Tag: National Education Association

JC Bowman Commentary: A Modern Approach to Educator Representation

JC Bowman
teacher

Most educators are not buying into a more militant, progressive labor movement beholden to the far left. Educators nationally often spend hundreds, or sometimes even thousands of dollars per year on union dues.  There are much more cost-effective alternatives, like Professional Educators of Tennessee.   That is what makes groups like Professional Educators of Tennessee different.  We offer a modern approach to educator representation, legal protection and unmatched educational advocacy, as well as promoting professionalism, collaboration and excellence without a partisan agenda.  There are non-union alternatives for educators in other states as well.  Nobody wants to return the 1950’s.    

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Steve Gill Commentary: The Californication of the Teachers’ Union

Tennessee Star Staff
NEA

At the recent National Education Association (NEA) Annual Meeting, where Tennessee Education Association (TEA) representatives participated along with other affiliates across the country, the highly partisan NEA took strong positions against immigration reform  and Republicans in general.  They even gave an award to controversial former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to honor his activism in leading protests against the National Anthem. Now NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia has weighed in on the US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.  Not surprisingly the NEA opposes Kavanaugh.  Their opposition is NOT based on his rulings as a Court of Appeals Judge, but primarily upon the hysterical concerns generated in liberal circles with completely bogus claims about recent Supreme Court rulings.  For example, she claims the Supreme Court  weakened the right of educators and other working people to come together in their unions and through collective bargaining to advocate for fair pay, benefits, and working conditions (Janus v. AFSCME, a 5-4 vote). Janus actually granted teachers and others the freedom NOT to be forced to join a union if they didn’t want to. And the “Muslim ban” that the Supreme Court confirmed, where travel from certain countries was restricted based on national security interests and…

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The Tennessee Education Association Embraces the Union Label in Washington D.C., Denies It in Nashville

JC Bowman
NEA headquarters

JC Bowman writes: “There are many other completely, independent non-union organizations now in America that represents public school educators, giving them a clear, non-union voice.  This means they do not spend a large portion of their lobbying efforts and their political funds focusing on bills and causes that fall outside the scope of education.”

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Commentary: NEA Political Money Should Be Toxic to Conservatives Who Take It – and Christian Teachers Who Provide It

Admin

by Steve Gill   In a 2014 article Mission America noted that the National Education Association (NEA) Teachers Union was more extreme than ever.   Beginning in the 1960s, the NEA began a progression of increased political activity, largely left-leaning and almost exclusively pro-Democrat Party. Today, NEA’s annual budget is around $367 million, not accounting for the cushy, separate budgets of its state affiliates like the TEA. Virtually none of their efforts are used to promote Republican candidates, except when seeking just enough cover in majority Red states to claim bogus “bipartisanship.” Political contributions of teacher unions hit a high in 2016, when donations hit $33.2 million. It will likely be higher in 2018, though declining NEA membership means less money collected from fewer members and more from the extremist leftwing donors and groups that have no real interest in education policy.  Of the money that went to politicians directly in 2016, ninety three percent (93%) went to Democrats. The NEA (National Education Association) probably doesn’t realize — or care — that many of their members are Republicans who may not appreciate having their member dues used to advance partisan left-wing causes. As more of their members learn how their money is…

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Nashville Metro Council Candidate Antoinette Lee Supported By Tennessee Education Association

Wendy Wilson

  Nashville Metro Council candidate Antoinette Lee publicly thanked the Tennessee Education Association teachers union Sunday for creating a mailer for her campaign. “I want to thank the political arm of TEA (the teachers’ Union) for doing my mailer,” she wrote on her Facebook campaign page. “I think they did a good job. Unions are the backbone that made our county great and supported our workers.” Lee works as a field organizer for the TEA, making it no surprise that she has the union’s strong support. The TEA is the state affiliate of the National Education Association. Lee is one of five candidates in Tuesday’s special election to fill the District 33 seat, left vacant when Councilman Sam Coleman was sworn in as a Nashville judge to replace former Judge Casey Moreland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal. District 33 covers part of Antioch. Early voting was held July 26 through Aug. 10. Lee also has the endorsement of the AFL-CIO’s Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee. The National Education Association teachers union has long been controversial among conservatives because of its advocacy for liberal politics. The union endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the last election cycle as the primary season got under way…

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More Colleges Scrap Remedial Classes

Wendy Wilson

California State University campuses will no longer require incoming freshmen to take placement tests in English and math or enroll in noncredit remedial courses, reports the Los Angeles Times. The change, to take effect fall 2018, is part of a trend away from noncredit remedial courses, which critics say frustrate students and lead many to drop out. This is one case in which California isn’t leading the nation. Tennessee, among other states, have already taken steps to get rid of traditional remedial courses while creating other ways to support students who aren’t ready for college-level work. In 2010, as part of Tennessee’s Complete College Tennessee Act, remedial and developmental education was to be provided only by community colleges and not universities as of July 2012. Then, in 2015, community colleges eliminated traditional remediation in favor of “co-requisite remediation,” which allows students to enroll in introductory math and English classes while receiving support services, including counseling, computer lab help and special supplementary classes. By allowing students to start acquiring college credit right away, schools hope to keep them in school and boost graduation rates. Traditional remedial classes offered in the past cost the same as others but didn’t allow students to start working toward…

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Letter to the Editor: Mandatory Union Dues Fund Leftist Causes at the Expense of Conservative Union Members

Admin
Tennessee Star

  Dear Tennessee Star, It really is simple the more members who pay union dues affords greater political clout for that union and feed the union bureaucracy. Most people still have a lot to learn about unions, especially in education. Many have likened unions to being an ATM to left-wing politicians and causes. Too many people vaguely equate the union with that classroom teacher whom they know and respect, not with the hard-as-nails political entity that dictates bad school policy. It makes little sense for teachers to contribute their hard-earned dollars to political and ideological causes they oppose. For example, a teacher union’s goal, of course, is political power, not education. This means of course they funnel union money to politicians who support their agenda. So how do the government unions, whose leaders run to the left of the average worker, get away with spending dues dollars on candidates and causes that so many of its members revile? The answer very simply is because its members let them. In fact, in all elections since 1989, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has given $76,446,797 to Democrats and liberals and just $363,000 to Republicans and conservatives. In other words, less than…

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Commentary: CALLED OUT: Jim Wrye, Lobbyist for State Affiliate of the National Education Assocation, ‘Dropped a Whopper of a Lie’

Polly Baker

  We all remember learning the Presidents’ Day lessons in school: the virtuous stories, the inspiring anecdotes, and the values of character. These are the traits all our elected officials should exemplify. But the sad truth is, such virtue is a high standard for any elected official to keep. So much so that nowadays, we celebrate the rare instance when a politician takes an unpopular position because he believes it to be right. Far too many seek power before they seek what’s right. So what happens when a particular position you hold is both wrong AND unpopular. Well, if you’re Jim Wrye, lobbyist for the state affiliate of the National Education Association, the answer is easy: Just lie about it being unpopular. Last month, in an effort to take advantage of desperation of politicians, Jim Wrye dropped a whopper of a lie. In a press release befitting a world of “fake news,” Jim publicly declared that he had polled 6,510 Tennesseans and that 59.5 percent of them agreed that children should be given no option other than their government-assigned school. . . That is not a typo. He said SIX THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TEN. You can read his exact words here: Tennesseans…

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