THE BAR RAISING How Can We Ensure That Beginning Teachers Are Ready to Teach from Day One?

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

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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. law, medicine, engineering and accounting, ability as well as a rigorous exam of subject The National Board for Professional Teaching have seen a need to include formal training and pedagogical knowledge. Fundamentally, Standards could lead in establishing common and establish a high standard—a bar—for that assessment should be connected to a professional standards, aligning teacher- entry into their ranks. Teachers should be no program offering an in-depth and integrated preparation with those standards, and ensur- exception. We should set and enforce our own clinical experience that enables new teachers ing that candidates meet them. entry standards, just as those professions do. to take full responsibility when they enter their We know most teachers are incredibly To help teachers and teacher educators own classrooms. dedicated, talented professionals. But be- meet this challenge, the AFT’s Teacher Prepa- The universal threshold we’re proposing cause the quality of pre-service teacher preparation Task Force has developed a proposal would replace the hodgepodge of state licen- ration and alternative certification programs that could mark an unprecedented leap in sure tests that now exists. This threshold varies so widely, many new teachers are learn- elevating the quality of the teaching profes- would be for all teachers no matter where they ing things on the job that they should know sion. This issue of AFT On Campus lays out the work or how they enter the field—through the before they are in charge of a classroom. details (see page 8). traditional route or through alternative routes. Kids only get one chance at their educa- Our proposal is about raising the overall We do not suggest that all teacher preparation. As always, we want to make sure we’re quality of teacher preparation, not just about tion programs and certification processes making the most of it. giving another test. As we’re raising the stan- should be identical or standardized. We need dards for students through the Common Core flexibility and diversity within our schools of State Standards, we should do the same for education, because programs are designed to Tragedy and courage teachers. train teachers from different backgrounds in Newtown The tests that states now give prospective and experiences for different settings, chal- AT PRESS TIME, word came of the killing of teachers for certification and licensure vary lenges and opportunities. Also, it is important 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in enormously. Too often, those tests are not to note that neither better alignment of the Newtown, Conn. “The entire AFT community is rigorous enough, and more often, new teach- teacher preparation process nor a universal shaken to its core by this massacre of young ers tell us they are not relevant to being pre- threshold for beginning teachers precludes children and the school employees who care pared to enter the classroom. programs from being tailored to meet the for and nurture them,” AFT president Randi An April 2012 Hart Research Associates particular needs of a community or state. Weingarten said on Dec. 14. There were extraordi- survey of 500 new K-12 public school teachers This is what Finland did as a first step to nary acts of courage by school employees to lock found that one in three reported feeling un- upgrading its teaching profession and transi- down the building and protect children. prepared on their first day, especially in the tioning to a high-status, well-paid profession. AFT officers, with AFT Connecticut, have areas of classroom discipline, time manage- In fact, every leading country, especially reached out to our affiliates there—the Newtown Federation of Education Personnel, Newtown ment and lesson preparation. Teachers said those whose students are outperforming Federation of Teachers, and Newtown Federation the top problem in their training program was ours, supports teacher candidates from the of Custodians and Maintenance—pledging to do that it failed to prepare them for the chal- moment they enter their teacher training everything possible to support our teachers and lenges of teaching in the “real world.” program. staff, and the community grappling with this As part of the overall effort to raise the The United States needs to do the same. tragedy. In the days and months ahead we will quality of teacher preparation, we are propos- Practicing teachers in K-12 and higher educa- share (at www.aft.org) how those in the AFT ing a rigorous, universal assessment. It should tion should own responsibility for setting and community can extend the circle of support.

RANDI WEINGARTEN Roger S. Glass jennifer Chang AFT ON CAMPUS (ISSN POSTMASTER: Send address AFT ON CAMPUS is mailed President Editor Production Manager 1064-1971, USPS 008-636) is changes to AFT On Campus, to all AFT higher education LORRETTA JOHNSON published five times a year in 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., members as a benefit of michelle furman Secretary-Treasurer barbara mckenna Sept./Oct., Nov./Dec., Jan./Feb., Washington, DC 20001-2079. membership. Subscriptions Pamela Wolfe FRANCiNE LAWRENCE Managing Editor March/April and May/June represent $2.50 of annual Graphic Designers MEMBERS: To change your Executive Vice President adrienne coles by the American Federation dues. Nonmember address or subscription, notify Daniel Gursky Sharon Wright of Teachers, 555 New Jersey subscription price is $12/year. Kris havens your local union treasurer annette licitra Production Specialist Ave. N.W., Washington, DC Communications Director virginia myers 20001-2079. or visit www.aft.org/ Although advertisements mike rose Sharon FRANCOUR Phone: 202-879-4400 members. are screened as carefully as © 2013 American Federation possible, acceptance of an Contributing Editors Production Coordinator www.aft.org Letters to the editor may be of Teachers, AFL-CIO advertisement does not imply sent to the address above or LAURA BAKER Shawnitra Hawkins Periodicals postage paid AFT endorsement of the alicia nick to [email protected]. Cover Photo: JANE FELLER at Washington, D.C., and product or service. Production Staff Hill Street Studios Copy Editors additional mailing offices. CAMPUS CLIPS

Murky MOOCs Massive open online courses’ credit- worthiness to be assessed by education group

In the higher ed blogosphere, there is professors Daphne a debate under way about massive open online Koller and Andrew Ng, M i llan courses: Are MOOCs a meteor that will trans- and the University Pro-

form higher education in ways distance educa- fessional and Continu- K ennet h M c tion has not? ing Education Associa- In November, the American Council on tion. Coursera works with more than 30 The agenda for the CEA project includes: Education announced a wide-ranging re- colleges and universities nationwide to offer ■ Exploring new academic and financial mod- search and evaluation initiative to examine the noncredit-bearing online courses at no cost to els inspired by “the disruptive potential of academic potential of MOOCs. Among the outside students. As Coursera has taken off, MOOCs.” questions ACE and the funder, the Bill & Me- other universities have formed partnerships ■ Evaluating select Coursera courses for col- linda Gates Foundation, want to answer is: Can and rushed to offer MOOCs of their own. lege credit. these courses—and the students who take Faculty are not universally thrilled. At San ■ Examining effective approaches, pedagogies them—be assessed for credit? Diego City College, for example, the Academic and practices that lead to student success, as For decades, ACE’s College Credit Recom- Senate passed a resolution calling MOOCs “a well as the applicability of college credit rec- mendation Service has been in the business of radical change in our pedagogy” and demand- ommendations for MOOCs to college degree assessing learning done outside accredited ing a primary role for faculty in determining completion programs. institutions for college credit. These outside the use of MOOCs districtwide. The advent of MOOCs has raised many learning sites include workplaces and the “It’s pretty clear that this is an open door to questions about cost, access and quality in military. a kind of teacherless classroom,” says SDCC higher education. Through shared governance Now, ACE is partnering with the organiza- English professor Jim Miller, a member of the or curriculum committees, says Miller, faculty tions Coursera, founded in 2011 by Stanford AFT Guild. must be part of finding the answers.

