It’s For The Teachers …

September 7, 2009 by Cato  
Filed under Education, Maryland, Maryland Politics, Video

It definitely isn’t “FOR THE CHILDREN”.  If it were, the Baltimore Teachers’ Union would be attempting to duplicate the success of KIPP’s Ujima Village Academy.  The problem is that the Ujima Village Academy is a charter school.

Teachers at the Ujima Village Academy work two hours more per day and every other Saturday.  They are available to their students around the clock via phone and email.  According to their students, they actually care about these kids getting a good education.  For this, they are paid an average of 18% more than the average Baltimore teacher.  The union wants them to be paid 33% more, which has resulted in larger class sizes and layoffs.  The KIPP teachers never asked for the extra money.  They would prefer that more money be spent on their students.

If the teachers from that particular school are willing to work more hours, why would the Baltimore Teachers’ Union fight it?  The reason is pretty simple.  They don’t want charter schools like the KIPP Ujima Academy to succeed.  If enough charter schools do succeed, the Teachers’ Unions will lose what little credibility they still have.  Even the Democrat Party won’t be able to stand by their number one special interest group.

That’s OK, They still have the trial lawyers and the AFL-CIO.

H/T – Charlie Copeland @ Resolute Determination