Wednesday, March 15, 2006

The teacher's union goes after John Stossel

John Stossel is doing an outstanding job telling America what's wrong with its schools, and how they can be made better.

Now read what he's getting for his pains:

Several hundred people showed up at my door Wednesday to teach me a lesson by offering me a job. They were unionized public-school teachers, and they wanted me to go into a school and teach for a week. "Teach, John, teach!" they chanted.

I wasn't expecting that.

I did expect them to demand an apology for my TV special on education, "Stupid in America," which was critical of union work rules.

I didn't expect one of the speakers to be so blunt as to complain that school choice, whose value I had shown in the broadcast, would "take money away from . . . our union leaders" and a special program they had built to pay college tuition for a special-interest group within their union.

And I was especially surprised by one history lesson they taught me: "Public schools are what distinguish democracies from every other system in the world," and a country without strong public schools "lends itself to authoritarian thinking."
Be sure to read the rest.

I'll say more soon.

H/T Realclearpolitics

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did they get paid time off and union funded busses to show up and harass the man?

-AC

Anonymous said...

I haven't gone and read the full article yet, but I will. First, I need to get some anti-emitic handy to the computer.

You know it only 80% of them that give the good ones a bad name. There are really some good teachers out there doing their damnedest to teach, but they are in opposition to the students, parents, school administrations and the other 80% of teachers that fight them every step of the way.

I have seen it time and again. In a society of slugs a butterfly is an abomination. No wonder so many of our butterflys of knowledge are leaving for more lucrative work with less persecution attendant. Leaves us with only the slugs of sloth.

SOS=slugs of sloth or same old s***

Anonymous said...

Teachers in America never cease to amaze me. In my home town, the average work year comprises of 165 days. The average pay is 110,000.00 per annum, with many well over 200,000.00 per year. Please dont be fooled by the new hire put up on a pedestal tearfully claiming that they only earn 35,000 per year. That is a front for the Teachers agenda's. Fat full time pay for part time work. It is a discrace what teachers are [really] earning, how little they work, and HOW EARLY THEY RETIRE! Who wouldn't want to retire at 70% pay at 54 years old. As a tax payer, I can no longer afford my property taxes, and although the teachers and their unions are the #1 cause, the fat lazy local govt employees are not much better. And if you don't give them a 5-10% yearly pay hike, they hold your children hostage by going on strike. Who are the real terrorists among us? -Doug