Public school teachers in Madison are so devoted to their profession and their calling to educate children that they forced the district to close on Wednesday.
What dedication to their mission!
From the Wisconsin State Journal:
Madison schools will be closed Wednesday as teachers planned a district-wide absence to attend protests against Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to limit union bargaining.
District Superintendent Dan Nerad made the announcement at 11 p.m. Tuesday after 40 percent of the 2,600 members of the teacher's union had called in sick and more were expected to do so through Wednesday morning.
"At this ratio we have serious concerns about our ability to maintain safe and secure school environments," Nerad said in the announcement.
Although classes won't be held for students, all district staff members will be expected to report to the school, Nerad said in a statement.
Earlier Tuesday, Nerad said teachers who take a sick day will be asked to show proof of a medical reason. Those who don't could face sanctions such as docked pay. Teachers aren't able to take a personal day with less than three days' notice.
Nerad's decision came after Madison Teachers Inc. executive director John Matthews said the union was contacting members and urging them to call in sick and instead attend a rally scheduled for Wednesday at the Capitol in opposition to Walker's collective bargaining proposal.
...Also Tuesday, nearly 800 Madison East High School students — half the school — walked out to participate in a demonstration at the state Capitol. Students at West, Memorial and at other schools around the state — from Shullsburg to Sheboygan — also participated in demonstrations during school hours.
Other demonstrations and protests at schools in Wisconsin are scheduled for Wednesday.
East High senior Ona Powell, whose mother is a Madison teacher and father is a professor, coordinated the walkout through Facebook and word-of-mouth at school on Monday.
"I felt outraged that unions are being attacked and didn't want my mom hurt by this," Powell said.
As teachers beamed and offered thanks, student organizers in the hallways handed out signs identifying each as a "future worker, future voter," proclaiming this was a "Walk out for Walker out," and calling on the Legislature to "kill this bill."
Students said teachers appeared torn by their support for what their students were doing, but also awareness that they weren't supposed to encourage student political activity.
The teachers aren't supposed to encourage student political activity yet they "beamed and offered thanks" to student organizers of the walkout.
Unacceptable.
In Milwaukee, teachers have been ordered to report to work and not skip out to attend anti-Walker rallies.
From Dan O'Donnell:
Milwaukee Public Schools on Tuesday sent a district-wide email that ordered teachers and other employees not to skip school to attend rallies protesting Governor Walker's controversial budget bill.
"For the remainder of this week, monitor and record requests for absence, date and time received, notice of request and reason," the email read. "Any staff member who is absent without prior approval is to be coded AWOL (Code 91). Principals are not to approve absence for personal reasons (code 23 or code 69) during the next three days."
32 Rufus King High School teachers called in sick Tuesday morning as thousands of public workers rallied in Madison and in smaller events across Wisconsin against Walker's proposal to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for most state employees. A source told Newsradio 620 WTMJ that the school was caught so shorthanded by the absences that it had to use support staff such as security guards as substitute teachers.
"Those teachers all gave different reasons for why they would be out," said MPS spokesperson Roseann St. Aubin. "So we can't say that this was in any way a planned event, but we know what is going on over in Madison and we chose to act preemptively to prevent any coordinated actions by people who might be affected by this bill and are emotional."
"But our function is to educate our children, and to do that we need to have our teachers in their classrooms."
Obviously, this is a rude awakening for public employees.
They're getting slapped in the face by the real world, the one where the rest of us live.
Those in the public sector have to realize that they aren't exempt from the economic realities the rest of us face. They've lived in their protected bubble of bountiful benefits for so long that they're freaking out at the thought of getting less. Their benefits are still superior to those most people get in private sector jobs.
When our family lost benefits recently because of the economic crisis, we didn't like it but we didn't whine about our rights being taken away. Yes, it sucks, but I didn't feel I'd been stripped of my rights.
It would be a dereliction of duty if Governor Walker were not making fiscally responsible proposals. He must act in the best interests of the state's entire population.
What really bugs me about these protests is the union members' sense of entitlement, like they're a chosen people, above other workers.
They're not.
I support Walker's plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment