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E-PrinceInaccuracies about the campus pubRegarding “Members of social life task force agree on pub” (Thursday, Dec. 9, 2010): Your article accurately reported that the working group on campus social and residential life has found widespread support for the idea ...(back to the article)
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Very smooth to trivialize your critics by shrugging off their comments as "the blame game". But if teachers' unions are to blame, as they plausibly are, they deserve to be called out on it. How would you react to sinister Wall Street fatcats telling you to quit with "the blame game"?
Second, "ending educational inequity" and closing the "achievement gap" were not the focus of CK's article; indeed they weren't even mentioned. Rather, she was talking about the (in)efficiency of teachers' unions and their role as an obstacle to progress of any kind. So you're kind of changing the subject, quite unintentionally no doubt.
Third, even if the words of these local unions are taken at face value (and without details I can't help but be skeptical), they are notable for being exceptions. You forgot to mention that the stronger union, the NEA, opposes the AFT on most fronts including accountability. Instead we get hand-waving kumbayas about great urban teachers getting their voices "amplified in the policy sphere", whatever that means. If you think strong coalitions of parties with competing interests collaborating for the greater good are how political change happens, I have a dollar to sell to you for more than a dollar.(http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2009/11/how-to-sell-a-dollar-for-more-than-a-dollar.html)
What makes a "good" union anyway? Check this out....
http://webscript.princeton.edu/~sfer/blog/2010/...