Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Nancy Flanagan on Detroit Sickout: Neither DFT Leaders Nor Steve Conn Represent Voice of Classroom Teachers

Nancy FlanaganTuesday, January 12, 2016 at 10:25:00 AM EST
This story has been reported, as all stories are reported in MSM, by contacting union leaders, rather than garden-variety teachers. Because that's what reporters do, when they want to hear the "teachers' voice." As you well know, official union leadership (as well as deposed leadership) does not always represent what classroom teachers really want. Steve Conn has taken credit for a bubbling surge of rage that he had no hand in instigating--here's a quote from a DPS teacher:

"Mr. Conn held a meeting this afternoon first touting it as teachers taking a strike vote and then as an endorsement of the current sick outs. He even went so far as to encourage yet another sick out on the 20th for people to show up at his hearing and show their support for him! Imagine closing down the schools over an internal union issue rather than an issue with the schools. And that gives you an idea at how crazy things really are right now."

Public hearings would a chance for the conditions in DPS and the dedication of DPS teachers to be heard, rather than glossed over or buried under still more governmental blah-blah. Here in Detroit, there is no school board, there is no democracy--there is management by fiat. A public hearing would be something the press could report on.

If you would like to read some commentary from real DPS teachers: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2016/01/whats_going_down_in_detroit_today.html

1 comment:

ed notes online said...

Nancy - what about the union within a union group? Is that a bogus group to siphon Conn supporters? Teachers organizing themselves to do a sickout without some organizing organization is unusual. There must be some leadership. Are they keeping themselves under cover to avoid becoming targets?