Weingarten Calls for Real Education Reform, Not Partisan Posturing
There are major differences between the education reform outlined in AFT’s Quality Agenda and the agenda being pushed by self-styled education reformers, AFT President Randi Weingarten told about 2,000 educators at AFT’s Teach 2011 Conference last week.
She called for systemic education reform based on quality teaching with continuous teacher development, rich and meaningful curriculum and the best ideas from schools here and abroad and drew a sharp contrast with so-called reformers who denigrate teachers, defund public education and ignore the lessons of top-performing countries.
It’s time to stop talking about the importance of teacher quality. It’s time to start building a high-quality education system by cultivating high-quality educators—whether from excellent teacher colleges or even alternative routes—with ample clinical experience, focused induction and ongoing professional support throughout a teacher’s career, in an environment that fosters respect.
The AFT’s Quality Agenda is grounded in research, examples of best practices in successful schools here and abroad and input from teachers who work with kids every day, she said.
Study: Teachers Working So Hard That Merit Pay Doesn’t Work
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A new study released today knocks down one of the falsehoods spread by the anti-public school crowd. The study found that offering teachers annual bonuses of up to $15,000 had no effect on student test scores. The reason: Teachers already were working so hard that the extra money was not an incentive.
Pay reform, merit pay or differentiated pay is one of the hot ideas in education reform and is backed by the White House, federal and state governments and foundations. But Matthew Springer, the Vanderbilt University professor who led the study, told the Washington Post:
Pay reform is often thought to be a magic bullet. That doesn’t appear to be the case here. We need to develop more thoughtful and comprehensive ways of thinking about compensation. But at the same time, we’re not even sure whether incentive pay is an effective strategy for improving the system itself.
Organizing and Mobilizing with Flair
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For four days next week, the campus of the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md., will reverberate with the sounds of music, poetry and creative chants and art.
From June 20-23, some 100 union and social justice activists will participate in the annual Great Labor Arts Exchange and Conference on Creative Organizing, programs that combine union mobilization and outreach with songs, skits, art, poetry, theater, posters, cartoons and film.
For 31 years, the Great Labor Arts Exchange has celebrated the rich cultural heritage of working people and served as a forum that brings together talented labor artists, activists, cultural workers, educators and students.
Last year, the Great Labor Arts Exchange featured a wealth of new, young talent. Some of last year’s featured events included a giant puppet show by two members of the United Steelworkers (USW) who showed participants one way to use street theater to deliver a message. Tayo Aluko, a Nigerian who now lives in Liverpool, England, performed a one-man show on the life of actor and human rights activist Paul Robeson.
