Members Submit Videotaped Questions to Candidates

No Child Left Behind finally got a full airing on commercial television as Democratic candidates for president squared off in Charleston, South Carolina. The televised debate sponsored by CNN and the YouTube Web site featured questions videotaped by citizens and submitted via YouTube.

NEA President Reg Weaver said fielding questions from real voters made all the difference in focusing the debate on critical issues such as America's public schools.

Dozens of delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly this summer videotaped their questions for presidential candidates, many of which were submitted to the CNN/YouTube event. Here are some samples:

What do you think of national education standards?

Buffy Murphy
2007 South Carolina Teacher of the Year and member of the Irmo-Chapin Education Association

What would you do to make sure parents become the partners we need?

Iris Salters of East Lansing, Michigan

Why do we have a dropout crisis and what would you do about it?

Kevin Gilbert of St. Paul, Minnesota

Why is it so difficult to deal with good pay, small class sizes, and common sense testing?

Charles Hasse of Federal Way, Washington

What will you do to reduce the number of students in my classroom?

Martha Venetucci of DeKalb, Illinois

 

View more NEA members speaking out on the No Child Left Behind Act here at the YouTube Web site.