An Open Exchange With AFT President Randi Weingarten
On October 26 and 27, 2013, I exchanged a number of emails with American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten. I had planned to write a post about Weingarten, which I did on October 27. My post took the form of an open letter to her. I sent it to her for her response in hopes that I might publish both together as a discourse. She agreed and responded to my letter on November 3. I told her that whatever she decided to write I would post.
Both letters are below; first mine, then Weingarten’s response.
My letter is pointed and confrontational. It honestly captures my concerns about Weingarten and AFT. In it, I ask Weingarten to consider taking three specific actions.
Rather than offering any comments on Weingarten’s response, I wish to simply allow readers to read both letters and form their own opinions. I invite reader comments at the end of this post. Readers might disagree, even strongly, with me or with Weingarten; however, I ask that comments be written using civil language.
And now, for the letters.
I offer mine first:
October 27, 2013
Randi,
Yesterday, I committed to my fellow bloggers on our bloggers network to write a post on you. A primary question I have regards your teaching credentials. I am also concerned about your interactions with notable reform philanthropists Bill Gates and Eli Broad and your unyielding dedication to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Based upon our email exchange yesterday, I believe that you really do want to support