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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2001

SPEECH

Remarks by John I. Wilson, Executive Director, National Education Association To the NEA Representative Assembly

July 5, 2001 - Los Angeles, California

Good afternoon! For me this is a big speech. So I asked a number of trusted folks how I should approach it. One especially helpful friend said, "John, don't try to be funny and don't try to be intellectual. Just be yourself." I appreciated that! That boosted my self-esteem!

And then I decided that that was actually some pretty good advice. So I resolved to keep this speech short and simple. No heavy-duty policy. I decided it was most important to give you an idea about who I am, what I believe in, and what I want to do with this job that you have entrusted to me.

Let's start with "who I am." Well, I am a teacher...a special education teacher with 20 years in the classroom. I have been an NEA member for three decades, going back to my undergraduate days at Western Carolina, where I was president of the Student NEA chapter. And, as you know by now, I am a Southerner, which means I think that most of y'all speak with a funny accent.

But my friends, I am a different kind of Southerner. Yes, I come from a region where most folks are hostile toward unions. But I am part of a vocal minority in the South who wear the union label proudly. I believe that all of us - including those of us denied the right to collective bargaining - should wear that word "union" as a badge of honor, a badge of professional standing, a badge of professional solidarity.

Specifically, my friends, I believe in our great union, the National Education Association - a union that fights for the needs of children...a union that gives us professional stature and standing...and a union that is determined to do what is right for our members.

You know, I couldn't have chosen a more auspicious time to take on this job. We are strong in membership. We are strong financially. We are strong in organization and staff. We have a strong leader in Bob Chase.

So what do we do with all of these amazing strengths? Simple. We use these strengths to make our members' dreams come true, so our members, in turn, can make the dreams of children come true.

And what are our members' dreams?

Number one, they dream of being paid a competitive, professional salary. And yes, we've got our work cut out for us. I mean, it is just a national disgrace that teachers in the Dakotas and some other states start out with salaries of 17, 18, 19 thousand dollars. It is a disgrace that a recent national Teacher of the Year, with thirty years of excellence in the classroom, was being paid $40,000 a year - that's what many new college graduates will make as a starting salary in other professions. And if you think teacher salaries are low, let's talk about education support personnel. As we know, many work for poverty-level wages...many have an annual income so low that their kids qualify for free and reduced-priced lunches.

This is not only a national disgrace, it has become a national crisis.

Is it my priority that NEA and each of its affiliates will fight for better salaries? You bet it is!

Do we do so as a matter of fairness and economic justice? Yes! Without apology!

But let's be clear. We fight for decent, professional salaries because this is the only way to ensure that every child will have a high-quality teacher and exposure to high quality support staff.

What are our members' dreams? In addition to professional salaries, our members dream of being treated with respect and dignity. We know the reality: so many teachers and support staff feel isolated and demoralized. It breaks my heart when I hear about teachers who actively discourage young people from considering careers in teaching.

As an association, we do a great job of fighting for concrete, tangible things - things like health insurance and employee rights. But we also need to address the intangibles, beginning with dignity and respect for teachers...for all school employees.

What are our members' dreams? They dream of being liberated from school bureaucracies that talk down to them -- bureaucrats who overwhelm them with paperwork: "in triplicate, if you please...and, oh, we misplaced it, can you do it over again?"

When I was executive director of the North Carolina Association of Educators, I lobbied the legislature relentlessly to pass a bill to cut down on paperwork. As a result, it is now the law in North Carolina that you cannot ask a teacher for information that you already have in the system. You cannot ask a teacher for the same information twice. You cannot require a special education teacher to complete any form that is not required by the federal government. And by the year 2005, North Carolina will have a paperless student information system.

My friends, I saw with my own eyes what this bill meant to North Carolina teachers in terms of respect of their time and priorities. And I believe that all NEA members deserve to be treated this way.

What are our members' dreams? They dream of smaller class sizes....skilled mentors for every first year teacher....quality professional development that doesn't waste their time or insult their intelligence.

What are our members' dreams? They dream of lifting up every child, every student. They dream of extending a helping hand to their colleagues in too many of our rural and inner-city schools whose best efforts - whose heroic efforts - are sabotaged by dysfunctional systems, by demoralized communities, and by the most handicapping condition, poverty.

On that score, let me be blunt: I am proud of the fact that the majority of public schools range in quality from good to truly outstanding. But I do not believe in whitewashing the failure of government to adequately fund and support schools with large numbers of poor children.

It is not our job to be apologists for the status quo where that status quo is hurting children. No way!

To the contrary, we should be the ones raising hell about the shabby school buildings and inadequate resources in America's cities.

We should be raising hell about the large number of teachers in too many of our rural and urban schools who have no certification - sometimes no college degree - and, frankly, have no business standing in front of a classroom.

We should be raising hell about the fact that the poor children who could most benefit from high-quality teachers are the least likely to have them.

And - at the same time -- we should be proposing solutions. That's why NEA's initiative to make low-performing schools a top priority for our nation is so important. That's why these priority schools and priority students are among my highest priorities as executive director.

My friends, these are just some of our members' dreams. They are ambitious dreams...noble dreams. And I am under no illusions: they will be difficult to realize.

That's why I have spent the last eight months reorganizing our staff and resources to prepare for the battles ahead. We have created new departments for student achievement, teacher quality, school system capacity, and public, parental and business support. We are strengthening our department for collective bargaining and member advocacy. We are creating a Portal to maximize cyberspace services to our members. Most importantly for our support staff members, we are incubating a new Department of ESP Quality to improve our support for the professional needs of all education support personnel.

At the same time, we have cut back the levels of management at NEA headquarters. We have strengthened our staff with new hires who bring excellent experience. We have rededicated ourselves to putting our members first.

I often say that a bureaucracy is an organization that finds a way to say no. NEA will be an organization that finds a way to say, "Yes, we can do that!" Our members deal with too many bureaucracies already. Their union should not be yet another one. Every day, I and every other staff person at NEA will wake up thinking about how we can make your day...how we can make your dreams come true.

My friends, I've got to be frank with you. Even in my short time in Washington, I have encountered plenty of folks who say these things can't be done.

It drives me nuts. Every time we set forth a good idea for moving public education forward, folks immediately begin the tearing-down process. Washington is full of naysayers and ankle-biters...folks who specialize in saying, "No...no way...you can't do that...it won't work."

But let me make a solemn pledge to you. I pledge that I will never give in to these people. They can nay-say and ankle-bite and squeal. But I will not let them stand in the way of our dreams.

Several weeks ago, I visited the new monument in our Nation's Capital to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is terrific - with lots of wonderful FDR quotations. And one quote in particular inspires me. Franklin Roosevelt said: "The only thing that limits our realization of a better tomorrow will be the doubts we have today. Let us move forward with a strong active faith."

My friends, we must not be stopped by the doubts of today. We must have a strong, active faith. Faith in ourselves. Faith in our profession. Faith in the capacity of NEA to make big things happen. Faith in our ability to make dreams come true.

So let us go forward together as a strong, confident NEA.

I deeply appreciate this opportunity to serve you as executive director.

For decades, now, you have been my friends and my colleagues. I intend to call on you in new, demanding, challenging ways.

Whatever the challenge, let us reject the naysayers...let us insist that solutions are possible.

Let us make our members' dreams come true so that our members, in turn, can make the dreams of children come true.

Finally, let us realize that, when we are working together as a united NEA family, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

Thank you, my friends! And God bless you.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.6 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.