In a move that was not unexpected, the leadership of the National Education Association endorsed Hillary Clinton for President.
Hillary’s campaign faces a strong challenge from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who may well win the primaries in New Hampshire and Iowa. And the yes-no, will-he-or-won’t-he non-campaign of Vice President Joe Biden has drained support from Hillary.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Huge mistake, much too early. Oust Lily. Oust Randi. Just keep stabbing us in the back. Morale can’t get lower. They are in bed with privatizers to destroy our profession and when we burn, you burn with us. It’s only a matter of time.
Should she be elected, it will be interesting to see how NEA’s members respond when the Bush/Obama education agenda is continued and strengthened. Let’s hope we have a real election and Bernie wins.
Are you a Hillary supporter? Or should we focus on the best candidate for our public schools?
NEA didn’t ask the rank and file. I am voting for #BernieSanders2016.
This is a sad situation. When we will focus on the issues instead of politics as usual for individuals?
Do you think the financial support of Bill Gates has influenced the NEA? NEA receives donations every year from Gates. In 2013 it was around $5,000,000. No matter what the outcome, at least I can live with some hope right now with the prospect of Bernie getting elected.
Is it even worthwhile to belong to an organization that is deliberately supporting the dismantling of public education?
I’m ashamed I ever joined. They duped me! I’m resigning as fast as possible.
This was just a bad move. It was too early. It will erode support for Hillary and it has tainted our relationship with Lily. The worst thing you can do to the members is ignore them. The bill for this is going to be enormous. It was frustrating when Randi did it, It is devastating when NEA does it. When you lose faith in your members they lose faith in you.
I support Hillary.
I support you staying home on election day.
I would rather vote for Deez Nuts than Hillary any day of the week.
TRO, I may not agree with someone’s vote but I respect their right to cast it.
I am amazed how people are unable to simply state their opinion without someone responding so inappropriately.
Why? I can think of absolutely NO reason to support Hillary Clinton for any office of any sort. Duplicitous, evasive, untrustworthy – these are the adjectives that pop in my head when I see or hear her. And the years and years of political baggage she carries – not what the country needs inthe office of the Chief Executive.
I am amazed that are actually people stupid enough to inappropriately vote for Hillary..
I was a Hillary supporter until I heard Bernie. Just her hypocritical stance on Citizens United is enough for me to see her for who she really is. She says she believes that Citizens United is wrong and is detrimental to a healthy democracy but she takes the big money because she says its the only way to compete. She implies that she’ll change campaign finance once she gets in. Bernie says its wrong and doesn’t take the money. He represents me. Hillary’s net worth is between 30 and 40 million. She just spent $600 on a haircut. A private rich person can do what they want but she wants to be a public figure and represent US citizens. Can you afford a $600. haircut? As a teacher, my last haircut was $14 and I put it on a credit card to be paid with the next paycheck. Imagine in her position, spending $600 on a haircut when 37% of our children are living in poverty and 1,000,000 went bankrupt last year because of medical bills. Even if Bernie had a full head of hair, can you imagine him spending $600 on a haircut? His wife probably cuts his hair. Hillary is out of touch. The haircut is an example of an elitist ruling class of oligarchs. We need to stop the insanely wealthy people from sucking the life out of our country because of their greed. No CEO is worth tens of millions while they ask employees for concessions on pension plans and while they send jobs overseas. Hillary has flip flopped on every issue over the years depending on political advantage. Bernie has been solid as a rock since the 70’s. Be sure to watch the debates.
Amen!
I wonder what they do to you(one) to make you think that haircut is worth $600.
Supporting someone who takes lightly Bengazzi?! Who can’t be honest and take responsibility for using her private server? Who changes her platform depending upon her audience! Ugh!
Benghazi. Give me a break. The RNC Chair just admitted that was all a crock. There are plenty of real reasons to dislike her.
What a crock! I pay hundreds of dollars in dues every year, and THIS is what I get?? Ms. Garcia has really jumped the shark on this one. I am incredibly disappointed in her decision – and it was her decision, no one from NEA central asked me, or any of the dozens and dozens of teachers I know and work with around the country what we thought about this. I would be willing to wager that if the entire membership were surveyed, that Bernie Sanders would be the clear and decisive choice of a very very large majority of the NEA. Heck, I would be willing to bet he would score over 70% of the NEA vote.
I really had high hopes for Ms. Garcia, but I am finished. I am now looking for a candidate for NEA leadership who TRULY represents the membership, not the corporate interests of the billionaire class.
At least the AFT had the common decency to lie about polling their membership to justify their own foolish endorsement. NEA just did it on their own.
The leadership of these two organizations are as out of touch with their membership as the politicians in Washington are with the American People.
Oh no – NEA is also saying they polled membership! According to Board members from my state NEA membership supports Hillary 2-1! BS. Not buying it. Voting for Bernie. Discontinuing my PAC contributions and funneling them directly to Bernie.
What kind if union officials endorse a candidate without polling their constituents….and then lie about it? Why would they both do this so early in the election season unless they were promised some quid pro quo? Both Randi and Lily did their members, and the country, a great disservice by playing this political poker and cheating.
Nobody asked me my opinion and I pay hefty dues. I’m afraid my dues don’t compare with Bill Gates’s donations. I am resigning and with the money I save on this year’s remaining union dues I will send Bernie a generous donation.
If anyone had listened to those of us in Utah, none of you would be surprised or disappointed by Lily’s stance, because she decimated the union in Utah on her way to the top at NEA. She won’t even come back and fight for Utah students and teachers while the legislature destroys public education in Utah. UEA once had a true voice. She destroyed that and doesn’t seem to care. This is nothing new.
Lots of NEA members are pretty conservative, especially those from the South. I doubt they’d vote for a socialist.
Socialist or not (and he’s not a true socialist), early endorsements give away whatever influence a union might have. Plus, the obvious lies about polling the membership prior to making the endorsement just highlight how out of touch the union leadership is with the membership.
This decision by NEA was just as wrong-headed as the earlier decision by AFT. It will cost each union the support it needs at such a difficult time for education and unions in particular. The membership is angry, and cavalier decisions made like this will just make things worse.
I saw that the firefighter’s Union un-endorsed her as well.
I think it’s better that we have debates and a primary rather than the early coronation of a candidate.
So Bernie recognizes that he has the support of many in the rank and file. I want to see some concrete evidence that he understands the destructiveness of the high stakes testing. I agree with a lot of what he has to say on many issues, but he needs to show me that he is listening. He may not always agree but I want the positions of progressive educators recognized. So far, I don’t think he has shown that recognition. We have talked to a blank wall through Obama’s presidency; we cannot afford another presidency that dismisses us.
