Analysis of Teacher Strike - Essay Example

Teacher Strike Supporters of teacher strikes view it as an effective means of making the concerned ity realize the gravity of the issues being raised. Teachers have in many cases used their numbers to present their case and strengthen their negotiation power over their employers. For many years, teachers have complained about a number of issues that have to do with their remuneration and working conditions. However, the concerned authorities are usually reluctant to act on these complaints but instead introduce reforms aimed at improving student performance while neglecting the teachers. This is true of reform agendas such as NO Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 which asserts that all teachers must have a number of qualifications that include competence in subject knowledge and teaching in addition to the necessary certification. However, the act fails to take into considerations other requirements for successful teaching and learning such as teacher shortage, working conditions especially in inner-city schools that experience high rates of poverty. Teachers working conditions also include management of classes with more students than one can handle while the remuneration is lower than that of other professions (Kelchterman 995). Teacher strikes are therefore justified based on the fact there have been attempts to introduce evaluation measures that do not recognize the unique environment that influence teacher performance. The working conditions under which teachers function is characterized in many cases by large sizes of class in terms of student numbers, poor air conditioning and heating as well as availability of textbooks to effectively and efficiently deliver content. Through strikes, teachers demand for improvement of these conditions that will result in better performance for their students since some aspects of teaching such individualized learning cannot be possible with large classrooms. Teachers have in many cases insisted that they can work better with smaller classes in addition to provision of other important aspects of the classroom such as lighting, and air conditioning that provides an environment conducive for both teaching and learning. While there have been government efforts to improve resource allocation to schools, there are instances where they are not delivered to schools on time leading to a situation where teachers have to manage for a long time without the sentential such as textbooks and laboratory equipment. Without adequate learning resources for both teachers and students, the delivery is hampered resulting in poor performance for most public schools. This is true for schools in poor neighborhoods where parents cannot afford to buy all the required materials for their children. Without timely delivery of the materials, these children are disadvantaged in their quest for education leading poor performance in examinations. In such schools, parents have supported strikes by teachers since they understand it is for the betterment of their children’s education and not a self-interested move. While recognizing the fact that expert teachers are necessary for the successful implementation the curriculum, the level of teacher preparedness is also an important factor. Equipping teachers with the resources they need ensures they are adequately prepared for implementation of teaching strategies, which are tailored to adapt to the needs and learning styles for every student while also facilitating higher-order learning (Kahlenberg 133). Efforts should be directed at the existing teacher distribution of teachers, which has seen disparities in the number of teachers present in rich and poor districts. The government has failed to ensure effective distribution of teachers for these areas leading to a situation where rich districts that can pay high salaries and provide better working conditions have higher numbers of teachers therefore improving their teacher to student ratio. However, districts with low-income parents experience a shortage of teachers while those present are poorly remunerated in addition to having fewer materials, and less attractive conditions for teaching. By giving teachers, the power to strike such disparities will be addressed by the governments therefore making the US a nation with equality of access for all students wherever they are (Kahlenberg 136). A number of reforms that have been suggested in recent years have failed to recognize the fore mentioned challenges that face teachers in a number of public schools. Consequently, teacher strike is the best move to make concerned authorities realize the gravity of the matter. For instance, evaluation methods suggested for teachers are unattainable since they do not carter for uniqueness of the profession therefore making it impossible to enforce. To improve learning conditions in schools, reforms should give teachers some grounds to have an input in to the way they are evaluated and assessed. Methods of teacher evaluation that do not recognize what teachers go through should never be imposed on them, as they can only be counterproductive. Kelchtermans notes reforms that do not involve teachers in formulation before their implementation leads to a feeling of “vulnerability” which the researcher defines as the feeling teachers have when they think they are not in control of important aspects, processes and tasks in their profession (997). Consequently, the researcher argues that teachers instigate political measures aimed at coping with the situations affecting their profession especially based on the belief that the “vulnerability” was emanating from the imposed reforms. The imposed reforms should therefore be challenged using the most effective tool that teachers have in order to enable teachers fight