Excerpt: …The largest transformation in my time began 31 years ago. The year was 1983, and something happened that year that changed the conversation totally. A new report was published entitled “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Education Reform.” In all my life as a student and as a teacher, this was the first time that public education was ever labeled as the problem, not the solution. We were the problem, not the solution. The very institution that was revered as the foundation of democracy, the driver for equity, was now labeled as a national liability. What a difference. After Sputnik, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act. When our country was behind, when we needed to really move forward, they invested in education. But that wasn’t the theme of “A Nation at Risk.” They report began with five simple words, “Our nation is at risk.” And the introduction went on to make sure it gained immediate attention, and it did. They said public education was being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity. But the one that so struck me, they said “if an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.” Those are strong words. And as a newly elected state president, as an educator, I never once dreamed at that time how one event could impact events for years to come. Now, actually, the report had some very solid recommendations, but they were mostly ignored. Instead of what was in the report and in the name of “reform,” ideas and recommendations materialized that were never even mentioned in the report – vouchers, tax credits, privatization, merit pay, a whole new generation of so-called reforms. NEA responded, and we began an important transformation. We realized that if political leaders were going to abandon their role as advocates and protectors of public education, then we must do that…we must be the advocates and the protectors. In all of our history, we have always advocated for ways to improve education, but now we had to fight for the very existence of public education. As public education policy shifted from leveling the playing field into turning education into a competition with winners and losers, we needed to become the champions of equity, to define solutions that drive excellence and success for all students. The report “A Nation at Risk,” was the beginning of an attempt to totally redefine America’s system of public education. First, they labeled public education as a failure, a liability. And then in 2002, they lowered the boom with No Child Left Behind. Now, this was passed with overwhelming support from both Democrats and Republicans, but No Child Left Behind became an insidious tool used to undermine and attack public education. It’s been driven by mandatory high-stakes testing in grades three through eight. It became the mechanism for labeling and blaming public education, and by establishing a flawed measure of success–Adequate Yearly Progress, politicians created the means, the opportunity for corporate reformers to remake public education into a whole new source of profits that would be gathered at the expense of students. And so now, 12 years after No Child Left Behind, where are we? These politicians and their policies have created a difficult environment for students and educators, delegates. You know clearly the issues that have become part of our daily lives and discussions: intense dissatisfaction with the conditions of learning and teaching, the need for more time in almost everything we do, time to teach, time to learn, time to plan, and time to collaborate with colleagues as we deal with all of these new demands placed upon us. The issue of privatization of more and more jobs of our education support professionals. The intrusion of for-profit players, both in higher education and K-12. Especially troubling is the increasing influence and control of huge corporations like Pearson and others. And the incredible onslaught of corporate reformers like Democrats for Education Reform, Michelle Rhee, and the like. Attacks on educators’ rights and even attempts to silence our voice. And if that were not enough, our lives revolve around testing–the overwhelming amount and the offensive misuse of scores from high-stakes standardized tests. For the delegates in this hall, for our members back home, the feelings generated by these and other issues are strong and they are real. I’ve seen them. I’ve heard them from you. And I share them with you. Feelings of anger, frustration, disappointment, and unrealized expectation of the Department of Education. Whether student, active, retired, whether higher ed, ESP or teacher, it doesn’t matter. We are all impacted and demoralized by these attacks. And your feelings are totally justified. I mean, really, 12 years is plenty long enough to evaluate their strategy of mandatory testing and test-based accountability. Plain and simple, their strategy has failed America’s students, especially students who are poor and students of color. And I say to you that it is simply not acceptable to continue down this path. The direction must change? Am I right? Am I right? As an organization, public education, we’re at a critical point. We’re at another milestone in our history. You know, I guess getting older does have some advantages. It has allowed me to see and to experience many different things. And I can tell you that living through “A Nation at Risk,” No Child Left Behind, and the increased intensity of corporate reform, I have seen so many examples of injustice in our systems, and the negative impact on students. When I think of the 10 years preceding No Child Left Behind, I wish I could go back and do things differently. If I had only understood then what I understand now. You see, all of us in the education family–all of us–we knew the system was not fulfilling the promise, not fulfilling the promise for all of its students, not doing what they needed, and we allowed the politicians of the day, Congress, to define the solution, and their solution was No Child Left Behind. Now, I want to state something very clearly. We, the NEA, cannot allow politicians to define the terms of change and accountability for yet another generation of students. We cannot let that happen again! We, the educators, must define the solutions and we must lead. But what I want most is for us to choose the right strategy, the right leverage points to actually create and design something new, to chart a course that can deliver on our mission to fulfill the promise of public education, to prepare every student to succeed. And deep down, way deep down in my gut, I know that the only way to combat their strategy is a strategy that is creating the most equitable system of education in our nation’s history. We must create a counterforce that takes us toward equity. And we cannot do that without a student-centered strategy that is led by this union–just like the days when our association was transforming, transforming into an organization deeply committed to social justice, deeply involved in collective bargaining and politics. This transformation will also be rocky and at times even controversial. New partners, new strategies, new priorities, and new policies will be required. Oh, yes, there will be pushback. Yes, there will be struggle and, yes, there will be progress. There must be progress. A strong future for public education for our association depends on leading an agenda focused on student success and educator quality, not as an afterthought, but as our first priority. Equity, excellence, and accountability for the whole system. That must be our focus and our agenda…
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 09:22:56 +0000
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