I know from a personal conversation I had several months ago that Bernie COMPLETELY understands the destructiveness of privatization and sees the connection between testing and privatization. Read his response to the AFT’s question about the reauthorization of NCLB if you want further reassurance that he “gets it”:
http://www.aft.org/election2016/candidate-questionnaire-bernie-sanders
Good link! Why do people on this board perpetuate the myth that Bernie takes no position on ed policy? It’s all right there.
Easy question to answer: it’s easier to parrot then to research. Same thing happens each election cycle.
For that matter, it happens with many topics. Rather than checking facts, it’s so much easier to “forward.”
For all the hype about teaching critical thinking skills (for at least the last two decades) there is not much evidence of success.
Do you have a link to Hillary’s answers? I read them a few days ago and now can’t find them. Bernie says more than I realized, and I would vote for him without further assurance, but I would really like to know who is advising him on education policy.
Here’s the link to Hillary’s answers: http://www.aft.org/election2016/candidate-questionnaire-hillary-rodham-clinton
She says things that are difficult to disagree with.. but.. compare her answers to Bernie’s… one question I hope the candidates are asked in the debate next week is who THEY would like to have seen replace Arne Duncan… THAT would be revealing… I’m not sure who Bernie listens to but he couldn’t go wrong by listening to VT’s current commissioner of education, Rebecca Holcombe…
Rebecca Holcombe certainly sounds like a good start.
Hillary has her sound bites down cold.
Glad to hear this! Hillary will be a great president.
Ah, sarcasm! I was afraid you were serious for a moment there….
W/o the rank and file votes the endorsement is meaningless and she doesn’t have all of us, not even a majority so don’t get too excited. #feelthebern
Shakes sarcasmometer. Hummm, is it working? Damn no repair shop open this late on a Friday evening.
Lily endorsed Hillary today.
Historically, Iowa winners have seldom brought for national winners
Our state association President wrote the NEA membership here in Pennsylvania tonight to explain his support of the leadership vote to endorse Hillary. His explanation was disappointing to say the least and serves to demonstrate once again that the NEA, like the United States, is not a democracy but an oligarchy which is heedless of the membership it is supposed to serve. We are told that Hillary deserves our support because she says all the right things about public education, unions, and collective bargaining. So did Barack Obama, and now we have John King in charge of the DOE. We are told the NEA had to give this early endorsement because it gives us a greater voice when Hillary is deciding on her education policies. Wouldn’t our voice be stronger if we withheld the endorsement until we receive real promises on education policy? We are told Hillary has the best chance of winning in 2016. How can the leadership know that now, especially when the polls show that not necessarily to be the case, her email controversy is constantly evolving, Joe Biden could still declare, there has yet to be a Democrat debate, and Bernie Sanders generates all the enthusiasm. The NEA has been weak on charters, vouchers, testing, common core, and now this. Hillary must be laughing, in private, at how weak the NEA and the AFT are..
The only way we get our union and democracy back is by ending Citizens United, and the only candidate squarely on our side is Bernie Sanders. Feel the Bern.
I am resigning. They didn’t even wait to hear the first debate which is just days away. I think they are afraid how Hillary will look compared to Bernie. For those of you who want to resign you can download a sample resignation letter. It’s recommended that you send it certified mail. If you are in a right to work state like Texas, you should be able to stop payments and get out. This is not a union that represents me.
This morning, when I received Lily’s email announcement about this, my stomach turned immediately, I felt enraged and I unsubscribed from all NEA emails. Unfortunately, they didn’t care enough to ask why one is compelled to unsubscribe.
Below is a copy of Lily’s email. Note how she refers to the endorsement as a “recommendation,” and how she had the gall to claim that such a critical top-down decision made by union leaders is “what democracy looks like.” The entire message is propaganda, IMHO:
“NEA’s presidential primary recommendation
My fellow educators,
I wanted to be the first to let you know that your elected representatives to the NEA PAC Council and the NEA Board of Directors took action to recommend Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary for President of the United States. I am so proud of the thoughtful, thorough and incredibly rich discussion that your elected leaders held. It was truly what democracy looks like.
I am also extremely proud of this decision because I know that Hillary is a strong leader who will do what’s best for the future of all of America’s students and public schools.
After an extensive review of the candidates and an in-depth discussion, your leaders saw what I know – Hillary Clinton will be a champion for students and educator in the White House. She has a 30 year history of standing up for students and strong public schools and has actively engaged in conversations with educators in this campaign. Secretary Clinton told your leaders today that she won’t make a single decision about developing education policy without educators being in the room.
As a U.S. Senator, Hillary Clinton was a champion for our cause, earning an “A” grade from the NEA for her support on the issues most important to our students, but even before serving in the Senate, Clinton was a champion of the students we educate. While every first lady has an admirable cause, Hillary chose to stand up to the for-profit healthcare industry to advocate for children’s healthcare. Her campaign ultimately led to the largest expansion of public health care in decades, when millions of American children received health coverage under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Even before running for president, Hillary championed early education and affordable college, and she sponsored efforts to ensure equal pay for equal work and to make it easier for workers to join a union.
See for yourself – click here to learn more about where Hillary stands on the issues.
And in 2016, the stakes for strong public schools will be too high to sit on the sidelines! Right now, there are presidential hopefuls who have made a career of attacking educators and public education to the detriment of students. They have allies like the Koch brothers, who have committed to spend $1 billion to defeat a pro-public education candidate like Hillary Clinton and taking control of the White House.
With so much at stake, you cannot sit on the sidelines – America’s students need you today! And that is why I am asking you to join our campaign stand up for our students and make sure that we give all students the opportunity to a quality education. Please sign up here.
Together, we can help elect Hillary Clinton as our next president and ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.
Gracias,
– Lily
Lily Eskelsen Garcia
National Education Association President”
Paternalistic to the core! “We, your leaders, have decided for you…”
At least she is honest by stating she is not interested in anyone else’s opinion except hers.
What a horrible person.
“Clinton told your leaders today that she won’t make a single decision about developing education policy without educators being in the room.”
Bound and gagged, of course.
Kinda like they were for this decision and the one that Weingarten just made.
“Lillary’s Promise”
I’ll never make decisions
Without you in the loop
And always make provisions
Like Duck tape for your lip
@Linda1746: In other news while @Lily_NEA was endorsing @HillaryClinton the people of Boston were rallying #FeelTheBern http://t.co/R2oNdQcOnc
Does teachers’ union endorsement even matter nowadays? I suspect some NJ teachers and their spouses voted for Christie in his two elections (tax issues).
