Evaluating Teachers Unions - Article Example

Evaluating Teachers’ Unions Are Teachers’ Unions A Solution Or An Impediment To Education Improvement? Teachers are the key drivers of the education sector; they bear innumerable responsibilities all aimed at improving the future of students and hence improving the whole society. The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) (2009) Joint Paper outline a long list of teachers’ roles and responsibilities. Some of their roles and responsibilities include: designing and planning learning and instructional programs, and delivering these programs in an effective and objective-oriented manner (BCTF & CUPE, 2009). They also discover and develop individual skills and talents in students, and the senior teachers also guide and mentor their assistants and trainees (Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008). In addition to the standard lesson-exam tasks, teachers are also responsible for the overall growth and development of their students as insinuated by Mr. Pipler who states that he is responsible for the overall development of his students. Why Do Teachers Need Unions? Considering their overwhelming tasks and their instrumental role in academic implementation, therefore teachers deserve rewarding employment packages. Unfortunately the government and other employers tend to ignore teachers’ welfares and hence they depend on teachers’ unions to advocate for them. Teachers’ unions present their grievances to the government and if they are not met they mobilize their members to engage in attention-seeking actions such as strikes (Hoxby, 1996). Many observers feel that some of these actions are extreme and that unions should engage in conciliatory talks to avoid academic disruptions (Boyd, Plank & Sykes, 2000). Union leaders and teachers justify their actions and declare that all their actions work to improve the education system (Boyd, Plank & Sykes, 2000). This brings up the following question: Are teachers’ unions a solution or an impediment to the improvement of the education system? I conducted an investigative research to answer this question and the findings were insightful. Figure 1. Teachers’ union rally at the legislature. Figure 1. Teachers’ attend a union rally at the legislature Adapted from “Province’s cash offer to end teachers strike expires,” by The Canadian Press, Times Colonist. Canada. “A twenty four hour job” In order to understand the situation properly, we need to understand the professional demands and responsibilities of teaching as a career. Many people think of teaching as an 8a.m. to 4p.m. schedule job. Teachers engage in many academic chores after official working hours such as: academic research, setting, and marking examinations. In addition to these academic tasks, we have to remember that teachers have a social responsibility of managing students (Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008). Mrs. Gigrouse confirms this by stating that: “You must also have sufficient social skills in order to succeed in teaching” (personal communication, July 3, 2014). The teaching career has exhaustive time demands because some of these tasks have to be done at home as indicated by Mrs. Gigrouse statement that: “Teaching is almost a twenty four hour job” (personal communication, July 3, 2014). Unions: Activities, Interests and Effects Teachers form both formal and informal organizations for both academic and nonacademic support. The national teachers’ unions advocate for better salaries, favorable working conditions, good pensions and retirement benefits, and job security (Boyd, Plank & Sykes, 2000). Unions have to be aggressive in order to achieve their objectives (Hoxby, 1996). The most effective tool for unions especially when appealing to the government is to mobilize teachers to go on strikes. This cripples the education system forcing the government to heed their demands (Hoxby, 1996). Contrary to common belief, unions do not always campaign for teachers’ welfare; sometimes they also advocate for students’ and parents’ welfare. For example, in the ongoing British Columbia strike, teachers are complaining about class size and composition (Zeilder, 2014). The unions argue that teachers are tasked with teaching very large classes composed of both normal students and special needs students. They claim that this affects their professional efficiency (Zeilder, 2014). Although the issue of money is also being advocated, their working conditions’ demands have attracted considerable attention. This illustrates that unions’ are mainly focused on education improvement. Figure 2. Students join a teachers’ union strike. Figure 2. Students at Argyle Secondary School in North Vancouver join in the walkout during a teachers’ union strike. Adapted from “B.C. teachers' strike: Students walk out despite warnings,” by CBC News, MSN News. Canada. Unions; the Solution The teaching career is the foundation of all other professions. This is because we all pass through the education system to get to our future professional standings (Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008). Teaching is very demanding and thus teachers should be treated in an appreciative way. Unions seem to have found a solution in capturing the attention of an impassive government through strikes. As we can observe from figure (2) above, even students support some of the causes advocated by unions. Mrs. Gigrouse claims that improving teachers’ working conditions and meeting their other demands will boost their morale and thereby increase their productivity (personal communication, July 3, 2014). Practically, improvements in the education sector are mainly influenced by teachers. Considering this allusion, I think unions play a vital role in improving the education system and hence if their endeavor achieves success through strikes, then they should continue using them. References BCTF & CUPE, (2009). Roles and Responsibilities of Teachers and Teacher Assistants/ Education Assistants. A BCTF/CUPE Joint Paper. Retrieved from http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/InclusiveEd/RolesandResponsibilitiesTeachersTAs.pdf Boyd, W. L., Plank, D. N., & Sykes, G. (2000). Teachers unions in hard times. Conflicting missions?: Teachers unions and educational reform, 174-210. Retrieved from http://education.msu.edu/epc/forms/union.pdf Hoxby, C. M. (1996). How teachers' unions affect education production. