New York Times Columns

This is a collection of paid advertisements in the New York Times "Week in Review" that appeared as columns by former UFT President Randi Weingarten on matters concerning public education.

What Matters Most #31: Unfinished Business, June 2009

Last week, I told New York City educators that I was stepping down from the best job I have ever had, leading the United Federation of Teachers. Last summer, after being elected president of my national union, l knew this day would eventually come but it was still hard. Why? Because there is always more to be done.

What Matters Most #30: Winning the “Race to the Top,” May 2009

Despite many well intentioned efforts to lift up our lowest-performing students in America, eight years after “No Child Left Behind” the achievement gap remains a persistent problem. And the current remedy of simply closing schools down or turning them into charter schools hasn’t turned the situation around.

What Matters Most #29: A Few Facts about Teachers' Unions, April 2009

John Adams famously said that “facts are stubborn things.” But that doesn’t stop some people from trying to twist, ignore or pick and choose facts to suit their purposes. As the president of a teachers’ union, I see facts fall victim to fiction with alarming frequency.

What Matters Most #28: A Real Opportunity for our Schools, March 2009

In his address to Congress last month, President Obama let it be known that despite the tough economic times, education was going to remain front and center in his agenda, saying: “In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity, it is a pre-requisite.”

What Matters Most #27: Mayoral Control — A Work In Progress, February 2009

In New York City, we are set to begin the debate over whether or not to continue a form of school governance — mayoral control — that was first instituted here in 2002 and is gaining much attention across the country. New Yorkers are passionate about public schools, so the debate is bound to be fierce on all sides as the state legislature weighs the arguments and decides whether to keep mayoral control as it is, modify it or repeal it entirely.

What Matters Most #26: A New Day for our Nation — and Our Schools, January 2009

There is no doubt that we, as a nation, are facing huge challenges as we begin this New Year. Still, I cannot help feeling a tremendous sense of optimism about our collective ability to confront the challenges we face, rethink how we solve problems and truly usher in a new, brighter era in American life. Sometimes difficult times bring out our best selves and our best ideas — a willingness to listen to our adversaries and try new approaches, if only because doing nothing is not an option.

What Matters Most #25: Children vs. Adults, December 2008

Some of our nation’s education leaders have floated the notion that our public schools have become a battleground — the children versus the adults. It’s a simplistic insinuation that there are two clear sides in the fight to improve our schools: On one side sit the ‘reformers’ fighting on behalf of children and on the other, the teachers and their unions, doing everything they can to improve their own lot, even at the expense of student achievement.

What Matters Most #24: The Right Choices for Education and the Economy, November 2008

We are living in an extraordinary moment in our history. We have a President-elect whose very victory brings us closer to fulfilling the founders’ vision of “a more perfect union” and who challenges all Americans to put aside our differences and assume a shared responsibility for our future. And given the enormous challenges we face as a nation, we must think about the long term as we make the necessary adjustments to get us through the near term crisis. Nowhere is that clearer than in education.

What Matters Most #23: Making the Economy Work for Working People, October 2008

It is often only in the wake of disasters or scandals that sweeping change happens in Washington DC. In the wake of the depression, we created Social Security, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other important initiatives aimed at getting people back to work and creating a safety net so that people wouldn’t fall through the cracks again. In the wake of Watergate, ethics and financial disclosure rules were created and strict limits were placed on campaign contributions to rebuild trust between the American people and our government.

What Matters Most #22: Time for 'Bottom Up' Reform, September 2008

There is a great deal of weight resting on the shoulders of educators and the children they teach these days. With an economy in recession, a disappearing middle class and a safety net that seems to grow more threadbare every year, Americans are nervous about the future--and with good reason.

What Matters Most #21: What to do this summer? Read. For fun, July 2008

When I was a child, most summers my sister and I went off to camp. I remember so clearly the feeling of anticipation that school was about to end and getting excited to see my “summer” friends. And one of the markers that summer had truly arrived was when my sister and I would get our suitcases out of the attic and decide what books we were going to pack for our three weeks away from home.

What Matters Most #20: Keeping The Community in Our Schools, May 2008

This year, I hit a few milestones.I turned 50. I hit the ten-year mark as president of the United Federation of Teachers. And I decided to run for president of my national union, the American Federation of Teachers, following in the footsteps of the UFT’s legendary founder Albert Shanker and my mentor, Sandra Feldman.

What Matters Most #19: Keeping Violence in Check in Our Schools, April 2008

When we think about a looming recession, things like job losses, less consumer spending and government budget cuts come to mind. But one of the less obvious but most troubling effects of recession is increasing violence — and our schools are not exempt from this trend.

What Matters Most #18: Accountability in Schools, March 2008

Much of the debate over the vitally important subject of accountability in our schools, driven in large part by the president’s No Child Left Behind act, has focused almost exclusively on high-stakes standardized tests. Missing from the discussion are many of the important ingredients in a well-rounded education — ingredients that because they are not currently measured by testing, are being whittled away or ignored altogether.

What Matters Most #17: In Hard Times, Who Speaks for the Children?, February 2008

When hard times hit at home, parents try to protect their kids. But who advocates for kids when our government faces hard times? While recession fears are fueling school budget cuts across the nation, they have hit hard in New York City.