Good news on college completion creasingly complex pathways. “Nontraditional students, like those who postpone college A longer view of the data shows better results overall enrollment after high school, attend college part time and/or have full-time jobs, have be- A new report on college completion shows come the new majority among U.S. college better performance by U.S. colleges and uni- students.” The old way of collecting data fails versities in getting students through to gradu- to fully capture these students and also fails to ation than the public has been led to believe— recognize institutional and policy efforts to especially by those wielding the carrot and support them, a view the AFT has long held. stick of accountability. In addition to the higher completion rate, The study, C“ ompleting College: A National the report found: View of Student Attainment Rates,” shows a ■ More than 1 in 5 students who completed a dramatic increase in the U.S. college comple- degree did so at an institution other than the tion rate when nontraditional student path- one where they started. ways are included in the data pool. Within 12 ■ Out of the full starting cohort, 3.5 percent years, 12 percent of the first-time students received a degree within six years in a state M i llan completed a degree or certificate at an institu- different from where they started. tion other than the one where they started, ■ Overall, 15 percent of two-year-college start- raising the overall completion rate from 42 K ennet h M c ers completed a degree at a four-year institu- percent to 54 percent. More than 75 percent of a cohort of first-time-in-college, degree-seek- tion within six years, and nearly two-thirds of full-time students complete college within six ing students who started in fall 2006. This those did so without first obtaining a two-year years. study is different from the Integrated Postsec- degree. The report is produced by the National Stu- ondary Education Data System (IPEDS), for ■ Gains from completions elsewhere were dent Clearinghouse Research Center, which example, which depends on graduation rate greater for traditional-age students (age 24 or used “student-level” data—as opposed to in- data from institutions tracking their student younger at first entry) than for older students stitution-specific data—made available by retention performance, not students’ persis- (age over 24 at first entry). 3,300 participating colleges and universities, tence to degree. ■ Older students who enrolled exclusively part public and private, nonprofit and for-profit. The center notes that students pursuing time actually had a higher completion rate The center looked at the six-year outcomes of postsecondary education today follow in- than traditional-age part-time students.

The full report can be found at www.studentclearinghouse.info/signature/4. 2 AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 SPEAK OUT

Is it safe to assume you may live-tweet WEIGH IN! We want to hear at academic presentations? your thoughts on the current “Speak Out” question. Go to YES NO www.aft.org/speakout. Live-tweeting engages Conferences are not nontraditional audiences strictly ‘public’ spaces In the last issue of By Alex Hanna By Adeline Koh AFT On Campus, our “Speak Out” Live-tweeting is the future of scholarly engage- Live-tweeting at academic conferences is a question was: ment. New media allows us to present our research to double-edged sword. Many feel that one’s professional As a matter of people who can’t attend academic presentations, either visibility may be increased by people live-tweeting your practice, should because they can’t attend the venue, are not part of the work. But a substantial part of the academic population internal faculty particular research community, or are not part of aca- is wary of live-tweeting, being concerned that conference be represented on demia at all. In higher education, where funding for re- papers or closed workshops are not strictly “public,” but boards of trustees? search is already subject to conservative attack, it seems rather, closed venues for ideas that are not fully ready for counterproductive to restrict when, where and how we such a large audience. These people feel there is a distinct ONLINE POLL RESULTS disseminate the fruits of our research. difference between a completely “open” space such as 80% yes In the social sciences, researchers usually use confer- Twitter, and more limited spaces such as conferences— 20% no ences to present work in progress. Exposing work at this which often charge people to take part and attend work- stage to broader audiences allows more voices to inform shops and panels. where the research could go. In the hard sciences, confer- Additionally, others worry about their ideas being ences are often the chief publication venue for ground- misrepresented by live-tweeters. Some people fear that breaking work. Linking this work to Twitter live-tweeting may lead to intellectual property allows scholars to engage, to question the theft. Erin Templeton, a Chronicle of Higher author on theory and methods, and to Education columnist, has argued that auto- generate scholarly and popular buzz matically live-tweeting someone’s talk might around that work. presuppose the speaker’s consent, and that if a Applications for the There are, of course, places in speaker were genuinely interested in being live- 2013 Robert G. which this can be inap- tweeted, she would be capable of live-tweeting Porter Schol- propriate. A dissertation a talk by herself. Accordingly, Templeton has ars Program workshop and a lab warned that automatically live-tweeting with- are available group meeting are not out permission may cross professional online. AFT places to broadcast ideas still boundaries. members and in formation. But ongoing or completed However, champions of live-tweeting have coun- their children work that strangers are already seeing presents an op- tered that there is little difference between someone live- are eligible to participate in the program, portunity to engage a wider audience and seek tweeting a talk, and someone writing down notes and e- which awards four $8,000 feedback. mailing them to colleagues after the event. Social media scholarships to graduating Take my own experience with live-tweeting: At the commentator Roopika Risam has pointed out that much high school seniors who last meeting of the American Sociological Association, of the debate over live-tweeting centers around the issues are dependents of AFT Twitter not only reached a community of scholars who of control and access, particularly around “who controls members and $1,000 grants were co-present at the conference in Denver but also conference space, presentation content, or access to to AFT members who are reached those who couldn’t attend the conference. I knowledge.” continuing their education. participated remotely at another conference where or- All in all, I would advise that if you are at a conference ganizers made an effort to engage with those onT witter, and would like to live-tweet, you should try your best to To apply: assigning each panel a “backchannel moderator” who secure permissions beforehand from the presenters. This • Download the applica- could read the stream of tweets surrounding the panel may not always be possible, but people are usually grate- tion from the AFT website at http://go.aft. and field questions that he or she asked presenters. ful you asked and are generally excited by the prospect of org/scholarships; or As new media technologies keep evolving, we will be their work reaching a larger audience. Simply put, asking • E-mail an applica- able to have our research reach new audiences. We in advance will put your mind at ease. tion request to should embrace this new reality. [email protected]. ______Adeline Koh is a visiting faculty fellow in the humanities at Alex Hanna is a Ph.D. student in sociology at the University of Duke University. In the fall, she returns to Richard Stockton Application deadline Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the Teaching Assistants’ College (N.J.), where she is an assistant professor of literature is March 31, 2013. Association. and a member of the Stockton Federation of College Teachers.

AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 3 Michigan Republicans ram through right to work An act of ‘contempt for middle-class families’

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who, in his two dent Randi Weingarten. years in office, had maintained that he would President Obama, who was at the Daimler not support so-called right-to-work legislation Detroit Diesel Plant on Dec. 10, said that right- because it is too divisive, did an abrupt about- to-work laws are a “race to the bottom.” They face in December. As the clock ticked down on are “giving you the right to work for less money,” a lame-duck Legislature, he signaled that he he said. “What we shouldn’t be doing is trying

had changed his mind. Republican legislators to take away your rights to bargain for better AFT M i c hi gan p h oto rammed two anti-worker measures—one for wages or working conditions.” Labor friends protested in Lansing on Dec. 11. the public sector and one for the private— Hundreds of AFT members, including edu- through both chambers. With a stroke of the cators from the Lecturers’ Employee Organiza- today began the process of putting it back to- pen on Dec. 11, Snyder made Michigan—the tion and the Graduate Employees’ Organiza- gether. Today was the first step in the long road cradle of the American labor movement—the tion (University of Michigan), the Graduate to take our state back.” 24th right-to-work state in the nation. Employees Union (Michigan State), and the “Gov. Snyder’s own flip-flop on this issue The legislation takes away workers’ rights Henry Ford Community College Federation of reveals the lengths to which he is willing to go while doing nothing to create jobs. In reality, Teachers, were among the more than 15,000 to deliver for the Koch brothers, [Amway heir] the record from right-to-work laws in other workers, labor leaders, clergy, activists and Dick Devos, ALEC [the American Legislative states is one of lower wages, fewer benefits and other allies who gathered outside the Lansing Exchange Council], CEOs and other extremists more dangerous workplaces. Capitol on Dec. 11 to protest. waging a war on working people—all while The devastating actions of the elected offi- “The actions of Gov. Rick Snyder and his ignoring the will of Michigan citizens and the cials, many of whom won’t even be in office lame-duck Legislature have torn Michigan needs of Michigan families,” said Weingarten. come January, “demonstrated their contempt apart,” said AFT Michigan president David She applauded the six Republican House mem- not only for Michigan’s middle-class families, Hecker, an AFT vice president. “The thousands bers and four Republican senators who joined but also for democracy itself,” said AFT presi- of men and women who gathered in Lansing with Democratic legislators to oppose the law. Grad employees win tuition waivers—again In Illinois, contract averts strike and preserves national model

The Graduate Employees’ Organiza- ees—tuition waiver protection. The university vote, a skilled mediator, and an “active, ener- tion at the University of Illinois at Urbana- has been trying to erode the benefit since the getic membership” that held teach-ins and Champaign has ratified a five-year contract GEO held a successful two-day strike in 2009 work-ins and attended bargaining sessions. with the university running from Aug. 16, and secured the language in the contract. “Our sense about the waivers,” says Uhl, 2012, to Aug. 15, 2017. The GEO is affiliated “Tuition waivers are a fundamental part of “was that the administration was trying some- with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and graduate education at every major university,” thing: Could they switch to a more private, the AFT, and represents 2,400 teaching and says GEO spokeswoman Stephanie Seawell. corporate model at a Big Ten, land-grant re- graduate assistants. “Waivers are how universities, like the Univer- search institution? If they had been success- For the second time in three years, as the sity of Illinois, are able to hire and compete for ful, a lot of places might have followed suit.” fall semester was in high gear, high-quality and diverse graduate students.” Across the country, graduate employees GEO members fought the graduate employees In 2010, the university arbitrarily reduced were “very mindful” of what was happening energetically for their found themselves staring the waiver benefit to cover just the in-state at Illinois, says Samantha Montgomery, soli- contract, holding teach-ins, work-ins down a strike over a bedrock value of the tuition for some TAs in the College darity and political action chair of the Gradu- and rallies. issue for all graduate employ- of Fine and Applied Arts. The union filed a ate Employees’ Organization at the University grievance, and in 2011, an arbitrator found that of Michigan. “We didn’t want to see that com- the university had unilaterally violated the ing our way.” contract. The university appealed, and on Nov. “Collective bargaining really was the thing 15, 2012, the Illinois Educational Labor Rela- that gave us the power to protect our tuition tions Board unanimously upheld that decision waivers,” adds Uhl. “If we hadn’t been orga- and ordered that the teaching assistants be nized, with the IFT and AFT behind us, we reimbursed for the difference, with interest. would have been powerless.” “The labor board decision had an impact,” The GEO was also able to secure increases says Natalie Uhl, a fifth-year doctoral student to the minimum stipends and to what the em- in anthropology and a member of the GEO ployer would pay for health insurance premi- bargaining team. Other cards that strength- ums. In a side letter, the university agreed to

i d C o m erford D av ened the union’s hand: a strike authorization comply with the IELRB order.

Watch a video about the Michigan 4 AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 protest at http://go.aft.org/MichiganRTW. Downsizing adjuncts’ workload Colleges jump the gun on Affordable Care Act and definition of ‘full-time’ work

