In Marilyn Bentz’s letter (“Surprises await if charter school initiative becomes law”) she blissfully overlooks several key points.
First of all, the reason the Charter School issue has come up for a vote three times already is that there is something (many things) wrong with the public school system, and the indefatigable charter school boosters will keep trying to rally voter support until they succeed in offering an affordable alternative to private schools for parents who have given up battling their local public school to get a better education for their children.
Marilyn, unwittingly perhaps, nails it on the head when she says, “All the proposals mentioned … for improving education could be undertaken within the existing system.” This is exactly right! The reason none of them are being undertaken is simple: the Washington Education Association doesn’t want any part of it.
Having known several people employed by our local school district, I can say from experience that the WEA long ago stopped being interested in real advances in education, and has basically become a protection racket to annually shake down the legislators in order to get taxpayers to give contribute even more money to the school districts, usually for even less classroom time.
The union also bravely Fights the Good Fight to protect all their teachers, but especially the really bad ones, such that, other than receiving a felony conviction, it is nearly impossible for any teacher to get fired once they have tenure. This they call acting in a “progressive” fashion; innocent until proven guilty and all that. In reality, it is more like a page torn from organized religion’s scandal-response playbook.
What the WEA fears most is competition, which is exactly what charter schools bring to the table. I know a handful of teachers and they all really want to deliver a good education, but bureaucracy and union rules stand in the way. What would happen if teacher membership in the union was optional and not compulsory, as it is now? Too bad we don’t live in Wisconsin!
Roger Clarke-Johnson, Kirkland