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NEA's Pringle at UTLA conference

by Monty Neill montyneill

Last weekend, I was at United Teacher of Los Angeles' leadership conference. NEA Secretary-reasurer Becky Pringle addressed the audience. She focused in large part on Race to the Top (RTTT), and presented to the audience many comments taken from the just-submitted NEA response to the draft RTTT guidelines. The NEA comments are now on the NEA website homepage. So I will here only note a few additional things she said.

In response to working with Duncan: "The jury is still out on whether we are eating at the children's table." [That's probably from Malcolm, who said, 'Sitting at the table does not make you a diner." My usual revision: "Sitting at the table does not mean you helped select the menu."]

"It is right to fight those determined to burn our kids at the stake of high-stakes testing." We must oppose a "punitive, destructive and flawed accountability system."

She said to UTLA, in asking what they are prepared to do, that they should be prepared "to exercise your right to civil disobedience." She added, NEA will be proud obstructionists to bad ideas and laws.

The status quo, she pointed out is 25 years of top down reforms and 25 years of blaming teachers.

So indeed the questions become, what can we effectively do. Many good comments have been submitted to the Dept of Ed, including by NEA. But comments won't stop RTTT: political pressure could.
Emphasis added.
Monty



— Monty Neill, Fair Test

2009-08-26


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