I’ve been astounded when reading about teacher turnout for elections. Dr Ravitch wrote in 2014 about the two FL counties where educators running for BEd didn’t get elected.
Any agenda short of getting the federal government out of k-12 education is a waste of time. The federal government accounts for about 10% of k-12 spending, but it has a massive negative impact. You have an unresponsive President, unresponsive unions, and irresponsible special interests pushing policies detrimental to students, their families, their communities, and their teachers.
It seems that conservatives have finally woken up and figured out that they can’t trust any of their establishment candidates. You Democrats are still deluded.
Talk about deluded! The non-establishment candidate that conservatives are enamored by today is billionaire Donald Trump. That’s a far cry from Bernie Sanders, the candidate most of us have made it clear that we trust more than Hillary Clinton, because Sanders is clearly NOT in cahoots with billionaires who inhabit a very different world, measure success with dollar signs and see those who are less advantaged as chattel to be dominated and exploited.
Don’t count on major candidates from either party to address the grossly inequitable distribution of wealth in this country, because most are on board with the neoliberal economic policies which caused that, as well as the monetization and privatization of public services, including education. If you actually read what regulars here write, you might have noticed how often lifelong Democrats indicate we do not support the Democratic leadership and their policies, and many of us voted third party in the last presidential election for the first time in our lives because of that. Sanders is really an Independent, not a Democrat.
I am discontinuing my PAC contributions and giving them directly to Bernie Sanders.
This recommendation is futile, nothing could convince me to vote for Hillary Clinton.
She’s an opportunistic warmonger.
That endorsement does not speak for this NEA member. I will be discontinuing my NEA PAC membership and sending the money to Bernie. When you take my voice out of the political decisions NEA makes, then you don’t deserve my money.
Game over. Now that America has become an OLIGARCHY, we have very wealthy Directors such as Gates, Zuckerberg, Waltons, Koch Boys, Broad, and a few others telling the political stooges how the rest of us should be treated. I hope everyone studied their history from 1870 to about 1935 because we are about to repeat it only on a larger scale because these Directors want to control the entire planet. What happened to the 1960’s intelligentsia or their current members? Are they all on the payroll of one of these Directors? And people wonder why something like the violent riots of the 60’s occurred? Why a Civil War where thousands had to die? Why resistance in the Ukraine is so vital to world piece? Wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL IF 500,000 PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD WOULD MAKE A PILGRIMAGE TO UKRAINE AND STAYED UNTIL THE RUSSIANS LEFT. People do this each year to Mecca, so why not the Ukraine? Why do we behave like sheep so often and when something is obviously wrong, why are we not able to stand together and say no more? I am leaving my grandchildren a world that is moving in the wrong direction and I feel like the choices we are being given may end up in total obedience or total chaos. I feel like they have backed us into a corner and this may turn out very bad. I have asked before and am asking again, where is our next Theodore Roosevelt or Franklin or Abraham? Do we have a Gandhi out there? We have no where to go to get away as our ancestors did so we may start over. We are becoming the Place our ancestors rejected! How and why did we allow them, These Directors and Obama and Duncan and now King, to create this chaos and this future for our grandchildren? Are we so preoccupied with material wealth and our new toys that we are not aware of this happening around us? I wish I could convince my children to move their families to somewhere like New Zealand. I see very little hope for America’s future except for the few at the top. I knew when our Supreme Court justices declared Corporations as people, we were headed into chaos.
Charles, you are not the only one who sees it like you describe. But don’t be so pessimistic. It’s a struggle. Bernie gives us hope that we can pull back from the greed of the wealthy elite. Look at where Germany was just an historically short time ago. They rebuilt their country literally from scratch and in the 90’s when The Wall fell they absorbed the entire East Germany in a mere 10 years. We can demand our country back. We need people like you to spread the word to get informed and VOTE! We can turn things around in a relatively short time. I have children too and I want them to have a great country to live in. Life is a struggle from the first breath to the last. Each generation has to learn the history and continue the struggle. Complacency allows the greedy to do their dirty work.
Time to START A NEW NATIONAL TEACHER ORGANIZATION THAT REALLY REPRESENTS TEACHER’S OPINIONS.
I DON’T KNOW ANYONE WHO WILL VOTE FOR HER–
WHAT PLANET IS NEA ON?
NEA does not poll it’s members. Policy is determined through the ballot box. The elected representatives from each school district meet yearly. These meetings are held nationally each summer. Like wise there is a state meeting held each spring which your elected school AR (association representative or building rep.) attends. On the national level the elected union president or representatives along with this person’s elected staff members vote at this convention. They also discuss many other items as well. My district Union president stated that they discussed over 250 items of business this past summer. Should the Union have waited till next summer to discuss the presidential election a few months prior to the elections? Would that really be prudent?
Union presidents are elected for two year terms and may serve if I remember correctly two terms or a total of four years. Your building rep. or AR should hold an election each school year for that position. Your local president and staff meet with the ARs on a monthly basis. The Union staff also meets regularly with the superintendent and the local school board.
I have now been an AR for six years because no one else in my building will run for the possition. When I hold meetings to share information from the Union or to gather oppinions from the staff, I often get only 4-6 members in attendance. If you wish to see a change, become more active in the Union itself. Make your oppinions known. I nor any other representative can read your mind. I honestly do send concerns forward to my local Union board.
What many educators are failing to see is that their inactivity with the Union is crippling the Union. The Union must have a minimum of 50% of teachers as members to negotiate with the school board/ district to negotiate contracts. When long term members are inactive, younger teachers fail to see the importance of joining the Union. When long term members are inactive, local political leaders see the Union as a pestering mosquito, not worth more than a swat on the behind. 100% of union dues are used to support Union staff and teachers. Some states collect PAC funds along with dues. In my state this is illegal. Teachers must pay PAC funds separately. I am the only member in my building who contributes to the PAC funds. This fund pays for a sub when teachers pursue a political action and are needed at the legislature. My Union can no longer do this. The fund also contributed to the election funds of educationally friendly candidates. This fund can no longer give substantial contributions. My local district has the highest funding for this in our state. I find it crazy that teachers decided to withdraw from contributing to this fund. The contribution before the law changed was $2.49 per month or $24.90 per year. We only collect dues for 10 months in the year.
