Submitted by Paul Hoss, Apr 3, 2007 20:49

Once again, common-sense student well being has taken a back seat to teacher union concerns. And what is their concern? Certainly not the establishment clause of the Constitution. That would be their (legal) smokescreen, their defense. Their actual concern is the threat to their monopoly; more specifically, they want all children to attend public schools. Weingarten is only doing her job. She does not need to be taken to the woodshed for that. It's the bureaucracy and the mindsets of the AFT and NEA that are at the center of many of our schools' problems in this era of education reform. They claim they are trying to help solve these problems in our schools when, in fact, they are the problem.

One omission in this piece I objected to: "Special interests and entrenched powers," in particular, "the public school teachers' lobbyists and the legislators beholden to them." - Why did you leave out "Democratic" legislators? It's no secret. Teacher unions are known for their close ties (enormous campaign contributions) to Democratic candidates and their liberal agendas. Because of the monetary support of candidates and policies, the Democratic party is indeed beholden to the teachers unions.

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