Two weeks ago the president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, Jerry Jordan, wrote a blog post denouncing the plan that the District has put forth to remove free busing for the Girard Avenue Music Program in order to fix some of their finances. He says, "The single-minded focus on saving money has done nothing but hurt our neighborhood schools and students." As a Union advocate and supporter of the AFT, I must unfortunately point out that this post does not offer any concrete solutions or steps that can be taken to avoid the dark situation it presents.
While I am sure that the leadership in the Union is currently working on plans to advocate for my rights as a teacher and is trying very hard to improve support systems for people like me, it is difficult to get over the fact that this post (and others like it) seem like simple griping sessions instead of offerings of legitimate strategies. As I have mentioned before, I often do not feel like I know what my Union is doing for me whereas groups like the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools is crying to the hills about what they want.
I understand that secrecy may have been necessary in the past on what Union plans existed but at this time my support is waning. I want to propose solutions (like reducing the required number of standardized tests, providing venues for teachers to educate each other instead of paying outside firms to do so, and more). And if you think no one is listening, just go to a School Reform Commission meeting and get your voice heard directly by those in charge.
While I am sure that the leadership in the Union is currently working on plans to advocate for my rights as a teacher and is trying very hard to improve support systems for people like me, it is difficult to get over the fact that this post (and others like it) seem like simple griping sessions instead of offerings of legitimate strategies. As I have mentioned before, I often do not feel like I know what my Union is doing for me whereas groups like the Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools is crying to the hills about what they want.
I understand that secrecy may have been necessary in the past on what Union plans existed but at this time my support is waning. I want to propose solutions (like reducing the required number of standardized tests, providing venues for teachers to educate each other instead of paying outside firms to do so, and more). And if you think no one is listening, just go to a School Reform Commission meeting and get your voice heard directly by those in charge.
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