My Personal Issue Two Perspective

I would like to make a plea to those on the fence regarding Issue Two in Ohio this 2011 November election.  This is not for those already secure in their stance. Save the arguments for Facebook please. 

This is for anyone who is not sure where they stand on this or are interested in the details behind my stance.

I am an educator not a firefighter, nurse or police officer.  I cannot discuss this Issue in their terms.  I want this to be genuine and sincere and honest.  So I am going to discuss my opinion based on my experience in education that spans over 14 years.

I will not cite numbers that can be spun in numerous ways or articles with other people's opinions and I will not refer to any union flyers or commercials.  This is directly from me and my experience and I would like to think my area of knowledge.

In addition, I write from the perspective of a father. I have a daughter with special needs. Education is critical to any hope of her being independent. Emergency Medical Squads have been critical in her well being and possibly her survival.

The economics behind the bill that has led to Issue Two can be debated and has been debated endlessly.  There are valid points on both sides, but I want to explore what is beyond the economics although they are inevitably linked.

At its core, this bill eliminates collective bargaining.  Collective bargaining is used to negotiate our salaries and benefits but it is also used to negotiate countless other things for and by the teachers. These things include class size, updated textbooks, resources and technology in the classroom, assistants and support staff, planning time, teacher training, instructional time, among others including a voice to work with the school board to advocate for these things and the good of the students.

There have been studies that have shown class size does not affect student achievement significantly and others that show it does. The reason is that teachers' instructional strategies and effectiveness play a large role and the two are intertwined. If the class size is small but the teacher just passes out worksheets and teaches rote memorization, then student achievement is not going to increase.

But I want to stick to my own experience.  I have taught in Ohio my whole career.  When I began teaching, my class exceeded 30 and I had no help whatsoever.  In my years since, I have had smaller classes.  My students test scores an grades have been significantly better in the smaller classes.  This could be due to my improvement and growth as a teacher, but even that is tied to the smaller size in that I was able to do small group instruction much easier.  This led to more individualized instruction for the students that needed it and opportunities for others to work independently.

Our unions push to keep class sizes low. 

From the perspective of a father, I have witnessed my daughter in a large class and in a small class.  She struggled tremendously in the classroom with a large number of classmates. With her deficits, it is crucial that she gets as much one on one attention that she can.  She is now in a much smaller class and has been thriving within her disability.

It is extremely important to me that the door isn't open to increase her class size and lose the momentum she has gained.

Another example is the support staff that my students have the benefit of the past two years.  I teach a split classroom.  This mean I am teaching two different grades at the same time.  It is very challenging and at times, I feel like I am losing my mind.  But with the support staff that has been in my room, we have been able to effectively keep things differentiated and provide direction attention. My test scores have been better than any other year without the support in my room.

I always say one of the best things about my daughter's school is their support staff.  She is able receive even more specialized assistance for her specific disabilities as a result.

Our unions collectively bargain for support staff.

In my district, our unions have worked with the board to provide a system of evaluation and support for first year teachers.  This program provides classes and a "mentor" to observe and give feedback to beginning teachers to help them through the growing pains.  This helps support new teachers who can have an overwhelming first year in an urban district like mine.

The union worked for this.

Our union has worked with our district to create useful and relevant professional development in a format that is fair and effective and ultimately leading to better instruction for the students. 

I wanted to avoid getting into economics but it should be stated that I know of at least two districts in the Columbus area that NEGOTIATED pay freezes or decreased step increases.  A district in Stark county has had pay freezes for four years in a row.  Healthcare and retirement contributions by workers already are 15% and 10%.  We have saved Ohio $1 Billion already and will continue to do so without stripping collective bargaining.  I know things are tough, but don't thin we are not making sacrifices too.  We aren't all of the middle class but we are part of it.

We can magnify bad teachers.  We can pick out individual examples of inequities between private sector jobs and public sector jobs that need to be fixed. Let me clearly state I understand this. (Although people that don't want to admit that I do will ignore that last sentence and claim I didn't write or say it)

But it is not worth stripping collective bargaining all together just for this items that can be fixed within collective bargaining. This goes beyond the economics you keep hearing and seeing in these commercials.  It goes deeper and affects education negatively.

Vote No on Issue Two PLEASE! And then let us fix what needs to be fixed by continuing to speak out.

All Time Favorite Albums

I was thinking today how the idea of the "album" has been lost of late.

These days I buy my music one song at a time from iTunes and I've lost the joy of shopping in a store for an album. Then enjoying it (or not) as a whole work of art.

So feeling a bit nostalgic.........

 My personal favorite albums of all time.

In no particular order.

1. Actung Baby by U2
2. Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3. Green Album by Weezer
4. Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
5. Mommy's Little Monster by Social Distortion
6. Garbage by Garbage
7. Come Find Yourself by Fun Lovin' Criminals
8. Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
9. Smash by The Offspring
10. Core by Stone Temple Pilots
11. Psalm 69 by Ministry
12. Ausgeflippt by Hanzel Und Gretyl
13. Audioslave by Audioslave

Specialty Albums:

Live Albums
Live at the Roxy by Social Distortion
Pulse by Pink Foyd

Greatest Hits
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Honorable Mentions:

The Wall by Pink Floyd

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest
Sublime by Sublime
Enter the 48 Chambers by Wu Tang Clan
Purple by Stone Temple Pilots