KINDER'S COMMENTARY: NEA'S REAL POLITICAL AGENDA EXPOSED

Readers of Forbes magazine had it nearly three years ago, with the June 1993 publication of an unforgettable cover story exposing the National Education Association as the "National Extortion Association" and calling the NEA the biggest opponent of positive change and quality education in America today. For years, the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal has sounded the same themes against this arrogant union and its ultra-liberal national leadership.

Now comes the mainstream media, right on schedule, that is to say, literally years behind these other pathbreaking sources. "Why Teachers Don't Teach" is the arresting headline over a lengthy cover story in the Feb. 26 issue of U.S. News and World Report. The story focuses on teachers unions such as the NEA, their abuses and their political agenda. The subhead: "The nation's future lies in its classrooms. But teachers' unions are driving out good teachers, coddling bad ones and putting bureaucracy in the way of quality education." Readers who want copies of either the Forbes or the U.S. News pieces may contact my office toll-free at 1-800-699-2377, and we'll send you a copy.

It is important to emphasize that the dominant teachers organization in Missouri is the mainstream, commonsense Missouri State Teachers Association, which opposes much of the NEA's wacky, far-left agenda. Most especially, the MSTA opposes the collective bargaining for teachers, or unionization of our schools, which is central to the NEA power agenda. MSTA opposition to collective bargaining helps us defeat it year after year in the General Assembly. Thank God for them.

Some excerpts follow from the recent U.S. News article, first from Jaime Escalante, a former Los Angeles teacher. Escalante achieved fame and hero status and was celebrated in a movie called "Stand and Deliver" that chronicled his fabulous success in teaching mathematics to poor students in a ghetto neighborhood. He quit the L.A. school system largely because of the union: "I thought the union was going to focus on how to improve our skills. But they're more interested in politics than kids," Escalante sadly observed.

Or consider this, from 26-year-old Tracey Seckler, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard and the masters program at the Teachers College, Columbia University. Seckler wanted to teach in troubled New York City schools, but now has been driven out of the city to the tony suburb of Scarsdale. She says: "Nobody in her right mind would go through the (New York City) teachers' licensing process. It is very haphazard, and it's unprofessional."

Or consider this excerpt, entitled "Excellence Is No Guarantee. In 1990, Cathy Nelson, a Ph.D. history teacher at Fridley High School in Minneapolis, was named Minnesota's Teacher of the Year. But Fridley's students weren't enjoying the fruits of Nelson's outstanding teaching:~ She had been laid off months earlier, under a union-bargained `last-hired, first-fired' policy. A 15-year veteran and third generation teacher, Nelson was the least senior of Fridley's five social-studies teachers. Ironically, she had been laid off under the same policy three other times. Her love of kids kept her coming back. But in 1990, she finally abandoned the classroom, fed up with being treated like a `yo-yo.'"

Anyone who wants to be fully informed on the radical, anti-education agenda of the NEA should get copies of these articles. Information is power in the coming battles for our schools.

~Peter Kinder is the associate publisher of the Southeast Missouri and a state senator from Cape Girardeau.