measures that are not harmonious with their beliefs about effective teaching. Teachers are calling for the improvement of their working conditions first before there can be evaluation of their performance. Many of the comparisons that have been used to justify evaluation and merit pay systems have been based on the comparisons between public and private institutions. This is unfair to teachers in public schools since the performance in private schools is driven by high levels of investments that ensure modern equipment and environments conducive for both the teacher and students. The dire need for reforms in the public educational sector is underlined by the continued loss of teachers to other occupations. Many of the highly qualified teachers have been moving to other occupations where they are provided with the working environment they deserve. Consequently, by maintaining the right for teachers to strike, the working conditions will be improved leading to retaining of most of the qualified human resource. McAdams (p.171) notes the remunerations accorded to teachers in the USA is inferior and therefore cannot be compared with those in other developed countries. The author also points out that the collective bargaining has not been able to make conditions better for teachers and teachers find themselves working in similar workplace environment as experienced over forty years ago. Allowing teachers to strike means these differences are handled quickly to ensure teachers return to their instructional responsibilities with students in classrooms. While the missed days are serious incontinences for children and their parents, strikes offered the best means of agitating for solutions as the concerned institutions to ensure teachers go back to schools generally handle them quickly. This presents the best opportunity to have teachers who are satisfied with their working conditions instead of having them in schools yet they do not offer their best to students. Vegas, and Petro (p.116) asserts job satisfaction for teachers increases with improvement of working conditions that cover both salary and non-salary incentives where teachers want to have a work environment that that have benefits such as pensions and job stability. Therefore, at the end of a successful strike, students are also beneficiaries since they will have teachers who are highly motivated to teach. The importance of teacher strikes in this situation is that it presents the opportunity for teachers to assert the need for the devaluing of their profession to stop. Given the understanding of the adverse effect of strikes on students, negotiations are in most cases expedited; thus, minimizing the inconvenience for parents and students. Arguments against teacher strikes mainly focus on the need for teachers to always be present for student instructions; thus, many see teacher strikes as being disruptive as it destroys the momentum gain by students during the term. When strike action is called, students are given the corresponding day off therefore missing on important hours that could helped them learn. Most notable is the lost opportunity to learn for students in public schools. In many cases, the lost days are never compensated for therefore disadvantaging the students compared to those learning through other private arrangements (Alexander and David 868). The students in public schools and those in private institutions of the same level are tested based on similar educational criteria regardless of the time spent in exposure to content. This implies that students in public schools who are affected by the teacher strikes are disadvantaged compared to those private institutions. Consequently, teachers should not be allowed to go on strike since by doing so, they neglect their core functions in their schools while those who suffer are not the employers but the students. Connected with the need to ensure continuous learning is the argument that the employer but innocent children who do not pay these teachers does not experience the direct effect of teacher strike. Teachers should negotiate for improvement of their working conditions through means that do not affect innocent students but by directly engaging by the employers. The quest for higher pay, job security and better working conditions through strikes is seen as depicting greed and a push to achieve personal interests, which is contrary to the expected situation where teachers’ interests should be directed at improving their students. The teaching profession needs teacher who are advocates of both the students and the educational system as a whole since teachers are an important group whose contributions lead to achievement of set educational goals (DeMoss and Wong 124). By criticizing the educational system through their strikes, teachers parade their lack of belief in a system where they are important players. Such a move leads to concerns over the implementation of educational programs since proper application of educational objectives need people who support them. Consequently, teachers need to change their attitudes towards the educational system by supporting efforts by the government to improve the education of future leaders. Striking portrays negative picture of the teaching profession when compared to other professionals such as lawyers, doctors and engineers who are famed for their dedication to their profession (McEachern 284). Like other professionals, teachers who are not satisfied without their working conditions should resign and seek for better contracts in alternative sectors where they can earn what they think is their share. Teacher remuneration in public schools is based on funds allocated for the sector, which means teachers cannot ask for what has not been allocated for them. Consequently, instead of denying the students a