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 671-718. Retrieved from http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/content/111/3/671.full.pdf Lus, S. (2014). Students at Argyle Secondary School in North Vancouver join in the walkout during a teachers’ union strike. [Photograph], Retrieved July 3, 2014, from: http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/bc-teachers-strike-students-walk-out-despite-warnings-2 Stotesbury, B. (2014). Teachers’ union rally at the legislature. [Photograph], Retrieved July 3, 2014, from: http://www.timescolonist.com/province-s-cash-offer-to-end-teachers-strike-expires-1.1186820#sthash.u6cFDnZO.dpuf Wahlstrom, K. L., & Louis, K. S. (2008). How teachers experience principal leadership: The roles of professional community, trust, efficacy, and shared responsibility. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 458-495. Retrieved from http://eaq.sagepub.com/content/44/4/458.short Zeilde, M. (2014, June 20). B.C. Teachers' strike: class size and composition are key issues. CBC News, British Columbia. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-teachers-strike-class-size-and-composition-are-key-issues-1.2681865 Rough Draft Interview 1 The following interview was conducted on Mrs. Gigrouse (pseudonym), an English teacher in Chapleau High School. Chapleau High School is a secondary school located in Chapleau Township in Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. Mrs. Gigrouse holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Vancouver Island University, majoring in English language and she also has a minor in Music. She has taught English in various high schools for 12 years. The main reason for this interview is to evaluate the role of teachers’ unions in education improvement. I am also interested in gaining a better understanding on the complexity and nature of teaching, what it means to be a teacher, and how classroom teachers respond to the ways they are portrayed in popular culture. I conducted this interview for a magazine article on the above issues. Time of interview: Between 11a.m.-12p.m., on Thursday July3, 2014. Method: Skype. Location: Chapleau High School staffroom. Below are the results of the interview (transcripts): Q: What do teachers do on a day-to-day basis? Describe your daily routine as a teacher. A: Let me start by informing you that a teacher’s routine is not fixed, the routine changes depending on the day’s teaching engagements. What I mean is that my routine depends on a number of factors such as: examinations, duty allocations and other curricular and extracurricular activities. Anyway, during normal teaching times I start my teaching day by preparing for my lessons. Okay, let me state that I usually prepare for my lessons one day in advance, that is after school the previous day. I usually consult my time table and my lesson plans so that in the morning I only focus on the day’s lessons. Then I start teaching my classes for the day, managing and supervising students, giving tests and exercises and discussing results on tests. When I am not teaching I research on my subject area and also participate in departmental meetings. As you can see teaching is almost a twenty four hour job. Q: In the course of your teaching job, what are the main issues that you deal with? A: There are many issues to deal with considering that I have to interact with many people both students and non-students. For students, I have to monitor their behavior and maintain discipline both in class and outside. I also have to enhance a favorable learning environment by handling intrapersonal and interpersonal issues such as cultural and racial diversity. I also interact with other teachers on a professional level and during parents’ meetings I address parents’ queries and note their suggestions. I also supervise trainee teachers and teaching assistants. Q: What are your long-term goals? A: I want to grow professionally and academically in the field of teaching. I am involved in several research projects aimed at improving education and also English as a subject. My main goal is to enhance my academic qualifications so that I can teach at the college level. In order to realize this goal I am taking a Masters degree in Literature and I hope to complete the program by the end of next year. Q: What are your professional responsibilities? A: I have to select and implement suitable learning resources for my classes. Teaching, setting exams and researching on my subject areas are the most basic professional responsibilities for me as a teacher. I also have to organize extracurricular activities like sports and outings. Q: What are the basic requirements for teaching in terms of knowledge? A: I will base my answer to this question on my area of specialization which is English. In addition to the mandatory requirements for this profession, which include a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a professional teacher’s certificate, you also have to be widely read. You must also have sufficient social skills in order