NEA RA

I am in Washington, DC at the National Educators Association Representative Assembly.  Annually representatives from all across the country, about 10,000, come together and vote on the direction in which our association should take.  We vote using Robert’s Rule of Order on policies, political stances, expenditures and other budgetary concerns that the NEA will implement for next year.  It is a big responsibility and one that I take seriously as a representative from a school district with a lot of varying opinions and political thoughts.   Often I need to vote ‘no’ on something that personally I agree with, but I know would be a divisive issue for my teachers association. 

One of those issues we voted on last year:  The support of President Obama for re-election.  I know that my school district would not agree on the support of Obama and some would argue against the union’s constant support of the Democratic Party.   Plus, I wasn’t so keen about Obama’s stances on education with Race to the Top.   So, I voted against the support.  The vote was 63% in favor of the support. 

Now it is a year later.  Campaign mode is in full swing.  It seems as if every other sentence is pro-Obama and how awesome he is.  A member of the California caucus came up to the mike and yelled at everyone for supporting Obama and scolding the President of CTA for not remembering Race to the Top and other education stances that we were against.  Her statements, posture, and attitude made me think about my feelings toward our support of the President.  I had to conclude that her anger toward the President of CTA was wrong.  He was fulfilling the mandate set up by his membership to support Obama for re-election.  How can you be angry with an elected official that fulfills what the majority says they want you to do?  I would have done the same thing.

I have drawn that conclusion regarding the CTA president and NEA president, but what does that mean for me?  Part of the problem in any group is that they are not unified and so they are easily taken down and defeated.  The opponents of public education seem to have the same talking points and read off the same paper.  I don’t know if they actually agree with what they are saying, but they believe in the cause.  They know that if they say it and others say the same thing, it creates a reality that everyone starts to believe and talk about. 

 It means that I need to get onboard and talk about the good things that that Obama has done for our country.  The Federal Jobs Money saved a lot of teachers’ jobs.  He set aside funds for education.  He passed into law a bill that protects women’s pay and the Health Care reform will insure many families at my school that do not currently have health insurance.  It could be a lot worse.  Considering what I am hearing Romney say about education, it might be in the future.

That is what it means to be a part of something bigger than you.  At the World War II memorial, I was totally blown away once again by the sacrifices made by those who believed in the cause.  Those back home and those overseas fighting in battles that seemed hopeless, but they prevailed against the odds because they did it together.   I don’t know if they felt like rushing up the hill from the ocean and taking those guns on the hill, but they ran forward with one purpose to make it happen, willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.  Supporting Obama might not be the same thing, but saving public education sure feels like that sometimes.

http://dennis2delegates.com/uploads/files/x/000/080/68e/NEACandidateComparison060712.pdf?1339528790