"Devolution” of the Teaching Profession

By William L. Garvin
When the UAW fights and gets jobs back for Chrysler workers caught drinking booze and smoking dope on their lunch breaks, it’s bad.  When the California Teachers Association blocks a proposed law to streamline procedures for terminating teachers in cases of sexual and other egregious conduct, it’s quite another matter.  Such is the latest chapter in the “devolution” of the teaching profession.
For those of us who grew up in an era where female teachers wore dresses and male teachers wore coats and ties, the contrast is striking.  While the coarse and arrogant contemporary culture likes to mock the mythical Mayberry days, there are some startling contrasts.  “Back then,” students who didn’t do their homework or failed tests were flunked and held back a grade.  Not everyone made the team and not everyone who made the team got to play.  There was only one valedictorian and only one Most Valuable Player.  You were graded on performance and citizenship.  The teachers seemed to like us but in that bygone era of accountability, they seemed more concerned in our ability to master the fundamentals of reading, writing, mathematics and the sequential knowledge skills of a higher order than our self esteem.  Interestingly enough, we didn’t know if they were Republicans, Democrats, communists or socialists, gay or straight.  We didn’t know if they believed in Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mohammed or no god at all.  If they were union activists, their discussions on labor matters were confined to the teacher or faculty lounge.
It’s a radically different teaching world today and there seem to be no restraints on activism in or out of the classroom.  It is easy to recall the teachers who deserted their classrooms to join the protests in Madison, Wisconsin.  They appeared totally at ease on camera falsifying their sick leave and getting phony doctor’s excuses from government university doctors.  Teachers in Oakland even took their students with them to join the Occupy movement protests.  When teachers go on strike, they often encourage their students to walk the picket lines “in solidarity.”  The lines of propriety in terms of sexual conduct are also being breached with increasing frequency.  If you think it is only a minor problem, you might be shocked to know that last year the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing was audited and found to have a backlog of 12,600 cases!  After two shameful, disgusting, and highly publicized cases of sexual misconduct in Los Angeles schools, legislation was introduced to expedite the disciplinary process.
Even in cases of serious sexual misconduct, administrative discipline often takes years and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The proposed legislation would require an evidentiary review of the charges with full due process rights before an administrative law judge.  The ALJ would then present a recommendation for disposition to the school board who would then decide the discipline (which could still be appealed in court).  CTA brought their political muscle to bear and killed the bill in committee, proving once again that they are probably the most potent union force in governmental politics today.  According to Wikipedia, “The CTA is the most influential spender in California politics, spending more money on politicians and to influence California voters than Chevron, AT&T, Philip Morris and Western States Petroleum Association combined.”  It’s not about the children after all, is it?  As Albert Shanker, the former president of the American Federation of Teachers reportedly said: “When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”  CTA has proven the truth of his statement.
Of course, the vast majority of UAW members do not get stoned at lunch.  The vast majority of teachers do not molest their students.  In fact, many of these union members strongly object to their dues being used to defend those who should be fired!  Many of these same folks also object to the liberal political priorities and lavish lifestyles of their union leaders.  That’s why things changed in Wisconsin when the forced confiscation of dues was eliminated.  More than one-third of the American Federation of Teachers quit the union.  The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees lost 55% (34,000) of its members.  In the United States, only about 7% of the private sector remain union members.  If students were their top priority, a responsible union would want to have drug users and pedophiles eliminated from the workplace.  If the teachers can find a responsible union in California, then we might be able to save the children.