Changing School Culture

Thanks to a colleague, I'm reading a great book about changing school culture. I've wondered how to go about changing mindsets so that everyone has the "do whatever it takes" attitude when it comes to student achievement. The strange thing is that many teachers will say that they are doing all they can, that they can't do anymore. We have to keep going until all students achieve. The very idea that one can do this job in 7.75 hours is ridiculous and unprofessional yet our profession is part of a union that fights for the right to arrive at work at 7:00 and leave promptly at 2:45. If we are to make real changes for our students, we cannot adhere to that schedule. Imagine a surgeon who had a particularly difficult operation. What if his hours were up in the midst of surgery? Would he leave the patient on the table? Never. But that's what some teachers are fighting for. I'm not into teacher bashing because it gets us no where. It's time for solutions. Time to use the union to move our profession forward instead of backward. Rather than clinging to some crazy schedule or structures that support weak teachers, why not work to increase our pay and require more education for teacher licensing? Why not work toward a longer school day and paying teachers more who choose to work in high poverty schools? Why be so defensive?