What Matters Most #16: Homework for the Presidential Candidates, January 2008

It feels like the presidential campaign has been going on forever. We have heard candidates’ views on everything from health care, immigration and Iraq to their favorite gadgets, foods and forms of exercise. There have been countless debates, interviews and town hall meetings. Still, our political debate has not yet focused on our schools. Some have paid more attention than others, and we applaud those who have stepped up. But it’s sadly not true across the board. That has to change.

What Matters Most #15 : Report Cards for Our Public Schools, December 2007

Report cards and ratings help us make decisions. From our kids’ grades, to which cities to live in, to what restaurant to go to, the letters A, B, C, D and F guide many of the choices we make in our daily lives.

What Matters Most #14: Teacher Bonuses— How to Do it Right, November 2007

In New York City last month, the United Federation of Teachers and Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a different approach: a groundbreaking, voluntary school-wide bonus program designed to raise student achievement in schools serving our most needy children.

What Matters Most #13: How to Fix ‘No Child Left Behind’, October 2007

Unfortunately, it has become clear that serious flaws in NCLB are preventing it from helping all children succeed. In fact it guarantees its own failure by requiring all children to be proficient in math and reading by 2014, a laudable but increasingly unrealistic goal. Now that NCLB is up for reauthorization, we have a chance to fix what’s wrong.

What Matters Most #12: A Unique Partnership for a New School Year, September 2007

One of the reasons that the beginning of the school year is such a hopeful time is that it represents a fresh start. The classes are new and there is energy and a sense of purpose in the air. And the spirit of cooperation is at its most evident. Unfortunately, for students and teachers alike, as the year wears on, much of the hopefulness we feel at the beginning of school wanes. Typically, we get pushed into the familiar bureaucratic routines, usually by someone in an office who has forgotten what it’s like to be a student and has never had to hold the attention of a classroom full of kids.

What Matters Most #11: Tough Liberal, August 2007

Any discussion of the history of public schools in the 20th century would be incomplete without mention of the debt owed to Albert Shanker. The legendary American Federation of Teachers president, who died in 1997, was instrumental in giving teachers a voice and making teacher unions the influential forces in education they are today.

What Matters Most #10: Early Education: Key to Future Success, June 2007

If you want good results, you try to do it right from the very beginning. That’s pretty basic advice that applies to almost any situation. And it couldn’t be any more relevant than when it comes to our children.

What Matters Most #9: Giving Our Students the Teachers They Need, May 2007

All of us who care about public education agree that all children must meet high educational standards. We also recognize that children of color and those in poverty often have the longest way to go. If we are to close that achievement gap, we must make sure that the children who are furthest behind have the teachers they need to help them catch up.

What Matters Most #8: Does it count?, April 2007

The late Al Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers, used to joke that the first thing students wanted to know about an assignment was, “Does it count?” Under the federal education law, No Child Left Behind, today’s answer to that question is always, “Yes!”

What Matters Most #7: Using Student Test Scores To Evaluate Teachers: Common Sense Or Nonsense?, March 2007

Nonetheless, with “accountability” being the most popular buzzword in education, standardized test scores are threatening to become the sole measure of teacher quality and student success. Education policymakers across the country are proposing that tenure decisions, pay and even the right to teach in highpoverty schools be based on student test scores. The idea sounds reasonable. Kids are supposed to learn in school, so what’s wrong with using test scores to rate teachers? Plenty.

What Matters Most #6: Structure vs. Instruction, February 2007

“There Are Going to Be Some Pointless Changes Around This Office,” reads the headline in the satirical newspaper, The Onion. When I saw it, I couldn’t help thinking how appropriate it would be for so many of the education stories that have dominated the news lately here in New York and across the nation.

What Matters Most #5: A Formula for Success, January 2007

When it comes to the problems of urban public schools, tough talk is all the rage. Our political leaders like to speak in absolutes — to label the problem and tell us like a stern father that it will no longer be tolerated. “Failing” school? Shut it down. “Bad” teachers? Fire them.

What Matters Most #4: It’s Time to Take the Politics Out of Charter Schools, December 2006

“Years before the charter school movement was co-opted by right wing ideologues who try to use it as a vehicle to privatize public education and rid the schools of unions, legendary UFT and AFT President Al Shanker, envisioned charter schools as centers of innovation for academic excellence that would receive public funding but remain free from state and district-imposed bureaucratic rules and regulations while being held to the highest standards of accountability.”

What Matters Most #3: Teaching the Life Skills Necessary for Success, November 2006

This column takes on the issue of the necessity for schools to create a balance of teaching academic skills along with social skills that highlight the cultural norms of the workplace. The high-stakes testing culture of our schools has caused us to neglect teaching the rules of civility, teamwork, persistence and punctuality. "It's pretty difficult to get by in the world without a healthy combination of both", Weingarten says.

What Matters Most #2: October 2006

As we seek to improve American public schools and lament the statistics showing our students lagging behind their counterparts in Europe and Asia, the discussion usually revolves around curriculum changes, testing or reforming the school structure. Rarely, however, are teachers themselves asked what needs to change in order to make them better able to reach children on a day-to-day basis. Simply asking a teacher, “How was your day?” can provide an illuminating answer.

What Matters Most #1: September 2006

Teachers across the country are beginning another school year – getting their classrooms in order, planning lessons, learning new students’ names and meeting parents. For teachers, as well as children and their parents, it’s a fresh start; a time of hope, renewal and optimism.