fair share of their education, teachers who feel they are not appreciated enough based on their earnings should not disrupt learning but go resign. Many of the initiatives introduced by the government have been rejected by teachers or by the unions therefore stalling key reforms. Teachers use strikes as a tool to block government initiatives that they do not support by calling for the government to drop implementation of certain reforms or else they stop working. Among the reforms that have led to many viewing strikes as a negative influence to the educational sector is the opposition to efforts intended to make teachers more accountable through initiatives such as merit pay programs. Teachers have strongly opposed such moves through their unions with a threat to go on strike if they are implemented. Opposition to merit pay programs have continued even with available studies indicating they play a significant role in improving the performance of teachers. In this regard large teacher unions such as the National Education Association (NEA) with 3,167,612 teachers and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with and 832,058 teachers use high teacher membership to agitate for interests of the teachers instead of those in support of the students and improvement of educational outcome (Pencavel 105). The use of teacher threat to strike by these unions according to Moe has led to a situation where there exists bad policymaking within the public educational sector, which has adverse effect on students. Moe asserts teacher unions continue to argue the concept of teacher accountability is new to the sector in addition to the perception that teacher accountability measures presents a negative development towards “teachers’ autonomy in the schools as well as teachers’ job security” (246). This oppositions to teacher merit pay programs lack truthfulness since they are intended to be a yardstick for accountability and just as they have worked in other sectors are implemented based on merit pay schemes where teachers are paid base salaries and other bonuses according to the performances reported by their students. These measures are only meant to transform the educational sector where the traditional teacher remuneration practice that ensures payment of steady salary irrespective of productivity will be eliminated. Consequently, teachers are holding the government at ransom since they view the introduction of a new scheme of payment as being a threat to their income. This functioning of teacher unions is the basis of Moe’s definition where the unions are perceived as having a main agenda that involves the “blocking and weakening reforms in order to maintain the status quo” (Moe 252). Therefore, the existence of teacher unions together with the power to strike has the aim of preventing educational reforms that have potential to improve education for America’s youngsters. In conclusion, there exists both arguments in support of and opposition to teacher strike with both strands providing important qualifications for their stand. Those in support of teacher strikes see it as an important tool that ensures working conditions for teachers are improved to ensure job satisfaction. Support for teacher strikes also indicate the uniqueness of the teaching profession that is faced with a number of challenges for the teachers. This line of argument is based on the belief that given the working conditions for teachers any reform that covers areas such as teacher evaluations, or introduction of merit pay should involve input from teachers. Opposition to strike is based on the fact that it portrays a negative picture of the teaches who are then depicted as being selfish instead of taking care of their core function which is the provision of learning opportunity to children. Students are seen as the worst hit by these strikes yet they are innocent in this case. Consequently, teachers are called upon to put the interests of their students first before their own. Additionally critics of teacher strikes argue that teachers have used their unions to block key reforms that are supposed to improve student achievement levels through the threat of calling for widespread strikes. Therefore, teacher strikes are often view disruptive, self-centered and should therefore be done away with in favor of other modes of solving their grievances. Works Cited Alexander, Kern, and M. David Alexander. American public school law. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. DeMoss, Karen, and Kenneth K. Wong, eds. Money, Politics and Law: Intersections and Conflicts in the Provision of Educational Opportunity, 2004 Yearbook of the American Education Finance Association. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, 2004. Print. Kahlenberg, Richard D. A notion at risk: Preserving public education as an engine for social mobility. , New York: Priority Press Publications, 2000. Print. Kelchtermans, Geert. "Teachers’ emotions in educational reforms: Self-understanding, vulnerable commitment and micropolitical literacy." Teaching and Teacher Education 21.8 (2005): 995-1006. Print. McEachern, William A. Economics: A contemporary introduction. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Moe, Terry M. (2006) Collective Bargaining in Education: Negotiating Change in Todays Schools. In Hannaway, Jane and Andrew J. Union Power and the Education of Children. Rotherham. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press. Print. Vegas, Emiliana, and Jenny Petrow. Raising student learning in Latin America: The challenge for the 21st century. Washington DC: World Bank Publications, 2008. Print. Pencavel, John. The Changing Size Distribution of U.S. Trade Unions and Its Description by Pareto’s Distribution.Stanford, CA: Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Read More