A lot has been made about Obama speaking nationwide to school children today. I have read the text, and take no issue with the president's message. In fact I like the message the President imparts: you need education to succeed in America.
And while I have no quarrel with what is in the speech, I do have an objection on what's not in the speech.
And that is the responsibilities teachers have to school children. There is nothing in the speech on that crucial subject.
But is that really a surprise? If a draft of the speech contained this simple statement "Teachers you need to put in extra hours to ensure that your students are learning" the UFT would have got wind of it and reminded the president that the amount of hours a teacher works is covered by collective bargaining.
And once the UFT got its powerful hands on the speech, the "teachers putting in extra hrs." reference would have had as much a chance of remaining in the speech as Michael Vick has at being named "Man of the Year" by the North Shore Animal League.
When the most powerful man on earth has less power in some areas than a labor union, something is wrong, no?
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