Education

Podcast: A Local-Only Teachers Union?

• January 27, 2015

Michigan teacher Jim Perialas has an unusual story. In 2012 his school, Roscommon Area School District, became the first in decades to decertify (or leave) the state-wide Michigan Education Association…

Media

A Local-Only Union: A Teacher Tells How to Leave the NEA

• January 27, 2015

This post first appeared on the Commonwealth Foundation’s PolicyBlog. Michigan teacher Jim Perialas has an unusual story. In 2012 his school, Roscommon Area School District, became the first in…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Union-Backed Political Group Not Accountable

• January 14, 2015

Here’s your daily dose of irony: Pennsylvanians for Accountability, a union-backed political nonprofit, may have to pay a $50,000 fine for its lack of accountability. According to The Center…

Media

Education

Lawmakers: Mary’s Law is Worth Fighting For

• January 8, 2015

As a teacher, a father of kids in public schools, and a taxpayer, I urge all our elected officials to join me in standing up for what’s right. Pass a…

Commentary

Teacher Pays for Politics She Never Supported

• Priya Brannick
• December 1, 2014

Just four days before the November mid-term elections, college professor Mary Trometter got a letter from her teachers union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Well, to be precise—Trometter's husband got…

Media

Education

For Teachers, Knowledge is Power

• Priya Brannick
• August 11, 2014

Like any other group of professionals, teachers are a diverse lot, holding vastly differing social, cultural, and political views. So why is it that they’re lumped together and forced to…

Commentary

Education

Teachers’ Views Matter

• July 7, 2014

From my vantage point on the frontlines of Pennsylvania’s public schools, I see teachers’ unions with money to spend and power to wield who are unresponsive to the very people…

Commentary

Education

Give Teachers the Freedom to Choose

• June 24, 2014

Let teachers worry about teaching; let politicians worry about politics. That’s been my mantra throughout my career as an educator. But, sadly, most public school teachers in Pennsylvania don’t have…

Commentary

Education

Why I Left Teaching: Union Politics

• June 17, 2014

I taught science full-time for more than two decades and enjoyed a rewarding career educating a generation of public school students in Westmoreland County. I retired from teaching earlier than…

Commentary