Honest question: how many public school districts don't have a Teachers Union? My understanding is that it's close to none, and private and charter schools are the only ones without unions. A quick google search isn't returning a conclusive answer though.
Some whole states have (due to state laws) very weak teacher's unions that can barely do anything to protect teachers when they should be protected, and that hardly have any say in anything. I think if it were at all possible to spin those states as having better educational outcomes, Republicans would be crowing about it on Fox News 24/7.
Which states?
Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin
wisconsin?
The 16th largest school district in CA is non-union[1]. They certainly exist even in famously "blue states".
In some southern states, the "Teachers Unions" are forbidden from collective bargaining by law, and are also optional, so they literally do nothing. On average, these states have worse pay for teachers and worse student test scores.
Indeed, those who dislike teachers' unions (and unions in general) are quite quick to blame those unions for all the woes of modern education. I'm sure it is possible that they have downsides, but I wonder what the small government, free-market solutions for better education are? I was listening some conservative podcast talk about how teachers and unions need to be punished for these failures, but that just doesn't feel like the kind of thing that fosters a nurturing environment for learning. Certainly the for-profit colleges are seen as a scam rather than being held in good regard.
> I wonder what the small government, free-market solutions for better education are?