Education

Teacher Column

September 09, 1987 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, has proposed his own version of glasnost.

At the aft’s summer meeting, Mr. Shanker said he would extend to Mary Hatwood Futrell, leader of the rival National Education Association, a “sincere invitation” to address next year’s aft convention, “provided, of course, that I am invited to the nea convention.”

In addition, to “open up” the debate about school reform, the union president proposed that each issue of the aft newspaper give space to the nea to communicate directly with its members--and that the nea do the same for his union.

Mr. Shanker also suggested that the two unions host a joint conference at which members could discuss issues of teacher professionalism.

“This is a challenge to the nea to let their members decide for themselves which ideas are best for public education,” he said. “So far, the nea has not given its members the opportunity to hear about national certification, to hear what I am saying, without simultaneoulsy waging a disinformation campaign.”

The union leader accused the nea of being “actively engaged in an effort to destroy” the new National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, in part, by reducing its independence.

Ms. Futrell was unavailable late last week for comment.

Teachers in Florida have turned the table on marketers who decided to reduce or terminate their advertising in the state, following a legislative decision to impose a 5 percent sales and use tax on advertising.

The Florida Teaching Profession-nea has approved its own consumer boycott of eight national advertisers, including Kellogg Co., Kraft, and Nabisco Brands.

The union includes 40,100 dues-paying members and also bargains collectively for another 35,000. According to Dorothy Cobbett, communications manager for the union, when family and friends are included, the union can sway at least 300,000 Floridians not to buy certain products.

In an unusual move, the Buffalo school district has agreed to pay a penalty for excessive class sizes imposed on teachers represented by the Buffalo Teachers Federation, an nea affiliate.

Under their new three-year contract, the city’s teachers will be entitled to additional pay for every extra student they are assigned beyond a specified limit, beginning in the fall of 1988.

The specific dollar figure will be based on a mathematical formula that takes into account the ideal class size for that grade, the number of students over it, and what portion of the year they remain in the class.

Individual teachers could receive as much as a 10 percent salary increase, or more.

Philip Rumore, president of the union, said he did not know of any other district that had such automatic payments to teachers built into their contracts. Nonetheless, he termed the contract not entirely satisfactory. The union had hoped to put absolute limits on class sizes.

From now on, teachers with a black mark on their personnel record may find it harder to take up the profession in another location.

This summer, the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification established a national Teacher Identification Clearinghouse that will exchange the names of people, across state lines, whose license to teach has been revoked, denied, or suspended for cause since 1972. Participating states will update the list regularly.

The aft is one of the six “best” labor unions in the country, according to an article in The Washington Monthly, a political magazine based in the nation’s capital.

“Not only has the aft been consistently ahead of its larger rival, the nea,” wrote editor Steven Waldman in the July/August issue, “it has made educational improvements a top priority and, in some cases, has been downright innovative.”

He praised the union, in particular, for supporting: higher teacher salaries; a national teacher examination; some forms of peer review; a career ladder that adopts elements of merit pay; and special programs to attract candidates to teaching.

But Mr. Waldman was not all laudatory. He described Mr. Shanker as an “autocrat” and criticized him for insisting that teachers take a “series of often useless education courses before they are fully certified.”

“Moreover, his hawkish views on foreign policy and his leadership of a racially polarizing New York City teachers’ strike in 1968 have made some liberals reluctant to join hands with him,” the article says.

The new National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is close to announcing its choice for president of the organization.

This summer, a “head hunter” from mls Associates in Philadelphia has been searching the nation for likely candidates. Marc S. Tucker, executive director for the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, which helped create the board, said the list has been reduced to a “literal handful.” A decision is expected this month.

Meanwhile, more than 750 people have been formally nominated to be members of the new board. That selection is also expected soon.

--lo

A version of this article appeared in the September 09, 1987 edition of Education Week as Teacher Column

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read