SamfordDem, as often is the case you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or a phantom poster by his “assumed” namesake. Tom was a dear friend of mine in college that taught me the value of hard work.

That’s all I need to know.

Obviously, drinking on the job is wrong anywhere and especially bad for a teacher. That said, we do not know the specifics of the situation and that teacher still deserves quality legal representation, which he or she paid for through their AEA dues. That doesn’t mean the AEA endorses their behavior any more than a doctor saving a pedophile’s life after a car crash is endorsing that person’s behavior. It is a responsibility. The doctor is obligated to do his best to save a man’s life no matter how terrible; the AEA is obligated to provide legal representation and make sure a deserving person is terminated in a legal way.

My problem with the CEIA is not that they have ethical standards and moral convictions: it’s that they segregate teachers by religion and offer a very poor imitation of union benefits (you have to pay extra to get full liability coverage and as you said, even then they can decide to drop you if your case does not fit their ideological agenda). I am a Christian, but I have no interest in segregating myself from non-Christians in every aspect from my life. After all, we are supposed to be in the world even though we are not of it. I don’t think God wants us to hide in our suburban Mcmansions or American Christian Eagle Academies or Christians-only fake teachers’ unions but that’s just my take.

What about the $500,000 to losing political candidates for state school board last year? Pretty sweet to be a teacher when you see PAC money thrown around like that.

I think Mr. Christopher had a good shot until those pesky campaign finance reports came out and the dots were connected.

Back on topic, I agree with both you and prince. Teachers do receive benefits regardless of membership status. The sticking point is the cost of that membership (approximately $375/yr-unconfirmed).

When I suggested an alternative to joining AEA it was immediately written off as not having a proven track record or being selective in its representation. You are correct, one wouldn’t expect a christian organization to pay legal fees for a teacher terminated for teaching under the influence of alcohol. AEA however fought for that teacher to continue recieving her benefits. One shouldn’t discredit an organization simply for having ethical standards and moral convictions.

How do they still pay dues if they don’t join AEA? Thanks.

So I would almost all public school teachers go ahead and join since they pay anyway.

The really interesting question is when AEA wrote the 35 grand to Sparks. I have heard from an AEA source that the check was written right after Cobb pulled out and that Hubbert has since made peace with Davis. Don’t these candiates have to file a quarterly report next week, or is that just federal?

The problem with “more teachers = smaller class size” is the crappy quality of the teachers. The colleges only produce so many good teachers. If you’re just into increasing the total number of teachers with no regard to quality, you get what we have – too many crappy teachers whose jobs are protected. Would you rather your kid be in a 20-student classroom with a good teacher or a 15-person classroom with a fat, lazy, stupid, tenure-protected teacher?

Also, why does law protect teachers’ jobs so? Alabama is an at-will state. If my boss doesn’t like the color of my shirt tomorrow, he can fire me and I have no legal recourse. But you can’t fire a bad teacher if they’ve been in their job for 3 years.

But public schools – no way. If you are public school teacher you pay AEA dues.

And heard of tenure for teachers as well.

Private school are right to work but not Public.