The Retired Conference is over and now I have moved to an upper story room at the Omni at CNN Center.
Tomorrow afternoon is the first Illinois and other state caucus meetings. The first general meeting of the NEA RA will be Tuesday.
This morning retirees listened to speeches by VP Lily Eskelsen and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel.
I posted on Facebook about DVR’s remarks.
And it has caused something of a stir as my short remarks were reposted and reposted.
Some have asked me for a written transcript. I don’t have one because there is none.
I only have my memory of what DVR said. I asked many others in the hall if they heard what I heard.
And, for the most part, they did.
Some who I asked differed over interpretation.
Yet here is what I heard DVR say: That with the defeat of collective bargaining in states like Michigan and Wisconsin, the NEA will focus less on those kind of issues and focus more on issues of teaching quality, particularly the implementation of the Common Core.
He was quite aggressive in his advocacy of the Common Core, throwing down the challenge to those on the Right and the Left who have been critical of it. DVR said that if you have nothing better to offer, step back.
Putting aside the content for a moment, I found his tone incredibly belligerent.
It is for DVR to speak and explain what he means by his statements about collective bargaining. There was not nearly enough explanation in his speech to retirees. But I have been told by those who have been involved in talks at the national level that this will be a recurring theme at this RA and after.
The theme being that the NEA must be seen as the leading advocate of quality, as opposed to a defender of the status quo.
That this echoes the attacks on teacher unions by those like Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel is apparently lost on DVR and the NEA top brass.
After over a decade of No Child Left Behind, Races to the Top and demands for accountability that have been turned into nothing less than witch hunts of teachers, who is the defender of the status quo?
And why on earth would the President of the nation’s largest union pit collective bargaining against quality?
In any case, the message delivered to retirees today was no slip of the tongue. It may have been more crassly expressed than it might have been had DVR read it off of a teleprompter from the RA dais.
Given the attacks on teachers, pensions, school closings and turnaround, a glut of standardized testing and job losses, it will be a disaster if this RA becomes nothing more than an ad for Common Core standards.
And should a fight break out over it on the floor, the message carried from Atlanta to the rest of the country will be that teachers were fighting over whether we are for quality or not.
Fred Klonsky 
I have a much better suggestion than the common core. We simply teach students in K-4 what today’s students learn in K-8 then 5-8 are taught what today’s High school students learn. we can eliminate all current High Schools and High School teachers, after 8th grade all students can go to college. Just think of all the money we can save!
I AM stunned….
This post is disturbing to say the least. When the president of the NEA talks about de-emphasizing collective bargaining and focusing on “quality,” I predict that tough days continue to be ahead. Why can’t we bargain for fair treatment AND focus on quality? And, let’s face it, who knows more about what their students need than their teachers? But we are rarely asked our opinions about how best to help our students be successful. And, until the politicians, reformers, etc. realize that it’s pretty tough to teach a child anything when they are hungry, poorly clothed and shod, live in an unsafe neighborhood or are homeless, have one or two addicted parents, and have no boundaries at home? Or, the student is doted upon by overly indulgent parents who think their child is perfect and whatever he or she does is perfectly fine with them, and how dare the school hold their child accountable for following rules, doing assignments to the best of their ability, and for treating others with respect? Five more years, Fred, until I retire. I hope I can make it. With a pension that will feed me and keep a roof over my head.
I suppose it is too late to get my life time Membership $$$$$$ money back!! Absolutely sickening! Thank you for listening to that frightening message !!!!
Sent from Mary Atkinson
I’m thinking the same. Absolutely stunned. And coming from Wisconsin, this cuts deep.
I retired from the system. But, these are sad, frightening, and disturbing days in our nation when teachers’ collective bargaining rights are better when they are put on the back-burner by a union leader who depends on the members’ dues
Yes, the message should be about a concern about quality and the lack of quality in Common Core. National educational leaders refused to sign off on Common Core and no validity testing. That is not quality, that is a stab in the dark reform gimmick so Bill Gates can make back some of the billions he gave to start it. If DVR wants to make the message about quality, the ’em try. Parent have teachers back on this. Looking forward to hearing about the ‘fight on the floor’ and for you leaders to get a clue.
Not so different than Larry Frank leading a break out session at the IEA RA entitled salary schedules, do we still need them? You guessed it the IEA advocating the real possibility of merit pay. Our state and national leaders, do not get it. It is really sad
Oh my God. Is there a transcript of his remarks so that I can spread that far and wide? I am nine years into my teaching career and was part of a successful effort to get our collective bargaining rights back in Ohio. How dare we drop that effort. We should be working to find candidates all over the country who support unions and adequate funding for education. Our job is the most political job in the country and our members have to realize it, embrace the challenges, and help to get pro-union and pro-education candidates elected at all levels of government, from school board to the presidency. He might stop, but I sure won’t.
