Public education defunding drivel

By Larry Sand
10/02/2018
The teachers unions and their allies demand more and more, and still more money for education. In a recent New York Times piece, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten warned us about “The high cost of defunding public education.” Her standard issue whine starts off with the Time Magazine front-page story (which I wrote...

TAGS: Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Coulson, Benjamin Scafidi, Jason Richwine, Just Facts, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

The endless teacher salary lies

By Larry Sand
09/25/2018
Using the “pay penalty” canard, the education establishment enflames teacher anger and accords them victim status. “‘I Work 3 Jobs and Donate Blood Plasma to Pay the Bills.’ This Is What It’s Like to Be a Teacher in America” begs for your sympathy. Then, of course, you are supposed to get righteously angry! But looking...

TAGS: Act 10, Barbara Biasi, Benjamin Scafidi, Cato Institute, Economic Policy Institute, EdChoice, free market, Larry Sand, Lee Saunders, Nick Gillespie, Randi Weingarten, Richard Trumka, Robert Enlow, Scott Walker, teachers union

Kavan-awesome

By Larry Sand
09/04/2018
With the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearings underway, the unions are very jumpy.  Did you know that the U.S. Supreme Court is there to protect the little guy and minorities, uphold women’s rights, and destroy school choice? That’s according to the make-it-up-as-you-go-along left, including the teachers unions. In reality, the job of a SCOTUS...

TAGS: American Federation of State, American Federation of Teachers, Betsy DeVos, County and Municipal Employees, Donald Trump, Larry Sand, Lee Saunders, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mark Janus, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, school choice, Supreme Court, teachers union, vouchers, Walter Williams, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

School choice matters

By Larry Sand
08/21/2018
From Puerto Rico to Los Angeles, teachers unions still try to deny parental choice at every turn. In March, six months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the island’s lawmakers approved a bill that offered parents school choice options, including vouchers and charter schools. Hardly radical, the voucher program was capped at 3 percent of...

TAGS: American Federation for Children, American Federation of Teachers, EdChoice, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Network for Public Education, Randi Weingarten, teacher strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The Janus victory and ongoing whine festival

By Larry Sand
07/03/2018
The Abood decision has been overturned and its mourners are beside themselves.  The hysterical reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case, which frees public employees in 22 states from having to pay any money to a union as a condition of employment, has Chicken Little nodding in solidarity. As...

TAGS: AFSCME, Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Chicago Teachers Union, Janus v. AFSCME, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, LAUSD, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, seiu, stare decisis, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Hillbilly science v. left wing ideology

By Larry Sand
06/26/2018
Parents, not the state, should decide what kind of education their children receive.  The anti-school choice crowd frequently manages to shoot themselves in the foot by making outlandish allegations. Almost a year ago, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten suggested that vouchers are “slightly more polite cousins of segregation.” At the same time, Katherine...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Cultural Marxism, Howard Zinn, Kyle Olson, Lance Izumi, Larry Sand, Neal McCluskey, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, vouchers

Uninformed and misinformed teachers

By Larry Sand
06/19/2018
  Too many educators are clueless on issues relating to their profession.  In 2006, I co-founded the California Teachers Empowerment Network, whose mission is to give educators unbiased information and to combat union spin and outright lies. While we have helped a good number of teachers, there are still way too many who are...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Coulson, California Teachers Empowerment Network, Educators for Excellence, Fresno Teachers Association, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Michael Lovenheim, Mike Petrilli, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Striking at the wrong target

By Larry Sand
04/24/2018
Teachers should stop listening to union leaders and look at the data before striking. When one looks at the actual dollars-and-cents reality, the emotional photo of the kindly old 1st grade teacher picketing for more money “for the classroom” falls flat. Very, very flat. There are several relevant facts that teachers and all Americans – especially the taxpaying variety – need to know.

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Benjamin Scafidi, James Agresti, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, pension tsunami, Randi Weingarten, teachers strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Valerie Strauss

“We actually make communities safer and…the right-wing is threatened by that.”

By Larry Sand
03/06/2018
Union rhetoric about the Janus case has gone from hyperbolic to just plain crazy. If successful in the Supreme Court, the Janus v AFSCME case will free public employees from paying a union as a condition of employment in 22 states. Government workers in the other 28 states already have been spared the unions’ forced...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Bob Bowdon, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Choice Media, Friedrichs v CTA, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Right to Work, teachers union, Trey Kovacs

Grad rates have become the education establishment’s Potemkin village

By Larry Sand
02/13/2018
Too many schools are failing, and parents need a way for their kids to escape from them. A couple of months ago, the education establishment told us that “U.S. Graduation Rate Hits New All-Time High, With Gains in All Student Groups.” But in the real world this is nothing more than a façade – a...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California High School Exit Examination, credit recovery classes, dropouts, EdChoice, graduation rate, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union