Rebel with a Cause
Barbara Madeloni, newly elected president of the 110,000 member Massachusetts Teachers Association, says that fighting is winning.
EduShyster: I’ve heard you described as *bellicose,* *unapologetically adversarial,* a *firebrand,* and *alarming.* Which of these would you say best describes you?
Barbara Madeloni: Aren’t you forgetting *shrill*? One of the narratives about my victory is that I accessed anger at the rank-and-file level. That’s true, but I also tried to hold up a more positive vision for re-engaging the world. We’re not helpless. We’re not hopeless. We can work together to change things. We can do something. That said, I think we are at a critical moment in history for public education in this country. If we don’t fight, we’re going to lose everything. We’re done. EduShyster: That’s what a lot of people have been saying about teachers unions in the wake of the recent Vergara decision in California—that they’re done. You don’t appear to have gotten that memo.
Madeloni: This is a critical moment in our history and we have to protect public education or we’re going to lose Rebel with a Cause | EduShyster: