News: Interview
Meet Reg Weaver

NEA's new president hones in on safe schools, true education reform, and parental involvement in schools.

Reg Weaver, a science teacher from Illinois, was elected president of the NEA at the 2002 Representative Assembly in Dallas this past July. Weaver grew up in Danville, Illinois, where he attended a segregated school for part of his elementary school years. He went on to become a local leader and then president of the Illinois Education Association from 1981 to 1987. He led a recruitment drive that boosted IEA membership nearly 50 percent and a political campaign that led to the passage in 1983 of a mandatory and comprehensive collective bargaining law--Weaver keeps a photo of the bill signing in his office. For the past six years, Weaver has served as NEA vice president. He spoke recently to NEA Today's Marilyn Milloy and Alain Jehlen about the course he's charting as head of the nation's largest education organization.

Who are the teachers you remember best?
My high school homeroom teacher, Mr. Sanders, tried to get me to take chemistry. But I said, oh, no. Not the kid. That's too hard. A history teacher, Ms. Watkins, wanted me to come out for the speaking club. But I thought that wasn't for me. Black kids don't do that-- that's acting white. My peers would have jumped all over me. So I said, no, the kid's not going to do that.

So what happens? I get to college, take lots of science courses, eventually teach science, and today a lot of what I do is public speaking.

What led you to teaching?
When I started college, I wanted to be a Spanish interpreter. Spanish was a good subject for me in high school. But I also wrestled, and I accepted a wrestling scholarship to Illinois State Normal University, not knowing it was a teachers' college.

I went there thinking that I was going to be an interpreter or else a physical therapist. Then I found out it was a teachers' college and I couldn't major in Spanish or physical therapy. So, I said, OK, let me get the next closest thing, so I majored in special education for the physically handicapped.

My first job interview was for special education. And I did not get the job, not because of race, but because of sex discrimination: They didn't want males working with smaller children. My first job was teaching fifth grade. I made $5,000 a year, a whole bunch of money.

What is your goal for the NEA?
I want to take the message out there to the people that NEA is everywhere. We are on every corner. We are in every community. I want to sit in the barber shops, the beauty shops, the offices, the parks. I want to get on the radio. I want to say to people, "Look here, you've got grandmothers, nieces, cousins, next- door neighbors who are your children's teachers. Talk to them. And you know what? Those are the very same people the opponents of public education are trashing."

How can the NEA beat back those opponents, especially those pushing vouchers?
We have to reach out to all communities, and especially to the minority communities, because they are the target audiences for our opponents.

In many minority communities, primarily African American and Hispanic, if you ask, are you in favor of vouchers, they may say yes. They don't know that vouchers are a ticket to nowhere. All they know is that they want something for their child.

But these folks have to understand that the condition of public schools is not the fault of the teachers and support staff. It's because, in many instances, they have not been given the support they need in order to be successful.

We have to make sure they know exactly what needs to be done, what we're doing, and what we have to do together. Then, when our opponents come to them, they'll say, we don't need you. We've got the NEA.

Unfortunately, some of the parents don't feel welcome in the schools. And when they don't feel welcome in the schools, they don't think we care for their children. And, if they don't think we care for their children, they'll do whatever they can to get their kids out.

How do we make parents feel welcome?
Don't let the parents feel fearful of coming to the schools. Call them up when things are right. Think about it: When do we contact parents most? When something is wrong. What I used to do was call the parents. I'd go to their house to eat. Now, don't think that doesn't get around. The next day in school, "Man, Mr. Weaver was over at so-and-so's house."

Invite the parents to the school: "Come on up, see what we've got here. I need your help."

How can we get parents to work with us for public education?
We've got to teach the children. I don't care how you get around it, it's all going to come back to how well we work with these students. I guarantee you, if the parents perceive us teaching their children, they're not going to want anything else. Parents who are attracted to vouchers want the same thing for their child that rich folks have for theirs: quality education.

Eighty-five percent of the richest parents send their children to a public school. Why? Because, those public schools have everything they need. All I'm saying is, I want the students in the inner-cities or poor rural areas to have the same kinds of schools you'll find in an upscale suburb. That's what I want. Is it a challenge? You bet it is.

What's your strategy for meeting that challenge?
Three parts:

Number one is ensuring that all children have access to a school that is safe, free from intimidation and harassment, and has an atmosphere that is conducive to good teaching and learning.

It doesn't matter what kind of reform efforts you have--if parents feel the school is not safe, they're not going to want to send their children there. The discipline has to be improved. We have to make sure that bullying is minimized, that sexual harassment is minimized. We have to have peer mediation and other programs to work with students and modify behavior.

Number two is meaningful education reform created by those of us responsible for its success. Too many times, people want to dump things on us without ever asking us whether or not it's going to work. We get told to jump on every fad that comes about. New math, old math. School with walls, school without walls. You name it, it's there.

And number three is policies that attract and retain quality people in the teaching profession. We've got too many people leaving because they're not getting the salaries they deserve. In Nebraska, an ice cream truck driver can make more than a beginning teacher. There's something wrong with that picture, folks. And it's not acceptable any longer. We have to get that message to the parents and the politicians.

We need more minority teachers. School districts need to aggressively recruit them. We need to encourage support staff to become teachers. Also, it's important that we look at low-income students who would make good teachers but don't have the opportunity.

And then, the last thing is, end the sink or swim syndrome. You come in, and you're told, here's your assignment. Don't ask me for help. That's not right. We need mentoring programs. We need to be colleagues in terms of helping people coming in to be more successful.

That's what we have to do, my friends, and we need everybody's support. Together, we can do this.