When is a teacher not a teacher?

For Detroit public schools, it is apparently when the teacher is not paid enough.

The head of the Detroit Federation of Teachers is telling substitue teachers to stop writing lesson plans, grading students and attending parent-teacher conferences. The reason? Because the subs are paid $115 a day, which amounts to almost $30,000 if worked full-time, rather than the $39,000 that regular teachers get at starting.

The union's interest is, of course, that subs are being used instead of regular teachers by the cash-strapped DPS. It is requesting a pay level for substitutes of $28,000 plus benefits. The difference is the benefits.

It may be correct for the union to protest the amount of pay and perks, but taking out those differences on the students is not acceptable.

This sort of action by the union adds to the public perception that the teachers are not focused on students first. It directly contradicts the union's recent PR campaign that trumpets the teachers' dedication to students.