NEA Convention Report

NEA Convention Report

by Thom Ryder

The NEA Convention was held this year from June 30 through July 6 in Washington D.C. The RCEA was represented by a trio of members; Bud McWhorter, Linda Hogan, and me.

It’s hard to describe how amazing this convention is. The Washington D.C. Convention Center takes up about three square city blocks. The NEA set up shop inside virtually the whole complex. It was like a miniature city. Delegates from around the United States and territories all came, along with education dignitaries from across the world. Ex-NEA and VEA President, Mary Futrell, sat with our delegation during one stretch.

All told there were about 10,000 delegates in attendance plus another 4,000-6,000 visitors. Each convention session was filled with debate over education issues brought forth from members in every state. The debate was frequently spirited, but in the end democratic principles reigned supreme and discussion gave way to decisions.

You may have been told that NEA is a liberal organization or perhaps you remember when the former Secretary of Education Bell referred to the NEA as a terrorist organization. Well, I can give testament to the fact that the NEA was most concerned about the education of our country’s children and the working conditions of our educators and support staff. Much of our discussion centered on dealing with the constraints of NCLB. I left feeling assured that NEA will work diligently to revamp the in such a way that the act accomplishes its challenging mandate.

One of the highlights of the convention for me was the address by North Carolina Governor Mike Easley. Governor Easley was the recipient of the first “America's Greatest Education Governor” award from the NEA. Governor Easley understands it. He gets it. He knows what needs to be done, and he has a plan. It was delight to hear him speak. If you have a few minutes, watch the video (you may need to register on the NEA member site) of his presentation, you will be invigorated. Senator Obama also spoke to the convention delegates after the delegates voted (electronically) to endorse his candidacy, and there was a lot of dancing in the aisles.

There was dancing in the aisles after Obama spoke.

Each morning of the convention, the Virginia delegation would meet in the ballroom of our Marriott Wardman Park (across from the National Zoo) and hash out our state positions on the issues of the day. We even had entertainment by our own Virginia Delegate choir (Bud of course sang in that). They were incredible.

The highlight for our delegation was the election of ex-VEA President, princess Moss to the NEA Executive Board. Her election was no small feat. We campaigned hard for her at all public functions. I personally held a sign and screamed “Vote for Princess for several hours as delegates entered the convention hall on Election Day. Princess was the top vote getter and was one of two members elected to that prestigious position. As a person who has known Princess Moss for over twenty years dating back to when we were both presidents of tiny locals in Central Virginia, I can honestly say that the NEA delegates made a sound choice.

There was fun to be had in D.C. I was fortunate to pull some family strings and get access to a July 4^th celebration on the roof of the Willard Hotel and Office complex right beside The White House. The Willard Hotel is a Washington landmark. In fact the term “Lobby” is said to originate there. According to local lore, U.S. Grant would step across the street to the lobby of the Willard for beverages and cigars with his high-powered Washington friends. These encounters soon became known as “lobbying.” Anyway, the fireworks were awesome, and I enjoyed meeting people I would have never dreamed of meeting.

By far the most important thing I did at the NEA Convention was to join Bud in the annual Habitat for Humanity project. I will share that story in a separate article.

If you ever get a chance, you should really consider attending an NEA Convention. You will leave on fire for your profession.

ESEA 2007

ESEA 2007

I didn’t envision the first real entry in this blog to be of such a sad and serious nature, but that is the card I’ve been dealt this evening. Some of you may be old enough to remember the series of “Keep America Beautiful “ commercials featuring an American Indian surveying the land of litter, polluting smokestacks, and unbridled development with a tear rolling down his cheek. I feel like that Native American tonight in regards to the state of public education in our country.

As we all know, public school education has been under attack from all sides for many years. I remember the famous words of Education Secretary Terrel Bell from back in 1983, “We report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.”

Secretary Bell’s words struck me then with an intense sadness. Deep down, I suspected his words were a bellwether of changes to come.

Fast forward almost 25 years. The whole institution of education has changed. The art of teaching has been largely replaced by standards based instructional practices. “Accountability” has become the marquee word of the day; a linear, one way, one size-fits-all term.

Through it all, teachers like you and me have struggled to maintain the sanctity of the classroom. We’ve fought to keep education meaningful for our children. We’ve endured ill-conceived curricular changes at the national and state level coupled with unrealistic performance standards. Through it all we’ve been pounded by the media, by parents, and by our government. Do you remember when the Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the NEA a terrorist organization? Oh we grumbled at the changes, especially in how these changes affected the childhoods of our students. Yet we’ve been engaged in a futile fight against that rising tide of over-reaction, over-regulation, institutional blindness, micromanagement, and vilification. It’s enough to make a teacher just want to throw up her hands in despair.

Today I received two pieces of information that rocked me. Monday, I received information direct from a trusted source that suggests discussions on the reauthorization of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NCLB) with members of Congress are not going well. In fact, my trusted source believes that House Education Chairman George Miller is close to releasing the revamped ESEA legislation this week. In it, the trusted source is hearing that there will be no relaxation of NCLB AYP (Average Yearly Progress) requirements. Worse than that, word on the street is that the bill will tie teacher compensation to test performance. That’s right. If the reauthorization passes, our pay will hinge on how well the children we can’t choose from parents we can’t choose from homes we can’t choose perform on tests we can’t modify or adjust.

The second piece of news I received today shook me equally and at a more personal level. A teacher from another school system came to me and told me that a child she received a couple of weeks ago from another country who speaks no English will not be granted an exemption from the Virginia SOL tests this year. So this third grade teacher is faced with the virtually impossible task of somehow imprinting four years worth of curriculum material onto a child who at this moment has no capacity to process it. The teacher was just flabbergasted and at a complete loss. How is she going to be able to get this child prepared to meet the expectations? Is it fair to have this child, who counts in several AYP groups, impact that school’s scores negatively? Imagine if ESEA passes…is it fair to have this teacher’s livelihood negatively impacted because she just happened to have a child placed in her classroom who couldn’t speak English?

It’s all so preposterous. For me, this is a sad Native American-looking-at-litter-tossed-at-his-feet moment. If the new ESEA evolves from draft as anticipated, I don’t see teachers across America taking it quietly.