NJ Education Report

The American Federation of Teachers finished up its annual convention yesterday. Highlights were a vote of confidence in the Common Core and a vote of no-confidence in Pres. Obama’s continued support of his Ed. Sec. Arne Duncan. The NEA, at its convention last week, went either further or less far, depending on your point of view, in leaving the President alone but demanding Duncan’s resignation.

Prime dissenters from the AFT consensus were members of the Badass Teachers Association, which pushed hard against a resolution that reiterates AFT’s support for the Common Core State Standards. That resolution passed and the BATS are irate. Here’s part of the group’s statement:

The Badass Teachers Association, an organization that is nearing 50,000 members, is releasing this statement to express our outrage over  Resolution #2 (AFT Common Core) that passed on the floor of the AFT Convention this past Sunday.  The decision to support the Common Core will further erode the confidence of parents, students, and teachers who have watched the chaos that has unfolded in our schools as a result of standards that were never researched , tested, or piloted. 

“BATs look forward to continuing our work with parents, students, and education policy makers to take back public education and end the FEDERALLY MANDATED Common Core State Standards! Further, we fully support NEA’s resolution to ask for Secretary Duncan’s resignation. Unions MUST return to the important role of educating the rank and file about specific and significant changes implemented in order to qualify for RttT funding; and most importantly, stand up for a complete and thorough analysis of implementation, specifically as they relate to individual states, localities, and communities manpower decisions.”