Sounds like leadership is throwing in the towel. Past time to get new leadership, hmmm?
Another union leader giving away the farm. Leadership must be held accountable. Get a recall campaign going.
DVR’s line is coming down right from the top (White House). Check out Arne Duncan’s talk with newspaper editors on how they should cover the Common Core. “And he went after Core critics, saying that they were at best misinformed and at worst laboring under paranoid delusions.”
And more…”The Common Core has become a rallying cry for fringe groups that claim it is a scheme for the federal government to usurp state and local control of what students learn.”
So all you critics inside the NEA are nothing but a bunch of “fringe elements” and paranoids.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/25/arne-duncan-tells-newspaper-editors-how-to-report-on-common-core/
DVR has been Arne Duncan’s henchman for some time now. Remember the early endorsement for Obama right after the entire staff of Central Falls High School was fired over test scores? I’m amazed that any teacher can be surprised by anything DVR does now.
DVR does not care about the NEA’s dues paying teachers. He does not even care about the NEA or its future. Hundreds of thousands of members have been lost, and he is still pushing Obama/Duncan policies that will further decimate the numbers of union teachers. His loyalty is to his pals in the DNC, and when that conflicts with the well being of the NEA and its members, he’s more than happy to stab us in the back.
He’s a traitor. It will be interesting to see what happens when his term as president is up. It will be very interesting to see the cushy job he is given in the DNC to reward him for a good job well done.
I have had the same feeling about union leadership. It feels as if teachers have been sold out to preserve as much union “seat at the table” (and member generated revenue) possible. “We’re going to focus on cooperating and reinforcing the corporate raider PR line that teachers are bad and need them to fix us” campaign. Where are our fighters? Where are defenders? Guess it’s up to us, and a message needs to go to union leaders.
“DVR said that if you have nothing better to offer, step back.”
1. The house is burning. First priority is to save lives and put out the fire.
2. Something better to offer = we are always interested in improvement, but there is no deep pathology in American education, no teaching crisis. Controlling for poverty, US students rank near the top of the world.
First, my local’s negotiating team told the members they were DONE negotiating. Members should just accept a freeze in salary or get a new negotiating team. I realized that I (and the rest of my local) was on my own! Next the IEA is just happy “to be at the table” and agrees to a bill that goes against the Illinois constitution. Again, I am on my own! Now, the NEA says it will focus less on collective bargaining. The circle is complete. I am on my own! At least when I worked in the corporate arena I new it was a cutthroat environment and that I was on my own. How naive I was to think that I had union brothers and sisters who “had my back” when I entered teaching. I didn’t realize they were behind me just to stab me in the back!
Poor Mother Jones! Poor workers who fought and even died to give us union rights.
Union members need to clean house and get rid of leadership that does not represent the members wishes which include doing what is best for students. I am tired of providing IEA/NEA leadership cushy, secure pensions out of my dues while my future is being destroyed along with the futures of the students we teach.
“The theme being that the NEA must be seen as the leading advocate of quality, as opposed to a defender of the status quo.”
We all want quality, yes. However,from my perspective, there’s some good in the status quo, too—like the collective bargaining that my state has. Does DVR’s statement mean that if that comes under attack, the NEA will sit that game out? That would be very bad news indeed because NEA is my labor union. As to the C.C., it’s here whether we want it to be, or not. I actually like the higher standards as they can drive better instruction, but have concerns about the accompanying high-stakes testing because of how the results can be used—-teacher evaluations, more “failing” schools as the standards increase. I worry that my school will not fare well under the new tests. Time to call the NEA and register my displeasure at 202-833-4000.
Do you get Dr. Diane Ravitch’s blog posts..a few a day? She rails against common core. She was the NEA friend of education. Here’s HER speech http://www.nea.org/grants/40246.htm Here’s the end of it “We need experienced principals who are themselves master teachers. We do not need a wave of newcomers who took a course called “How to be a principal.” We need superintendents who are wise and experienced educators, not lawyers and businessmen.The current so-called reform movement is pushing bad ideas. No high-performing nation in the world is privatizing its schools, closing its schools, and inflicting high-stakes testing on every subject on its children. The current reform movement wants to end tenure and seniority, to weaken the teaching profession, to silence teachers’ unions, to privatize large sectors of public education. Don’t let it happen!So here’s a thought for NEA. Print up four million bumper stickers that say, “I am a public schoolteacher, and I vote — and so does my family.”Do not support any political figure who opposes public education. Stand up to the attacks on public education. Don’t give them half a loaf, because they will be back the next day for another slice, and the day after that for another slice.Don’t compromise. Stand up for teachers. Stand up public education, and say “No mas, no mas.” Thank you.
