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DNC: Teachers, Union Leaders Praise Obama on Education |
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The leaders of the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions in the country spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last night, praising Sen. Barack Obama as the candidate we need to strengthen our country’s public education system.
AFT President Randi Weingarten and National Education Association (NEA) President Reg Weaver spoke proudly about Obama and Sen. Joe Biden’s commitment to education.
Weingarten said the AFT was ready to mobilize its members and fight alongside Obama—this fall and after the election—to make sure that America has the top-quality education system our families deserve.
The American Federation of Teachers is ready. Our number-one priority is, as it has always been, strengthening our public schools to better serve our students. Let’s do what we do best in our schools, in all of our schools. Barack Obama knows that teachers must be partners, not pawns, in federal education policy. And federal education policy must be about more than testing.
I ask you to join us in this quest. Because you believe that strong public schools are the cornerstones of our democracy. Because our aging population depends on future generations growing the economy. Because today’s students will be the caretakers of tomorrow’s environment, the sparks igniting our innovations, the tenders of our global relationships, the guardians of our prosperity and the creators of our arts. And simply because every child has the right to a fair and hopeful start in life.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will both champion and challenge the people entrusted with our children’s well-being—and we welcome it!
Weaver pointed out the crucial importance of education to the nation’s future economic success and said that Obama understood that relationship.
Barack Obama knows that we can’t rebuild our economy without a well‑educated workforce. He knows we won’t find new sources of energy, or discover a new cure for cancer, unless we train the next generation of scientists and researchers. He knows that NEA is not for the status quo. As our world has changed, so have we, and together we must change public education.
When Barack Obama is president, he will expand access to early childhood education, so all children are prepared to learn when they enter kindergarten. He’ll help local school districts make class sizes smaller so every child receives individual attention. He will tear down the financial barriers that prevent students from attending college. He will work with teachers and other educational personnel treating us as allies instead of adversaries, and he will support programs that help parents get involved.
Barack Obama knows we must hold schools accountable—but he also knows the world is too complex and diverse to judge students by a single, multiple choice, high‑stakes test. He understands that public education helped make this country great, and he knows our nation can’t afford to continue the failed policies of the past seven years.
There’s a strong contrast between where Obama stands on education and where Sen. John McCain stands. Obama is a strong supporter of education for students of all ages and has a plan that will build up, not tear down, public schools. And McCain has a record of failing to fund education, disrespecting teachers. On this crucial issue to our country’s future, there’s no comparison.
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Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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