"A little more than a half-century ago, in 1958, Senator John F. Kennedy penned a piece for the NEA Journal.
In it, the future president urged a number of reforms to the teaching profession. As a longtime supporter of the NEA, Kennedy felt that higher pay and more classrooms were not enough—“more and better teachers are also needed.”
To strengthen the teaching profession, JFK wrote, “we must find better means for providing better rewards for our better teachers. We must make actual use of probationary periods to retain only those with satisfactory performance records, and we must demonstrate concretely to young beginners in the field that real opportunities for advancement await those whose contribution is of the highest caliber.”"
In it, the future president urged a number of reforms to the teaching profession. As a longtime supporter of the NEA, Kennedy felt that higher pay and more classrooms were not enough—“more and better teachers are also needed.”
To strengthen the teaching profession, JFK wrote, “we must find better means for providing better rewards for our better teachers. We must make actual use of probationary periods to retain only those with satisfactory performance records, and we must demonstrate concretely to young beginners in the field that real opportunities for advancement await those whose contribution is of the highest caliber.”"