Steve Jobs Slams Teachers Unions
By Mimi Rothschild
CEO of Apple, Inc. Steve Jobs took an opportunity to take a swing at the real problem facing K-12 schools. No, it’s not lagging technology or lack of funds; it’s the simple fact that teachers unions encourage mediocrity.
“What kind of person could you get to run a small business if you told them that when they came in they couldn’t get rid of people that they thought weren’t any good?” he asked to loud applause during an education reform conference.
This is an important statement for a few different reasons. Steve Jobs has an unassailable reputation. He has been an innovator for decades, especially in the education world. Apple has provided Macs to thousands of schools across the country. For him to take such a bold stance against teachers unions should be a huge deal.
When you provide school administrators with the ability to retain good teachers and get rid of bad ones, the quality of teaching will skyrocket. He goes on to illustrate his vision for the future of education:
Earlier in the panel discussion, Jobs told the crowd about his vision for textbook-free schools in the future. Textbooks would be replaced with a free, online information source that was constantly updated by experts, much like the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Hmmm. Sounds familiar!
Read more at WOAI.com.
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Public education is instilled in our society with the specific purpose to shape our future generations’ lives. Yet, too often we find self-centered, ignorant individuals that only work “the system” to better their own lives. I pulled my kids from the local school mainly because of the fact that teachers today only look out for themselves and their kind. It’s nice to finally see that the business leaders of our world are waking up to this disaster called public education.
Comment by Monica — February 21, 2007 @ 9:41 am
It’s really hard to think of anything that is good about the public school system in our country anymore. All public schools do is cut spending for programs, underpay good teachers, retain bad teachers, and feed into a corrupt system that obviously isn’t doing anything to help educate our children. It is good to hear someone like Steve Jobs is standing up for improving education. More people need to speak up against the deplorable condition of our nation’s public school system and fight for our children’s future.
Comment by Lauren — February 23, 2007 @ 8:13 am