutor kids or something.
Mediaskeptic: to you I say BOOOOO!
*I refuse to link to this blog. I was not even considering mentioning it by name, but relented so you, gentle reader, could see for yourself how evil it truly is.
So there I am, surfing, looking for some good things to put in the next edition of the union bouquet. I found a pretty good blurb, a blogger who explained how unions stand in the way of the public getting a great education for their kids, etc. I wrote out the lampooning, sarcastic intro, added the link...and for some reason decided to look at what the blog was about.
The blog?
"Teacher Trash". *
The blog isn't about what teachers throw out, either. We're the trash in this blog.
The writer collects media stories about teachers who "shouldn't be in the classroom". That is, this individual posts stories from around the country about teachers who are accused of doing horrible things within their responsibilities as teachers and make the evening news or morning paper.
You know, our profession is done enough damage by the idiots who do evil things in the guise of being a teacher.
(Dr. Homeslice turns to face the blog-writer, Mediaskeptic)
Your blog does nothing except anyonymously defame nation's army of millions of teachers who work their behinds off for the betterment of their students in the search to publish a smattering of salacious details about the happenings involving a few depraved individuals. It is a waste of a few lonely bytes on a hard drive and the bandwidth that is needed to transmit it. You proclaim you are here to gather information on teachers that shouldn't be in the classroom, but you simply post old news stories that someone else breaks. You do nothing for the common good or the enlightenment of humankind. Go help tutor kids or something.
Mediaskeptic: to you I say BOOOOO!
*I refuse to link to this blog. I was not even considering mentioning it by name, but relented so you, gentle reader, could see for yourself how evil it truly is.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Mourning Mooney....
As you can see, I've changed the color of this blog to black to honor the passing of Tom Mooney. It'll stay that way for a while. Living several hundred miles from the Ohio border, Tom Mooney and I never crossed paths, but this guy was like a union rockstar to me. I looked up to him and read as much about him and from him as I could.
Goodbye, Tom.
Goodbye from Teaching Quality.
Goodbye from Union Librarian.
Goodbye from Gregory Flannery.
Goodbye from Shakila.
Goodbye from AFT's "Let's Get It Right".
Goodbye from Michael Charney.
Goodbye from Leo Casey.
Technorati Tags:
Tom Mooney
OFT
Teacher Union
For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.
Goodbye, Tom.
Goodbye from Teaching Quality.
Goodbye from Union Librarian.
Goodbye from Gregory Flannery.
Goodbye from Shakila.
Goodbye from AFT's "Let's Get It Right".
Goodbye from Michael Charney.
Goodbye from Leo Casey.
Technorati Tags:
Tom Mooney
OFT
Teacher Union
For the latest on teacher union strikes or negotiations, click here.
Monday, December 04, 2006
DTF Shakeup! Garrison out, Cantrell in!
Executive Vice President of 6 years Virginia Cantrell won 56% of the vote in a three way race for the presidency of DFT, beating her closest rival incumbent Janna Garrison's 35%. A third candidate played the spoiler role, pulling 9% of the vote away that could have gone to either candidate. The actual tally sheet is viewable here. The Detroit Free Press ran a brief article and a short Q & A with Cantrell about the change, and opened their forums to it, an interesting discussion to be found here. I'm sure there's more out there, I just haven't linked it yet.
Building Minds and Minding Buildings
Rest in Peace, Tom Mooney.
Tom Mooney, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers passed away this weekend due to an apparent heart attack. Long known as an innovator and respected throughout the country as a true teachers' union leader, he will be missed.
Still nothing on the OFT website, but:
Euolgies:
Let's Get It Right says goodbye. Medulla Noodle. EIA. AFT. AFT's press release mourning.... OFT's thing is a bit longer.
The Cleveland PLain Dealer has something here. The Cincinnati Enquirer here. The Springfield News-Sun here. The Columbus Dispatch here.
You can read an interview he did with Rethinking Schools on Teacher Quality. He also did this interview with PBS. This is part one and this is part two of an interview he did with a Cleveland station about Ohio's school funding. Finally, this column was written by Tom about charter schools and ran in The Free Press.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)