Teachers Union Why Are the Current Changes

Teachers Union

Why are the current changes taking place within the current teachers union (ie..Student drop out rates, low test scores...etc...)?

To begin, the problem of educational inequality has been a conundrum plaguing American society for decades. How is it that our international counterparts abroad are educating their children in grades K-12 better than America, yet we have the best Universities in the world? Extensive tests reveal that in many subjects (particularly math) many Asian students are outperforming their American equivalents (1). This is in part due to the fact that Asian countries are collectivistic in nature. The community at large has a vested stake in the education of its younger children. As a result, the community helps in both education and corrective action. America is individualistic however. In many instances, we simply look out for our own constituents irrespective of how that action might affect others. This concept can be applied to American education as we often only care about our own children without regard to how the ineptitude of other children will affect the community as a whole. For example, there is a direct correlation to educations and levels of income and incarceration. In fact, the spread of many of the worlds deadliest viruses are correlated to low education levels. In particular African-American and Latin Americans bare the brunt of our broken education system. Not only do these two races have the highest high school drop out rates, they also have the highest prevalence of incarceration rates (2). In America's individualistic society, many individuals are simply content with putting individuals in jail as oppose to helping educate them as a community for example. This is why in many within the teachers union is evoking change with the emphasis that is placed on particular aspects of education. The teachers union realizes how profound an impact a broken education system can have on the communities in America. Changes are taking place in order to keep America more competitive in regards to its students and educational facilities. This, in turn, will benefit society as these individuals will contribute innovations, products, and services all designed to benefit American constituents. If change is not evoked, America can potentially lose its distinction as the most powerful economy in the world. Further, America could become susceptible to the influence of foreign countries who have better trained individuals and potentially more economic power. By circumventing and attempting to abate the negative trends that current occur in American society; the teachers union is preserving the essence of what makes America such a powerful nation.

3. What are the ethical issues involved here as far as having or not having a teachers union?