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

The Myth of the Underpaid Teacher Lives On

By Larry Sand
08/23/2016
 Yet another “study” showing how poorly teachers are paid has surfaced. Well, it’s a new school year and there is much tumult in the world of public education. Common Core battles, testing opt-outs, and litigation about school choice and teacher work rules dot the landscape. But with all the uncertainty, it’s comforting to know that...

TAGS: AFL-CIO, AFT, American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, Economic Policy Institute, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mary Kay Henry, National Education Association, NEA, Richard Trumka, seiu, teacher pay, teachers union, Valerie Strauss

School Choice and Its Foes

By Larry Sand
07/19/2016
My brief talk Saturday at FreedomFest identified those who try to deny school choice to the children of America and the tactics they use to do it.  On a recent panel at FreedomFest, a libertarian gathering held yearly in Las Vegas, I along with National School Choice Week President Andrew Campanella, Friedman Foundation State Programs...

TAGS: ACLU, Bob Bowdon, Choice Media, Florida Education Association, Friedman Foundation, Greg Forster, Jonathan Butcher, Larry Sand, National Education Association, National School Choice Week, school choice, tax credit scholarship, teachers union, Valerie Strauss, voucher, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

“I’m Randi Weingarten and Now, the Fake News.”

By Larry Sand
07/30/2013
Teachers union makes news with meaningless words and a misleading poll. Norm MacDonald is famous for opening the comedic news segment on Saturday Night Live by introducing himself and telling the audience that it’s time for the “fake news.” I thought of this when, at the recent American Federation of Teachers convention, President Randi Weingarten...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Cato Institute, EAG, Jason Bedrick, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Michelle Rhee, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Stephen Sawchuk, teachers union, The Heritage Foundation, Valerie Strauss

Visitors from Outer Space and Their Strange Ideas About Education Reform

By Larry Sand
12/27/2011
There are those among us who think that teachers unions, collective bargaining and peer assistance review are the way to a better education for kids. They look like earthlings, but in fact are extraterrestrials. As the year draws to a close, newspapers, magazines and blogs are filled with best of and worst of lists that...

TAGS: Bob Bowdon, collective bargaining, Diane Ravitch, Education Next, education reform, Jay Greene, teachers unions, Terry Moe, Valerie Strauss