Basically, the union puts teachers before students. Which doesn't sound too bad, until you realize they always put teachers before students. They make it impossible to fire teachers who are known to be awful, even when they've been offered incentive programs to eliminate bad teachers (they would literally be paid to fire bad teachers).
This doesn't sound too bad, until you see what happens after decades of rot. The American education system, according to anyone who's ever tried to fix it, is legally unfixable so long as the union exists. That union can block any change from happening, and they block everything that would threaten any teacher. The reason we don't hear more about this is because rich people send their kids to private schools. I'm not saying the education system is simple and eliminating this union will magically create the best education system on Earth, but I definitely believe they single-handedly share more responsibility than everything else combined, including poor funding for public schools.
While it's obviously trying to convey a message, I'd strongly recommend the documentary Waiting For Superman.
This doesn't sound too bad, until you see what happens after decades of rot. The American education system, according to anyone who's ever tried to fix it, is legally unfixable so long as the union exists. That union can block any change from happening, and they block everything that would threaten any teacher. The reason we don't hear more about this is because rich people send their kids to private schools. I'm not saying the education system is simple and eliminating this union will magically create the best education system on Earth, but I definitely believe they single-handedly share more responsibility than everything else combined, including poor funding for public schools.
While it's obviously trying to convey a message, I'd strongly recommend the documentary Waiting For Superman.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1566648/