For many teachers, their job is a calling. It is what they love to do, a profession for which they have worked and studied, and at which they want to continue. What happens, then, when a good teacher is forced to give money to a group which she opposes in order to keep her job? In the case of California’s Rebecca Friedrichs, she is fighting back. 

When a school is failing, it seems reasonable that parents can effect change in that school. In California, the Parent Trigger law enables parents to overhaul a school if it is failing their children.

The American Federation of Teachers is a little bit clingy. Who can blame them, I suppose, when they are losing left and right? When local affiliates decide to disentangle themselves from the AFT in favor of more local control, the AFT has a very hard time letting go. This is currently the case in Dearborn, Michigan, as the Dearborn Federation of School Employees has decided to strike out on their own. The AFT is not letting them go without a fight.  

When we think of states to look to in terms of free markets and the responsibility of personal choices, most of us wouldn’t think of Michigan first, or second. Let’s face it, Michigan wouldn’t crack most peoples’ top ten. However, Michigan is making progress; away from so-called progressivism. Michigan’s shiny new status as a right-to-work state is one of the biggest steps towards this new, freer Michigan.  It is moving away from its union-tied nanny-state history. What should not be overlooked, though, is what Michigan is doing in education. 

No one needs to be reminded that we have an education system in crisis. While there are many reasons for the education dilemna at hand, one widely held belief is that our teachers are not prepared for the changing educational climate.

In the Adelanto Elementary School District, a school choice battle is underway. Although parents successfully executed the parent trigger option to transforming failing Desert Trails Elementary School into a charter school. The school board took this decision to court, and a judge upheld the rights of the parents. The school board, however, refused to comply.

In April of this year, Louisiana lawmakers passed two education bills which included enormous progress for school choice in that state. These bills established the largest voucher program in the country, curtailed teacher tenure, expanded charter schools, and tied educator pay and job security to student performance, allowing over 400,000 children new choice in education.