issued a decision on the matter. “Because the federal government has not yet defined full-time status for contingent faculty, any employer who cuts contingent faculty workload is doing so pre-emptively, without the benefit of complete information,” says Clary. On Jan. 22 and again Jan. 23, the AFT will sponsor a one-hour webinar to answer questions about contingent faculty and healthcare. (See below for information.) “Institutions like CCAC don’t know what to do, so they’re acting on advice of consul- tants, trying to plan for the worst,” says John Dziak, president of AFT Local 2067, which represents the full-time faculty at the Com- munity College of Allegheny County. “As we see it, the act isn’t the problem,” says Craig Smith, AFT Higher Education director. “It’s institutions finding ways to deny The Affordable Care Act will open the employed on average at least 30 hours per deserving employees potential benefits. This door for millions of American workers and week. The penalties apply when a full-time is just another example of bad employer their families to gain access to affordable employee receives a subsidy to buy insurance behavior.” health insurance beginning in 2014. But in a state’s exchange. Very few adjuncts around the country some college administrations are panicking The Community College of Allegheny have health benefits from their employer, so at the thought that their poorly compensated County (Pa.) notified its faculty and staff in the Affordable Care Act will help them, says adjuncts might be among them. mid-November that it would cut the work- Clary. “Adjuncts are so poorly paid that they On Nov. 29, Kate Henderson, an adjunct loads of some 400 employees in order to would almost certainly qualify for subsidies professor in the Department of Physical Edu- “comply with the new legislation’s concep- on the exchange that would make coverage— cation, Recreation and Health at New Jersey’s tion of part-time employment.” The college is even family coverage—affordable.” Kean University, got a terse e-mail from her worried that it might be hit with $6 million in For now, the affected Kean adjuncts will employer informing her that she would not penalties in 2014. be filing for unemployment benefits due to a be teaching her usual three courses next se- Youngstown State University in Ohio also workload reduction, says Henderson. “And, mester. One of her fully enrolled courses recently announced similar defensive ac- the university will advertise for hundreds of would be assigned to a new hire. tions, with a twist: Any adjunct whose load new adjuncts they will have to process, hire Henderson soon learned that 210 of her goes over 29 hours will be fired. and train for the spring semester. It makes no 1,200 adjunct colleagues had received similar sense,” she complains. notifications, with apologies “for the incon- Colleges are being hasty venience.” The university is cutting the ad- The AFT has been carefully tracking the Af- juncts’ maximum load from three three- fordable Care Act since its inception, and has Webinar credit courses per semester (fall and spring) submitted comments to the U.S. Treasury to two. Department on the 30-hour rule in The Affordable Care Act and Although the administration says the particular. implications for contingent faculty policy change is a matter of managerial pre- “Federal regulators have not yet issued Jan. 22 and 23 rogative, Henderson, president of the Kean rules on how full-time status will be deter- University Adjunct Faculty Federation, be- mined for contingent faculty,” says Amy Clary The AFT will host a 60-minute webinar to address lieves the change is a misguided reaction to of the AFT research and strategic initiatives the 2014 healthcare exchanges and the penalties that may be levied on employers who do not insure measures in the Affordable Care Act. department. AFT national staff met recently their full-time employees. We will also discuss the Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act with federal regulators to discuss this issue as law’s definition of full-time employee and answer levies penalties against large employers (with part of an AFL-CIO-led coalition of unions. questions. more than 50 full-time equivalent workers) The AFT recommended that 12 credit hours Join us on either Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 2 p.m. or who do not offer affordable insurance cover- per semester be regarded as the equivalent of Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. (EST). The same age to their full-time employees. The act de- full time for the purpose of the employer pen- content will be repeated in each session. fines a “full-time” employee as one who is alty, but the federal regulators have not yet To register, go to http://tinyurl.com/cv9hpn8.

AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 5 Answering the call Superstorm Sandy highlights the essential role of AFT members and other public employees

AFT members along the Eastern Seaboard felt the impact of Su- perstorm Sandy, both professionally and personally. Preparing for the Oct. 29 storm and dealing with its aftermath—an ongoing chal-

mi ller p h otograp y lenge—highlighted the essential services provided by healthcare professionals, educators, college public safety officers and other state workers. They stepped up to help with the rescue and relief activities, often mounting heroic efforts in the face of difficult circumstances. For example, 10 campuses of the City University of New York served as evacuation centers, according to the Clarion, the newspa- per of the Professional Staff Congress. The biggest center was at York College, which housed 1,000 Sandy refugees for nearly a week. York’s public safety officers—PSC members—worked alongside FEMA and city workers to keep the peace, assist with the flow of supplies, and ensure a clean and safe environment for people reeling from shock- ing losses. Families from the hard-hit Rockaways and the burned- out Breezy Point homes in Queens, N.Y.,

UFT members sort found refuge there. through supplies, top, York College assistant professor Eric and assist with Metcalf camped out in his office with his distribution to families, wife and a friend, commuting to the Rocka- left, in hard-hit areas of New York City. Bottom: ways for 12-hour days of pumping water President Weingarten, out of building basements, demolishing at left, lends a helping water-damaged portions to ward off mold, hand, and union members help rebuild and rebuilding. “This is like something out a home. of a nightmare,” Metcalf told the Clarion two weeks after the storm. “You cannot imagine how bad it is.” TheClarion reports that at least 12 PSC members lost their homes. Some members of the CUNY family lost their lives.

Occupy Sandy

MI LLER P H OTOGRAP Y Elsewhere in the city, veterans of the Occupy Wall Street movement quickly morphed into Occupy Sandy, a shelter, food and relief off- shoot, according to a Nov. 1 report posted on the Huffington Post. Two days after the hurricane, when FEMA had yet to appear, volunteers in the hard-hit Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook were organizing to get food, clothing and other necessities to the elderly and others marooned in high-rise apartment buildings that lacked electricity. “We’ve been walking up and down stairs, providing care packages of food, and flashlights and bottled water,” said Conor Tomás Reed, a member of the Professional Staff Congress who is a doctoral student at the City University of New York and a professor at Baruch College. “Occupy has gone from general protest work to now direct community support,” Reed told the Huffington Post.

aft AND UFT P H OTOS The AFT’s healthcare workers also did heroic duty. An article in

To view a video of the Superstorm Sandy relief effort, 6 AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 go to http://go.aft.org/sandyvideo. the Nov. 1 edition of the New York Times members of the University of Connecticut chronicled the work of nurses and health Professional Employees Association were professionals represented by the Visiting prepared, reports UCPEA member Chuck AFT secretary- Nurse Service of New York, an affiliate of the Morrell, the university’s associate director treasurer Lorretta Federation of Nurses/UFT. Allison Ch- for operations. He says that during a natural Johnson in the isholm, who works for the VNS, pressed her disaster emergency such as this one, the Rockaways in Queens, N.Y. way through the difficult challenges created Student Union serves as a gathering place by the storm to take care of her patients. “It for the campus, providing not only the food was treacherous driving during the hurri- court options but also charging stations for cane. But it’s just something you do as a cell phones, laptops and other electronic nurse,” Chisholm told the Times. “That con- devices. AFT members tinuity of care helps the healing. I don’t see The key is advance planning, Morrell says. help with relief effort this as being heroic. I have a conscience. I “It always will come back to planning and the need to get to sleep at night.” preparations that are made in advance of the HUNDREDS OF AFT members and staff As the weeks passed, hundreds of United weather event.” took part in a “Day of Action” on Nov. 10 to Federation of Teachers members volun- help with Superstorm Sandy relief efforts. teered repeatedly to help their union broth- The union family steps up AFT members from Connecticut, Maryland and Pennsylvania traveled by bus to New ers and sisters as well as their neighbors Across the country, AFT members have re- York to volunteer with members of the recover. They helped with rebuilding, dis- sponded generously to the multibillion dollar United Federation of Teachers to distribute tributing food and supplies, and getting costs of recovery. The much-needed supplies, food and clothing to students back to school and life back to nor- national union imme- Taking a break from the cleanup, York members in affected areas in New York. mal (see sidebar). diately activated AFT College assistant Members from AFT Pennsylvania and the Superstorm Sandy Di- professor Eric Baltimore Teachers Union were at the New Jersey reels saster Relief, which Metcalf surveys United Federation of Teachers headquarters the wreckage in in New York City. They stuffed 30,000 Superstorm Sandy aimed its greatest wrath provides several ways his Rockaways on the Jersey Shore, where the AFT-affiliated of giving (see box). As neighborhood. backpacks with school supplies and other necessities. The backpacks were given to elementary and secondary school students who had been relocated because of the storm. The UFT also collected coats, hats and gloves donated by AFT Pennsylvania members. Volunteers from AFT Connecticut and AFT national headquarters in Washington, D.C., were also on hand. They spent the day in the Rockaways and on Coney Island, where they distributed toiletries, water and batteries to members and others in the community. Volunteers also took part in cleaning up beach areas, parks and school- yards. Members of the New York State United Teachers were on Long Island to help at recovery sites as well. Your contribution will help AFT members rebuild their lives after the devastation A group of volunteer members from of Superstorm Sandy. Go to http:// upstate New York, who had gotten help go.aft.org/superstormsandyrelief from the UFT and others when Hurricane to make a donation. Irene hit last year, decided to return the favor. Martin Messner, president of the