The Union negotiates much more than just the teacher’s pay and benefits. The Union brought about safe working conditions for students and adults. The Union also represents teachers in private disputes with administration. I have personally sat in meetings as a teacher representative when a teacher felt unfairly threatened by the administrator of our building. The Union also provides legal aid when needed. Don’t mistake your district’s promise to support you in a law suit. They will only support you if it is also in their own interest. The union represents your interest.
Should the Union fail, teachers will need to negotiate their own contracts. You might need to kiss your negotiated insurance goodbye. You might need to kiss your negotiated paid sick leave and paid personal leave goodbye. You might need to kiss your steps and lanes goodbye. And you might need to kiss your negotiated pension fund goodbye. To say that we do not need our Union is naive. And I agree with Charles, look at the labor violence of the early twentieth century. Do we really want to revisit this? Make no mistake about this the need for unions is still needed. If this were not so then the CEOs of our major corporations would not be fighting so hard to dismantle them. STAND UP for your UNION!
YES, NEA should have waited until next summer. It is NOT necessary to endorse anyone this early, and just means that Hillary will take teachers and education for granted. What did the two Obama endorsements get us?
We can stand up TO AND FOR our unions. It is not necessary to show union support by rolling over, playing dead, and giving our money. We should be disagreeing with our union when necessary, and they should listen to us. That’s not starting up union violence from the early 20h century.
“NEA does not poll it’s members.”
Union members do not get to vote for the union president either. If only Congress could vote for the US president, do you think Americans would feel they are heard and fully represented? I highly doubt it. There is no reason to have faith in the ballot box when only a select few get to use it, especially when it comes to choosing the most powerful leader. A true democracy does not omit the voices and votes of the populous from critical matters. That’s why jurisdictions have referendums. No wonder you don’t get much teacher involvement. The powers that be and their decision-making processes are too far removed and insulated from the rank and file for educators to feel their participation matters under the current power structure.
Teacher’s unions are very much needed, but they must STAND UP for EDUCATORS and stop playing footsies with those who are involved in destroying the profession, dismantling public education AND breaking labor unions across this country.
The endorsement of Hillary is certainly not the only transgression. The NEA leadership’s collaboration with Duncan in crafting their (wink, wink, nod, nod) condemnation of him is another example of how they have a pattern of betraying educators in the trenches by playing both sides of the fence. That includes their ongoing push for the developmentally inappropriate Common Core and all that money they took from Bill Gates to promote his agenda: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/How-We-Work/Quick-Links/Grants-Database#q/k=nea
Both teacher’s unions have been sleeping with the enemy and educators SHOULD be enraged by their duplicity.
I’m enraged by all the sleeping they have done with he enemy, which is why smaller, more local unions are left to clean this mess up.
“Trojan Ends”
Sleeping with the enemy
(In separate rooms, of course)
NEA and AFT
Are like the Trojan Horse
There is a perverse irony in all of this: the “reformers” claim that the unions are blocking their “progress” while the unions end up supporting candidates who ultimately mandate the tests that Christie, Walker, Kasich, Brownback, et al use to beat up the teachers, privatize schools, and diminish public support for funding.
I will be heard by my vote. #neadoesntspeakf4me.
#bernieorbust I’m done with games
Are all educators one-issue Democrats?
All issues are interrelated. Education “reform” is just one facet of neoliberalism. Hillary supports all facets.
Dienne, please be sure to watch the debates. Hillary is part of the problem. She does not represent the people. She represents the elitist wealthy ruling class in America that is literally destroying our once great country. She is a hypocrite. Check out her stance on Citizens United and her willingness to take the financial advantage of it at the same time! Check out how her position on issues has flip flopped over the years to suit her political advantage. Bernie has been solid as a rock since the 70’s. US education is being hijacked by big money, Gates, Koch brothers, Walton family and the like. Hillary is in the pocket of big banks. Just check out the debates and do a little more research. I can’t imagine that an informed individual would go for any one other than Bernie. No matter what the outcome, at least I can live with hope for a while. I’m feeling the Bern.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Where one stands on “ed-reform” paints a reliable portrait of the candidate.
Janet, I think you misunderstood Dienne. She is not a fan of neoliberalism.
Janet, I think Dienne already knows this very well and that’s precisely what she was implying.
Self-serving neoliberal economic policies, which have tentacles in education, is the legacy of Bill and Hillary is just as culpable. Recall how they both turned the Lincoln bedroom in the White House into “Fat Cat Hotel,” a money maker supporting their political campaigns” http://www.publicintegrity.org/2000/09/22/3267/white-house-overnight-guests-listed
Bill Gates is a big financial supporter of NEA. I wonder if NEA is being influenced by Gates and his push towards charters and the dismantling and privatization of public schools? Ya think? I’m feeling the Bern so strong now, I gotta take a cold shower!
“The Dollar Dance”
Gates is pulling $tring$
On union leader ring$
They dance around the Core
And will for ever more
The “Common” is what they really dance around.
Yes, since they feel personally secure,
they were able to find common ground
themselves for coordinating their movements,
as allies protecting the prize
that comes from the policies to monetize and privatize,
while they feign altruism and goals for improvements.
But if their own regal station is to endure,
they must ensure the implementation of the serf’s cure,
each with the vigilant verve of a sentry:
in essence, life on the commoner’s ground should
never again get too good
for peasants, who were born to serve the gentry.
Go Bernie!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just like AFT…. no one polled me or any other member that I”m aware of. Bernie Sanders for president!
I look forward to the email I am going to get from the NEA in regards to renewing membership. I will tell them exactly why I will not be joining this year. I will try to refrain from any impolite commentary but it sure is getting harder to do so. And like Chazanoff… GO BERNIE GO!
I can’t get enough of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’s show about standardized testing. I watched it after I heard Hillary sing on SNL last night, to cheer me up.
https://dianeravitch.net/2015/05/04/john-oliver-on-testing-and-pearson-on-hbo/
In the show, about 5-6 minutes in, there’s a clip from the 2008 Obama campaign in which he addressed the NEA. After reading the Politico article, http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/09/arne-duncan-education-profile-000231, in the the post above this one, I am particularly shocked when reminded of Obama’s 2008 words to teachers, “Don’t tell us that the only way to educate a child is to have him spend too much of a year preparing him to fill out a few bubbles on a standardized test!” He lied to us.
He lied to us!!! We have been deceived. We have been abused by Obama and Duncan. Like a dog that’s been mistreated, we’re ready to bark at and bite every person we meet. We need patience and gentleness in large quantities.
