Revolting Teachers

Just like the return of the swallows to San Juan Capistrano, every spring brings demonstrations by the San Francisco teachers' union to the school district headquarters at McAllister and Franklin.



They tend to be jolly affairs, with children involved in signmaking...



...and bright young things being interviewed by the local media.



This year, according to their handouts, "the Superinentent and the Board of Education are proposing to cut five school days from each of the next two years. They have also sent layoff notices to almost 500 pre-k and k-12 teachers and to over 140 teachers' aides. If allowed to stand, these cuts would have a disastrous impact on the quality of education delivered in our schools, to say nothing of the impact it will have on these hard working educators and their families."



These threatened firings seemingly happen every year, and after huge amounts of time and energy, most of them are rescinded. (Click here for the educators' website.)



There's got to be a better way to run this annual process.