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Important Information! |
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Greetings,
FYI...please see the message below from Education MN
President Tom Dooher. Embedded in this message is a link to the
AFT so you may also read about their thoughts on President
Obama's education plan release this week. I would concur
that in these tough times, it is good to have a president who is
anxious to work with teachers and who also believes in the
necessity of unions - the bedrock of the middle class.
Thanks.
Lynn Nordgren
MFT, Local 59
Inside this issue:
Obama's plan for education is something we can embrace
Please log on as a member to our Web site to view the links
below.
March 11, 2009
Obama's plan for education is something we can embrace
In a well-publicized speech
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-of-the-President-to-the-Hispanic-Chamber-of-Commerce/
before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce yesterday,
President Barack Obama called for providing all Americans with a
comprehensive education that begins in early childhood and
extends through higher education and beyond.
The president's vision of education includes many things we
can embrace:
* more resources for schools and educators than we've
seen in a decade;
* a pledge that educators' voices will
be a part of developing the solutions we
need;
* competitive teacher salaries;
* better
tools for teachers;
* a greater effort to recruit and
retain good teachers.
But because, as part of his plan, he also talked about
charter schools and performance pay, some of the headlines
yesterday and today jumped to the conclusion that the president
was "taking on the teachers unions." Before we get caught up in
incendiary terms and imaginary political divides, we need to
take a closer look at what the president said and what it
means.
As our national unions, the AFT and the NEA, have said, we
stand ready to work with the president to make Minnesota, and
America, the leader in public education. And we are grateful
that, in Barack Obama, we have a president who is ready to work
with us.
For more information:
In Solidarity,
Tom Dooher
President
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