Teachers Union Puppets Aren't Cool Like Kermit the Frog & Friends

I’m 5 years old. Generally speaking, I like puppets and think they’re pretty cool. Recently learning that Kermit the Frog himself was a puppet (or muppet, you know what I mean) only increased my respect for him. But when heavily-funded teachers unions use other groups as puppets to oppose education reforms like choice and accountability — reforms that help kids like me, but especially kids in more dire straits — that’s a different story.

Case #1: Thanks to the hard work of the Education Intelligence Agency’s intrepid Mike Antonucci, we learn that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the group Republicans Opposing Voucher Efforts (ROVE). The company that registered the ROVE website is run by a former high-level National Education Association (NEA) staffer. As Greg Forster notes, it “sure looks a whole lot like it has the NEA’s arm sticking out the bottom”.

Case #2: The United Federation of Teachers is busing in groups to oppose education reform efforts in New York City — groups we learn just how much they are beholden to the union financially. This graphic tells it all. Thanks to Swift and Change Able for highlighting this powerful observation:

Then you are invited to respond to the challenge laid down by DFER’s Executive Director Joe Williams who said: “I would challenge anyone in New York to find when they [ACORN, the Working Families Party, and the Alliance for Quality Education] have opposed anything on the union’s agenda.”

How much would the union have to pay me to change my tune (or shut up) about school choice and other reform issues? We’re talking a lot of Legos and Matchbox cars. On second thought, there aren’t enough Legos and Matchbox cars out there for that.

As much as I think puppets are cool, I don’t want to be one.