The Chicago teachers strike, which tentatively ended Friday, thrust teachers unions into the national spotlight this past week. In Chicago and around the country, some see unions as saving public education and others as driving it into the ground. But the reality of how teachers unions operate is more complicated than the rhetoric about them.
1. Teachers unions are to blame for low test scores and high dropout rates.
2. Teachers unions are similar to private-sector unions.
3. Teachers unions support only liberal Democrats.
4. Teachers unions fight any kind of reform.
5. What’s good for teachers is good for students.
