AFT-Speeches

Shanker speaks on the problems that place a “squeeze” on public education: mainly the country’s economic situation, fewer voters with children in school, and no automatic respect for teachers and administrators. He also touches on discipline in public schools and he insists that there have to be tougher standards for public schools as well.

This document includes the statements of Willard McGuire, President of the National Education Association; Albert Shanker; and Patricia Abjerg Graham Dean, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, on behalf of the AERA. The three were commenting on the legislation designed to improve instruction in math and science education.

Speech given to the National Institute of Education’s National Testing Conference. Shanker defends public education against attacks that it is not good enough and that its teachers are not qualified. He stresses that “we” need to concentrate on improving performance of teachers and administrators instead of expecting them to be perfect the moment they begin.

Shanker addresses the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives about the issue of the truth in testing. He states that although testing is an important part of gauging how well students are doing, it is not the only thing that shows how well they do. He also suggests that we need to be able to use the same tests a few years in a row instead of getting new tests every year, that way we can better gauge how students are doing.

Shanker is talking to a conference of AFT Paraprofessionals. His introduction is about how the United Federation of Teachers brought Paras into their fold and how the solidarity between teachers and paras grew quickly. He talks about the idea of certification for paras in schools that would increase their prominence in the schools. The speech then moves to the danger of privatization in public schools. Shanker gives a history of how the AFL-CIO started to endorse presidential candidates and what the AFT will be doing to get good questions to presidential candidates via polling and letter campaigns. The speech goes back to the idea of certification and career ladders for paras by using the study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed that continuing education for personnel benefits school districts.