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NEA's New Style of UnionismIn July, more than 9,000 delegates to NEA's 137th Annual Meeting reaffirmed the Association's commitment to quality teaching and learning for all students. In his keynote address, NEA President Bob Chase thanked NEA's 2.4 million members for continuing to support his call for a New Unionism. "Let us continue the all-important work of forging a new NEA and a new style of unionism in our schools, colleges, and universities-with the aim of providing all students with a quality education," Chase said. President Chase, Vice President Reg Weaver, and Executive Committee members Lily Eskelsen and Eddie Davis were all elected to their second three-year terms. In an action of particular importance to NEA's higher education members, delegates staked out a clear Association position on distance education. "The National Education Association believes that quality distance education can create or extend learning opportunities not otherwise available to all students," notes the resolution. The resolution also sets forth a number of requirements designed to ensure the quality of these offerings. Among the requirements: Distance education courses must be at least as rigorous as similar courses delivered by more traditional means, have student/faculty ratios that ensure the active engagement of students, be taught by qualified instructors, and include appropriate procedures for assessment and evaluation. In other notable Representative Assembly events, delegates heard from First Lady Hillary Clinton, who was awarded the annual NEA Friend of Education Award, and 1999 Teacher of the Year Andrew Baumgartner. In the RA's most poignant moment, Cindy Thirouin, the daughter of Dave Sanders, the teacher killed in Littleton, Colorado, last April, eulogized her father during a memorial service for victims of school violence. For a complete Annual Meeting roundup, including the texts of all major addresses, check www.nea.org/RA. |
