The Latest Dog Whistle from School Reformers: Teachers’ Unions
Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes
Those seeking power and control over school districts have a playbook they have been using for decades; a few individuals insert certain buzzwords like “Back to Basics,” “Critical Race Theory,” and “Teachers’ Unions” into the conversation. These terms are used as political dog whistles to stoke fear, distrust and hatred with their supporters to move the conversation away from meaningful dialogue and into sound bites that do not reflect the reality of what is happening in our schools. In the 2010s, it was “Back to Basics” in the Douglas County School District. We heard about “CRT” throughout 2021, and now, the “Teachers’ Union” is the latest boogeyman.
I heard the term “Back to Basics” when I first started teaching in DCSD in the early 1980s. It coincided with the publication of “A Nation at Risk.” The early advocates of the “Back-to-Basics” movement offended many educators with their pressure tactics, hostile language, and the deep strain of idealistic nostalgia in their desire to return to a simpler society. More recently, School Board "Reform Candidates" invoked "Back to Basics" in their rise to power across many school districts in Colorado, which led to cutting arts, music, and other "non-academic" subjects, depriving a generation of students of a well-rounded education.
An article in Education Week points out that the term “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) is a graduate level academic concept that originated nearly 40 years ago and is not being taught anywhere in its original form. CRT is now inaccurately cited, as the basis of all diversity and inclusion efforts. The CRT dog whistle created a weapon to limit any cultural or racial issues and discussions deemed inappropriate by a vocal minority from being taught in our schools.
The slandering of “Teachers’ Unions” emerges from a more complex and subtle viewpoint. The term was recently weaponized here in our community as anti-union individuals placed threatening flyers on school employees’ cars that were painted in support of pro-public education. Angry voices have blamed the Douglas County Federation (DCF) as the cause of all the problems in the terrible conflict raging within our school district. Why all the vitriol?
Looking at the history of teachers’ unions, the first teacher union, the National Educators’ Association (NEA), was formed primarily not to bargain for higher salaries and better working conditions as most labor unions do. Rather, The NEA leadership, composed primarily of education administrators like principals and superintendents (who were mostly male). They believed the NEA should aim to influence legislation in education instead of emphasizing changes in classroom conditions. This approach did little to improve the lot of teachers (mostly women) who were paid little and were required to do menial tasks in addition to their teaching responsibilities. Consequently, few actual classroom teachers joined the NEA in its early years.
While most teachers’ unions have a common goal of improving the working conditions of teachers to create an environment where students can thrive, most do more. DCF is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which has promoted plans for safe school reopenings, gun violence prevention, and reading and literacy as well as collaborating with many community organizations for social and student well being.
Unfortunately, distorted stereotypes of the corrupt union boss, the distrust of any collective speaking out against the powers-that-be as being anti-American and socialist and other similar tropes are appropriated and distorted by those who refuse to recognize just how hard teachers work for them and the welfare of their children.
So are teacher unions really a thorn in the side of education reform? Do they hinder progress in relations between teachers, administration, community and, most of all, students? A report from the international OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says the opposite:
“Critics of American education are sometimes disapproving of the teachers’ unions and of how they perceive these unions as interfering with promising school reform programs by giving higher priority to the unions’ “bread and butter” issues than to what the evidence suggests students need to succeed. But the fact is that many of the countries with the strongest student performance also have the strongest teachers’ unions, beginning with Japan and Finland. There seems to be no relationship between the presence of unions, including and especially teachers’ unions, and student performance. But there may be a relationship between the degree to which the work of teaching has been professionalized and student performance. Indeed, the higher a country is on the world’s education league tables, the more likely that country is working constructively with its unions and treating its teachers as trusted professional partners.”
Teachers deserve our respect, but even more importantly, they are deserving of recognition as professionals, just as lawyers or doctors are. Teachers hold the key that unlocks the future - our children. DCSD teachers should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of being a member of a professional organization that honors their status and advances their professional development and the welfare of the community as a whole.