We also need to heal as quickly as possible. That doesn’t mean trusting reformers; it means learning not to bite the hand if it tries to feed us. With full throat, I support Bernie Sanders for president. He seems the most sincere. I also support my unions, UTLA, CTA, and yes, NEA. (And I’d like to support BATS if I could find a mailing address since I personally choose not engage in online spending/donating.). We must continue to support unions through thick and thin. That’s really what all this stuff is all about, when the day is done.
Mrs. Clinton’s platform has an education section. It’s problematic and doesn’t inspire any confidence that she would change the current course. It does at least mention trying ro reduce class sizes while she was in Arkansas, but doesn’t say whether that happened or not. On the other hand, Mr. Sanders’ platform doesn’t seem to have an education section. I don’t know if I’ve heard him talk about education at all.
I think both Sanders and Clinton are reluctant to take a position because it would alienate the deep pocketed donors like Broad and Gates. I am weary of political games and double speak.
Diane posted both Bernie’s and Hillary’s answers to the AFT questionnaire and Bernie was very specific while Hillary spoke in generalities. But you are right, Once in office, they change their mind. Case in point Obama and deBlasio.
Mr. Sanders has said many times that he is not interested in money from billionaires. Still, I would like to hear him talk specifically about this. He has a record in the senate that we can examine to see what he’s actually done. Politicians can lie or change their minds, but their records can’t do either of those things.
It concerns me that some progressive education activists would rather topple the whole system than take their chances with Hillary who has persevered in that system for decades. The calls by some activist teachers to hold off on any early endorsement completely ignore the painful history of the Obama Administration. Getting elected Preaident the first time around despite AFT’s endorsement of Hillary and NEA’s late endorsement only afte his nomination was in the bag, he knew he could make education policy without so much as talking to a teacher about it. Just like with the AFT, the NEA endorsement shows a sophisticated union keyed into the political realities.
Check out the graphic here is you can access via Twitter. This was staged propaganda. Only Hillary appears on the day of the endorsement and two states totalling 932 votes no show. Bullhsit…political ploy to get the results Lily wanted. See hashtag #neadoesntspeak4me.
NJ/ CA plan not to show up, 932 votes lost, political maneuver? https://t.co/S9V2oYRnRT
Union endorsements only matter in the primaries. AFT backed the losing horse last time and so Obama owed them little when he one. I guess time will tell if the same thing might happen with Bernie or if an early endorsement of Hillary is a winning strategy.
I think Bernie has a real shot at the nomination because he clearly represents people vs big business. I’m really curious to see what happens in the debates as Hillary tries to tack left. I think it just hurts her credibility. It may be her better strategy is to talk about her electability, though I think she has a real credibility problem with voters.
For the last decade, I’ve been thinking that social media will be the great equalizer when it comes to politics and will enable a progressive, populist candidate to win despite a lack for financing from big business. Television is expensive, but now near useless for advertising.
Hopefully now is the time. We really need a leader like Bernie to better balance people in the equation of people vs. business.
I highly recommend this article about Bernie’s time as governor of Burlington. http://www.thenation.com/article/bernies-burlington-city-sustainable-future/. Read it and ask yourself, would we be better off with him or with Hillary. It was an easy answer for me. The whole government has shifted right (Bill was another example), and that has left the mainstream democratic candidate well to the right of me, and it seems of many more here.
As to electability, who the heck will we be running against? I don’t know which of the republicans in the clown car will win, but we all know that Bernie’s agenda will be better for people; I’m hopeful that populism wins over beltway allegiances this time around.
And yes, this is the same John that will disagree with you on other topics tomorrow ;-).
John,
You are usually defending corporate interests on this blog. Eva can do no wrong. She deserves every penny of her $600,000 pay, maybe more. Now you chime in to criticize Hillary and support Bernie. I think you are a double agent for the 1%, maybe Bush.
The GOP strategy is to destroy Hillary now, then destroy Bernie next.
Stick to defending the charter scams.
Diane,
I don’t support the 1% agenda in any way, and as you well know, I’m very critical of anything resembling a scam in the charter world.
I know you like to put black hats or white hats on everybody, but that doesn’t always work. I’m a Democrat, and I support Bernie. He’s who I’ll vote for and who I’ve donated to.
You *think* I represent “corporate interests” because I disagree with you a lot. Try looking at my positions through the lens of what’s best for students and low-SES families and you will find that they’re completely consistent.
John,
Sorry but I don’t think that the charters represent the best interests of children in poverty, nor do the Wall Street billionaires that fund their start up.
Certainly understand that you feel that way, but I feel completely differently. The options for kids in my community had grown complacent and did not adjust what they were doing in any way as the population around them changed. Anyone who could afford to sent their kids to private school or moved to the suburbs.
As I’ve mentioned before, more affluent schools in the district got good facilities and programs, while less affluent schools got the least motivated teachers and no books.
I tried hard to have an influence on the district schools before giving up and starting a charter. I know my kids are way better off for it, and frankly, we’ve also caused the district to up its game in many ways.
You would prefer that my families be stuck in schools that they don’t want to be in. That is not in their or their kids’ best interests.
I was recently going to ask John if he’s a banker or a lawyer, but I was too busy. John, I think you should disclose a little bit about yourself.
Strange question for someone who posts anonymously.
Why is this necessary for those who disagree with some of the topics posted?
It seems that there are some who oppose open conversation. If it is the case that only those who agree need to reply, make that known to those who would disagree.
And if you think those who disagree should tell you more about themselves, make the same requirement for those who agree.
OMG, I said “when he one” instead of “when he won”. How embarrassing. I blame lack of coffee this morning.
FYI, I’m a small business owner. My education-related activities are volunteer. I don’t make any education-related money. My kids go to a great district school in a suburban area. My volunteer efforts are focused on nearby urban areas and low income families and have been for about 30 years.
John,
Why don’t you give your full name if you are not a teacher and don’t fear losing your job? You comment here daily defending a charters and Eva in particular. Inquiring minds want to know your agenda. No one has any reason to believe what you say about yourself because you post anonymously. You say you are not paid by the privatization guys, but you always defend them. Why? Who are you?
Diane,
I don’t give my full name because I can’t see how that could possibly be in the best interests of my students, and I try to make every decision based on that criteria.
I don’t defend charters in general. You know I don’t think there should be for-profit charters. You know I think there should be strict laws against self-dealing and conflicts of interest. You know that I agree that you can’t talk about % passing rates without talking about attrition.
What I defend is the best charters, and the concept of chartering that allows them to exist. I defend district schools that are doing right by students too.
