Collective Bargaining Agreement Analysis

Overcrowded schools are one of the many reasons why America is falling backwards. With high birth rates and continuous immigration flow the classroom has become overcrowded. The best way a student can learn is if the attention is not so divided. With large classrooms having over 30 students, it makes it almost impossible for a teacher to attend to each student equally. “Slavin (1989) reviewed those studies that lasted a minimum of 1 year and had 20 students or fewer. He concluded that substantial reductions in class size have a small positive effect on students” (Synopsis of Class Size Literature). Classrooms should be small enough for a teacher to perform well without divided attention. In smaller classrooms, students are recognized for their contribution and participation. Students can respect the work of their peers individually and learn from them and help maintain order. They have more time to be collaborative, work creatively, think critically and draw their own predictions. In “Every Classroom Teacher’s Dream”, Patricia Handley states that “Teachers have more opportunity for personalized assessment with students, such as individual conferencing. With a small class, teacher can maximize best teaching practices, heightening students’ academic achievement” (6). There is ample evidence on how a small classroom can improve so much.

Smaller class sizes are a pivotal reason as to why parents should send their children to private school. Private schools have smaller class sizes, which allow for more individualized instruction on various subject matters, and they improve student-teacher relationships. For instance, “Small classes allow teachers to give students more individual attention and lighten the teacher’s workload, and therefore are generally considered desirable” (Choy 14). Subsequently, by having a smaller class size, a student

With I-1351 there will be a drastic reduction in classroom sizes. The approved I-1351 would amend the previously mentioned RCW 28A.151.260. The sizes of classrooms would now be as follows: Grades K-3 17.0, Grade 4 25.0, Grades 5-6 25.0, Grades 7-8 25.0, and Grades 9-12 25.0. Perspective teachers in the State of Washington should be thrilled to know that there is such an emphasis on improved student to teacher ratios. The reduction in the ratio of students per teacher gives professional educators the greatest opportunity to successfully do their jobs. With smaller classroom sizes professional educators are able to provide a more individualized learning environment. Professionals in the education fields know that a classroom of 25 students

Class size is a very popular topic that is greatly research through out educational settings. Class size deals with how many students are in the classroom at once. Class size can vary greatly. It can depended on the location of the school, where the more rural areas have only one high school while in a city environment there could be twenty-three high schools in one area. Location also depends on the amount of population in that area. Class size also can depend on the level of schooling. Such as in a major university there could be two hundred students in one class, while in a local elementary school there is only eighteen students in one class. Class size can depend on what kind of class is being taught. In

Legislators, teachers and parents produce many groups in America 's society that are most interested in improving primary education. These actors recognize the importance of improving primary education to create a more stable, knowledgeable and successful society for all of the country. One highly debated issue in education reform is the student to teacher ratio in classrooms. Many parents and teachers want to see a decrease in class sizes so that students receive more individualized education and become more socially developed. Conversely, a large sum of Americans, mainly government officials, are not convinced that reducing class sizes will lead to the outcome that activists and parents are imagining. Student education at a primary level affects all of society, either directly or indirectly. America is highly concerned with education reform, and decreasing the amount of students per class in grades K through three is a logical solution to better the education provided to American students. Class size reductions cause for many positive effects such as more individualized learning, better developed social skills and a more educated youth leading to a more successful society in the future. Education reform can best be achieved through decreasing the number of students in classes, especially at the primary level.

The evidence suggests that increasing class size will not only harm children’s test scores in the short-run, but also in their long-run human capital formation. Money is saved from increasing class size will be more substantial social and educational costs in the future. In addition to high costs, reducing class size have unintended consequences. When California lowered class sizes in 1996, they realized that they did not have enough teachers to meet the challenge. Schools were forced to hire new teachers and add portable classmates to accommodate the state

Collective bargaining was a result of a Keokuk, Iowa teacher strike in 1970. The salary of the teachers was the main reason the KEA and school board was vigorously divided. When a deadlock was reached between the two groups a mediator came in to help. The school board shot down what the mediator came up with for a solution. According to Daily Gate City, “When the school board adopted a salary schedule April 17 that was $21,000 (or $107 per teacher) less of a package than what was recommended by the mediator, the teachers, with community support went on strike”(Daily Gate City). The Keokuk Education Association ended up in court due to the teachers protesting and state public employees were not allowed to go on strike. They refused to stop the

