Dr. Moe: “If you stand up for kids, you have to oppose this [collective bargaining] Schools get organized by the adults on the basis of interests and concerns that have nothing to do with kids. So, why would you expect that system to work?”
As students head back to school, it is a good time to reflect on why education is failing and continues to fail. Terry Moe, Chairman of the Political Science Department at Stanford, provides a dispassionate and extensively researched book, Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools, which should become a useful and effective tool for any passionate education reformers. Dr. Moe states and backs it up with 500 pages of text that teacher unions are the biggest impediment to permanent and effective education reform.
Dr. Moe’s research unquestionably shows that America’s children are risk because of their very own teachers’ allegiance to the NEA and AFT unions rather than education. And, until Big Labor’s influence over education is diminished, reform remains elusive.
In his presentation at the Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism’s (CEAFU) 36th Annual Conference, Dr. Moe stated that his research concludes that it is impossible for any effective education reform to occur with teacher unions as partners in reform. He said that unions have been and will inherently remain the well-financed opposition to education reform. Professor Moe added that in our political system it is easier to block reform than to bring about reform, giving teachers unions an additional edge in preventing changes.
Professor Moe said that collective bargaining, the source of teacher union power, and teachers’ job interests, which collective bargaining enshrines, are inconsistent with reform. As long as teacher monopoly bargaining exists in public schools, effective educational reform is doomed to fail regardless of how many billions are poured into reform initiatives.
Therefore, the Gates Foundation and other education reformers would better use their public school educational reform grants and efforts to eliminate teacher union monopoly bargaining. Then, having eliminated the biggest roadblocks to education reform (i.e. NEA & AFT), real educational reformers could actually begin to create permanent and effective change for the children.
Professor Moe’s certain that until collective bargaining is eliminated, effective and permanent education improvements will remain untenable. And, he has the research to back up his claims.
Looks like Scott Walker may be moving Wisconsin in the right direction for education reform, and the recall elections prove Dr. Moe’s points as well.
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