EdVANTAGE Blog

Speaking at the National Education Association’s nnual convention on July 2nd, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, “challenged the union to reevaluate some of its policies on compensating teachers and offering them job protections,” in the words of the Secretary’s news release.

Education Week reported that, “Delegates applauded Mr. Duncan’s calls for continued federal funding for education, better training for administrators, and for improved teacher-mentoring experiences. But in an indication of the challenges that the federal government will face as it pushes for reforms to compensation and evaluation, they booed and hissed through those parts of Mr. Duncan’s address.”

Here are some excerpts from the Secretary’s speech:

I came here today to challenge you to think differently about the role of unions in public education because-when thousands of schools are chronically failing and millions of children are dropping out each year-we all must think differently.

It’s not enough to focus only on issues like job security, tenure, compensation, and evaluation. You must become full partners and leaders in education reform. You and I must be willing to change…

I am big believer in this program [extra compensation for teachers gaining certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards], but let’s also be honest: school systems pay teachers billions of dollars more each year for earning PD credentials that do very little to improve the quality of teaching.

We’re losing too many children today and incremental change won’t save them. We need dramatic change.  And we can’t continue to blame each other or blame the system. We are the system and it is up to us-you and me-to change it. So let’s talk about that.

We created seniority rules that protect teachers from arbitrary and capricious management-and that’s a good goal. But sometimes those rules place teachers in schools and communities where they won’t succeed-and that’s wrong.

We created tenure rules to make sure that a struggling teacher gets a fair opportunity to improve-and that’s a good goal. But when an ineffective teacher gets a chance to improve and doesn’t-and when the tenure system keeps that teacher in the classroom anyway-then the system is protecting jobs rather than children. That’s not a good thing. We need to work together to change that…

And I’m telling you as well-that when inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children-then we are not only putting kids at risk-we’re putting the entire education system at risk. We’re inviting the attack of parents and the public-and that is not good for any of us.

I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers but they have produced an industrial factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets.

At the same time, many schools give nothing at all to the teachers who go the extra mile and make all the difference in students’ lives. Excellence matters and we should honor it-fairly, transparently, and on terms teachers can embrace…

The Secretary praised the union’s past leadership on higher standards, civil rights, and health care.  He stressed his interest, and President Obama’s, in working with the union.  For example, he said, “We’re asking Congress for more money to develop compensation programs ‘with’ you-and ‘for’ you-not ‘to’ you-programs that will put money in the pockets of your teachers and support personnel by recognizing and rewarding excellence.”

Later this month, Secretary Duncan is scheduled to speak at a gathering of the other national teacher union, the American Federation of Teachers.

New York’s statewide federation of teachers unions — New York State United Teachers — has been affiliated with both national unions since the NYSUT/NEA-NY merger a few years back.  Before that, NYSUT was affiliated solely with the AFT, and still comprises about a third of the AFT’s total membership.

The AFT’s president is Randi Weingarten, who recently stepped down as president of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers.  Another New Yorker serves as the AFT’s Secretary-Treasurer, Antonia Cortese, formerly a long-time leader of NYSUT.

The New York Daily News praised Ms. Weingarten’s leadership in an editorial, saying,

“Her tenure has been driven by a fundamental trade, one that ultimately put the city schools on stronger footing: better wages for members in exchange for movement toward accountability and school reform.”