Teacherken's points about teacher pay are NOT bullshit. Arguing about whether teachers are underpaid or overpaid relative to garbage collectors, attorneys, and game programmers IS bullshit.
Everybody can cite anecdotal examples of bad teachers, bad schools, or bad decisions by teacher unions. That's all beside the point.
The point is that the entire IDEA of public education is under attack, and THAT is what needs defending. Teacher pay is a big part of that. The more intelligent posters on that thread pointed it out.
But there's a bigger issue yet. It's not just teachers. It's all of us. Arguing over who is more valuable in this society -- teachers or game programmers -- is where the bullshit comes in. It bespeaks the rankest political immaturity. We need to be raising the bar for EVERYONE who works for a living.
That means strengthening the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, and the right to democracy in the workplace.
What's more, if we are to be effective political activists, we need to make this a political issue, at every possible opportunity.
Because I try to walk my talk, I have challenged my fellow Democrats in our Legislative District in WA state to act here.
Our active membership includes a Seattle School Board Director and more than a few teachers union members and classified staff members in the Seattle, Highline and Vashon School Districts. and those are just the school unions.
Let's celebrate the Fourth. On the Fifth we get to work.