AASA :: AFT’s Weingarten Asks AASA to Join in Combat for Public Schooling

AASA :: AFT’s Weingarten Asks AASA to Join in Combat for Public Schooling:

AFT’s Weingarten Asks AASA to Join in Combat for Public Schooling

by Lisa Fingeroot

Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers.

Teacher advocate Randi Weingarten issued a battle cry to AASA members Friday morning and asked them to join her in “reclaiming the promise of public education for each and every child.”

Weingarten, president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers, was keynote speaker at the 2^nd General Session of the AASA national conference in Nashville, where she talked about unity and friendship “in the family of believers in public education.”

Some people think teachers and their bosses are adversaries, she said. “And some want us to be adversaries because when we are driven apart, it absorbs our energy – energy that could be devoted to moving forward.”

However, she believes the relationship should be collaborative and supportive because both groups share the common goal of educating children.

Weingarten pointed to the previous joint effort of AASA and AFT to improve the nation’s teaching force through revamped teacher development and evaluation systems. The result of that collaboration was a framework for improvement that emphasized both quality and fairness.

Weingarten hopes AASA will come to the table on a similar effort to change the national conversation from pro-privatization and anti-public school rhetoric to one about “investing in strong neighborhood public