to succeed in teaching. Q: Who do teachers go to for support? A: Teachers have many support organizations. For starters, we have an in-school teachers’ group which assists us in various ways. There are also other organizations that support teachers such as the Ontario Teachers Union and the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers Federation. We also have English organizations for academic and professional assistance. Q: How do teachers’ unions assist teachers? A: They assist us in many ways including: ensuring good contracts and job security, bargaining for good salaries and advocating for good working conditions. They also offer a platform for skill development and teacher interaction. Q: Do you think that teachers’ unions’ actions such as strikes improve education, considering their effect on students? A: I think that all actions by teachers’ unions improve education in the long run. I know that some strikes have had a negative effect on the learning process but the overall gains improve teachers’ welfares. This boosts morale and productivity in teachers improving education. Q: Finally, what changes would you recommend on the operation of teachers’ unions? A: They should base their activities on the views of ordinary teachers. Unions are somehow detached from the needs of practicing teachers; teachers’ problems are not all about money. They should address issues such as discrimination of teachers and workload balances. Q: Thank you for your time Mrs. Gigrouse. I wish you all the best in your career. A: You are very welcome. I hope I have been of help, and success in your research. Rough Draft Interview 2 The following interview was conducted on Mr. Pipler (pseudonym), a Mathematics teacher in Magee Secondary School. Magee Secondary School is a public school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Mr. Pipler holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Vancouver Island University, majoring in Mathematics and he has a minor in Canadian Irish studies. He has taught Mathematics in different high schools for over 7 years. The main reason for this interview is to evaluate the role of teachers’ unions in education improvement. I am also interested in gaining a better understanding on the complexity and nature of teaching, what it means to be a teacher, and how classroom teachers respond to the ways they are portrayed in popular culture. I conducted this interview for a magazine article on the above issues. Time of interview: Between 2p.m.-3.30p.m., on Thursday July3, 2014. Method: Skype. Location: Magee Secondary School staffroom. Below are the results of the interview (transcripts): Q: What do teachers do on a day-to-day basis? Describe your daily routine as a teacher. A: My daily teaching routine involves teaching my classes and giving tests during examination times. When I am not in class, I engage in Mathematical research and I also study Canadian Irish History. My busiest days are when I am on duty because I have to monitor the students throughout the school day. Q: In the course of your teaching job, what are the main issues that you deal with? A: The main issue that I have faced as a Mathematics teacher is poor attitudes and mentalities by students regarding the subject. To put it plainly, many students dislike Mathematics, and I have a hard time convincing them otherwise. Student discipline is also a problem, considering that my students are teenagers. I have to be understanding and compassionate to the students while maintaining a high level of strictness to ensure they follow the school rules. Q: What are your long-term goals? A: My main goal is to become a Mathematics professor so that I can specialize in research. I have already completed my Master’s program and am just waiting for graduation, then I will enroll for a PhD. Q: What are your professional responsibilities? A: I am responsible for the performance of my students, which means that I have to employ very effective teaching and revision strategies. I am also responsible for the overall development of my students which is emotionally, socially and psychologically. I also guide and supervise trainee teachers and newly hired teachers. Q: What are the basic requirements for teaching in terms of knowledge? A: A teacher must be knowledgeable in his field of specialty, for example, I have studied widely in the field of Mathematics. I also have to keep researching and reading in order to maintain I high level of competency and also to stay updated regarding new developments. Q: Who do teachers go to for support? A: Teachers support each other interdepartmentally for professional assistance. There are many other organizations that support teachers; some are formal and others informal. Teachers’ unions are the overall teachers’ supporters. Q: How do teachers’ unions assist teachers? A: Teachers unions address most of our grievances by advocating for favorable salaries, retirement benefits, pensions and working conditions. They play a vital role in ensuring our needs are met. Q: Do you think that teachers’ unions’ actions such as strikes improve education, considering their effect on students? A: Teachers’ unions improve education because they promote the well being of teachers and teachers are the key elements in the learning process. Strikes occur when the government fails to honor their pledges, therefore they are a necessity. Q: Finally, what changes would you recommend on the operation of teachers’ unions? A: Teachers’ unions should be run by honest individuals with no selfish interests. It has been alleged that some union officials are bribed in order to compromise teachers’ demands and this should change. Q: Thank you very much for you time Mr. Pipler. A: You are welcome. Read More