KIPP Dawson teaches middle school in Pittsburgh. She is a brave union activist; she began her career as a coal miner, and worked underground for ten years. She has worked even longer in the classroom, where she brings with her the same courage, integrity, and determination. Here are her initial reflections on the AFT convention on Los Angeles. I hope we will hear more:
KIPP writes:
Dear friends, your hard work on behalf of our kids and schools, ALL of it, made a BIG impact on the AFT convention just ending now in Los Angeles, from where i write this. I am mostly without Internet connection for the last and next few days, and will write more when I can. Most important point: our movement for social justice unionism, and for our kids and schools, shifted the whole “playing field” here. We move forward with more strength after the debates and contributions here, from the call to action from Moral Monday’s Rev. William Barber to the strong discussion contributions from our colleagues from around the country (with special thanks to our wonderful CTU and CORE sisters and brothers for their leadership). Much more to be said, but as George Schmidt notes in his comments on the photo he shared of Pia Payne-Shannon, votes tell only a small part of a story full of victories. La lutte continue (the struggle continues), and on ever-stronger ground. Your voices are being heard, your examples are inspiring, and we will win this.
KIPP
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As long as our corrupt union leadership continues to sell us down the river I cannot share Ms. Dawson’s optimism.
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So many people came up to me to talk about Chicago’s Common Core fight that I couldn’t even get all their names. Even many of those who voted against us from New York told me that they were really “for” us but… blah blah blah. I just smiled when someone does that “First they came for the ….” stuff. My Dad taught me that strategy is as important, and sometimes more important, than tactics. He got to France a few weeks after D-Day and walked from the English channel to the Austrian Alps from August 1944 through May 1945 playing a small part in ending Nazism. He was the first G.I. into Nachtweiler, he said and I believe his version. But he always reminded me that had not our brothers and sisters in Russia, Yugoslavia, and even Norway not been tying up dozens of German divisions in June, July and August 1944 “we never would have gotten ten miles from those beaches…”
You can lose a battle or two (for even a week, see “Battle of the Bulge…” December 16, 1944 for an American example) and still win a war. Our family was never conflicted about which side we were on in that epic. But being Schmidts, my Dad and his brothers (one other of whom fought Nazis directly, two others of whom were in armed conflict; and my Mom was a nurse on Okinawa from April through October 1945) had to face a different challenge, which they eventually told their children about. Nazi officers were trained to try and fraternize with American G.I.s with German names. In order to dissuade them from doing that, especially when the great POW lines began forming up after March 1945, some soldiers had to lock and load their weapons and say “No thank you” forcefully. “I am NOT your Kamarade…”
Military analogies are never the best, but certainly better if historically accurate than some of the sillier metaphors we faced from Unity and the opponents of our Common Core and Arne Duncan positions. (Gad! “Babies often need to be taken out of soiled bathwaters, etc. Pia had fun with that silly stuff…). And we have to remember, now that the most accurate histories are being published, that after we won at Stalingrad we still had to win at Kursk and continue all the way to Berlin (for some of our allies) or into the Austrian Alps (where the 44th Infantry U.S. Infantry finished its war). “Unconditional surrender” had to be the finish, because the Armistice on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month left open the narrative door for the Mein Kampf stab in the back version…
Anyway, we actually won a large victory by losing one battle this past weekend. I can’t imagine how Randi is going to update us every month about how AFT is forcing the states and Department of Education to fix Common Core. But I’ll soon begin asking for the updates and publishing the answers.
And to make things even better at the end, the AFT managed to repair the resolution on Ukraine so that we weren’t out there supporting “freedom fighters” who traced their roots to Nazis and anti-Semites. I’m going to report that by tomorrow (it’s backlogged), but everyone worked on it well, and when the sister from San Francisco began her speech by reminding those of us who were listening to that “International Relations” debate that she was from Ukraine and then reminded us that Stephen Bandera and a lot of the history is a history of Nazism in Eastern Europe it was just clear we were all respecting the complexity of truly important questions…
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I watched the debate live-streamed, Tim. What you’re refusing to do is to even CONSIDER that the work of the membership might be more transformational at this time, regardless of Randi’s clinging to her outmoded and failed policy of centralized collusion.
I can’t find a video of Pia Payne Shannon’s three minutes, but one will surface. Kim and I I, and many others, heard her rock the house. Many others spoke of the work they will continue to do in their own locals and states.
https://twitter.com/search?src=typd&q=pia%20payne%20shannon
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Detroit emergency manager pushes debt service onto kids:
http://metrotimes.com/news/news-features/detroit-public-schools-em-shifts-funds-from-classroom-1.1719685#.U8Zz9oPje2w.twitter
How great is that! Detroit school children are paying the banks back. Where are our national celebrity finance sector ed reformers? Do they have no clout in this area?
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It’s always interesting to hear about the AFT conventions. As a representative of the largest school in Queens, I’m excluded. That’s because I refuse to sign a loyalty oath swearing to support whatever UFT leadership does. These things have included, but are not limited to, charter schools, colocations, mayoral control, VAM, Common Core, and making teachers substitutes rather than placing them in classrooms, even as TNTP recruits with no experience were added.
None of those things have served the interests of my members, or public school parents or students. It’s very sad that the largest local in the country builds brick walls around its most active members rather than embracing them. In fact, having an elite, invite-only group make all decisions runs counter to the very notion of union.
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Where’s the reflection??? I read nothing in this piece that has me believing in my union. Nor do I believe that the interests of the majority of teachers in this country was served. The only winner is Randi.
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Movement for social justice unionism is the direction that will not only save unionism but, more important, save the children from a shattered system of education.
Now the time has come to take a long hard look at Common Core with our minds forever on social justice. Let the descussion begin. Look for my new book coming out soon, Brainstorming Common Core. You will never again think the same about education.
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Credit is due to whomever, at AFT, organized the boycott of Staples. The support for postal workers was a success, much appreciated.
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The NEA hard line on Common Core was heard loud and clear. At the AFT convention there was a loud thud. Nothing more. Very disappointing.
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