Beth Ann Rosica: A glimmer of hope for public schools — union opt outs

It is undeniable that the teachers’ unions are wreaking havoc in public education. When media outlets like Newsweek and the New York Times Magazine raise the issue about the negative effects of the unions’ influence, the situation must be dire.

And while most of the news is bad, there is one bright spot. Some teachers are starting to wake up and understand that they are being treated as mere players in a political game at their own expense, both literally and figuratively. Today, more teachers are coming out and speaking up about the devastating impact the union’s political aspirations have on the quality of our public education system.

In May of this year, a former Oakland, California, teacher penned an article entitled, How the Teachers Union Broke Public Education. Alex Gutentag wrote, “at one time, the teachers proudly viewed education as an engine of social mobility. Today, the union is a captured institution, and it argues that the country must be remade for education to even be possible. Favoring ideological indoctrination over academic achievement fundamentally devalues teaching and learning. It is this devaluing that was the nail in the coffin for the school system.”

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