It is time, past time in fact, that I speak my mind about the situation in Wisconsin. I do so from personal experience, an experience which dramatically altered my entire life. Most of you know that my professional background was that as a school teacher and school administrator. I have rarely spoken of the details. They relate directly to the Governor of Wisconsin’s attempt to void the right of collective bargaining for public employees.
I served in the army for 4 years beginning in 1948. It was a great experience for a very young man and quite pleasurable. Because I was a musician I spent my entire 4 year career performing in military bands the last 3 of which was with the 4th Army Headquarter’s Band which was primarily a concert organization. As a percussionist I was able to study all aspects of percussion instruments including the marimba, a mallet instrument much larger than a xylophone, with San Antonio’s Symphony musicians and, as a sidelight, I also studied viola. I had played violin as a child.
Because of the G.I. Bill I was later able to graduate from Northwestern University with a degree in music education. While there I studied many other musical instruments including clarinet, trumpet, oboe, French horn, flute, trombone and cello all from Chicago Symphony musicians. My background in instrumental music was extensive. And, that is what I wanted to teach. I also had a minor in history and just shy of one in English.
I graduated in mid-year after 3 ½ years and desperately needed a job. I was broke. When a position teaching vocal music in Dearborn, Michigan was offered to me I readily accepted with the proviso that when a position in instrumental music became available I would be given high priority.
I worked hard at my job teaching general music, directing operettas and several choruses, but I did not like my job. In fact, I was very unhappy. Four years later, after 2 instrumental positions had been filled with newly graduated teachers, a friend of mine did some research and found that I wasn’t transferred into either of those positions because my school principal liked my work and was unwilling to allow me to transfer. Keep in mind that I had not had a single course in college that qualified me as a vocal music teacher. The state of Michigan said that I was qualified therefore I was certified.
I began researching the job possibilities for me outside education when an acquaintance of mine inquired as to my certification and qualifications. He was about to become the principal in a new junior high school. Ultimately, he offered me a position to teach English and social studies. I accepted. At that time I was working on my master’s degree from the University of Michigan concentrating on economic geography. It was a simple thing to add English courses at his request. I never returned to teaching music.
This entire façade made me angry. How futile and wasteful could it be that one administrator could control the professional lives of qualified teachers not to mention the possible well-being of students? The result. . . I became active in the Dearborn Federation of Teachers. A few years later I left teaching for four years to serve as President of that organization. During that time I had a life-time of experiences with contract enforcement, negotiating, grievance procedures and public relations. Yes, salary and fringe benefits were important, but we had numerous other issues that badly needed change. We needed to give teachers the right to transfer into positions for which they were qualified and certified. We needed to make sure that teachers were teaching in fields for which they were properly certified. We needed to make it possible for women to teach mathematics and science in the high school rather than just holding those positions for men only. We needed to create a salary system that would place women on an equal footing with men. We needed to make it possible for qualified junior high teachers of mathematics to be allowed to teach summer school and night school. Scheduling was difficult and very complex, but we needed to guarantee that all possible steps be taken that would place teachers only in classrooms for which they were qualified. No teacher should teach a class in French, for example, simply because he/she was available at a given time.
Can you imagine the administration demanding these things? Who are you kidding? All of these things would require a lot of extra effort and big scheduling headaches for the administration. It was the teachers’ union that brought those ideas to the table. And, ultimately, we were successful. Now, the governor of Wisconsin wants to go back to a time when the school administration can run the schools in a manner that is most convenient for them. The real concern for the kids comes from the teachers.
Yes, I did spend my last several years in school administration, but it was the Union that taught me what was really important to successful school administration. Destroying their right to collective bargaining would be a terrible mistake. Keep in mind that economic benefits move in several directions. All benefits negotiated by the UAW, for example, went also to all other employees higher up the scale. Only later they would percolate downward to public employees and then, because of profitability for corporations, only a portion would be realized at the public employee level. Even owners of small businesses benefited because a well-paid middle class would serve to enrich those owners.
If the governor of Wisconsin gets his way public education in this country will fall further back. Even with collective bargaining it is difficult to attract highly competent people into educational fields. Without it even more highly competent people will be lost and personal preferences will govern administrative decision-making.
Bill Johnston (e-mail johnston30@nc.rr.com)
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