Posted on 07/05/2004 5:30:49 PM PDT by Brilliant
WASHINGTON - The National Education Association, the nation's largest union, endorsed Democrat John Kerry for president Monday, the final touch in its campaign to drive up school spending and reshape the biggest education law in decades.
The NEA, a 2.7-million member group composed mainly of teachers, is out to advance its agenda on everything from testing students to halting private-school vouchers. The union is mobilizing its money and forces for Kerry targeting political staff in 15 swing states, going into schools to rally its members, and joining liberal groups to organize a massive night of political house parties.
Kerry, who is scheduled to speak to the 9,000 delegates at the NEA convention on Tuesday, was endorsed by 86.5 percent of them. The Massachusetts senator offers many teacher-friendly promises the union likes, but he also advances ideas the NEA has long opposed, such as paying bonuses to teachers based on student test scores.
Although a quarter of NEA members identify themselves with the Republican Party, the union has never endorsed a Republican for president and typically spends $9 out of every $10 it raises on Democrats. Its relationship with the Bush administration has been particularly prickly since his education secretary, Rod Paige, jokingly referred to the union as a "terrorist organization" and annoyed members with how he apologized for the remark.
Aye!
The NEA does this not only because most of their members are liberals, but because they want more money and more power, and Kerry will give it to them. Even the AP admits this.
INTREP
Wow! Really?! I'm stunned!
NOT!
Did they just copy the press release and add the last paragraph for show?
This is important for FL, where the teachers union is the dominant force of the Democrat Party.
Union or professional society makes no difference in this case, the NEA exists to defend the monopoly guild interests of the graduates of schools and departments of education, a group granted a monopoly on teaching in public schools and in some states any schools by the supine legislatures of the several state (solidly Republican states like Kansas where I reside being no excpetion--indeed the only exceptions I am aware of are, paradoxically liberal New England state where old-money private schools have enough clout to insist on being allowed to hire teacher with real degrees in real majors), a group morover consisting overwhelmingly of people who chose the college or university major because it was the easiest one, where they could take 3-credits in using AV equipment, weren't forced to learn to write well, take any serious mathematics or science, or really learn much of anything to get a Bachelor's degree. (I see the wretched students in my classes when I teach lower division mathematics courses, and with a few shining exceptions they are terrible almost to the point of being uneducable at the university level.)
The NEA sucks.
And in a related story, water is wet!
I'm saddened...deeply saddened..a real shock </sarcasm
Sun rises in east. Michael Moore still fat.
It was my understanding that it was the NEA members who were delegates to the Democratic Convention that were leading the boos of the Boys Scouts.
Aye!!!
Why would anyone who is interested in education want to preserve public schools anyway. They don't make any sense and they are totally unnecessary.
More money to dumb down the students and keep in lock-step with the communist manifesto.
Breaking news...
Wow, this is shocking!
Why is the NEA allowed to endorse anyone for President? They are a nonprofit.
Good question. Kinda like the Postal Service endorsing someone...
The NEA - the NATIONAL EXTORTION ASSOCIATION - and trial lawyers, PERFECT TOGETHER!
As a former teacher, I refused to join this union the last few years I taught because of its tactics, philosophy, and directions.
Your understanding and use of "nuance" screams that you are very liberal. Our school system is a failure. I think most involved support it because they would fail themselves in private industry. Shameful.
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