Eduwonk returned from a week's vacation to find our complaint in Gadfly that he was a bit too generous with his praise for AFT heir apparent Randi Weingarten. Specifically, we wondered why he would say that "most of the things that the teachers' unions want are in the interest of kids." His response?
Ummm...because it's true? This debate is too often framed by absolutists arguing that teachers unions are always at odds with what's good for kids or, conversely, that they never are and the interest of teachers and students are the same. Lots of things that teachers' unions want are good for kids, too. But some are not...
OK, we're listening, can you name even a handful of the "lots of things" that unions want that are good for kids, too? We'll concede, when it comes to the AFT, that it seeks a common core curriculum, which would certainly be good for the kiddos. What else?
