The NEA Lists its Goals and the Democratic Party Agrees

Human Events ^ | 08/20/2007 | Phyllis Schlafly

[Delacon]

Some critics complain that the issue of education has been conspicuously absent from presidential television debates. But Democratic presidential candidates did sound off with their pro-federal government, pro-spending policies at the annual convention of the National Education Association, and the nation's largest teachers union liked what they heard.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., told delegates that she will fight school vouchers "with every breath in my body." Reiterating the message of her book "It Takes a Village," she called for universal preschool for 4-year-olds.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., likewise inveighed against "passing out vouchers." Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., also announced his opposition to vouchers and proposed that the federal government pay college tuition for all students who will work 10 hours a week.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson wants to "raise teacher's average minimum wage to $40,000 a year." Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, goes all out for "a universal prekindergarten system that will provide year-round day care for children age 3 to 5."

All Democratic candidates look forward to increased federal control of and spending for public schools. And they all attacked President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law for not appropriating more funds to implement it.

After cheering the promises made by the candidates, NEA delegates buckled down to the serious business of spelling out their political goals, many of which have nothing whatever to do with giving schoolchildren a better education.

The NEA demands a tax-supported, single-payer, health care plan for all residents, a word artfully chosen to include illegal immigrants. The NEA supports immigration "reform" that "includes (note: this is a change from last year's verb "may include") a path to permanent residency, citizenship, or asylum" for illegal immigrants.

For many years, and again this year, the NEA urged a national holiday honoring Cesar Chavez. The NEA must have forgotten that Chavez, a strident advocate for farmworkers, vehemently opposed illegal immigration because he knew it depressed the wages of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.

The NEA supports a beefed-up federal hate crimes law with heavier penalties. The NEA wants federal legislation to confer special rights on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

The NEA passed at least a dozen resolutions supporting the "gay rights agenda" in public schools. These cover employment, curricula, textbooks, resource and instructional materials, school activities, role models, and language, with frequent use of terms such as sexual orientation, gender identification, and homophobia.

The NEA enthusiastically supports all the goals of radical feminism, including abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment, school-based health clinics, wage control so the government can arbitrarily raise the pay of women but not men, the feminist pork called the Women's Educational Equity Act, and letting feminists rewrite textbooks to conform to feminist ideology.

The NEA supports statehood for the District of Columbia. The NEA supports affirmative action. The NEA calls for repeal of right-to-work laws, which allow teachers in some states to decline joining the NEA.

The NEA supports United Nations treaties, especially the U.N. Convention on Women, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Court of Justice. The NEA loves global education, which promotes world citizenship and taxing U.S. citizens to give away their wealth to other countries.

Another NEA favorite is environmental education, which teaches that human activity is generally harmful to the environment and population should be reduced.

Here are some things the NEA opposes: vouchers, tuition tax credits, parental choice programs, making English the official language of the U.S., the use of voter identification for elections, and the privatization of Social Security.

High on the list of NEA policies that actually relate to education is opposition to the testing of teachers as a criterion for job retention, promotion, tenure, or salary.

The NEA reiterated its support for pre-kindergarten for "all 3- and 4-year-old children," mandatory full-day kindergarten, and "early childhood education programs in the public schools for children from birth through age 8." The NEA demands that this "early" education have "diversity-based curricula" and "bias-free screening devices."

The NEA wants the right to teach schoolchildren about sex without any interference from parents, but on the other hand wants its pals in the bureaucracy to regulate all home-schooling taught by parents. The NEA opposes allowing home-schoolers to participate in public school sports or extracurricular activities.

Two of the NEA's favorite words in its resolutions and policies are "diversity," which means teaching that gay behavior is OK, and "multiculturalism," which means stressing negative things about the United States and positive things about non-Christian cultures.

The exorbitant dues teachers pay to the NEA enable its well-paid staff to lobby Congress and state legislatures on behalf of all these goals.

