“Another $100 million for education down the drain.” That’s how the Wall Street Journal sums up the Ford Foundation’s decision to hand out money to unions, like the American Federation of Teachers, which consistently thwart meaningful reforms and seem to view the public education system primarily as a jobs program for adults.
To get a sense of the role that teachers’ unions tend to play in debates about education, check out this recent video that describes the battle for school choice in Washington DC, which has largely been a battle against the teachers unions and their allies.
And in case you aren’t sold on the idea that teachers’ unions are pretty much just a big-government, self-interested lobbying shop, check out some of the materials they recommend that their members read on their website. Somehow I don’t think the “Rules for Radicals” tactics are going to be applied for the benefit of students…