The Honolulu Magazine published a piece in it latest May 2009 issue, titled "Do Teachers Make the Grade?" It wasn't so much about teacher bashing as the title mig
ht suggest. It highlighted key concerns from all levels of the educational system in Hawaii as well as the nation. It also brought to light a few of the concerns and complaints that teachers and administrators have with the current system and the union.
As for the issues with the union, the Hawaii State Teacher Association, I like to consider myself a strong union supporter. I stand behind most of the decisions that my union has made (and waiver behind the not so popular decisions, as with the recent drug-testing issue). But I have to agree with the notion that our union does a fine job of protecting teachers who do not belong in the educational field. T
he union supports seniority over accountability, and that has negatively impacted the level of teacher quality in Hawaii. I have had my fair share of experiencing poor teacher quality and all I can do is shake my head in disbelief. This year, because of seniority rights, state level Department of Education employees, some of which have been out of the classroom for 5, 10, even 15 years, were downsized from the positions and forced back into the classrooms. Principals, who would have rather kept high quality, up-to-date teachers were forced to take the state level employees due to seniority. Rather unfair if you ask me. Not unfair to the state level employee of course, but unfair to the students, the parents, and the community. This sort of thing should not be tolerated and needs to be changed.
With all of this and more made public, I hope it will stir the debate and cause some much needed change in the system. But with the extreme budget cuts for several years to come, will we see change anytime soon?
ht suggest. It highlighted key concerns from all levels of the educational system in Hawaii as well as the nation. It also brought to light a few of the concerns and complaints that teachers and administrators have with the current system and the union.As for the issues with the union, the Hawaii State Teacher Association, I like to consider myself a strong union supporter. I stand behind most of the decisions that my union has made (and waiver behind the not so popular decisions, as with the recent drug-testing issue). But I have to agree with the notion that our union does a fine job of protecting teachers who do not belong in the educational field. T
he union supports seniority over accountability, and that has negatively impacted the level of teacher quality in Hawaii. I have had my fair share of experiencing poor teacher quality and all I can do is shake my head in disbelief. This year, because of seniority rights, state level Department of Education employees, some of which have been out of the classroom for 5, 10, even 15 years, were downsized from the positions and forced back into the classrooms. Principals, who would have rather kept high quality, up-to-date teachers were forced to take the state level employees due to seniority. Rather unfair if you ask me. Not unfair to the state level employee of course, but unfair to the students, the parents, and the community. This sort of thing should not be tolerated and needs to be changed.With all of this and more made public, I hope it will stir the debate and cause some much needed change in the system. But with the extreme budget cuts for several years to come, will we see change anytime soon?
