Professional Organizations

1
Professional Organizations

• ED649.002 Presentation
• Brandy Walters
• Kathleen Schanne

2
Types of Professional Organizations

• Local/State
• Central Ohio Education Association
  (COEA)http//www.centraloeanea.org/
• Indiana State Teachers Association
  (ISTA)http//www.istain.org/
• Wisconsin Education Association Council
  (WEAC)http//www.weac.org/
• Michigan Education Association (MEA)http//www.me
  a.org

3
Types of Professional Organizations (cont.)

• National
• National Education Association (NEA)
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

4
Types of Professional Organizations (cont.)

• Discipline Specific
• AAAS (Science) http//www.aaas.org/education/
• ACTFL (Foreign Language) http//www.actfl.org/
• NCHE (History) http//www.history.org/nche/
• NCSS (Social Studies) http//www.ncss.org/
• NCTE (English) http//www.ncte.org/
• NCTM (Math) http//www.nctm.org/

5
Types of Professional Organizations Cont.d

• Education Reform
• Center for Education Reform http//www.edreform.co
  m/
• Fordham Foundation
• http//www.edexcellence.net/
• Heartland Institute http//www.heartland.org/Issue
  Suites.cfm?issId3

6
History of the NEA

• 1857 School superintendents formed an
  anti-union organization
• 1920-1930 School boards required teachers to
  join the organization
• 1960-1970 Rapid growth due to collective
  bargaining
• 1980s Moved away from professional development
  towards teacher rights

7
History of the AFT

• 1916 1 Indiana 3 Chicago teacher unions met
  to form AFT (received official charter from
  American Federation of Labor (AFL))
• 1920-1950 Rise and fall in membership
• 1960-1970 Rapid growth due to collective
  bargaining
• 1980s Moved away from professional development
  towards teacher rights

8
NEA AFT Today

• More than 80 of public school teachers belong to
  either the NEA or AFT
• Both hold considerable clout in local, state, and
  national legislatures
• Although they do have goals for academic
  excellence, their primary concerns are salaries,
  job security, and issues of employment equity

9
Benefits to Justify Professional Organizations
(Unions)

• Professional development
• Protect teacher salaries and working conditions
• Research new reforms and report findings to busy
  teachers
• Helping to recruit new staff
• Help teachers to play bigger role in school
  management
• Put up road blocks to hiring unqualified teachers
• Willingness to go out and campaign

10
Criticism of Professional Organizations (Unions)

• Promote a social agenda that does not represent
  its members as a whole
• Make it difficult to fire bad teachers
• Conflicting relationships with school
  administrators
• Districts pay teachers while they tend to union
  business instead of teaching
• Promote restrictive contracts that are difficult
  to sway for change

11
Emerging and Alternative Professional
Organizations

• Association of Educators in Private Practice
  (AEPP ? EIA)
• Founded in 1990 by WI teachers
• American Association of Educators (AAE)

12
Purpose of Professional Organizations

• Professional Development
• Sponsor conferences
• Publish newsletters
• Share teaching strategy ideas
• Provide support for new teachers

13
Purpose of Professional Organizations (cont.)

• Lobbying
• Promote self interests
• TV Announcement
• http//www.nea.org/advertising/images/makediffbb.
  ram
• Participate in government campaigns
• Radio Announcements
• http//www.nea.org/mediafiles/reg0303a.mp3
• http//www.nea.org/mediafiles/reg103a.mp3

14
Professional Associations

• Focus on content area
• Emphasis on professional development
• Membership optional
• National, regional, and state chapters
• K-Higher Ed support
• Research

15
Professional Associations and Standards

• Create national subject-area standards
• Created by professionals, for professionals
• Used by states and districts as a guide
• Create standards for new reforms (i.e.
  technology)
• Professional opinion of proper usage of new
  reforms
• Endorsement/Critique of new ideas

16
Professional Associations and Communication

• Fosters communication among professionals
• Virtual communication
• NCTE-talk
• Reflections (NCTM)
• Science Netlinks (AAAS)
• National Conferences
• Regional/State Conferences

17
Professional Associations and Publishing

• Produce statements on reform topics
• Class Size
• Assessment
• Lobbying in Washington D.C.
• Support publishing of materials for teaching,
  journals
• Operate own press
• Solicitation of articles
• Free/reduced cost access for educators
• Control the language of reforms

18
Professional Associations and Resources

• Teacher support
• Rationales against censorship (NCTE)
• Online lesson plans
• Online applications for student use
• Theory-driven resources
• Position Statements
• Answers to Reform Questions
• Grants

19
Where do they stand?

• Reform Issue
• Vouchers
• Charter Schools
• Assessment
• No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
• Technology

• Websites
• http//www.nea.org
• http//www.aft.org
• http//www.aaeteachers.org
• http//www.schoolchoices.org
• http//www.edreform.com
• http//www.heartland.org/IssueSuites.cfm?issId3
• http//www.ncte.org/
• http//www.nctm.org/