Teachers Leaving Their Kids Alone Reduces Union Propaganda Time

The Wisconsin teachers who skipped class in the past week are getting their pay docked and the doctors who issued them fraudulent notes are coming under fire. Here's the bright side to children losing days of learning: Less classroom time for teachers to feed the kids a whitewashed version of labor history. From The Daily Caller:

The Wisconsin Labor History Society recommends that, when teachers talk about labor unions and collective bargaining today, they use the following talking points:
1. Unions work closely in the community, are responsible for passage of key civil rights laws and other citizen protections.
2. Unions face greater employer challenges after President Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981.
3. Unions develop highly successful political efforts during last two decades of the 20th Century.
4. Organizing and aggressive political action became the top two priorities of the AFL-CIO with the election of John Sweeney as President in 1995.

Another lesson plan recommends that students play a trivia game about labor union history and design patches for unions their parents may be a part of.

Bills requiring the teaching of labor history had bounced around the Wisconsin legislature for more than a decade, but one was only passed in December 2009 by Democratic majorities in both houses.

The Pennsylvania Independent brings us another heartwarming story of two fifth-grade teachers who wanted their students to appreciate their sacrifices. Their solution? Homework handouts:

The story comprehension assignment was a letter titled "It's Time to Pay the Price" and was a letter written by a "student" to the "editors" about how teachers are not paid enough, arguing they should be paid commensurately with doctors and lawyers.

The letter said "the average yearly salary for educators in our area is $29,000."

The average salary in Pennsbury School District is $81,040 with a total salary cost of $69,370,659 for 809 employees, according to the state Department of Education and sourced on OpenPAGov.org. The fifth-grade teachers who distributed the homework assignment—Maureen Laughead and Karen Despirito—make $98,222 and $81,869, respectively.

Here's the full letter and answer sheet. The district is currently engaged in contract negotiations with the teachers' union.

More from Reason on teachers' unions here.