| Actor and philanthropist Matt Damon joined educators and concerned citizens from across the country in Washington, DC on June 30 to urge national leaders to focus on education reform that provides a high-quality education for every student. Mr. Damon gave aninspiring speech to the crowd and laterdefended teachers to an aggressive reporter, and gave an interview in which heexpressed dissatisfaction about current education policy. Later, MSNBC commentator Lawrence O’Donnell highlighted Matt Damon’s words in offeringhis own impassioned defense of educators. NEA members bused, drove, flew, or took trains from every part of the country to show solidarity with fellow educators and declare their dedication to a fully-funded, world-class education system for all students in the United States.Read more about the March. |
| TELL “SUPER COMMITTEE” TO FIGHT FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS AND STUDENTS! |
| In the final hours before the August 2 debt ceiling deadline, Congress passed a budget deal. See how yourRepresentative andSenators voted. Read statements by NEA President Dennis Van Roekelduring negotiations and on thefinal deal.
The deal was necessary to avoid default on the nation’s debt and the resulting economic catastrophe. And, while the deal ishighly flawed, your help was instrumental in securing several key victories:
These victories would not have been possible without the almost 80,000 e-mails you sent to Members of Congress and President Obama. Now, we need your help again. Soon, congressional leaders will appoint Democrats and Republicans to a new “super-committee” charged with coming up with over $1 trillion in additional deficit reduction. We need to act immediately to influence this committee. We will have to fight hard against additional cuts to education; for protection of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; and for contributions to deficit reduction from those most able to pay their fair share. The next few weeks are critical in making our voices heard. Take Action: Tell Congress that the super-committee must protect those with the greatest needs and ensure that those most able to do so pay their fair share. |
| This fall, additional work is expected on ESEA reauthorization around teacher quality. NEA believes that students and teachers deserve high quality evaluation systems that provide the tools teachers need to continuously tailor instruction, enhance practice, and advance student learning. But, the responsibility for crafting teacher evaluation and accountability systems should lie at the state and local level, not with the federal government.
As Congress recesses for the month of August, it is a perfect opportunity for activists concerned about public education to reach out to Members of Congress and share your views and expertise in advance of ESEA reauthorization. Take Action this Month:
Keep e-mailing Congress.Tell Congress how teacher quality issues should and should not be addressed in an ESEA Reauthorization bill. |
August 5, 2011
MATT DAMON DEFENDS EDUCATORS!
RSS 2.0 feed.July 23, 2011
RECKLESS: INACTION ON CAPITOL HILL JEOPARDIZES STUDENTS AND MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES
RSS 2.0 feed.| The August deadline looms for Congress to raise the nations debt ceiling and avoid catastrophic economic fallout. This week, the House passed the NEA-opposed Cut, Cap, and Balance Act (H.R. 2560), which would write spending caps into law and hold the debt limit increase hostage unless two-thirds of the House and the Senate agree to a constitutional balanced budget amendment.Read NEAs letter opposing the bill andsee how your Representative voted.
Like other proposed spending caps and balanced budget amendments, this plan which should really be called the Dodge, Duck, and Dismantle Act would result in the largest cuts in federal spending in modern history slashing education, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs that meet crucial national needs. The proposal does not exempt core basic assistance programs for the poorest Americans from across-the-board cuts, yet seeks to safeguard tax cuts and tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill should it come to his desk for signature. Instead of balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and middle class, policymakers should ensure that any deal includes revenue raised by making the wealthiest in our nation pay their fair share. Elected officials should work together on a bipartisan basis to help Main Street hang on, not help Wall Street get more. Take Action Today:Tell Congress that the budget should not be balanced on the backs of the middle class and our most vulnerable populations! |
 |
| BILL TO FUND SPECIAL EDUCATION INTRODUCED! |
| This week, Senator Harkin (D-IA) introduced the IDEA Full Funding Act. The bill would make funding for special education mandatory and gradually increase funding to reach the federal governments promised level (40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure of every child in special education) by FY 2021.
For too long, Congress has failed to live up to its commitment to fund special education. This continued underfunding in combination with current state fiscal crises forces school districts to either raise taxes or dip into general education budgets to make up for the shortfall, thereby cutting other critical services. Take Action Today: Urge your Senators to cosponsor and support the IDEA Full Funding Act. |
|
| SAVE OUR SCHOOLS RALLY AND MARCH — JULY 30, 2011 |
| The Save our Schools (SOS) rally and march is a grassroots movement to reclaim schools as places of learning, joy, and democracy. The event will take place on July 30, in Washington, DC, but there are also ways to participate in or plan actionsin your local area!
For more information and updates as the date approaches, to tell us you will be marching, or to let us know about events in your area, visit theSOS March pageon NEAs Education Votes website. |
March 16, 2011
Lead Me, Guide Me, Walk Beside Me
RSS 2.0 feed.I was humming a children’s tune yesterday and Miss Jenny popped into my memory 56 years after I had her as my 3rd grade teacher (we didn’t say “educator” in those days). She was tall and slim after the year of the apple diet. Three large, shiny apples were lined up on her desk each morning. One for morning recess, one for lunch, and the last one for afternoon recess. Miss Jenny smelled good. She was calm and soft-spoken, even though she had reason to yell. I was a holy terror at 8 years old. A tomboy, opinionated, free-thinking, strong-willed with a hot temper. Miss Jenny took it all in stride. She never raised her voice; she just gently led, pushed and pulled us forward. We were individuals with our own personalities, abilities and talents, but Miss Jenny was moving us along as a unit.
And then Sally moved in. We didn’t know about Down Syndrome then. We just knew that Sally’s eyes looked funny. She couldn’t speak well, so was hard to understand. She walked a little funny and couldn’t run well at all. Sometimes she even drooled. Miss Jenny brought out the best in our 3rd grade class, as we learned to look at Sally when she talked so we could understand her, to slow down as we ran, so Sally could keep up, to rush to her defense if anyone dared to make fun of her. Miss Jenny taught us to work as a family; to become a community.
Then came Mrs. Bartlett. 8th grade. Country school, mostly farm kids. Mrs. Bartlett was short, chunky, solid no-nonsense. She was tough! She spent all year teaching us with “there’s a method to my madness” comments sprinkled in often. She had a dry sense of humor, but would march right up to those almost-6′ farm boys and let them have it if they dared to show her disrespect. She polished us up, prepared us for life the best she could, toughened us up a bit. She cared. We always knew she cared and that’s why she was tough on us, wringing every bit out of us she could. We learned to stick together in Mrs. Bartlett’s class. We helped each other, anonymously bought the “poor” kids shoes when they needed them, included everyone when we had parties, because Mrs. Bartlett taught us to respect her and each other. She cared, so we cared. She led, pushed and pulled us farther along life’s road.
As teachers, we have the opportunity to teach so much more than subject matter. We have the chance to lead, guide and walk beside our students so we can be a Miss Jenny or Mrs. Bartlett in some student’s memory. Here’s your chance to spotlight your favorite teacher, sharing a life lesson he or she taught you. We teachers all need positive reasons to keep on keeping on, and learning how to become someone’s “favorite” is real incentive.
Submitted by a retired 30-year career high school teacher from Missouri
