Voters have demonstrated time and again that candidates who buck the teachers' union are rewarded.

More and more parents and voters have rejected the teachers' union antiquated, top down, one-size-fits-all approach to education and continue to elect candidates who embrace reform that celebrates students and empowers parents.

Heartless zealotry, whether from the religious right or from the teachers' union on the left, is always troubling.

Perhaps there is no greater evidence that the teachers' union has swung too far out of the mainstream that they both have been a target of near-constant criticism from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

We are not yet a society free of sexism, and this will continue to be an issue for all women candidates.

Great teachers should be rewarded.