Teachers want reforms that put students ahead of unions

Gary Beckner:

For years, the quest to understand and leverage effective teaching has been at the center of the public discussion over how to improve America’s education system.
For the country’s hard-working educators, great teaching and common-sense reform aren’t simply policies or ideas backed by bureaucrats or legislators. Teachers are living the realities of the classroom every day. In order to promote positive change in our system, we must listen to the educators on the front lines.
For too long, individual teacher voices have fallen on deaf ears in favor of the self-preserving agenda of the teachers unions, which are focused primarily on maintaining a system of forced dues and political power. The public is beginning to recognize that the union does not have the best interest of students — or even teachers — in mind.