Ever hear Aristotle’s phrase “Moderation in all things?” Talk in the education world is anything but moderate right now. No consideration given to the mean or to compromise. Who thought that collective bargaining would bring down the curtain?

administrator and teacher analyze data

Teachers have been concerned about ‘pink slips’-already-in February. The reasonable thought is that lay-offs by ‘pink slip’ should be the worry.

Is the ruckus in Wisconsin and other Midwest states going to save teachers from unemployment-and more important, leave enough faculty to actually teach students, the purpose of education, remember?

It is clear that money matters are important to allow for the education of students. And so, even in California, pension reform dominates the news. In the San Francisco Chronicle article, Sunday, February 27, 2011, Allan Mansoor, R-Costa Mesa, Orange County, California legislator and former deputy sheriff, has submitted a bill, AB 961, to thwart collective bargaining negotiations over pensions, closing his arguments with the statement that taxpayers are being hurt. Wait! Are not public sector workers also taxpayers?

Tuesday’s news is that the latest New York Times/CBS News poll (February 24-27, 2011) contradicts conservative Wisconsin and other state legislators. American taxpayers by 60% to 33% oppose weakening collective bargaining rights.

So far, fortunately for teachers in California, the State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS)-the teachers’ pension fund–hasn’t been challenged. However, the California legislature is inching forward to the day when a vote must be taken on the budget. As John Diaz of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, the Republicans may as well have gone to Reno. They are refusing to provide any collaboration to decide on spending cuts and revenue, instead arguing about the exact amount of dollars. Everyone knows the exact dollars can’t be assured; one has to rely on the probable amounts. Taxpayers are waiting for a moderate solution.

It is surprising California teachers haven’t started marching around the Sacramento Capitol every weekend and furlough day-easy enough to do because to balance school district budgets over the past several years, everyone gets pay cuts through furlough days.

Once in a while a newspaper article comes out to congratulate student achievement. For instance, Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores in California went through the roof. That won’t last if there is no one to teach those classes. Shawnee High School in Louisville, Kentucky, formerly a failing school, has scores to show impressive achievement. One hopes the staff remains.

Lone Star Elementary in Sanger Unified School district near Fresno, California, has dramatically improved student achievement since the district finally realized that professional learning communities collaborating on instruction and analyzing data would be the key. At Lone Star the models used to equip the school for improvement were Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI)-a model available for almost ten years-and Response to Intervention (RTI). The improvements are described in “Calif. District Uses RTI to Boost Achievement for All” by Christina Samuels in Education Week, 3/2/2011. Keep it up!

However, good news is sure to come to a halt by March 15 when thousands upon thousands of pink slips are sent out country-wide because school district budgets have no stable source of funds.

Thirteen days are left while states continue to fight about pension plans and health benefits and think all problems can be solved by wiping out union collective bargaining rather than addressing all reform with moderation.