tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post5960779629506770167..comments2024-03-28T16:54:44.319-07:00Comments on The Emeryville Tattler: Teachers Union "Bumping Rights" ChallengedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-23186546244988186752012-04-14T09:46:04.770-07:002012-04-14T09:46:04.770-07:00You can check the charter of any union to see how ...You can check the charter of any union to see how members are removed for incompetence. Every union has a charter and every one has provisions to remove members.<br /><br />"Labeling" people and things is part of communication. It's how people speak. Everyone intuitively knows every "label" is a sign symbol to represent a connection with other things in the identified group and as such is an abstraction but a necessary one to communicate.<br />In its most elemental form, calling a tree a tree is inaccurate. Every "tree" is actually a specific thing...a unique individual. To call it a tree is to deny its actual reality. A tree is an object with tree-like characteristics that language crudely and indiscriminately groups together with all the other tree-like things in the world. However, we wouldn't do very well as a species though if we didn't engage in labeling...it's an essential part of communication, flawed though it is.<br />I use the word right-wing to describe people/policies that share characteristics with the policies of the entire right-wing cannon. Since its not (necessarily) a pejorative term, presumably, a person so labeled will find it neutral or even complimentary.Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-72053352712506192772012-04-13T13:21:40.142-07:002012-04-13T13:21:40.142-07:00You would do your readers a great service if you w...You would do your readers a great service if you were able to document the union actually removing members for inadequate performance. Brian, I value the service you provide to the city. You often publicize facts and useful information. But your tendency to label and attack people as "right wing" or "Republican" adds heat not light. I find there is a strong tendency of politicians of any party to act badly when not exposed to the cleansing sunlight of public scrutiny. Unions too. Corporations also. And although I have been a registered Democrat my entire life, I don't think the right has a monopoly on stupidity. I want effective efficient government services. The Democrats seem to give away the store and get little improvement in quality. The Republicans say they want to cut the cost of government until they are in power, whereupon they just give away the store to different constituents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-72400029189508346672012-04-06T18:38:49.684-07:002012-04-06T18:38:49.684-07:00Teachers removed from the union for incompetence a...Teachers removed from the union for incompetence are too numerous to mention. This meme of your is a right wing canard meant to draw away public support from the union. It's not hard to investigate this for yourself. You can actually do it or you can continue forwarding this disingenuous Republican line.Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-10286584536430423742012-04-06T12:19:34.704-07:002012-04-06T12:19:34.704-07:00"They have the ability and the motive through..."They have the ability and the motive through the Union to rid their ranks of any "bad" ones among them..." Really? If there is an example of the teacher's union removing a member for incompetence I would like to hear about it. Is there even a mechanism for the union to monitor or evaluate their members?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-59001565875630564852012-04-03T21:02:07.248-07:002012-04-03T21:02:07.248-07:00Teachers have never had much of an image in our co...Teachers have never had much of an image in our country, being seen as nerds and dweebs in a society that values aggressive action over matters of the mind; hence the resounding shibboleth of "bad teachers" echoes throughout the land. In every occupation there are "bad" somebodies, but the concept of "bad teachers" has escalated deliriously into a campaign of astonishing moral umbrage. "Get rid of the bad teachers," they say. "Get rid of the unions that protect them." These hollow catchphrases have spawned a kind of scapegoating that lacks all awareness of what actually goes on in the classrooms of American cities. I've worked as a substitute teacher in Oakland Schools for many years, and I've seen first-hand that the vast majority of classroom teachers are competent, dedicated, and care about their students. They're on the front lines fighting a tough battle every day. Whatever wages their unions have managed to gain for them are far below what they deserve. If we really want to weed out the "bad" from society, how about getting rid of the self-serving politicians who toady to the powerful corporations that own them. True, they're not as vulnerable as school teachers, but neither are they as useful.Joe Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15839353931810764397noreply@blogger.com