Thursday, October 28, 2010

It's For The Children

We have a librarian at my school only 2-1/2 days a week, as she must split her time between 2 high schools. When she's not there, parent volunteers staff the library so that it's available to students.

A union grievance was filed, and today we were told that the library cannot be open anymore when she's not there. Teachers can take their classes in there, but books cannot be checked out. The library will no longer be available for students to do make-up tests in on the days when our official librarian isn't on site.

The next time a teachers union tells you something is "for the children", you remember this story.

14 comments:

  1. Doesn't the school own the library?? Don't get how that is even possible. Maybe they should sue those newfangled computers because they make finding books easier than ever, thus reducing the work hours of the librarian. :)

    PS I love placing holds using the internet! I never thought I'd see the day where I didn't miss those big bulky cabinets, but once someone showed me how to use the stuff online, I couldn't imagine going back.

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  2. Our kindergarten/first grade teachers are totally overloaded with no aids. When we got the federal stimulus money, our faculty association president (with our full support) wrote the district saying that we thought getting teacher aids to early elementary levels was very important.

    Our union president (a primary school teacher) was furious that we didn't say to hire back teachers. It was one of the most idiotic things I had ever heard.

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  3. Your community just won't support it.

    We have three full-time librarians who teach classes on research and team with teachers and classes for library and research projects. We also have 2 or 3 library assistants who handle the basic jobs of checking books out, ordering materials, and stocking shelves.

    Of course, this may be why we've won the award for best high school library in the nation ... a couple times.

    It's all what a community is willing to pay for .... and you generally get what you pay for.

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  4. Read, noted, and linked, Darren. Makes me proud to be a non-union teacher in a right-to-work state.

    http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/307542.php

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  5. Mazenko, that isn't an excuse for a union that always touts that it's "for the children". Our *school* community made it work--we had parent volunteers all the time.

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  6. Anonymous5:10 PM

    "Your community just won't support it."

    Alternately, the community is willing to support it with *time* rather than with *money*. Google claims that the Sacramento County unemployment rate is a bit under 13%. In 2006 it was about 5%. I can imagine people who are out of work being willing to spend their time helping out at school, but being unwilling to chip in cash.

    -Mark Roulo

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  7. That is awful. And Mazenko, I must say, you always seem to have every excuse in the world for the Establishment.

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  8. This is the second time I have seen a similar story about teachers unions not putting "the children first". See http://betsyspage.blogspot.com/2010/10/teachers-putting-themselves-ahead-of.html?spref=fb

    Now, I don't mind a teacher's union making a pitch for more money or different working conditions, that is after all their job. But like you, I have a real problem when the unions say "its for the children." I want my school board to spend a little more time calling them on that claim.

    Priorities should be the kids, their parents and then the teachers--in that order.

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  9. Here is another similar story with unions denying parents or community volunteers helping at a library.

    http://bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1288413

    This just reinforces my view that when teacher's unions say they want parental involvement in the schools, that is not entirely true. What they want is parental involvement on their terms and under their control.

    Now Boston might be a little different since there are probably local public libraries that are pretty close, but when this happens in exurban or rural districts, the school library might be the only library for 30 miles around. This kind of crap is just infuriating.

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  10. That is totally asinine. The union should be ashamed. Does the press know about this?

    Wow, just wow...

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  11. I sure hope Mazenko has never done any DIY projects around the house when he could be paying a union carpenter to do it instead.

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  12. Why are these people even honored with the title of Teacher to begin with?

    Wouldn't Overcompensated Babysitter be a more accurate description?

    Crap like this is why I always vote against anything that throws more money at the cesspool of entrenched entitlement and incompetence that is the public school system.

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  13. Kevin7:41 AM

    Why not post the school name and city? I want to repost but hesitate to do so without veriication.

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  14. Because I never explicitly state the school at which I teach. If I tell you it happened, it happened--how would providing my school name give you "verification"? Just link to this post, then *I* am the one responsible for the veracity of the statement.

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