S anders D ave Schoharie (N.Y.) Teachers Association, who was named an AFT Everyday Hero for his Health Professionals and Allied Employees AFT On Campus went to press six weeks after local’s efforts to help in the aftermath of represents nurses and other health profes- the storm, donors had given more than Irene, mobilized his members to help rebuild homes on Staten Island. sionals. Many of them worked around the $250,000 through the AFT Disaster Relief In addition, the AFT delivered cleaning clock to care for patients, in addition to deal- Fund, raised $35,000 to buy new books supplies, gas cans, batteries, blankets and ing with the impact of the storm on their through the AFT’s Sandy First Book Fund, other items to the AFT-affiliated Health own lives. Thanks to generators—and the and sent more than $10,000 to the projects Professionals and Allied Employees in hard work of HPAE members—the hospitals identified through Donors Choose—a non- New Jersey. The donated items were managed to remain operational. profit that links people who want to support distributed to locals where members have Connecticut also felt Sandy’s impact, but learning with public school teachers. been hit the hardest.

AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 7 THE BAR RAISING How can we ensure that beginning teachers are ready to teach from day one?

All future teachers should be re- performance assessment. This assessment Stanford University, has been working on an quired to meet a universal and rigorous bar would be required of all future teachers, entry teacher performance assessment called that gauges mastery of subject-matter knowl- whether they enter the profession through the edTPA, which is being piloted in 24 states. It edge—much like the bar exam lawyers must traditional or an alternative route. also heard from Jim Cibulka, president of the take before they can enter the legal profes- ■ Primary responsibility for setting and enforc- National Council for Accreditation of Teacher sion—and demonstrates competency in how ing the standards of the profession, and for Education; Harvard University professor of to teach, the American Federation of Teach- ensuring quality and coherence of teacher education Susan Moore Johnson; and Susan ers says in a report released in December on preparation programs, must reside with the Petroff, a senior director of the American As- boosting the standards for teacher members of the profession—practicing pro- sociation of Colleges for Teacher Education. preparation. fessionals in K-12 and higher education. The task force commissioned a survey of “Raising the Bar: Aligning and Elevating new teachers, with three years of experience Teacher Preparation and the Teaching Profes- or less, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research sion,” issued by the AFT Teacher Preparation Associates in April 2012. Task Force, urges a move toward a systemic The survey of 500 novice K-12 public approach to preparing teachers and a more school teachers was illuminating, though not rigorous threshold to ensure that every new surprising, said task force members. teacher is ready to teach. Task force member ■ One in 3 new teachers reported feeling un- At a time when school systems in 48 states William Buxton: prepared on their first day. They said the top ”We felt no divide have raised the bar for students through the between higher ed problem in their training program was a fail- widespread adoption of the internationally and K-12.” ure to prepare them for the challenges of benchmarked Common Core State Standards, teaching in the “real world.” says AFT president Randi Weingarten, “we ■ New teachers were more likely to feel unpre- must do the same for teachers.” pared if they taught large numbers of special “It’s time to do away with a common rite of needs students or taught in a low-income or passage into the teaching profession—where- low-performing district. by newly minted teachers are tossed the keys ■ Teachers who received an alternative certi- to their classrooms, expected to figure things /B ob E ll i s S tandard C ortland fication were more likely to feel unprepared, out, and left to see if they and their students and they also gave their training low marks. sink or swim. This is unfair to both students The work of the task force ■ Those with a master’s degree and content and their teachers, who care so much but who The 14-member task force was made up of an training in the subject they teach reported want and need to feel competent and confi- even split of K-12 teachers and higher educa- feeling more prepared. dent to teach from their first day on the job,” tion faculty, from both general disciplines and she says. schools of education. The AFT and other A tangle of stakeholders unions are uniquely positioned to bring both The task force set out first to identify what How to improve teacher training worlds together, says William Buxton, an as- works and does not work in the field of teacher The report lays out three changes the task sociate professor of literacy education at the preparation, and why. A starting resource was force recommends to truly improve teacher State University of New York College at Cort- “Building a Profession: Strengthening Teacher preparation and, by extension, teaching and land. He is also chair of the United University Preparation and Induction,” a report of an- learning: Professions’ Teacher Education Committee. other AFT task force on teacher education that ■ All stakeholders must collaborate to ensure “You typically hear of a divide between was released in 2000. Its recommendations that teacher preparation standards, programs higher education and K-12. We didn’t feel that then—for more rigorous entry and exit stan- and assessments are aligned with a well- existed. We all had the same concern: How do dards, clinical training and mastery of content grounded vision of effective teaching. we ensure we have qualified teachers to go knowledge—are as relevant today, all agreed. ■ Teaching, like other respected professions, into classrooms and who, once there, get on- But the better alignment it called for never must have a universal assessment process for going support to improve?” happened. entry that includes rigorous preparation cen- The task force met over the course of a year The 2012 task force took a hard look at the tered on clinical practice as well as theory, an and heard from leading lights in the teacher lack of alignment and coherence that results in-depth test of subject and pedagogical education and research world, such as Linda from a broad state-driven, decentralized pub- knowledge, and a comprehensive teacher Darling-Hammond, who, with colleagues at lic education system.

