VOL. 32, NO. 3 | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 Newtown in our thoughts 1 To tweet or not to tweet? 3 Tuition waiver victory 4 Economic ecology 15 Myths about online courses 16 RAISING THE BAR Ensuring that beginning teachers are ready to teach from day one PAGE 8 Michigan hijacking Obamacare twist Superstorm Sandy Election recap Gov. and lame-duck Overzealous employers Essential AFT members As the dust settles, legislators ram through hit adjuncts with rise to the demands of a role for shared right-to-work law PAGE 4 workload cuts PAGE 5 a disaster PAGE 6 responsibility PAGE 10 CUT YOUR LOSSES NOW IS YOUR TIME TO START FRESH + Credit and Budget Counseling Certified credit counselors are available 24 hours a day to help members with confidential financial guidance, free consumer credit counseling services and discounted debt-management assistance. If you have financial problems, counseling is available to help you become debt-free, learn new money-management skills and save for the future. for more information about this and other savings: aft.org/members AFT + is your advocate. For information on all AFT + programs, call 800-238-1133, ext. 8643, or e-mail
[email protected]. The AFT has an expense reimbursement and/or endorsement arrangement for marketing this program. For more information, please contact AFT Financial Services at 800-238-1133, ext. 4493; send an e-mail to
[email protected]; or visit www.aft.org/benefits/disclosure. WHERE WE STAND Raising the threshold for teachers and their preparation programs RANDI WEINGARTEN, AFT President MOST RESPECTED PROFESSIONS, such as include a demonstration of practical teaching enforcing the teaching profession’s standards.