Dana Goldstein has written an interesting commentary on the history of teacher unionism.
Chicago was the home of the very first teachers’ union, and it was founded by a tough female teacher named Margaret Haley.
Haley hated the factory-style schools of the day, objected to rigid standardization, and wanted dignity for the teaching profession. I will quote some of her words on another post.
For now, read Dana’s overview of the origins of the teachers’ union in Chicago. I told Dana, by the way, that I don’t agree with her conclusions, where she suggests that teachers need to give up “old notions of rigid job security and near nonexistent teacher evaluation.” Maybe I am quibbling over words, but I would hate to see teachers become at-will employees with no academic freedom, living in fear of community opposition to teaching controversial ideas and books. I am not sure about “near nonexistent teacher evaluation.” That sounds like a straw man. It is not teachers who decide how they should be evaluated; it’s the central office. If they fail to evaluate teachers, shame on them. The issue is not whether there should be evaluation, but whether it will be sound and not based on spurious metrics.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Her narrative about the history of the union movement in education is fantastic, but her attempt to compare and contrast that narrative with current conditions fell short. I don’t think her analysis of education policy today shows the same depth of knowledge. It sounds like she has listened to the popular dialogue rather than spending the same amount of time researching the realities.
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This is the first mention I’ve seen of the possibility that school boards and administrators just might use the at-will employee status to squelch free speech. As a recently retired Superintendent with 29 years of experience I can think of several instances where excellent teachers and administrators were chastised by school board members for their choice of reading materials or their willingness to sponsor clubs for gays and lesbians. I know of colleagues whose boards wanted creationism taught in their schools. It is not hard to envision culture wars being the focal point of local school board races if all teachers become at will employees.
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It’s already happening, especially in the South where many teachers are at-will employees.
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When I write about the reasons for tenure, I always bring up the issue of academic freedom. Without any job protections, there will be large swaths of this country where children never learn about evolution or climate change and never read a book that raises controversial topics, not even “Huckleberry Finn,” the most challenged book of all time for over 100 years.
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Policy just passed in Louisiana school system.
http://theadvocate.com/news/3865985-123/teaching-science-policy-approved
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Dana Goldstein is a shill for ed deformers in liberal drag.
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“Nonexistent teacher evaluation”? I would be glad to show Ms. Goldstein the thick folder of principal performance reviews I have amassed over the last 27 years, plus the critiques of the lessons my administrators observed. Add that to the surprise walk-throughs and pop-in visits. I think I have been evaluated fairly and adequately. Why do people spout this garbage without doing any research at all?
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