Just when you think it can't get any worse...

Mickey Kaus, world famous blogger, now with Newsweek, always cuts to the chase. Responding to a story about teacher layoffs in Los Angeles in the LA Times, Kaus points out how the teachers' union just plain doesn't work, including for many of its' members. The students? Forget it. It's well worth reading the whole article, if your heart can take it.

Kaus writes:

The Trouble With Unions, Part XXVIII: If you ask members of a labor union to choose democratically how to lay people off in bad times, chances are they will say "by seniority." Seniority avoids invidious comparisons of how well various workers are doing their jobs. It curbs managerial favoritism. It's also a terrible way to run an organization. Here's what happened in the L.A. school system, as reported in an effective (i.e. heartbreaking) the LA Times:

Because seniority is largely unrelated to performance, the district has laid off hundreds of its most promising math and English teachers. About 190 ranked in the top fifth in raising scores and more than 400 ranked in the top 40%.


Schools in some of the city's poorest areas were disproportionately hurt by the layoffs. Nearly one in 10 teachers in South Los Angeles schools was laid off, nearly twice the rate in other areas. Sixteen schools lost at least a fourth of their teachers, all but one of them in South or Central Los Angeles.


Far fewer teachers would be laid off if the district were to base the cuts on performance rather than seniority. The least experienced teachers also are the lowest-paid, so more must be laid off to meet budgetary targets. An estimated 25% more teachers would have kept their jobs if L.A. Unified had based its cuts on teachers' records in improving test scores.　

Those are the numbers. Here are some consequences when a recently revived school in a Latino neighborhood tried to fill the slots of the laid-off teachers with higher-seniority union members:

Many of the candidates were elementary teachers whose positions had been eliminated to save money. Under the rules, they had enough seniority to avoid a layoff but had to be placed elsewhere.


Many had little interest in teaching challenging middle school kids in a poor community, Stevens said. Of those who did accept jobs at [the John H. Leichty Middle School], some left in tears within days or called in sick every day, teachers recalled ...


Many classrooms had as many as 10 subs over the year ...


"I got these calls saying, 'Your class is falling apart,'" said Judy Kerber, a laid-off Liechty teacher also in the top fifth of middle school instructors districtwide. "This amazing group of kids just fell apart."


More fights broke out on campus, drug use increased and youngsters became more unruly in class, several students and teachers recalled.


"I'd visit them and see that books were destroyed, their classroom was vandalized," Gascon said. "I could lecture them … but I understand how they feel. They feel like they've been abandoned."

Over to you, Diane Ravitch...

P.S.: If a union-enforced seniority principle is a terrible way to run schools, what makes us think it isn't it also a terrible way to run hospital nursing staffs or water and power departments—or auto factories? ... [via Newsalert] 10:42 a.m.

Kaus, co-King of blogging along with Glen Reynolds, opposed Barbara Boxer during the Democratic primary this year (he didn't win but should have). He was serious in intent during his run against Senator Boxer, but he did it with a smile.

Senator Boxer refused to debate Mr. Kaus. He decided to proceed with the debate anyway.

The Kaus for Senate commercials were cute, fast-paced and packed in a lot of message, including his thoughts on the teacher's unions.

It's all garbage...

One would think that the failures of the Los Angeles education system, especially, of course, in inner city neighborhoods, would push fixing the schools to the absolute top of the priority list kept by whomever calls the shots in the City's government and in Sacramento. Especially given the notoriety the movie Waiting For Superman has brought to the LA public schools.

But that would be a silly conclusion, especially if some of the citizens in Los Angeles are undisciplined when it comes to correctly separating various kinds of trash. Talk about a real bummer, mixing plastic bottles with leftover vegetables.

Fortunately Los Angeles has 'recycling ambassadors' who roam the city with their clipboards keeping track of who does and who doesn't follow the rules. The really cool thing? The really smart people who make these rules set as a goal that 70% of, ah, I guess, people throwing away garbage, would do it according to the rules. The really great thing is that 65% are ALREADY doing it. Wow.

Good job, guys.

Maybe the recycling ambassadors could do equally well for the schools.



California ranks near the bottom of all states in the number of students reaching their educational goals, Rogers noted – and not just among students of color. California students generally have lower test scores than students across the nation. Notably, white students in California also perform well below white students in almost all other states.

At least California has proper recycling down pat. And speaking of garbage, check out the very entertaining Last Night's Garbage, a rambling and literary diary of New York City garbage-of-the-day, at least as the author runs across it during his daily travels.