The National (Anything But) Education Association

As a victim of public schooling, I've long been incredibly hostile to the National Education Association, which I think has visited some of the worst educational ideas ever on American classrooms. Aside from ridiculous approaches to actual education, they've forced a multicultural, feminist, politically liberal agenda on education that has nothing to do with the three Rs. I might be more forgiving if it actually succeeded either in teaching kids or imbuing them with a love of learning, but it just churns out uneducated, weak-kneed young people, lacking in analytical abilities, and often holding views starkly at odds with those their parents wished to inculcate in them. Now, courtesy of the Captain's Quarters, we get a look into the NEA's goals. The first 15 agenda items -- that is, the ones they deem most important -- have nothing to do with education:

1. [Defeated, no description] 2. Fighting Wal-Mart 3. Investigating the positions of financial firms regarding Social Security privatization 4. Adding "multiethnic" and "other" as options on ethnicity questions 5. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the NEA and ATA 6. Forming coalitions to "protect" Social Security 7. Explaining the difference between two different pension plans 8. Requesting an article for their newsletter on "health problems from exposure to fragrance chemicals". 9. Getting outside funding to allow 25 more people to attent the EPA Tools for Schools Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Symposium 10. Creating a workgroup on health care 11. Sponsoring "political training" for Congressional candidates friendly to NEA priorities (see above!) 12. [Defeated, no description] 13. Opposing "billionaire Eli Broad and any other entities to remove elected school boards from cities" 14. Repealing the Social Security offset and explaining the differences between states' approach to Social Security for teachers who move Five of the top 20 have to do with Social Security politics. Only two items in the top 30 have anything directly to do with educating children. As Michelle Malkin points out, however, they made room during their efforts to demand a withdrawal from Iraq (number 61), oppose CAFTA, (number 63), and support the boycott of Gallo Wines (number 47).

In California, our Governor is waging war against the teachers' unions, and they are fighting back with such venom it is clear that they view even his modest proposed inroads against them as a war to the death. If you're Californian, you'd do well to let the Governor know what you think of an organization that claims to speak for the schools and has no regard whatsoever for actual education.