IEA President attempts to explain Soglin’s role on anti-union group’s board of advisors.

Jerry Mulvihill is a colleague in my Local. He sent an email to new IEA President Cinda Klickna asking why IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin had joined the Board of Advisors of the anti-union National Council on Teacher Quality.

Here is Klickna’s response.

Dear Jerry,

Thank you for your email.

You correctly state that the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) is not a traditional ally of education employee unions and has not always supported what we would consider the best ideas for improving teaching and learning.

This is why, a few months ago, Audrey received encouragement from the IEA officers (myself, Ken Swanson and Bob Blade) and from NEA leaders, to accept an invitation to join the Council’s advisory committee.  We believed (and still do) that the voice of the teacher needs to be heard by the NCTQ and that Audrey is extremely well qualified to provide that voice.

As you and I discussed when we spoke last month, I am a believer in the philosophy that engaging in conversations with groups and individuals that don’t always agree with us is a good idea.  I have made that a practice my entire career.

In our view, it would be counter-productive to the IEA mission “…to be THE Advocacy organization for all public education employees” to ignore people who are (whether we like it or not) playing a significant role in shaping the national debate over education policy.

We think it’s in the best interests of our 132,000 members that we know what key influencers want, what they think, and what they plan to do.  We think the opportunity to debate and educate those who have often been our opponents is helpful to the other part of our mission, “…to effect excellence and equity in public education.”

The advisory council members are, as the title suggests, advisors.  They do not make policy for the NCTQ, and they do not issue reports or policy statements.  They are a diverse group of individuals, all of whom have an interest in education policy. 

It’s worth noting that the current NCTQ focus is on higher education and teacher preparation, which also happens to be a top priority for NEA.

As President Van Roekel stated a few months ago, “…there is a common belief that ‘anybody can teach’.  Rather than help dispel this perception, too many colleges of education offer mediocre teacher preparation programs that lack academic rigor and frequently fail to provide real-world, practical experience.  Some new teachers are thrust into classrooms with almost no preparation whatsoever.”

We need the voice of the teacher to be heard on this and other important issues.  NCTQ influences the education debate on issues of great importance to your colleagues across the country.

The advisory council members, as well as education employees nationwide, will benefit from having a real teacher and unionist in the room advocating for better policies that will improve teaching and learning and will be fair to the adults in public education.

I hope I have answered your question.  Again, thank you for writing.  I hope you have a terrific school year.

Cinda Klickna

IEA President