I don’t defend Eva. I explained that her salary comes mostly from the fact that she raises a lot of money for her school. I’ve also said I wouldn’t support someone making that much and that the highest salary at my school is ❤ times the starting teacher salary.
The fact that you may not believe what I say is indicative of how polarized this discussion has become, and I think you play quite a role in that. I've provided some context for my views. If people want to understand something I've said, they can use that. If they choose to believe I am a fake or a shill, I think it's their loss. If they choose to ignore my posts, that's fine. I think it just makes it clear that they won't listen to a moderate voice. As I've said before, I'm sure it's the same way in the Fox News echo chamber.
A thought… Bernie looks like he's so far to the left because everyone else has moved to the right. Perhaps I look to the right on education issues because I'm in the middle relative to most here.
I don't buy the privatization meme. The people running not-for-profit charters aren't doing it for the sake of privatization or to take money out of the system. I know you've met many of them. Do you think otherwise? Do you think the teachers, parents, and students are in it to privatize? The fact that our missions and the mission of the privatizers overlap regarding unions does not make us the same. They want to destroy unions. I would rather see unions change than go away, though I'm not sure they can. As this post underscores, the union represents its own interests as much as it does those of teachers.
Last thought. I find the current state of the teaching profession and the forces it is subject to to be as counterproductive and disappointing as anybody. I do think accountability for outcomes and an increased focus on continuous professional development need to happen, but the current "war" over this is just miserable. I prefer teacher-driven plans like peer evaluation and support. I don't like seniority-driven placement, LIFO, and other policies that lead to a complete lack of systemic accountability.
Accountability and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. In their absence, legislatures and state education departments micromanage. If teachers want more responsibility (and independence, control of the workplace, etc.), and I think they should have it, they will have to be more accountable for the profession and outcomes.
When we had mostly affluent kids and outcomes were reasonable because they were easier to achieve, schools and teachers were largely left alone to do as they please. Now, we have mostly low income kids and the public wants more. Teachers who want to go back to the "leave us alone" days are not likely to get what they want because the push for accountability isn't going away.
Those that embrace accountability and responsibility will get a chance to shape it. I think educators should be taking a *much* more active voice on what to do instead of just opposing what is currently happening. In the absence of that, we end up with legislative solutions that are mostly junk.
John,
As you have read in many posts here, many charters collect public money and do not permit either responsibility or accountability.
You may think the views here are “extreme.” I don’t. I read every comment, and I would characterize the typical reader as a teacher or a parent who is genuinely concerned about their students/child/children, and fearful of the terrible destruction that the privatization movement is wreaking on public education. You may also know that whenever charters have been sued in court, their defense is that they are not public schools. I agree with them.
Every five years, my charter has to demonstrate that we get better than predicted (based on population served) results. If we don’t, we will be shut down. Many others have been for exactly that reason. It’s quite an incentive to work our hardest as a team.
That’s accountability and that’s how we earn our flexibility. We can be held responsible for results, so as long as we deliver, we get some measure of control over how we run our programs (while meeting curriculum, safety, and NCLB requirements) and while being subject to FOIL, FERPA, public meetings law, not-for-profit law, audits, etc.
The measures for accountability are narrower than I’d like, but they’re there and real.
Interesting. You did the same to me – and I use my real name, too!
Please be consistent, and either make it a rule for all contributors rather than only those who disagree with your point of view.
I’m with you, Schellekens, on the real name thing for obvious reasons. I first adopted my moniker as a snarky reaction to losing my job and also as a prediction of my chances of finding another. Predictably, although possibly not inevitably, I did not find another job teaching. Then my husband bought a part ownership in a small business, and I could not justify the chance that I could hurt it. I know of other small business owners whose involvement in civic affairs has affected their businesses. Feelings run high here and accusations and opinions that maybe should remain private are shared. Perhaps we all should use our real full names to limit the troll factor and possibly to make people think twice before they say something totally offensive. Anonymity does seem to loosen the tongue.
I have mixed reactions to my own union experiences especially since I never received the full benefit of union membership as only a part-time or provisional teacher. Unions are much better at protecting their fully vested members and are often limited by contract in what they can do for anyone who has not received full status. I am very aware, however, of the value of unions in establishing good, safe, working conditions and in bargaining for decent wages. I like the recent move toward social justice unionism and would like to see that continue. Every once in awhile I saw evidence of over zealous enforcement of union work rules that just struck me as idiocy. I know it was in reaction to an adversarial relationship between “management” and the union; both sides did stupid reactionary things because they could. At least, though, workers had a voice and were not unreasonably beholden to management. At some point, each side had to listen to and engage with the other.
As for charters, trying to sing the virtues of even the good charters here is not going to get a fair hearing. There is too much wrong with what is going on in the charter industry, and we are here to fight for quality public education. I don’t care what way you cut it; charters are not public schools and in too many instances are weakening their public counterparts. So John, you may be entirely sincere, but too often you come across as simply an agitator.
Unfortunately, I’ve gotten my family in some trouble because I speak out when j see wrong taking place. Three of us work in (different) school districts. So when a position is taken, negative things may happen.
I became a citizen to participate in the process in a way that counts. Alas, being a republican in a world filled with democrats is not always easy.
Anything I write, I use my own name. If I’m ashamed of an opinion, I should not express it under an alias.
And it causes me to think carefully about wording!
It works both ways, Schellekens. Stand in the middle of a Republican crowd as a Democrat and the reactions are no different.
“If I’m ashamed of an opinion, I should not express it under an alias.”
I totally agree.
That did it. John is buffering… OK, one more thing. You’re right, Diane, and so astute. Big news reported a rift in the union ranks, and all sorts of business types invaded your living room, claiming to be progressive democrats, to exploit the breach from within, and divide and conquer. That’s enough, John. That’s enough, company men. We see you.
The “heart” in my post was “3 times”.
Ah, the “reasonable” supporters of charters…
“I don’t buy the privatization meme.”
Of course the said commenter won’t admit to a “buy in” [hey, I can throw the bidness lingo around too!] to what is actually happening on the ground. For quite a while whenever someone on this blog brought up facts and data put together with logic and consistency it was dismissed—at rheephorm’s most polite—as “anecdotes.” Natcherly, when a shill or troll wrote that a distant cousin of a casual friend had an acquaintance that possibly had a child in a charter school that enjoyed the most marvelous educational experience in the world—ah! the stuff that dream are made of, as well as unalloyed golden hard data points of indisputable great worth.
