Evaluating Teachers Unions Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evaluating Teachers Unions - Article Example They also discover and develop individual skills and talents in students, and the senior teachers also guide and mentor their assistants and trainees (Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008). In addition to the standard lesson-exam tasks, teachers are also responsible for the overall growth and development of their students as insinuated by Mr. Pipler who states that he is responsible for the overall development of his students. Considering their overwhelming tasks and their instrumental role in academic implementation, therefore teachers deserve rewarding employment packages. Unfortunately, the government and other employers tend to ignore teachers’ welfares and hence they depend on teachers’ unions to advocate for them. Teachers’ unions present their grievances to the government and if they are not met they mobilize their members to engage in attention-seeking actions such as strikes (Hoxby, 1996). Many observers feel that some of these actions are extreme and that unions should engage in conciliatory talks to avoid academic disruptions (Boyd, Plank & Sykes, 2000). Union leaders and teachers justify their actions and declare that all their actions work to improve the education system (Boyd, Plank & Sykes, 2000). This brings up the following question: Are teachers’ unions a solution or an impediment to the improvement of the education system? I conducted an investigative researc h to answer this question and the findings were insightful. In order to understand the situation properly, we need to understand the professional demands and responsibilities of teaching as a career. Many people think of teaching as an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule job. Teachers engage in many academic chores after official working hours such as academic research, setting, and marking examinations. In addition to these academic tasks, we have to remember that teachers have a social responsibility of managing students (Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008).