Child Suicide, Covid, and the Unions

By Larry Sand
02/02/2021
The teachers unions’ resistance to opening schools is killing kids…literally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 6 percent of U.S. children aged 6 through 17 are afflicted with autism, severe anxiety, depression, trauma-related mental health conditions, and other serious emotional or behavioral difficulties. Due to forced school lockdowns, many of these...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Claudia Briggs, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teachers union

The No Education Association

By Larry Sand
01/19/2021
As the teachers unions buttress their roadblocks to reopening schools, parental choice is more important than ever. In September 2020, researchers Corey DeAngelis and Christos Makridis released the results of a study which found that school districts in places with strong teachers’ unions were much less likely to offer full-time, in-person instruction in the fall....

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Christos Makridis, Claudia Briggs, Corey DeAngelis, EdChoice, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, National School Choice Week, Randi Weingarten

Teachable Union Moments

By Larry Sand
12/22/2020
Several recent stories about teachers unions can be used for classroom instruction. Lesson plans are a teacher’s daily guide for what students need to learn and how it will be taught. Because educators are always looking for new and interesting ways to engage kids, I have a few ideas that can be used to further...

TAGS: Becky Pringle, Chicago Teachers Union, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teachers union

Kamalot

By Larry Sand
08/18/2020
The nightmarish Biden/Harris ticket is the teachers union’s “dream team.” “You don’t just have a partner in the White House, you’ll have an NEA member in the White House.” Referring to his wife Jill, presidential hopeful Joe Biden uttered those words at the virtual National Education Association convention in early July. He also expressed dissatisfaction...

TAGS: American Federation for Children, Andrew Biggs, Betsy DeVos, Greg Forster, Janus decision, Jason Richwine, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teacher pay, teachers union

And the Edu-Razzie Goes to….

By Larry Sand
08/11/2020
The teachers unions keep racking up dubious awards. In the past week, I have seen cashiers, cops, postal employees, pharmacists, doctors, receptionists, nurses, bus drivers and others who work directly with the public remain on the job. Maybe they realize that if they don’t work, they will have no income. Maybe they have a sense...

TAGS: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Empowerment Network, CDC, Cecily Myart-Cruz, Chicago Teachers Union, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Pearls of venom

By Larry Sand
03/31/2020
Los Angeles teacher union leader is using the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to trash charter schools. Due to the coronavirus, many of us are going out of our way to be nice – helping the elderly and infirm, shopping for a family that fears leaving home, limiting ourselves to purchasing just one package of...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Charter Schools Association, coronavirus, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, Myrna Castrejón, National Education Association, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The 2020 California Tax Grab

By Larry Sand
10/08/2019
Still a year away, Golden Staters brace for a shoot-out with the tax bandits. Like a bad zombie movie where no one really dies, California’s “split roll property tax” is back. The last time it had a heartbeat was in 2015 via the so-called “Make it Fair” initiative, which was headed for the ballot in...

TAGS: California School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, John Fensterwald, Larry Sand, Measure EE, Mike Antonucci, Prop. 13, Richard Rider, split roll, teachers union

Romanticized fiction trumps facts

By Larry Sand
10/01/2019
A blockbuster report exposes myths about the teaching profession, but will it matter? People love stories, and the gooier and more heart-rending the better. Few are more likely to send readers running for a box of tissues than the tale of a dedicated, but woefully underpaid teacher who is forced to take a second job,...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, class-size, Economic Policy Institute, Jason Richwine, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teacher pay, teachers union

The Teacher Shortage Data Shortage

By Larry Sand
08/27/2019
“The false cry that there is no teacher shortage must not go unchallenged.” In recent times, one cannot go far without hearing piercing screams emanating from the education cognoscenti and teacher union poohbahs about the national teacher shortage. But, then again, this hysteria is hardly new. The above quote came from The Journal of the...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Cato Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union