But time marches on. I had to burst out laughing to see that the civil conversation that Peter “Let’s Monitor Diane Ravitch” Cunningham has called for now dismisses reality as a “meme.”
Always glad to see the supporters of “corporate education reform” [as the owner of this blog calls it] helping us follow doctor’s orders:
“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” [Dr. Charlie Chaplin]
This day was not wasted.
😎
P.S. From Peter Cunningham’s mouth to, er, some supernatural entity’s red ear that is flaming hot—
“During the Obama administration’s first term, I served as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach in the U.S. Department of Education, where one of my jobs was to monitor criticism of our policies and develop our responses. One of the people I monitored pretty closely was Diane Ravitch.”
Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-cunningham/ravitch-redux_b_3768887.html
Thank you, Karen. We cannot withdraw our support of the two most important teacher’s unions in the country. The conversation taking place about Berning our closest allies frightens me as much as a classroom visit by John Deasy. I like Bernie; that doesn’t mean I hate Hillary. I just look forward to open, democratic debate. We must support the National Education Association.
And thank you, John. Nicely stated as usual. Your debates with Dr. Ravitch are illuminating and brilliant on both sides. I look forward to more friendly disagreement.
So when you feel betrayed by those who claim to represent you, you still have to support them?
I’m sorry, but in which universe does that make sense?
Now you maybe understand a bit more about my aversion to unions.
These posts about the 2016 election sure do gather a lot of comments by people with usernames I don’t recognize. In my universe, taking power from unions means giving power to runaway wealth. And it is very necessary for shrinking unions to survive the attack, even if I disagree with how they seek to defend me. And now, I could use a cup of coffee too. Time for a break, then to planning lessons and the worst part of my job, preparing report cards.
I say bs. Obama did not screw education to get back at the AFT or the NEA. He did what he did because he was so inclined. He’s a corporate tool, just like most other politicians.
Including Hillary. Please as if the summer vote will be any different. Obey Lily and shut up.
I see some people have not heard much on Bernie’s education position. Here is how Bernie feels on education. You may not agree 100% on how he feels, as I have found noone that agrees with someone 100%. But he does not agree with standardized testing. And he believes everyone in America should have the right to be educated. http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-education/
While the link says a lot of good things about education, it avoids mentioning public education. Bernie voted for Every Child Achieves including the Murry Amendment; this is a concern to me. He needs a tutorial on what is at stake, democracy itself!
And here I thought that the whole debate and issue are great examples of democracy in action!
You may not like what is happening, and you have every right to voice that disagreement.
The other side, however, has the exact same right!
Democracy in action!
Schellekens,
Everyone has rights. But the playing field is uneven when one side has billions to sell their views to the public and the other has pennies, nickels, and dimes.
Diane,
At least in New York, last year was the first that ed reform political spending was higher than teacher’s union political spending. NEA and AFT spent $50 million in 2014. That doesn’t include states, locals, etc.
Hardly “pennies, nickels, and dimes”.
John,
The NEA and AFT represent their members. Who do the hedge fund managers represent? These are the people you refer to as “ed reform.”
Nine billionaires call themselves “Families for Excellent Schools” and they have spent as much in New York as two unions representing hundreds of thousands of teachers. Why should the wealth of these nine families outweigh the interests of teachers?
They shouldn’t. In ideal world. But in any two party system you run this risk. I grew up in a system with about 30 political parties. In order to govern, compromises have to be found. That, ably a six week election period. Amazing how little money gets spent in such a system!
Billionaires, far distant, geographically and economically, use their money to influence schools across the nation. Ohioans, when polled, say they don’t want the reformy movement. Evidence shows that both Common Core and charters are failures and, the later is characterized by fraud. Gates, Bloomberg, Broad and the Waltons will not be paying for Ohio’s schools, not sending their children to them and, will hire few, if any, of the schools’ graduates (at livable wages). They are proof that the U.S. is an oligarchy.
I am appalled. Did Ms Garcia endorse Hillary or did she poll her constituents? If so did they endorse her? If she did not poll her constituents may it be suggested that she do so and if she was premature, change her mind as did Dr. Ravitch when she saw what NCLB was doing. Too, BEFORE endorsing any candidate she should have delved more deeply into the TOTAL package of what candidates believe. There are MANY things which affect us as citizens, as teachers, and affects our public schools. Poverty et al. Who has spoken out more about them for a long time?
My view which will disturb many. If a person or group of persons becomes a one issue exclusively voter, that person has dubious educational credentials in my book. Evidently NEA said that Hillary supports public schools. True. So does Bernie. Read carefully and intelligently what he said. But that is not the entire issue.
If Hillary is the Democratic candidate for president I will vote for her. WHY? If one believes in Citizens United and about 9 other Roberts courts decisions which make citizens subservient to corporate interests, vote Republican.
Please inform yourselves. This last issue on the Roberts Court in THE NATION magazine details more than is possible to state here. You KNOW of the Citizens United 5 – 4 decision allowing corporations to spend humongous amounts of money on elections, and yes, by far most to the Republican party, to sway voters but NINE other less well known decisions which have decimated citizens rights to get a fair hearing in our courts against corporate interests are also there and even more issues the Court has taken up, gone beyond what was in the item brought before it, and voted against the citizen’s interests.
The next president will probably get to appoint 4 new judges to the S. C. which will affect us for decades. INFORM yourselves about the possibilities inherent in this.
I have my own concerns about Hillary in contrast to Bernie. Hillary is more of a hawk and finds Henry Kissinger someone in whose beliefs she shares. PLEASE familiarize yourselves with Greg Grandin’s book on “Kissinger’s Shadow”. A discussion can be found on booktv.org. Other books on Kissinger are available, this the latest and VERY informative.
If Hillary is elected and we get more involved in the Mid East debacle militarily, Ms. Garcia may well have wished she had NOT prematurely endorsed Hillary.
Bernie has stated his opposition to further war there. I concur.
Bernie has fought for the poor etc for decades. We KNOW where he stands. Only small donations have supported his candidacy. Hillary has obtained large donations from Wall Street.
I am appalled too that so many have superficially read Bernie’s statements regarding his views on public schools and suggest that he supports the charters which we all abhor. NOT SO. Read carefully and intelligently what he has said.
PERHAPS NEA members should make themselves heard regarding this endorsement of Hillary.
“I support Hillary”
I support the Clinton clan
Hillary supporter’s what I am
I support her bowing out
Leaving in a hasty rout
“I support Hillary” (2)
I support the Clinton clan
Billary bootster’s what I am
I support a bowing out
Leaving in a hasty rout
Remember, standards and testing is Bill’s and Hillary’s signature in Arkansas. Hillary oversaw this program.
