AFT-Speeches

Selden addresses the issue of whether or not college teachers should form unions. He explains that it takes courage to form a college teachers union because college presidents and trustees tend to resist the unionization of "their" teachers.

Selden talks about how teachers should care enough to strike. He says strikes shouldn't be looked at as bad, but rather as great, because that shows the teachers care enough about their jobs and the students to make improvements in the schools.

In this speech, Shanker starts by talking about the importance of CED reports, which signify the public’s political commitment to schools, education reports and sophisticated analysis that help to develop priorities when it comes to education. He also talks about changes that are happening in Public Education and those that are still needed.

In this speech “A Revolution that is Overdue”, Shanker discusses making the teaching profession more marketable to those who are in the higher grade percentiles in college; attracting excellent candidates as opposed to illiterate ones.

In this speech Shanker addresses restructuring American Education. He talks about creating a new different kind of school. He addresses the issues of teacher salary, reduced class sizes and allowing teachers more time to observe one another. He also talks about creating teams in the classroom to engage students as opposed to having them work alone, this “team spirit” he says will get the kids to want to work.