First of all, let me say this: There’s a lot I don’t understand about teaching. I do understand that it’s harder than it looks to the average outsider who sees a photo of a classroom full of shiny, happy kids—all with their hands folded politely, or maybe raised in the air, eager to answer the geography question of the moment, simultaneously bursting with knowledge and curiosity—and thinks, “Heck, I could do that.”
There’s a perception held by some, or maybe even many, that teachers get paid good money to come home at 3 every day and take the summer off. In other words, it’s a cushy job.
That perception is, might I say, total hogwash. I know enough to know that teaching is a demanding and valuable job, with our best educators facing pressure from administrators who hold them to often-shifting standards of success (for themselves and their students), as well as from their students, who count on them (but don’t make it easy) to deliver crucial information and instill not just knowledge, but the best ways to go about continuing to acquire knowledge.
So there’s that.
I must say, however, that I don’t see why the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District faculty members oppose taking their contract negotiations into the public’s view.
It may not be comfortable, but it’s certainly not a terrible idea—from my vantage point, anyway.
At its March 10 meeting, the district board officially asked the faculty to think about public negotiations— a request to which the faculty responded with a resounding “nuh-uh.”
The president of the faculty association threw out several reasons why this will not happen, including: Nobody else does it that way and the district does not do it that way. (Except, you know, the district now wants to.) A faculty association member added that such a move would represent a “change in the bargaining tradition.”
I have to say, though: Is a change really that bad? The classic bargaining tradition, for its many positive elements, also leads to prolonged negotiations, frustration and anger, posturing, coalition building, and—sometimes—strikes.
I’ll admit that the transition might be a jarring one, but the community is already invested in the education model (or should be, anyway). Parents and other locals should be giving to their community schools, and schools should be open with what’s happening on campus—even behind the usually high walls of salary negotiations. The information ultimately ends up in the public eye for praise or condemnation anyway, so why not shift the way it’s done.
As I said before, there’s a lot I don’t understand about this process, so I could be overlooking something major here. If that’s the case, I sincerely say, “Please educate me.”
Otherwise, what’s to lose?
The Canary is a willing student. Send comments or tips to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2015.