An Example of the Tie Between Love of Charter Schools & Hatred of Unions

One need not leave the tiny state of Delaware to realize that many of the staunchest advocates of charter schools (and home schooling for that matter) are also notorious for their hatred of teacher unions.

In fact, one often gets the impression with these people that if teacher unions could be abolished, their advocacy for charter schools would be extinguished. Fortunately, some union bashers are explicit about the connection and don't resort to covering their real motives behind the pious dribble that professionally trained educators know less about educating children in, say, science and mathematics than do parents (link). Rick Berman, Esquire, is one example:

Berman says he hopes to persuade education advocates to adopt his "severance package" idea as a school improvement strategy, much as they now view investing in innovative charter schools. "Maybe we wouldn't need to fund charter schools if the public schools are pristine models of excellence on their own," he says.

Who is Rick Berman? What is his severance package idea?

Rick Berman [is] a union-bashing attorney known for his in-your-face attacks on consumer, safety and environmental groups.

It does seem those often go together: hatred for consumer, safety, environmental and union groups. (The malicious thread that ties them together is the audacity of these groups to challenge moneyed interests and established authorities in ways that might require an expenditure--God forbid.)

Now the "severance package":

The Center for Union Facts will ask parents, students and other teachers Tuesday to nominate the "worst unionized teacher in America." The center says it will choose 10 and offer each $10,000 to quit; "winners" must allow the center to write about them on its website.

Why must the "winners" allow the Center to write about them? Berman makes it sound noble:

"We're not trying to humiliate anyone," Berman says. "We're trying to jump-start a conversation that maybe people need severance packages to find themselves another line of work."

Right. That's believable. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the possibility that $10,000 might tempt some desperate teachers to agree to allegations being published about them even if the allegations are not true.

Bribing some teachers to agree to false allegations will suffice for creating the impression that it is unionized teachers who are chiefly responsible for the problems in public education.
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