Hillary Clinton = Arkansas Educational Standards Committee – Chair 1983 until 1992:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQfdMIoWwAAdX1I?format=pjpg&name=large
If this link works, see graphic of NEA votes for endorsement. Notice major states absent….why?
Ca Teachers Assn president Eric Heins said:
To give you a quick update from DC: The NEA Fund Board voted 82% Yes, 18% No today to support a presidential primary recommendation for Hilary Clinton. The process now moves to the NEA Board of Directors for a vote on Saturday. That vote requires more than 58% support for an endorsement.
Through conversations, phone calls, emails and Facebook, I heard from many CTA members on all sides of the issue over the past few weeks. Considering those discussions and our focus in California, CTA abstained in the NEA Fund vote. I felt that it was fair to allow the elected representatives to the NEA Board of Directors to vote and make the decision. Again, that vote is scheduled for Saturday.
NEA leadership’s argument that a union should endorse a candidate early so that it can influence the trajectory of that candidate’s policies once in office relies on the premise that the candidate in question has no commitment to principled positions, at least not to those principles supported by the union.
Without an early endorsement, Obama didn’t owe us anything so that is why he made horrible policy? Really? Okay, accepting that premise, what does that say about the man and his values?
And what does the “seat at the table” argument say about Hillary Clinton? She’s only interested in hearing the perspective of educators if we help her get into office; otherwise, we’ll have no voice? What kind of well-intentioned, principled politician conducts him or herself this way?
The NEA’s early endorsement argument can’t have it both ways: either Clinton has a glowing record on education due to her deeply held values, or she is someone we can only depend on if there’s something in it for her. Going with the latter realpolitik angle, once she’s elected, there is no longer much in it for her, at least not until the next election for a second term.
I think this massive contradiction in logic lies at the heart of our diseased political culture. Too many of us are resigned to the inevitability of the corporate control of elections. But then we simultaneously affirm the nobility of these same politicians we clearly don’t trust to resist big money. Orwellian doublethink?
It’s no wonder that Bernie Sanders holds an appeal for so many people who understand that we need a revolution, not just another candidate who wins office on the same corporate terms.
Furthermore, I can’t help but wonder if some of the NEA Board members who heard Hillary Clinton’s address to them were a bit star struck. I’m fascinated with exploring the psychology of the “seat at the table” strategy which too often gets unproblematically accepted as simply a rational, practical approach to politics.
Imagine the intoxicating effect of having a special audience with a famous politician in this culture. When that celebrity is talking to you and making promises to you, it must be a whole lot easier to sell out the rank and file. Charismatic people in power know how to flatter you with their impersonation of real attention and consideration. It’s called narcissism, and many of us are not immune to the narcissist’s charms.
Finally, I am not claiming that Sanders is beyond criticism or doesn’t have his own political establishment flaws, but his campaign clearly represents a significant departure from business as usual.
Hm, interesting. Can you spell “special interests?”
Too often Republican runners get accused of catering to “special interests.” I’m looking forward to the day that democrats acknowledge catering to “special interests” as well. Different ones for sure, but “special intetests” nonetheless.
Indeed there ARE some Democrats who cater to “special interests”. However I would invite you to look at the disparity of “special interest”, outside group spending. In 2012 Conservative Outside spending was double that of Conservatives.
Having the “best government money can buy: is not my idea of a democratic form of government.
I fear that there is WAY too much ignorance on the part of the average American voter. I did not say, lack of intelligence – although there are times when I feel that that is true also – but to find out what is really happening by our governing bodies requires deeply delving OUTSIDE the corporate media propaganda. Too many Americans do not take seriously their responsibility as citizens to seek beyond the propaganda put out to them. Hitler had Goebbels, we have corporate media.
The AMOUNT of money makes no difference. You have billionaires on the Democratic side, too, spending money like crazy.
It’s the concept that matters, not the numbers. BOTH sides are pouring money into politics.
Whether you like men like Brauner (Illinois) or not, he paid for his own campaign, takes no salary. Sounds like Bloomberg, Romney and others…
Good argument.
For all the Clinton loyalists, this is Hillary Clinton the corporatist that NEA & AFT leadership endorsed, who said as Secretary of State in 2011, “It’s time for the United States to start thinking of Iraq as a business opportunity.”
Apparently, Dick Cheney et al didn’t think of that. I guess Halliburton etc just setup lemonade stands, instead of exploiting Iraq’s oil in her book, even though insiders admitted in 2007 that the Iraq War was all about oil. That includes comments made by Alan Greenspan, the GOP Chairman of the Federal Reserve that was appointed by Reagan, who both Bushes AND Bill Clinton retained in office during their administrations (That was a red flag to me at the time about who Bill Clinton was really serving, but like others, I mistakenly gave Bill the benefit of the doubt)
Several of the corporations Hillary invited to the table were big donors to the Clinton Foundation and/or paid them huge speaking fees, such as ExxonMobile, JPMorganChase and Goldman Sachs. “Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and Business in Iraq”
http://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/10/02/hillary-clinton-the-clinton-foundation-and-business-in-iraq/
Both Bill and Hillary have long been entrenched with the corporate elite and I think it should be hard for a sensible mind to not see quid pro quo written all over this kind of thing.
Maybe we should have tried to find out what charter or private school Hilary’s granddaughter is heading for.
The endorsement for Clinton is a PrePrimary Endorsement. The NEARA will still make an endorsement at in DC next summer per our usual process.
I can’t speak for the NEA, but Randi was my local president before taking over AFT leadership and she NEVER represented me. In fact the contracts negotiated under her was more givebacks and reforms for Bloomberg than anything resembling justice for our students or teachers. She even opened an unsuccessful charter school which I am sure helped siphon money from public ed. As leader of the AFT, she has done more for Reforms and charters than the right wing. So any endorsement stinks of cronyism.
This divide that both leaders created has a direct increase in the amount of contributions going to Bernie. Yet the media still ignores him. Would like to see him on SNL. SNL was kind to Hillary. Not one joke about emails. But the opening with Trump was the best part of the show.
More proof of deBlasio’s turncoat policies…..http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2015/10/dfer-founder-and-major-ed-deformer-joe.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
“The More Effective Evil”
The evil more effective
Is better than the lesser
If evil’s your objective
Then choose the wolf sheep-dresser
More evidence of deBlasio’s turncoat policies…http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890813
Lily’s Betrayal Letter