I can PROVE that even 'they' don't really believe it's about "bad" teachers. Ready?

[TahitiNut]

All we hear from the Masters of The Universe about our public education systems' problems is that it's about "bad" teachers and those $%^& unions that keep the Masters of The Universe from firing them!

Well... I can, by merely asking you two (rhetorical) questions, demonstrate that even THEY don't believe that bullshit.
(To see the questions, merely select the "invisible ink" below.)
[font color=white] How much have you heard about the 'changes' and 'improvements' they've demanded that Schools of Education make in the curricula and standards for graduates? How much have you heard about the 'changes' and 'improvements' they've demanded for teacher certification? [/font]

See? When you try to answer these questions, you KNOW it ain't about the teachers!

[XemaSab]

1. I've seen right-wingers state overtly that they don't believe in public education

and that's what this is really about.

[a geek named Bob]

2. most of the wingers seem to have gotten royally pissed off

when feudalism died away...

[bongbong]

3. 90% of the reason for "education reform"

Get rid of, or drastically reduce the size of, the teacher's union - one of the last strong unions.

[Scuba]

4. +1

[Starry Messenger]

7. +2

[montanto]

9. Yeah, and sadly there is more to it too.

When the hardheaded Red voter hears "unions" they will vote with their gut, which enables the policy makers to carry out the real mission, which is to keep schools and teachers failing. Some policymakers have a huge stake in siphoning tax dollars off into remediation scams, testing schemes, etc., largely conceived and carried out by people in or close to government that know absolutely nothing about education and what is good for kids, or teachers. Constantly moving the goalposts helps that failure along, but to end the failure of public education is never the goal, the goal is to sustain that failure as long as possible. (Much like our other current wars.) At this point the American people are still largely down with the "teacher bad, union bad" rhetoric. Until we look at how much money we are flushing down the toilet in unsupervised scams, and until we pay attention to the teachers who have good ideas, good practices at work in classrooms right now, not much will change. Killing the unions would assure a consistent and predictable failure throughout the system. Good teachers fired with impunity, good ideas vilified and abandoned, bad teachers and bad practices sustaining the new crop of failure for scammers to reap, matriculating an ever more insipid, reactionary, discontented populace.

*sigh* Even with union protection good teachers can barely get enough oxygen to survive. I wonder if Joe Red Voter knows that is what he is getting when he casts his ballot?

[reformist2]

5. It's all about the money: break up the unions --> lower teacher pay --> lower property taxes.

[cr8tvlde]

6. Now about those sports referee unions ... Unions - 1, Wisconsin - 0

Sorry, Greenbay. You bought Scott Walker's koolaid.

[Initech]

8. It's not about teachers - it's about corporate scumbags making that precious profit profit profit.