Recently added articles from American Teacher:
A boost for high-skill careers
Oct 01, 2008; ... TRAINING, FUNDING AND SUPPORT for high-skill careers is the focus of a new policy statement passed by the AFL-CIO executive council in August. The statement was jointly prepared by the AFT and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. "Whether on the job or ...
WEIGH IN!
Oct 01, 2008; ... We want to hear your thoughts on the current "Speak Out" question. Go to www.aft.org/speakout to cast your vote. AFT WEB SITE BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS NEARLY 33 PERCENT of beginning teachers leave the profession after only three years, and almost half leave after five years. Many ...
Groundbreaking support for innovative reforms
Oct 01, 2008; ... TEACHERS AND THEIR UNIONS have always inspired and driven reforms aimed at strengthening our public schools. Now the AFT is backing up our desire to advance good ideas with the resources and supports to help implement them. I am proud to announce that the AFT executive council has ...
Value-added summer vacation
Oct 01, 2008; ... Volunteers help New Orleans schools, community WAS YOUR SUMMER vacation time well spent? More than three dozen AFT members from Rhode Island to California, would answer a resounding "yes." They participated in the AFT's Union Summer Program in July and August in the still Hurricane ...
STATE LINES
Oct 01, 2008; ... CO Almost two months to the day after 22,000 state professionals in five occupational groups voted for union representation by Colorado WINS (Workers for Innovation and New Solutions), WINS welcomed an additional 10,000 Colorado state employees into its membership when workers in the state's ...
TEACHERS' LOUNGE
Oct 01, 2008; ... DID I GET IT RIGHT? Fourth-grade teacher Doug Bloom of North Branch, Minn., has come up with a clever way to help his students when they're working on math problems, such as substraction or multiplication. He writes the answers to the problems in random spots on the white board at the front of ...
A vision to improve the lives of children and workers
Oct 01, 2008; ... THE AFT REMAINS COMMITTED to strengthening our public schools to serve all children, and we need the leadership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House to help in that quest. This was the message AFT president Randi Weingarten delivered to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in ...
Kindle the flame of democracy through mock elections
Oct 01, 2008; ... YOU"VE PROBABLY HEARD that the United States holds the dubious distinction of having the lowest voter participation among the world's democratic nations. According to the National Association of secretaries of State, the percentage of young voters has consistently declined since ...
A new day
Oct 01, 2008; ... Obama-Biden ticket is our nation's best hope for real change THIS FALL'S RACE for the presidency is of historic significance and unprecedented importance. A clear majority of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and the AFT believes Barack Obama represents the best ...
Where they stand on education
Oct 01, 2008; ... Barack Obama "I oppose using public money for private school vouchers. We need to focus on fixing and improving our public schools, not throwing our hands up and walking away from them." SPEECH TO AFT CONVENTION, JULY 13, 2008 NCLB * Will reform NCLB. Believes ...
Testing the joy out of education
Oct 01, 2008; ... The teacher-student connection breaks down as NCLB's demands ramp up THE FORMER STUDENTS don't come around much anymore, Tracy Dragos says. There used to be a steady trickle of them, the students from years past who would show up at their old fourth-grade teacher's door. They ...
Extra time must be time well spent
Oct 01, 2008; ... Congress eyes teacher-designed extended learning AT A SUMMER gathering of the Educational Research and Dissemination (ERSiD) network, participants discussed how AFT-designed professional development had played a valuable role in supporting 39 low-performing public schools in Miami-Dade ...
Should classrooms be 'sugar-free' zones?
Oct 01, 2008; ... YES There are better ways to reward students BY LUCILLE HOLLANDER SUGARY TREATS IN the classroom not only have negative health implications, they also will shortcut some of the ultimate goals of education itself. Because students usually don't brush their teeth ...
The life of a volunteer organizer
Oct 01, 2008; ... New York City teacher chronicles two weeks in San Antonio CHRIS TOWNSEND was among a cadre of AFT members who spent two weeks in San Antonio Aug. 9-23, as volunteer organizers for the AFT and the San Antonio Auiance of Teachers and Support Personnel. A union-building initiative, theAFT's ...
New handbook outlines an 'agenda for shared prosperity'
Oct 01, 2008; ... Rebuilding education infrastructure is key component in turning around the economy THE GROWING INSECURITY that is affecting working families in today's economy eludes simple solutions. Turning things around requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses everything from healthcare and ...
AFT VOICES
Oct 01, 2008; ... How is the current economic climate affecting you personally as well as the quality of education in your school and district? "Services for students with special needs-including guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists and other support staff have been cut or ...
You gotta have friends
Oct 01, 2008; ... Retiree activists are a crucial link in 2008 election efforts TOM LUVISON IS LOOKING for friends he can send to the State House, the U.S. Capitol and the White House. A retired social studies teacher and guidance counselor, Luvison, who is now the legislative liaison for the ...
Leading the fight for democracy
Oct 01, 2008; ... AFT honors teachers in Zimbabwe and activists in Burma THE WORLD HAS WATCHED inhorror as the government of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe and his ruling party, the Zanu-PF, have waged a campaign of increasingly brutal repression, violence and intimidation on the people of Zimbabwe. The ...
It's not just the price at the pump
Oct 01, 2008; ... IN MOST PARTS of the country, gas prices passed the symbolic $4 mark in June. If you live in Arizona or California or in the Northeast, maybe you've gotten comfortable with the notion of $60 fill-ups, but it's still a shock here in the Midwest where I live. So I was thinking about the ...
A day in the life
Oct 01, 2008; ... Tammie Miller details joys, challenges of her profession TO UNDERSTAND WHY28,000 daycare providers in New York City voted for AFT affiliation in October 2007, Tammie Miller says you have to understand the demands of the profession. Miller, who heads Safe and Sound Family Childcare, ...