Alec Baldwin: Raising Awareness of Flaws in Education Is Not Union Bashing

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Posted: October 13, 2010 05:33 PMBIOBecome a FanGet Email AlertsBloggers' Indexfunction hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");bubble.style.display = "none";}function hide_user_promo_bubble() {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, {opacity: {to: 0}}, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut);myAnim.animate();setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100);}function handle_promo_username(params) {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image");var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link");if (params.has_photo == "true") {img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png";} else {img.style.display = "none";Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide");}anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name;anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name;bubble.style.display = "block";var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, {opacity: {to: 1}}, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut);myAnim.animate();}if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) {YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() {var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i;if (parts.length Raising Awareness of Flaws in Education Is Not Union Bashing What's Your Reaction: HPConfig.entry_digg_promo_url = 'http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alec-baldwin/bad-faith-criticism-in-th_b_761806.html';digg facebook Twitter stumble redditdel.ico.us Amazing
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If ever you wanted proof that there may be an education crisis in this country, just look to the reading comprehension level evident in some of the comments posted on this site.

In my last post, I recommended people see Davis Guggenheim's film, Waiting for "Superman". I did not bash unions in this country. I did not state nor did I imply that charter schools are preferable to typical institutions of public education. I never represented myself as an authority on the subject of education.

What I wrote was:

Whether or not teachers' unions are partly to blame is open to discussion, but Guggenheim's film casts a light on that perspective. And once you get a peek at New York City's "Rubber Room" for outcast teachers, you may never view the NEA and the AFT the same way again.

This is a monumentally important film. My father was a public school teacher for 28 years and I can think of few other areas in our society that deserve this type of urgent scrutiny right now. See Guggenheim's film, which opens in theaters this weekend.

If you read union bashing into that, then you have a problem. An education problem.
Some posted thoughtful comments here about how the public school system in their area is not at all in crisis. In fact, they contend, they are thriving. That can only be viewed as good news.

But where schools are failing, we owe it to others and to ourselves to examine why. The belligerent, class-baiting vitriol you so often find here is ill-advised and unwelcome. Then again, what's worse than a liberal who doesn't have someone to blame for their political powerlessness? To say that a significant number of people in higher income brackets are eager to abandon the public school system is false. To say that those same people, whether they be in the entertainment business or not, want to hobble teachers' unions in order to foster a growing private business that replaces public education is outrageous.

Now more than ever, see Guggenheim's movie, if only to engage in a dialogue about our children's future that so many here want to drown out.

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Post to Facebook.Post to Blogger.Post to Twitter.Post to WordPress.Post to TypePad.Post to Tumblr.Post to Yahoo! View All Recency  |  Popularity Nicolja   2 minutes ago (5:55 PM) 0 Fans I've noticed those on the left are quite reactionary when issues related to unions comes up. The left can't be beholden to unions in the face of mounting evidence that they have created enormous issues in certain sectors of our economy. The same goes for those on the right who want no regulation and unfettered free markets. There has to be a balance.
Thanks for being reasonable on this issue, Alec Nicolja: I've noticed those on the left are quite reactionary when http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Nicolja/bad-faith-criticism-in-th_b_761806_63603817.html Permalink  | Share it been2there   5 minutes ago (5:53 PM) 99 Fans Blaming unions for problems they neither cause nor control is not raising awareness, it is union bashing. Without job protection, teachers get forced into things like teaching creationism, or passing up chances to embed cultural literacy, language arts, and math in elective subjects. Graph student achievement vs. unionization; it is instructive.
And keep in mind that charter schools can use tactics that public schools can't, things like requiring parental involvement or immediate detention for unfinished work.
Education's problems are systemic, and all parts of society will have to work together to solve them. That means that parents will have to tell the coach that kiddo can't be at practice because of detention, bosses will tell parents that they can certainly attend a meeting at the school, teachers will tell parents what help students need, and students will get it. been2there: Blaming unions for problems they neither cause nor control is http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/been2there/bad-faith-criticism-in-th_b_761806_63603555.html Permalink  | Share it moderate1   7 minutes ago (5:50 PM) 12 Fans This is common occurence in the Huffington Post comments.

Everyone knows that opposing viewpoints are never welcome here. All fringe left all the time. No alternative. Its nice to see another liberal calling these people to the carpet. Its about time. moderate1: This is common occurence in the Huffington Post comments. Everyone http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/moderate1/bad-faith-criticism-in-th_b_761806_63603212.html Permalink  | Share it     New comments on this entry — Click to refresh Loading comments… Loading twitter module... Most Popular on HuffPostApF9Gq%2F1%2BMoPO6e%2BCvqkI%2BQ11vkuwsIqNLTR4bE6MUfeSriD34Ii4%2FZOiUxsIB1eCyAaKanPNkjvc5YzJerfpQ%3D%3D4YxbTRbamwLhgFyjj2Dh2J6VBtH8Sa3%2BKUMwU14QJyiZMZtNDPfYkp9eyqZ4%2BBCTcbi3Z4oEiAeblxeQuiv5Ew%3D%3D1 of 2 Kim Kardashian Bowls In Strapless Dress, Platform Shoes (PHOTOS)
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