AFT Survey on Contract Negotiations

False history gets made all day, any day,
the truth of the new is never on the news. -Adrienne Rich-

I was doing my blog hopping routine and I just can't help feeling disappointed at how easily some people jump into conclusion without doing scientific investigation. Why is it that some people continue to admire what they don't understand?

Just like many of my DCPS colleagues, I was polled last week by Hart Research Associates about the WTU's contract proposal and other issues.

I was driving home from work when I received a call about this. I immediately set my cellphone on "speaker phone", I am used to multi-tasking as a teacher. I wanted to take this poll because I wanted to let them know how I personally feel about the two contract proposals that are currently on the negotiations table.

The poll took about thirty minutes I guess. I live 30 miles away which takes me 45 minutes to one hour to get home. I started the lengthy survey just after I left my school and finished a few blocks away from home. Here's a copy of the questionnaire used: aft_survey_questions.doc. It mentioned both sides of the issues. I feel that some of the questions were framed negatively but fairly repeated several times as part of the research tool to get more about the teacher's opinions on the contract proposals. No, I did not feel push polled. The fact that the poll contained negative information about one of the contract proposals does not make it in itself a push poll.

I have read and received enough information about the two contract proposals to know which contract proposal talks about real education reform and is truly sincere about what is good for the students and fair to teachers. Based from the realities that are currently happening in our schools and in our classrooms on a daily basis, I believe that, just like me, majority of my colleagues were able to take the survey honestly...results will give us the truth.

Question: If hands-free celphone use was a distraction to driving, wouldn't be listening to music, talking to another passager, sight seeing or engaging in other activities more distracting? Just a thought...