[samtheman]

If I had a touch of the Old Time Religion I’d seriously entertain the idea that Hillary is the AntiChrist. Can a woman be the AntiChrist?

(Is her mother’s name Rosemary?)

[wintertime]

I am very sorry to hear about your friend.

If you work for jerks ( and all Marxists and their useful idiots are jerks) expect to be treated badly.

[Tired of Taxes]

What a shame. I used to work in sales for a company where practically all of my clients were schoolteachers. The stories they would tell me... Quite a few had been wrongly accused at one point or another. I would never want to be a teacher today.

I read your poor friend’s eraser story, and it reminded me of an incident I witnessed in grade school. Feel free to pass this story along to him. Maybe it will put a smile on his face:

Back in the 70’s, my seventh grade class in a Catholic school had a particularly strict nun. The class was always silent when she was teaching. I should also mention she had a terrific pitching arm. I remember seeing her pitch fastballs to kids out in the schoolyard.

One day, when she turned her back to erase the blackboard, a boy sitting near me whispered to his friend sitting next to him. Sister pivoted (much like my 11yo son did recently when he made a second base pickoff from the pitcher’s mound) with eraser in hand and threw it hard. It smacked one of the boys in his head, bounced off, and hit the head of the boy he was talking to. And I’m not exaggerating at all. You might say she made a double-play in one throw. Immediately, the boys went silent again, and she went on teaching like nothing happened.

No lawyers. No lawsuit. And that was one of the tamest incidents I witnessed at our school.

For the record, I homeschool my sons. :-)

[guinnessman]

Thanks for the story, I’ll tell my friend Garry.

Garry used to tell me about a teacher (a Brother) in his high school who used to write perfectly on the chalkboard with his back to the chalkboard. That he never had his back turned to the students. :^)

[Twink]

Thanks for the link. That’s a shame about your friend.

I worked for two districts with different unions (NEA and AFT). The AFT (or PFT) seemed far more interested in working for the teachers. My brother worked for the AFT so I learned much about union corruption. The suburban district was easier in every way, though. That was back in the late 80’s/early 90’s and it’s far different today.

[Pinkbell]

These socialists want control of children so they can indoctrinate them with their “values” from an early age. This way they’ll support socialist goals, and they won’t listen to their evil, conservative parents.

[Twink]

no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head. However, if one wants to teach in a district, one has to choose his/her battles.

I don’t consider public school so abhorrent to call them government institutions. I value the public education system but it’s way off course imo.

It’s easy to say all teachers suck, contribute to the problem. It’s easy to say any parents who send their kids to public schools is just getting what they deserve.

Believe it or not, some actually teach because they’re good at it. They enjoy their job, interacting with and teaching kids something they’re knowledgeable about and excited about sharing.

If a teacher doesn’t join the union, he/she still has to pay a huge percentage of union dues. Here, it was close to 80%. If you don’t join, even tho you pay those dues, it’s a target on you.

Some teachers just want to teach what they’ve studied. I don’t know what it’s like elsewhere but I know PA and NJ. A teacher can’t NOT join the union and expect Tenure or anything fair job related. And those who don’t join the union, still have to pay a ridiculous amount of union dues.

I sent my kids to catholic grade school (K-8) but I’m still active in our district because I live here and I teach here.

So I guess I’m part of the problem in your opinion. That’s fine. As for me, I’ll continue to attend every school board meeting and faculty meeting and say my peace. And vote and encourage everyone I know to vote. I prefer to try to change the system rather than toss grenades at it. Many teachers in this area are disgusted by what’s happening in their schools and their union. Many parents are digusted, too.

Not all parents think homeschooling is the best option. As for me, I would never do it regardless of my two master degrees, one in education. I credit those who do but don’t discredit those who don’t. Not all parents can afford catholic or private schools. Especially when property taxes are paying for the public schools.

My conclusion: anyone who doesn’t understand how the public school system in this country works needs to do more research.