--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before that, she was an elementary school…" description: "\"“Before that, she was an elementary school teacher, until the state stripped the unions of collective bargaining rights in the Right to Learn Act, subc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/karl-taro-greenfeld-50579_collective-bargainin_before-that-she-was-an-elementary-school_1295724.jpg" --- # Before that, she was an elementary school teacher, until… ![“Before that, she was an elementary school teacher, until the state stripped the unions of collective bargaining rights in the Right to Learn Act, subcontracting public school education to for-profit corporations. She still missed teaching, but that was strictly an hourly-wage temp job now, for…” quote by Karl Taro Greenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/karl-taro-greenfeld-50579_collective-bargainin_before-that-she-was-an-elementary-school_1295724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/karl-taro-greenfeld-50579_collective-bargainin_before-that-she-was-an-elementary-school_1295724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1e/karl-taro-greenfeld-50579_collective-bargainin_before-that-she-was-an-elementary-school_1295724.jpg) > ““Before that, she was an elementary school teacher, until the state stripped the unions of collective bargaining rights in the Right to Learn Act, subcontracting public school education to for-profit corporations. She still missed teaching, but that was strictly an hourly-wage temp job now, for those lucky enough to get hired.”” [Karl Taro Greenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-taro-greenfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes how privatization and loss of bargaining rights turned teaching into precarious temp work **In simple terms:** Education privatization reduced job security for teachers Key Takeaway Advocate for strong public education funding and teacher rights Themes education labor rights privatization Mood critical empathetic Type analytical activist When to use this quote - policy reform - teacher unions - public school advocacy - community support - legislative lobbying Key Concepts collective bargaining public vs private economic inequality Questions to Reflect On - What policies could restore teacher stability? - How does privatization affect student outcomes? A Different Perspective Complex issue may have other contributing factors beyond unions ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bargaining Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bargaining-rights-1074229/) [Collective bargaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-bargaining/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Elementary school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elementary-school/) [For-profit-education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/for-profit-education-66103/) [Missed Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missed-teaching-4016894/) [Private sector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-sector/) [Public education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-education/) [Public sector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-sector/) [School education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-education/) [School teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-teacher/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teacher State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher-state-4236418/) ## Related quotes > [In Maryland, we will continue to fight to protect collective bargaining rights, ensure fair wages and benefits, and secure better working conditions for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-moore/in-maryland-we-will-continue-to-fight-to-protect-collective/) [Wes Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-moore/) > [I was happy working for the N.B.A., but to be honest, I decided that I'd probably get back into coaching. I missed the teaching,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stu-jackson/i-was-happy-working-for-the-n-b-a-but-to-be-honest-i-decided-that-i-d/) [Stu Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stu-jackson/) > [Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/life-itself-is-your-teacher-and-you-are-in-a-state-of-constant/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“The fate of the humanities faculty in the burgeoning world of for-profit higher education is easy to predict, but painful to contemplate. 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I met Enid Cassandra Morgan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fogel/no-individual-has-done-more-to-help-me-pursue-a-career-in-science/) [Robert Fogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fogel/) > [I remember in school once the teacher gave us a speech about anyone can make it if they try, and then she looked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-remember-in-school-once-the-teacher-gave-us-a-speech-about-anyone/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I became a high school teacher for many years because it was a very tangible, concrete way where I could make a difference, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/i-became-a-high-school-teacher-for-many-years-because-it-was-a-very/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [“It is a rare high school teacher who enjoys seeing their world being enormously improved upon by youths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/it-is-a-rare-high-school-teacher-who-enjoys-seeing-their-world-being/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [You can't hold me to the same standard as the president or a school teacher. I'm just a comedian. My job is like Archie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/you-can-t-hold-me-to-the-same-standard-as-the-president-or-a-school/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [My dad was a high school teacher and made no money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-baldwin/my-dad-was-a-high-school-teacher-and-made-no-money/) [Billy Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-baldwin/) > [My mother was an elementary school teacher for 35 years and taught at the Nixon School in New Jersey. I was raised as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/my-mother-was-an-elementary-school-teacher-for-35-years-and-taught-at/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) ## More by Karl Taro Greenfeld > [“THIS SCENE WAS REPEATED IN every previously uninhabited nook, elbow, spit, lot, and underpass throughout the foreclosed and abandoned suburbs and exurbs and trailer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-taro-greenfeld/this-scene-was-repeated-in-every-previously-uninhabited-nook-elbow/) [Karl Taro Greenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-taro-greenfeld/) > [“The view from the apartment’s one window was of another building’s gray ferroconcrete wall, which was intermittently lit by the white neon flicker from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-taro-greenfeld/the-view-from-the-apartment-s-one-window-was-of-another-building-s/) [Karl Taro Greenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-taro-greenfeld/) > [“That left Jeb to work for whatever the bosses offered under the National Right to Work Act--the minimum wage having been abolished--enough to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-taro-greenfeld/that-left-jeb-to-work-for-whatever-the-bosses-offered-under-the/) [Karl Taro Greenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-taro-greenfeld/) > [“It doesn't bother you that because of your credit you can't get a real job?' Sargam said. 'You a politician?' another man said. 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That's not a bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stern/we-need-a-system-where-all-of-our-teams-have-the-opportunity-to/) [David Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stern/) > [Unions are for 'collective bargaining,' not individual bargaining. It follows that most of the achievements of a union, even if they were more impressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mancur-olson/unions-are-for-collective-bargaining-not-individual-bargaining-it/) [Mancur Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mancur-olson/) > [In 2010, conservatives won big majorities in the Wisconsin State Legislature, and I openly supported many of their reforms, including changes to collective bargaining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sykes/in-2010-conservatives-won-big-majorities-in-the-wisconsin-state/) [Charlie Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sykes/) > [I was never presented with the details as far as the collective bargaining system is Greece. 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Organized labor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organized-labor-movement-as-it-is-constituted-today-is-as-much-a/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Gov. Scott Walker, a Tea Party-tinged Republican, is the advance guard of a new GOP push to dismantle public-sector unions as an electoral force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fineman/gov-scott-walker-a-tea-party-tinged-republican-is-the-advance-guard/) [Howard Fineman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fineman/) > [So let me be clear, Collective bargaining isn't a right, it is an expensive entitlement. Once and for all, we are giving the taxpayers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-walker/so-let-me-be-clear-collective-bargaining-isn-t-a-right-it-is-an/) [Scott Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-walker/) > [“Before I learned about labor unions, contracts, and collective bargaining, I was taught about structure and organization, in church. (Reclaiming the Black Church: A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-wallace/before-i-learned-about-labor-unions-contracts-and-collective/) [Carlos Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-wallace/) [Browse all 65 Collective bargaining quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-bargaining/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Before that, she was an elementary school teacher, until the state stripped the unions of collective bargaining rights in the Right to Learn Act, subcontracting public school education to for-profit corporations. 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