2013 in Review Part 4: Teachers, Unions, and the Best Path Forward
As I bring my review of the year 2013 to a close, the last theme to emerge is a poignant one. I have shared my concerns about Common Core, corporate reform and the poor policies promoted by the Gates Foundation. But there was another side to the debate. Organizations and leaders that we count on to defend our profession, and to act on genuine expertise and reject phony reforms, repeatedly left us shaking our heads. Here are the posts where I challenged these leaders and their rationales.
In March, AFT President Randi Weingarten signed alongside Gates Foundation officer Vicki Phillips on a short article describing reforms to teacher evaluation. I wrote:
While Phillips and Weingarten take the Goldilocks approach to test scores - that we should use just the right amount, not too much or too little - the Gates Foundation has strongly pushed for the expansion of the use of test scores in evaluations. While they may voice vague concerns about some states moving recklessly, advocacy groups they sponsor have led the charge across the nation.
A much bigger issue, however, was the decision by both AFT and NEA leaders to embrace and support Common Core standards. I pointed out several problems with this strategy:
The NEA and AFT have positioned themselves as the "expert implementers" of the Common Core. That essentially means the unions are standing by Duncan's side and saying "we are the