Posted on 02/28/2004 5:42:18 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
ORLANDO - Education Secretary Rod Paige again apologized Friday for calling a teachers union a "terrorist organization," yet repeated his criticism that the National Education Association obstructs federal education policies.
"In this post 9/11 world, the word I used obviously has a grave and sad meaning," Paige said at a convention of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "I wish I had used different words to express my point, and for the insensitive choice of words, I express my deepest regrets."
Paige touched off the controversy Monday, when he made the "terrorist" remark at a gathering of governors. The Education Department and NEA, which represents 2.7-million teachers and other school workers, have been feuding over President Bush's No Child Left Behind Law.
Paige apologized the next day as NEA officials called for his firing. The White House said his job was safe.
In his Friday address, Paige expressed his respect for those in the teaching profession, calling them "real soldiers of democracy."
"It is because of teachers that I grew up believing that a vast horizon of opportunity awaited me beyond my little segregated town in rural Mississippi," said Paige, whose parents were teachers, as are three sisters.
Paige also recognized the need for teachers to have "responsible representation." He singled out for praise the American Federation of Teachers and its late leader, Albert Shanker.
But Paige then criticized NEA leaders for using "fear, distortions, misinformation, and disruptive tactics," though not elaborating.
"My frustration is that the Washington-based union leadership is making no secret of the fact that they are fighting against any real reform of our education system," Paige said.
The NEA was quick to return fire.
"In every so-called apology and explanation, Secretary Paige keeps blaming a poor choice of words," union spokeswoman Kathleen Lyons said. "It's not just the words, but the attitude and view that NEA does not represent our members - and by extension that our members are, at best, resistant to change, and at worst, deliberately standing in the way of progress for low-income and minority students."
Meanwhile on Friday, 21 U.S. House Democrats issued a letter calling on President Bush to demand that Paige resign.
Paige's outrageous terrorist charge undermines goals - (But it gets better!)*** He charged the NEA with encouraging a "coalition of the whining." He called other education reform critics "nihilists" and made unflattering comparisons to French U.N. diplomats and racists. Paige impoliticly suggested last year that schools with a religious environment were preferable to public schools with diverse values.***
Sec. Paige:
Just a short email to voice my support for your recent attempts to shine some light on the NEA's long history of blocking real reform in education in this country.
I don't think it's an exaggeration that the NEA and its "fear, distortions, misinformation, and disruptive tactics" you cited has been one of the main causes of the huge decline in education quality in America for decades.
Don't back off, Mr. Secretary; there are millions of us out here cheering you on.
I admit that last week I, too, ratcheted up the debate with a very poor word choice to describe the leadership of the nation's largest teachers union. I chose my words carelessly, and I am truly sorry for the hurt and confusion they caused.
I especially want to be clear on one point. As ill-considered as my words were, my disappointment was directed only -- and I mean only -- at the union heads in Washington who have been opposing any and all educational reforms, no matter what the consequences to our children. I have the utmost respect for our nation's teachers: They work hard and have dedicated their lives to children.
My comment was born out of frustration at the depth of the problem in our schools. Let's look at the facts: The Nation's Report Card (the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP) shows that only one in six African-Americans and one in five Hispanics are proficient in reading by the time they are seniors. NAEP math scores are even worse: Only 3 percent of blacks and 4 percent of Hispanics are testing at the "proficient" level. No wonder a recent study claimed a high school diploma has become nothing more than a "certificate of attendance."
Is our system as a whole preparing the next generation of workers for the global economy? As Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan noted recently, "We need to be forward-looking in order to adapt our educational system to the evolving needs of the economy and the realities of our changing society ... It is an effort that should not be postponed." That's why I am so passionate about making these historic reforms and drawing attention to the issue.
The old system -- the status quo -- is one we must fight to change. President Bush and Congress understood the urgency of the situation and set in motion a process to fix the problem: the No Child Left Behind Act. The law requires schools to give all students a quality education, provides accountability and choice for parents and insists that teachers be highly qualified to teach -- in other words, that they be knowledgeable in the subjects they are teaching -- which is just plain common sense. ***
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