Letters to the Editor
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‘Rewarding Mediocrity’
Television reporter John Stossel maligned teacher unions all over America with his recent ABC News “20/20” report blaming them for many of the ills affecting the nation’s public schools.
Now he continues his union bashing by accusing the United Federation of Teachers of fighting against the interests of New York City’s best teachers by opposing merit pay for educators [“Rewarding Mediocrity,” Opinion, February 23, 2006].
Individual merit pay for teachers has never resulted in better student test scores or improved academic achievement in every school system where it has been tried.
Students are not widgets. They come from different backgrounds and have varying needs, making it difficult to single out individual teachers for raises when a student’s performance is determined by the collective work of many educators. That is why the UFT has supported programs that allow all educators in a school to receive pay bonuses when enough students improve.
Mr. Stossel’s claim that many New York City teachers fear the union will reprimand them for staying in school after hours is utter nonsense. How ironic that he tries to portray teaching as an easy job with short hours and long vacations – and then says the union would reprimand them if they stay late.
The fact is most teachers report to work early, stay late to tutor kids who are falling behind, and spend many hours outside of school preparing lessons and grading homework and exams. Students in states with unionized teachers do far better on standardized tests than those in states that do not have unionized educators.
Sadly, Mr. Stossel also reiterated another conservative canard about the union’s contract making it difficult to fire incompetent teachers. The truth is New York State law – not the contract – simply guarantees tenured teachers the right to due process, meaning they can’t be fired without just cause.
Mr. Stossel simply mouths as gospel propaganda right-wing ideologues have pushed for years in seeking to deny adequate resources for under-funded urban school systems.
It’s a shame that someone with a megaphone so large would devote his energy to tearing down teachers instead of exploring real solutions to improve public education.
RANDI WEINGARTEN
President United Federation of Teachers
Manhattan
‘Rice for President’
I respectfully disagree with your “nomination” for the presidency of Harvard [“Rice for President,” Editorial February 27, 2006].
We need Condoleezza Rice in her most important role as our secretary of state, i.e., America needs her more than Haaahhhvad.
She is an essential member of President Bush’s team. The timing is just wrong. At the end of this administration’s tenure – should a university make such offer, and she be willing to accept – fine. And, I do agree that such service may well be another step on her staircase to the presidency of America.
NANCY JOYCE JANCOURTZ
Brooklyn, N.Y.
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