Scapegoats and red herrings

Given how critical I can be of the school system, I think some people expect me to be more critical of teachers as a group, or specifically, of teachers’ unions. I think teachers’ unions are self-interested and can’t be counted on to do what’s best for the kids, so I certainly wouldn’t write them a blank check. But I’m not on board for union-bashing, or union-busting. Unions are one of the few things protecting the poor and the middle class from becoming even worse off than they already are. And making the poor and the middle class worse off is the worst possible thing you could do for education in America.

There will always be people who want to scare you into thinking that we all need to work harder for less money if we ever hope to compete with the Chinese (or whoever this week's bogeyman is).  I don't buy it.  This country can afford to become a very different place than the one it is becoming. It’s not teachers’ unions that are standing in the way.

The same idea, in joke form, here.
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