Higher Education

Change Magazine: “Three Union Leaders Talk about Academic Future”

jruss — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:55:31 -0400

This transcript is from an interview conducted for Change Magazine. John Ryor was president of the NEA and Dr. Osborne was director of collective bargaining for the AAUP. The interview was conducted by the editor in chief of Change Magazine, G. W. Bonham. The interview covers all aspects of collective bargaining and unionism in higher education and the political power of the three teacher unions.

Compass: “Thoughts on Education: An Interview with William Bennett and Albert Shanker”

jruss — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 14:21:18 -0500

This Compass interview asks Al Shanker and William Bennett, former Secretary of Education, ten questions and lists their answers side by side. Topics include problems in the school system, how to improve higher education, corporate roles in education, standards, President George H.W. Bush's performance, and school choice. While Shanker and Bennett disagree on the role of teachers' unions and on some policies like school choice, their thoughts on standards and higher education are similar.

Interview with Ed Muzik

jruss — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:19:08 -0500

The interviewer, Ed Muzik, first asks Al Shanker to discuss his background. Shanker gives a brief biography and then goes into the organization of the AFT, citing the benefits of unionization to the teachers. In addition to concrete benefits such as wage increases and breaks from work, Shanker discusses the benefits of professionalization that unionizing gave teachers. Muzik then asks Shanker about the unionization of higher education professionals. Shanker challenges various concerns to organizing by higher education workers such as a feared loss of academic freedom. read more »

SUNY Albany: "In Defense of the University"

jruss — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:31:03 -0400

Al Shanker describes how the typical liberal education which universities have offered in the past has been drastically diminished. He believes that the protest culture of the 1960s contributed to a lowering of academic standards which has continued through a promotion of vocational education. He states, “The university as a rallying point for political action may seem like a far cry from the university as a vocational training center. read more »