Over the last few years teacher unions have been blamed for all sorts of problems; the declining economy, the ballooning debt of our municipalities and poor student performance. While public approval remains high for teachers, that is not the case for their unions (ironic, isn't it?). Some see the unions as an impediment to increasing student achievement and improving teacher performance. We know that is not the case. In fact, some research has been done on this issue, making it clear how difficult it is to pin down.
Some have taken to attacking teachers rights to collectively bargain over their working conditions and benefits (Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana). We all know that if you want good learning conditions, you need good teaching conditions.
People like to ignore that unions and districts can work together to achieve the goals of creating good teaching conditions, so teachers can provide great learning conditions. We have been able to work collaboratively here in Montgomery County over the years to do this and other districts around the country are beginning to do so as well.
Ed Week released a report on collective bargaining and how it is being changed as more unions and districts work more collaboratively rather than adversarially. You can read the report here.
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