A small class is consider to be twenty students or less. In smaller schools there are not as many students so the teachers will be able to help the students more one on one. Students can have a better idea of the content that they are learning and even if they don’t understand then the could talk to the teacher to have a better understanding. In a recent study, students and teachers were randomly assigned to a small class, with an average of 15 students, or a regular class, with an average of 22 students. This large reduction in class size (7 students, or 32 percent) was found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling four years later. Also, increasing the pupil/teacher ratio in the U.S. by one student would save at least $12 billion per year in teacher salary costs alone, which is roughly

This year, the united federation of teachers, New Yorks teachers union, did a annual survey and they found out that 7,000 classrooms exceeded the limits acceptable for proper learning. Students should get more individual attention for their learning process and to be able to perform better in grades. The size of a class is very important for many schools like this one because of educational

The AFT works to tear down the artificial barriers between contract bargaining matters and other professional issues, and reframed the education reform discussion to include teachers and paraprofessionals as decision-making partners. (Professionals, 2015) The federation entered in the last decade of the 20th century, with nearly 700,000 members, all the issues that the union has

On January 31, 2015, the union contract of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) expired. This contract represents over 30,000 employees nationwide. On February 2, 2015 the strike was led by 3800 employees across nine refineries in Texas, California, Kentucky and Washington. The U.S. refinery strike widened on its 20th day, with workers at the nation's largest refinery walking off jobs and joining picket lines on Saturday as the United Steelworkers union (USW) pushes for a new contract that improves wages and safety. Strikes have since affected over 15 different refineries and affected over 7,000 employees. This has led to the largest plant strike the United States has seen since 1980. The strike affects oil and refinery plants used by major

It is pretty apparent that in America, and elsewhere, most parents and general adults want what is best for their children in terms of education. This mindset can be seen reflected in the legislative aspects of our education system; there are many incentives pushing through the school boards and legislatures of our nation in order to attempt to further refine the education system. This is important as it allows us to refine traditional American education in order to improve upon it, and one of these attempt refinements and improvements has to deal with the subject of class size. For many people, large classroom sizes are a spawning ground for many issues with the education system: high distraction in the classroom, teacher inefficiency, among a plethora of others. Although it may seem regressive to favor small classes over bigger, more potentially diverse classes, small class sizes are more beneficial for education in that it is less distracting for the students and raises the possibility of staying focused, it potentially raises teacher-student relationships, and it allows for better results and better statistics coming from these smaller classes.

Collective bargaining is the process by which conditions of employment are negotiated between management, and the labor organization representing employees in the bargaining unit. However, “collective bargaining refers to a situation in which union members and officials meet with an intent to resolve any issues or conflicts, in an attempt to maintain relationships” (Holley, Jennings, & Wolters, 2012, p. 243). The collective bargaining process relies on four aspects: recognition of the meeting, meeting with appropriate parties, bargaining in good faith, and incorporating the reached agreement (Adam, 1997). Nevertheless, collective bargaining activities are governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA requires bargaining

teachers over the next seven years to help reduce class sizes to reach the national

Kindergarten teachers always earn my greatest respect. In California, the class size has increased to 22 students for kindergarten to third grade. One teacher versus 22 students, coming from different background and educational level, really is a big challenge for another to take. Given that some students have gone through preschool and some who have never had any group experience prior to entering kindergarten, that creates a gigantic tap among the kids in one class. The first couple months into the school year, teachers would spend the majority of time establishing structure, routine, and disciplines. Without these being taken place in the beginning of the year, teaching is almost an impossible task to accomplish. The class size needs to be limited to maximize the discipline and the learning, or another option is to have a teacher’s aid in the class to assist the lead teacher. Reduction of class size benefits both the teachers and the students. With a small size, teachers can better control their classrooms, and thus, able to allocate