American Politicians Dislike Teachers Unions—Associations... because they Do Not Value Teachers

"So long as public schools are treated as places that exist to provide guaranteed jobs to members of the teachers' unions, do not be surprised to see American students continuing to score lower on international tests than students in countries that spend a lot less per pupil than we do." ~ Thomas Sowell

"Just as members of American teachers unions often send their own children to private schools, so unionized workers at government-run hospitals in Britain have insurance that allows them to go to private hospitals. In both cases, those on the inside realize how bad these institutions are, regardless of what they say to those on the outside." ~ Thomas Sowell

"No segment of the population has lost more by the agendas of the liberal constituencies of the Democratic Party than the black population. The teachers' unions, environmental fanatics and the ACLU are just some of the groups to whose interests blacks have been sacrificed wholesale. Lousy education and high crime rates in the ghettos, and unaffordable housing elsewhere with building restrictions, are devastating prices to pay for liberalism." ~ Thomas Sowell

The book explores the power theme by a critical analysis of how liberals and conservatives in America are both to blame for an endemic cultural disrespect for the teaching profession. Drawing on the author's own coming-of-age years in a prosperous New York suburb, reading material reveals the way that teachers, even though they are crucial to shaping young minds, are seen as societal underachievers for not participating in the capitalist pursuit of accumulating wealth and status.

While the critique begins by singling out liberal and pseudo-liberal disdain for teachers' unions, it is clear that such scorn is bipartisan. Conservatives oppose public unions and spending on education, and liberals as well recite identical arguments under the banner of a "concern for students." Such unanimity promotes a distorted index of power that counts financial achievement as more valuable than public service and intellectual labour.

Such American bipartisan dismissal of the teaching profession is not confined alone to America and has the prospect of setting up attitudes in Canada as well.

Canadian sociopolitical and cultural areas of society, often subject to American economic and social media influence, can in turn adopt similar beliefs that equate professional value with status and income. The book is a cautionary read, if Canadians come to perceive teachers as lesser professionals who do not merit investment, they are sacrificing one of the most valuable institutions in their society.

At the broader level, power is not necessarily a matter of position or wealth, but whose labour is valued and respected.

Respecting and supporting teachers is essential so that Canadian society can be able to uphold values of equality, equity, critical consciousness, merit, and common good.