Teachers defend their unions across the blogosphere
If you’ve noticed that your blog reader filled up today with the headline “Why teachers like me support unions,” it’s no coincidence — it’s part of a national teacher-led effort to share why they joined a union and what it means for their teaching.
Teachers from around New York City — and the country — have taken up the call to blog today in support of their unions, or to spread their message through other forms of social media. Bronx Lab School teacher and GothamSchools Community section contributer Stephen Lazar is one of the organizers of the initiative, which they’ve dubbed the #EDUSolidarity project.
In his post today, Lazar explains that union protections prevent great teachers from losing their jobs for arbitrary reasons. But it’s more than that, he writes:
I need the protection of my union and my tenured due process rights to consistently improve and innovate as a teacher. I am a very good teacher right now by any measurable objective standard, including that of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards who certified me two