View the report at: www.aft.org/pdfs/highered/ raisingthebar2012.pdf. 8 AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 One figure in the report shows the web of due for the United States to commit to a con- oversee establishing a widely agreed-upon set stakeholders—teacher education institutions, sistent approach that will lift the teaching of standards, coherent programs and a com- K-12 schools, teacher accrediting agencies, profession by making the training and prepara- mon set of rigorous assessments. The National state education boards, the federal govern- tion of our educators more effective, efficient Board for Professional Teaching Standards has ment, education associations and unions— and rigorous,” she says. already established the standards for what ac- that are responsible for standards, program One strength of the report, says Derryn Mo- complished teachers should know and be able design, assessment and certification, as well ten, an Alabama State University professor, to do. as for program review for teacher preparation. co-chair of the Faculty-Staff Alliance there and “The time is right for moving teaching into The system in the United States, says the re- a task force member, is its call for program ad- the ranks of the premier professions, such as port, “is at best confusing and at worst a frag- mission requirements that are rigorous, but law and medicine,” says NBPTS president and mented and bureaucratic tangle of stake- also flexible enough to include multiple mech- CEO Ronald Thorpe. “The AFT has laid out a holder groups with varied, sometimes overlapping, responsibilities and blurry accountability lines.” “The time is long overdue for the United States to commit to “That graphic for me captured what I have a consistent approach that will lift the teaching profession felt for a number of years, a dysfunction in the organization of teacher preparation,” says Bux- by making the training and preparation of our educators ton. “It’s a fiction to say all are on the same more effective, efficient and rigorous.” page, unified in their goals and in what they are —FrancIne Lawrence, AFT executive vice president trying to accomplish.” AFT executive vice president Francine Law- rence was chair of the AFT Teacher Preparation anisms for assessing potential teacher candi- wise and bold vision for transforming the pro- Task Force. When she was president of the dates: “The report says, students with the com- fession, and we are pleased to help ensure a Toledo (Ohio) Federation of Teachers, she put mitment and demonstrated potential to be coherent career trajectory that builds on pro- the district on the map by negotiating contract good teachers should have the opportunity and fessional knowledge and skills from pre-service provisions that defined expectations for teach- the support needed to pursue their dream, through board certification and teacher leader- ers’ subject-matter knowledge and skills, and regardless of prior disadvantage or discrimina- ship roles.” provided for high-quality, teacher-driven pro- tion,” he points out. The report now goes to the AFT executive fessional development. “The time is long over- The task force identifies a logical entity to council for approval at its February meeting.

The Tangled Web of Teacher Preparation Stakeholders

National Association National Council for American Association of of State Directors of Accreditation of Teacher Education and National Teacher Education Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Certification (NASDTEC) Independent (NCATE) Education Standards Council of Chief Boards Association Council for the State School (NIESBA) Accreditation of Officers (CCSSO) Educator Preparation (CAEP) National Governors Licensure Accreditation Association and Teacher Education (NGA) Accreditation Certification Council (TEAC) Program Approval

Traditional College and University Programs Teacher Standards/ Teacher Performance Assessments Preparation Assessment (edTPA) State/District Teacher Evaluation K-12 School Districts Requirements CCSSO’s Interstate Teacher Assessment Alternative and Support Certification National Board for Programs Consortium Professional Teaching Educational Testing Standards Service / PRAXIS (NBPTS)

AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 9 The AFT’s Election 2012 bus tour received a rousing welcome in Ohio. BOB PERKOSK I A vote for shared responsibility Unions conducted massive get-out-the-vote campaign as polls showed that members solidly backed the Obama-Biden ticket

IN 2011, THE CLOUT of the labor movement was on full display when it led the fight to repeal a bill that would gut collective bargaining for public employees in Ohio. The strength of organized labor was reaffirmed this year on Nov. 6, when its ground game was pivotal to President Barack Obama’s victory in the Midwestern battleground state and elsewhere in the country.

The re-election of Obama and Vice Presi- dorsed candidates. “Thousands upon thou- dent Joe Biden was a declaration by the sands of AFT members made phone calls, American people that to rebuild a strong knocked on doors, and reached out in every and vibrant middle class and ensure a voice way they could to get their families, friends for all, we must be in this together, AFT and neighbors to the polls on Election president Randi Weingarten says. “The im- Day—an effort that contributed not only to portance of this election was far greater than President Obama’s re-election, but also to casting a ballot for one candidate over an- victories in key Senate, House and guberna- other—as important as that exercise in de- torial races,” Weingarten adds. mocracy is,” she notes. “The American people voted to create opportunity and AFT bus tour builds excitement shared prosperity by sharing responsibility, Weingarten, AFT secretary-treasurer Lor- and to reject the cynical ‘you’re on your retta Johnson and AFT executive vice presi- own’ philosophy.” dent Francine Lawrence participated in Throughout the country, unions were these get-out-the-vote activities during the instrumental in educating members about AFT’s “Your Vote—Your Right—Their Fu- the issues and getting voters to the polls in tures” bus tour, which took them to Florida,

AFP/GETTY IM AGES support of Obama and other union-en- New York, Ohio and several other states.

To watch videos of the Ohio and Florida bus tours, go to http://bcove.me/yszud8i3 and 10 AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 http://bcove.me/rtg5a02b. This election comes down to “money addition to calling, the groups held political percent to 29 percent. The work of AFT power versus people power,” Weingarten education workshops and “beautifully inte- members and other unionists was critical in told members of the Volusia Teachers Orga- grated with AFT 2121 on CCSF’s Chinatown these and other battleground states such as nization in Daytona Beach, Fla. “They have campus,” says Messer. It lays the ground- Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, Penn- a lot of money and ads. We have the work for ongoing work on behalf of the col- sylvania and Virginia, all of which were won people.” lege and poor and working-class communi- by President Obama. In California, election activities provided ties in San Francisco. avenues for forging new strategic alliances The AFL-CIO reports that its labor elec- between labor and grass-roots community tion program made more than 80 million organizations, says Alisa Messer, president phone calls to union members and work- of Local 2121 at City College of San Fran- ing-class households, knocked on more cisco. Facing huge budget problems, the than 14 million doors, had conversations 90,000-student community college desper- with more than 3 million workers at their ately needed to see passage of Proposition job sites and sent more than 75 million A, which would send millions the college’s pieces of mail. way over the next few years. Statewide, pro- A national election night survey con- gressive groups also worked for passage of ducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates Proposition 30 (see box below). showed that union members voted for Local 2121 partnered with the Chinese Obama over Mitt Romney by 65 percent to Progressive Association Action Fund and 33 percent. The labor movement was espe- CFT p h oto Chinese for Affirmative Action in a Chinese- cially important in battleground states like Students set up tables at City College of San language, paid phone-bank program to Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin—where union Francisco to help get the vote out among the reach out to nearly 9,000 Chinese voters. In members voted for Obama over Romney 70 Asian-American student population.

