An Open Letter to Michigan Teachers

Dear Teachers:

Thank you for wanting to teach kids everyday despite all the challenges you face. Thank you for really caring about the kids and trying to make sure each one of them loves to learn. Thank you for working in a system that is broken, despite your best efforts. It isn't your fault.

I know there is low morale among teachers. But apparently it has little to do with raises. Actually, it does deal with raises but not in the way the some would like us to believe. For three years I have been sitting behind the board table and listening to what your union leadership has to say. I have also been talking to individual teachers from across the state that listening closely. What individual teachers have to say is much different then what the union is claiming to be true.

Most teachers understand how bad the economy is and are grateful to have a job. They wouldn't dream of demanding raises in this economy. But the union is beating its chest and demanding raises for everyone, even as the private sector takes more pay cuts and more people become unemployed. What you have told me is that raises are not going to make you love your job more- but there are some things that can be done.

School Boards are generally pretty wimpy when it comes to the union, which you know. So they give in to raises and then have to lay off teachers, which makes your job harder, not easier, because of increased class size. For most of you, it isn't worth the additional $200 a month you might get with a raise.

In fact, money has never been a complaint when I talk to teachers. You do have concerns, like class size and parents who won't raise their own kids and don't believe you when you report that little Johnny isn't behaving. But these are not even at the top of the list.

The top of the list of things that are contributing to low morale and frustration are the MEAP and No Child Left Behind. Both of these tie your hands when it comes to teaching and prevent you from being creative in the classroom. They place stress on you and the students and drive much of what you do in the classroom.

And they are not working. While there may incremental improvements, the measuring stick is far from perfect. I had no idea the MEAP was rewritten every year. What a stupid waste of money. And how can you compare year to year if the test is rewritten and cut scores change all the time?

NCLB is a typical Washington bureaucratic mess that was meant to bring accountability to our schools but has instead caused a paperwork nightmare and not had the positive impact it was intended to have.

So it isn't money. The union has to know this. If they know this, then why are they always asking for raises and demanding to keep MESSA (which they are making a fortune off of and have $500 million in savings)? That plan is good for them. If they were looking out for teachers, it seems they would be having very different discussions.

In fact, after some research it seems there are some other options to improving your work environment; but I need your help to complete the plan. You know how money is being spent and probably have some creative, fantastic ideas that could be implemented so save money. To do this, we are going to need to find a lot of savings. Okay, here it goes:

1. Opt out, as a state, of No Child Left Behind. Utah did it and so could we.

2. Get rid of the MEAP and go to the Iowa or SAT. That would save money and provide a much more consistent view of how kids are doing.

3. Truly return curriculum selection to the local district. If one district wants to have a social progressive slant in their curriculum, let the local community decide. If a district wants to focus on a more traditional or even classical approach, that is fine too. That would allow districts to build identities and give parents more choice about their child's education.

Opting out of NCLB would cost the state $1.3 billion. That is a lot of money, I know. But there are some ways to recover the costs right away.

1. Change all teachers to the state employee health benefits. The benefits are really good and much cheaper then MESSA. That could take care of $500 million if estimates are correct.

2. Consolidate all non-teaching functions at a county level. You can keep local school boards, but centralize payroll, accounting, HR and busing. That would save money.

3. Move the state to more of an open-source curriculum. Texas is doing it and it would save a fortune on text books. There is plenty of free resources out there.

4. Move all new teachers into a Defined Contribution plan- and let current teachers opt in. The reality is that there is no real guarantee that you will get all of your promised health benefits and pension-at least if GM and Ford are any measuring stick. You should have the choice to take your future into your own hands, especially if you are a young teacher.

If class size, NCLB and the MEAP are leading to low moral, let's fix it. Your union isn't helping. It is going to be up to you. Please send me your ideas about other ways to cut costs and back fill that $1.3 billion.

About the parents, not all the parents who are "trouble makers" mean to be. They are passionate about their kids and feel like they have no say over the education of their kids. They are told, when they bring forward a concern, that they are the only ones complaining and that they don't' know what they are talking about.

Please listen to these parents. The ones I know are willing to be your best defender if they feel like they are being listened to and taken seriously. Not sure what to say about the parents who really do want you to parent their child. That is a problem for another day.

Please send me your feedback and ideas wjdayhome@sbcglobal.net. I will keep your information confidential and look forward to hearing from you!

Wendy