Common Core has many above age appropriateness goals for 5 year olds and KINDERGARTEN is NOT required in Illinois yet the 1st grade teacher’s evaluation is now 30% growth of student Core learning. Kindergarten is not required yet Common Core has for the most part goals that most K’s can not achieve even if they do attend school every day; and whose to say a bunch won’t be sick before the tests??
dianerav posted: “On the PBS blog, economist Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University expresses skepticism about the one-size-fits-all academic nature of the Common Core.
Lerman strongly supports youth apprenticeship programs.
Lerman is skeptical of C” Respond to this post by replying above this line
New post on Diane Ravitch’s blog
PBS Blog: Common Core Has Fatal Flaw by dianerav On the PBS blog, economist Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University expresses skepticism about the one-size-fits-all academic nature of the Common Core. Lerman strongly supports youth apprenticeship programs. Lerman is skeptical of Common Core for two reasons: One is that it lacks any evidence. In other words, as I have written repeatedly, Common Core has never been field-tested and we have no idea how it works in real classrooms, and how it will affect the students who are currently struggling. The other is the dubious assumption that college and career skills are the same. As he writes: “…Two issues concern me about the debate. One is the lack of solid evidence about the effects of the curriculum on students. Education research, long a backwater of social science, has become more rigorous in recent years, backed in part by the federal government’sInstitute of Educational Sciences and its funding for rigorous experimental methods to test educational interventions. Yet, here is the same federal government encouraging a massive educational initiative without solid evidence documenting gains for student academic or career outcomes. The second concern is justifying the Common Core on the highly dubious notion that college and career skills are the same. On its face, the idea is absurd. After all, do chefs, policemen, welders, hotel managers, professional baseball players and health technicians all require college skills for their careers? Do college students all require learning occupational skills in a wide array of careers? In making the “same skills” claim, proponents are really saying that college skills are necessary for all careers and not that large numbers of career skills are necessary for college.” Lerman smartly traces back the origins of this astounding claim. It is true, he says, that most employers identify certain skills they seek: “Nearly every study of employer needs over the past 20 years comes up with the same answers. Successful workers communicate effectively orally and in writing and have social and behavioral skills that make them responsible and good at teamwork. They are creative and techno-savvy, have a good command of fractions and basic statistics, and can apply relatively simple math to real-world problems like financial or health literacy. But, he says, the Comm
while I tend to believe that is exactly what he meant to say, there are many others who do not. My state level president commented on my share posting of this article that it was a misrepresentation…..that makes me believe it even more.
DVR needs to publicly respond to this so rank and file members know where we stand. It is past time to clean house at the top of NEA and AFT. We are dying out here in the the classrooms! We need solidarity and leadership, not capitulation.
The odd thing is that people who were not in the room and did not hear Dennis speak will claim it is a misrepresentation. But those of us in the room and heard Dennis speak all heard the same thing.
I was not there, but was in Albany. Great that our union heads will cry out about over-testing and underfunding, but where have they been during the outright disrespect of the profession from step 1? Or during the criticism of relatively modest pay in light of the personal investments of time and money? Where is the counter-attack on those who ACTUALLY damaged our economy and put financial futures in jeopardy, and stiil roll nekked in piles of cash, double digit raises and six-figure salaries?
They are pimping the common core, preserving there positions, all the while failing to mention that certified, dedicated, professional, gifted educators and others in our schools are much more aware of what children need. They DO NOT (and WE do not) need to be trained to serve the market.That way lies danger.
Public education in this country is DOOMED if the billionaires like Bill Gates, who OWN Obama and Duncan, are controlling teachers’ unions. We knew AFT’s Randi Weingarten was nothing but a mole, but the moles have now infiltrated NEA.
This is serious stuff, folks, and these “leaders” had better be thrown out. There will be NO public education left in this country in ten years.
Billions and Billions of Dollars. For graft. With what has happened with politicians should we be surprised that the Unions are attacked – from within? Just like Congress I very strongly expect a very cushy “consulting job” will be handed to a Union President when he leaves in the year. Hoping to crash the union when he does.