Pro-worker candidates elected Voters in several states back investment in schools and public services

IN RACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, from electing a pro-working-family majority in the U.S. Senate and pro-worker governors to passing the Dream Act in Maryland, Americans went to the polls in November and voted decisively for shared responsibility and a fair shot at success. There were several notable Senate “The decisive victory of Prop 30 reveals victories, including the race in an important shift in California’s Massachusetts where Elizabeth Warren orientation,” says CFT president and AFT bested incumbent Scott Brown; in vice president Joshua Pechthalt. “For Montana, where the MEA-MFT-endorsed more than 30 years, it has been common Jon Tester won re-election; and in Ohio, wisdom that ‘Californians don’t like where Sherrod Brown, an outspoken taxes.’ No longer. Proposition 30 shows advocate for working men and women, voters once more understand what Oliver easily won re-election. Wendell Holmes said a century ago: ‘Taxes “Because of union members’ efforts are the price we pay for a civilized over the past two years in places like Ohio society.’ Prop 30 is a sign we can create a and Wisconsin to fight against attacks on fair tax system to accomplish California’s working people, voters sided with the priorities.”

candidates who understand that good H U M P R I ES M AR I LYN California voters also rejected jobs—jobs that enable a middle-class life, Proposition 32, a measure designed to many of which are unionized—are key to rebuilding our economy,” silence the voices of working people. “The members of the CFT AFT president Randi Weingarten says. worked hard alongside our sisters and brothers in other unions to In several states, including California and Ohio, voters took a stand reveal the hidden agenda of Prop 32 and to defeat it. Fair-minded to say that investing in public schools and public services is a critical individuals and institutions from all corners of California recognized priority. California voters backed an initiative that is expected to the threat 32 posed to the ability of workers to participate in the increase state revenue by as much as $9 billion. Supported by the political process,” Pechthalt says. California Federation of Teachers and Gov. Jerry Brown, Proposition In Michigan, voters rejected Proposition 1, denying the governor 30 increases taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year and the right to appoint emergency managers who can cancel contracts modestly increases the state sales tax. and abrogate constitutionally guaranteed rights.

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Hollywood meets Overtown: The UTD in Miami collaborated to turn commercial filmmaking The AFT and its United Teachers of into a learning and mentoring experience for local youth. FL Dade (Fla.) affiliate are working together with members of the Miami that can transfer, yet many have already community, including the Overtown Youth spent the maximum federal grants and loans Center and the Miami-Dade County Public they can qualify for. Schools, to partner with Hollywood filmmaker Robert Townsend and NBA Hall Montclair State University students of Famer Isiah Thomas in a film production NJ were truly offended to see their faces designed to engage young adults and teach show up in a pre-election Republican them the art of filmmaking. political mailer sent around at the end of The upcoming film “Playin’ for Love” is October. MSU opened a new 2,000-bed part of a community film initiative that dormitory in Little Falls last year. After a includes a movie production and student voter registration drive, 2,400 new college- Lorem ipsum dolor sit a met, training program in which Hollywood artists aged town residents registered to vote. The TEACHER consectetur adp sicing elit, sed GOP mailer warned recipients that students % will teach and mentor young people in DISCOUNT ...... 10 Miami’s historic Overtown neighborhood. from Democratic Party-supported clubs like dusmod tempor incididunt ut Local youth will appear as actors in the Femvolution and the Latin American LoremUse promo ipsum code dolor 7970 sit when a met, booking. Terms & conditions apply. O er to Teachers only. movie and be trained in all aspects of Student Organization would be voting in ...... making a small independent film, including “our town,” and the mailer featured photos editing, directing, sound design and from MSU literature showing the diversity of wardrobe. UTD president Karen Aronowitz, the student body—i.e., lots of women and who is an AFT vice president, notes that the people of color. project “is really an extension of the work The mailer, notes Arnold Korotkin, a our members do every single day on behalf member of the MSU Federation of Adjunct of the children and young adults in our Faculty and a Little Falls resident, “conveyed community.” a subliminal message that certain racial and “This project was created to give young ethnic groups were not welcome in Little people something to say ‘yes’ to,” says Falls.” When the votes were counted, Dems Thomas. “This is not just using the arts and won the White House and Republicans won sports to engage young people; it’s using the local seats. Hardly a revolution. both to give them an opportunity to grow and learn.” The New York State Public NY Employment Relations Board has Choose from 1000 trips in 100 In the interest of cultivating certified a unit of 380 adjunct faculty at countries and start planning informed consumers, the Ozarks Mohawk Valley Community College for your adventure now. MO ...... Technical Community College is running a collective bargaining. The new local is Order a free brochure one-of-a-kind, 30-second ad on local affiliated with the New York State United 800 970 7299 television stations. It presents the dramatic Teachers, which already represents the intrepidtravel.com difference in cost and credit value of MVCC Professional Association—the union attending its public community college as representing the more than 200 full-time compared with any of the for-profits in the faculty at the college. The adjuncts and area, whose costs can be as much as 10 times professional part-time employees formed higher and whose credits the state university the union to make their voices heard on often does not accept. numerous issues, says NYSUT, including: job The OTC chancellor told the Springfield, security, opportunities for professional Mo., News-Leader one reason for the ads: development and advancement, wages, and Students are assuming staggering debt at the opportunity to teach additional courses for-profits but still need to complete credits and work more hours.

AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 13 NEWSMAKERS

Correcting course Economics professor helps inmates re-enter society and rebuild their lives

In the world, America has the highest per- Wolff, who is a mem- centage of its population incarcerated but is ber of the Rutgers Coun- only sixth among developed countries when it cil of AAUP Chapters comes to college degree attainment. And New (AAUP-AFT), views this Jersey has among the worst ratios of correc- work as a reciprocal pro- tions-to-higher ed spending in the United cess. She does research States: It spends almost twice as much on prison offenders to learn B ruce Gi lbert ons as it does on colleges and universities. what helps people Nancy Wolff does not cite any of these sta- deeply troubled by their ters each month. Rutgers economist Nancy tistics when she talks about her work with the pasts, mental illness and the deeds they have ■ The Bridge news- Wolff learns from the inmates she works with women of the Edna Mahan Correctional Facil- done. Then she asks them, “What do you letter, edited by and gives them hope for ity for Women in Clinton, N.J. She talks about need?” Their answers have resulted in the cre- Wolff, focuses on re-entry. people. ation of programs and resources used by hun- re-entry issues for She is an economist, a professor and the dreds of inmates: people getting director of the Center for Behavioral Health ■ Books Behind Bars encourages reading and themselves ready to return to society. Services & Criminal Justice Research at Rut- discussion in a book club format. Wolff uses ■ Pounds Off Program is a weight loss, exercise gers University. Her curriculum vitae shows her own funds to pay for all the books. Re- and body image program found by Wolff in the prolific work of a prodigious scholar, but cently, she liquidated her home and used the 2010. This program addresses the obesity she doesn’t talk about that either. proceeds from the sale of her artwork and pos- problem among incarcerated women and cor- She talks, instead, about programs she has sessions to buy more books. related difficulties with low self-esteem. developed that encourage female prison in- ■ Community 101, a skills-based, practice-fo- “When you get people to stop all the nega- mates to focus on healing their minds and cused program, prepares inmates for success- tive self-talk, to feel supported, to see what bodies as they prepare to re-enter society and ful community living. their strengths are—when you build off that live productive lives. While her research agen- ■ In-prison Community Centers are peer-op- perspective—you can see people flourish,” da has her at the prison four days a week this erated centers that have computers and print- says Wolff. “I am a very fortunate woman in year, she spends another two days volunteer- ers for resume and letter writing, and other that I get to do what inspires me and gives me ing there as well. resources. More than 200 women use the cen- passion.”

