A Profile in Courage

When I first became involved in Education Policy I literally wrote with the blood, sweat and tears of my classroom experiences on my hands. I was hesitant to publish my writings in those early days. I would re-read them and edit them over and over again. But they always seemed too raw, too real and too gritty to have any chance at being received constructively.

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teacher never ceased to amaze me with her calm demeanor and her ability to present the concerns and realities of classroom teachers with unparalleled diplomacy, matched only perhaps by Diane Ravitch, the most prolific voice of the organic education reform movement.

I would watch Ms. Weingarten, often the lone voice representing practicing classroom educators, sit calmly and wait patiently for her turn to respond to unwarranted and at times vitriolic attacks on the teaching profession. She always spoke in a measured way, many times even praising the reform efforts of her detractors in the process. I vowed to conduct myself in the same manner whenever the opportunity arose.

But it seems that at the kickoff for the biennial AFT conference, Ms. Weingarten felt safe letting down her guard and she made plain the injustice she and many other educators feel at being subjected to reform from "on high." She called on members to "refuse to be defined by people who are happy to lecture us about the state of public education but wouldn't last 10 minutes in a classroom." Her remarks were preceded by comments from Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) who included the very extremely pertinent observation that "There is no way to be for our children and against teachers."

Ms. Weingarten's remarks supporting teachers went largely unnoticed as media coverage tends to focus on the more sensational and unpopular bureaucratic functions of the AFT including stalled negotiations with Baltimore KIPP charter schools and their contractually mandated support of teachers implicated in the APS cheating scandal. Some mentions of her pro-teacher comments were strategically included as afterthoughts in articles critical of the union's stances on these controversial issues.

Ms. Weingarten probably knew that her words might be turned against her in this way and this is why I found her honesty and candor all the more impressive. It takes a great deal of restraint and class to stay composed despite the barrage of attacks leveled at her daily. Nevertheless there are also times where one has to put down the protective shield of diplomacy and speak the unfiltered truth. I admire Ms. Weingarten's courage in choosing to do so.