Former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (7/21, Subscription Publication) titled, “Why Are Teachers Unions So Opposed To Change?” makes the case that public schools in the US are failing American children and that teachers unions are partially to blame due to their continued resistance to the reforms that Villaraigosa deems necessary. Villaraigosa says the unions ought not be as critical of the Obama Administration as they are. Villaraigosa also contends that the implementation of Common Core had a positive impact on Los Angeles’ schools.
South Carolina Paper Praises Duncan For Bucking Unions On Teacher Protections
An editorial in the Charleston (SC) Post and Courier (7/18) praises Education Secretary Arne Duncan for “daring to take on” teachers unions, which are seen as traditionally being powerful supporters of the Democratic party. The piece notes that the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have recently directed “bitter criticism” at Duncan over his “efforts to advance meaningful changes in America’s public school system.” The piece notes that both unions have criticized Duncan over his support for the Vergara ruling stripping California teachers of job protections, but argues that Duncan is correct in hailing the ruling “as an overdue step toward holding teachers responsible for the quality of their work.”