Education Intelligence Agency lists $12 million in donations by the National Education Association. Not surprisingly, the big money went to state initiatives to increase state education spending and boost the minimum wage or to defeat a measure to limit state spending. The union also gave small donations to liberal groups such as People for the American Way and to gay, black, Hispanic and Asian-American groups. I can’t figure out why the East Meadow Jewish Center, a New York community center, got $5,000. Even more puzzling is the $10,000 for the Funniest Celebrity in Washington contest. I guess it must be an attempt to suck up to politicians and journalists.
I’ve got a mini-column up at Britannica Blog on teachers’ conservative values based on a study I wrote about here.
My mom was a teacher. My mom is also very conservative. She worked for the NEA for a short while and was so disgusted with the behavior of her colleagues (it was the 60s – substance abuse, promiscuity) that she has instilled in us children a very strong antipathy to the NEA and has fought for school choice and against “fuzzy reading” programs her whole life.
On a side note, to avoid that latter fight, I’ll be homeschooling my little ones till they’re about eight. They’re going to be fluent readers before they’re subjected to any nonsense about phonics not being helpful.
As a reader/speaker of two completely phonetic languages – Polish and Spanish – I have to question the intelligence of anyone who thinks reading is anything other than decoding phonemes for the beginning reader.
Hmmm… forced (not free) speech.
I’m a big believer that unions turn evil when they become national. At that point the bureaucracy becomes insulated against the needs and desires of its supposed members and can do whatever it wants despite protests from the rank-and-file.