Published on Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Currently, most teachers in the state of Maryland are employed by a local Board of Education and are direct employees of the school system. However, a better arrangement is possible. What if all Maryland schools districts could hire employees under their existing union-negotiated agreements and could also sign contracts with education companies, individual teachers, and other unions? This paper examines how this approach would work, the policy changes needed to enable teacher entrepreneurship, and the potential benefits, and also answers the common arguments for a single, union-negotiated contract.

Published on Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Though some teachers may not realize it, Maryland's laws infringe on their freedoms, place the interests of unions over individual teachers and restrict the ability of teachers to become entrepreneurs. Teachers ought to have the right to be represented by a union. But they should also have the right to not be represented. Maryland forces teachers to be represented by unions, which violates teachers' rights and has negative consequences for teachers and students.

Published on Monday, October 20, 2008

As the election season enters full swing this fall, local Board of Education candidates across Maryland will present their platforms to the public, while local organizations will try to determine which candidate best supports their views. In most districts, candidates will receive questionnaires from the teachers' union, the local newspapers, and a few civic organizations, but not from rank-and-file parents. Most questionnaires ask candidates general questions such as: "Why are you running for Board of Education?"; "How would you rate the performance of the Superintendent?"; and, in the case of the union, whether the candidate is disposed to support the existing collective bargaining agreement. Rarely do these questionnaires probe candidates' knowledge for the specifics of their education policy positions. Unfortunately for parents, who tend not to question candidates, a candidate's views on nuts-and-bolts issues-such as what type of math and reading programs the school system uses-have the greatest impact on their children's education.Those important questions usually go unasked and should be posed to the candidates. This article offers a questionnaire that parents can use to better ascertain candidates' views on important issues that often do not get the attention they deserve. It also provides an answer guide to help clearly differentiate between education reformers and candidates who support the education status quo.

Published on Monday, November 06, 2006

It is election season again, and across the state local teachers’ unions are campaigning for the candidates featured on their Apple Ballot, which they will distribute to large numbers of voters this November. The Apple Ballot enjoys a somewhat privileged place in the minds of Maryland’s voters because of its claims to represent the views of teachers. But the union’s interests do not always coincide with the public’s interest in improving education, or even the interests of the teachers themselves. Just as the union issues questionnaires to political candidates prior to endorsing them, this paper in turn asks some questions of the unions. This should not be construed as “teacher bashing,” “anti-union,” or “anti-public education,” as unions sometimes label those who offer alternatives to their policies, but rather as a critical examination of whether teacher unionization and the policies unions support have benefited teachers and the general public. It is healthy for any organization—especially one that claims to have the public’s best interests at heart—to be challenged from time to time. The Maryland State Teachers Association and its affiliates have been asking candidates questions for decades. The time has come to ask them some questions as well.

Published on Friday, December 09, 2005

In a series of articles posted on its website, the Maryland State Teachers’ Association has come out strongly against the alternative certification program offered by the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence—a program that was recommended by the Governor’s Commission on Quality Education in Maryland.  Following is a point-by-point rebuttal of the primary article in the series, titled “ABCTE: Creating a Teacher Mill.”