TECH NOTES

MAILBOX CATCH THE SCIENCE BUG women earn more college degrees than TECHNOLOGY men, they still lag far behind in tWhile fields—science, technology, engineering and math. To encourage them, leaderhe STEM Faster. Cheaper. Better. those fields have signed on to a s pilot mentoring project known as Women The new mantra for higher ed? s in in Technology Sharing Online. WitsOnix-week is co-sponsored by Harvey Mudd College and Piazza, an Internet platform that fost BY CYNTHIA EATON

academic communication. As WHETHER YOU (piazza.com/witson) s ers punk” or “academiccall transfor it “edu “The future of higher education,” says Ka connects young women (but the website - menetz from her crystal ball, “has to be in ays, the program mation,” more people are welcome too!) with mentors so t - finding efficiencies.” She cites OmniAcademy, pointing to declining state - “talk to really smart and accomplished men are a program in which colleges can syndicate dent tuition andfunding arguing plus that skyrocketingonline education stu- people who share your career aspirhey can courses, as a wonderful example. Students is a panacea. Students who participate have to be “are watching courses online then having their I do not agree. While I fully believe that nominated by a faculty member at ations.” papers graded and concepts talked to them own institutions (a formality t technology can do much to enhance our [sic] with a graduate student at their local in Americans. Now we will not have the same conversation on point). St their teaching as well as our students’ learning, I stitution.” There’s no critical analysis of wheth Online does not replicate questions, “vote up” questions othey keep want the have grave concerns with the argument that udents can pose er a student’s education might be short to see answered, listen to and read online education should be - changed by having a TA grade his or her work answers, and participate in discuss exploited as the fastest and - The pilot ends in mid-November, but its rather than having an experienced faculty cheapest way for students to - sponsors hope it will promote mor ions. get their degrees. dynamic, because of two errors we are projects and mentoring down the road. One proponent of online face-to-face education e education is Anya Kame VOTING INFO IN THE PALM OF netz, author of YOUR HAND - Yourself University).DIY U She of your voting status,If you polling aren’t location,or sure about (Do-It- fers many shortcuts to a making. We ought not to be (1) placing the where to find up-to-the-minute news - affecting voting on Election Day, ther degree: how to teach yourself online, get college credit an app for that! You can download t without taking a college Election Protection Smartphone App fore’s iPhones and Android phones. It’ he course, and use for-profits product of the efforts of Rock the Vote, for cheaper and easier ac

burden of cost ever more on the indebted the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil sRight free, a cess to college courses Under Law, the New Organizing Institute, - The “Faster, Cheaper, Better” essay (AFT whose credits you can then and the National Association of Lat s transfer. Appointed and Elected Officials Educa- tional Fund. The app allows voters and There is a certain delu ino sion, or maybe it’s hypocra volunteers to register people, verify their - shoulders of students, while (2) delivering to cy, at work here. Kamenetz registration and contact Election Prot - On Campus, Nov./Dec. 2012, Technology tion via phone or e-mail to report a has tied the rising costs of problem or get answers to questions. education and subsequent ec- DAVE CUTLER Download the app at tinyurl.com/ student debt to a post-70s political shift, when 8bcdbh9. politicians came to view students as “danger them substandard products online. ous subversives” and faculty as “egghead aca member with an advanced degree offer rich, MOOC demics and liberals.” Yet, in an online video, s FOR REMEDIAL LEARNERS Page) is a cogent and accurate response The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation i - meaningful discussion and assessment of that she assures us that “cutting the overall time to - work. No matter: The graduate student is exploring whether the massive degree is the most efficient, most effective way cheaper. courses (MOOCs) approach could s to cut your educational costs.” If Kamenetz tailored to work for remedial andopen online and her ilk are aware that the decline of state If we believe in public education as a pub The argument that online education is tory classes. This fall, Gates put outbe a lic good, then we all have to work together to funding is a political move, is it not crass to request for proposals to award introduc- fight for state support of our public institu to some unrealistic and naive expecta- urge students to shortcut their own education - grants. A criticism of MOOCs, of cour tions. We need to speak to our families, friends 10 $50,000 to save money? that they de-emphasize faculty inv and neighbors about what we do. We need to ment—hardly a prescription for success fo The fair solution, it seems to me, would be - se, is elect officials who will help us best serve our remedial learners. Yet, Gates is h olve- to effect a shift back to state funding, since some kind of “solution” to the rising costs of students. We need to teach our students that seed an approach that blends MOOC many state colleges and universities were r “faster and cheaper” means their own process tions for online technology as well as the content into formal courses with moreoping to founded with a specific mission to educate the of education is being shortchanged. intensive faculty, advising and peer supp state’s citizens at a reasonable cost. Such logic seems to elude those who are more interested ______Cynthia Eaton is an associate professor of in “transforming” the university into little ort. at Suffolk County Community College an education takes no account of what more than an online diploma mill. 24 tance education mentor for he AFT ON CAMPUS | NOVEMBER / DEC English funding problems in higher education. Association of Suffolk Community C d a dis your questions and comments tor union, her the Faculty- EMBER 2012 fascc.org. ollege. Send economists call “externalities,” those at cynthia@ —Anthony R. Napoli Wading River, N.Y. tradeoffs that dwarf any savings that come from paying less for teachers per classroom thinking, in a nation founded on indepen- and for the classrooms themselves. The dent thought and the duty of transmitting I share Eaton’s position on U.S. education: tradeoff is in the dynamics of what educators that principle first and foremost to those in that state money, supplemented by federal do in those classrooms, face to face, which our schools. cannot be replicated by online methods. (My funds, has shown a good track record in —Margaret Vaughan, getting the U.S. population both more college is trying to do that, and it is not Madison, Wis. educated and more productive, steadily since working. Kamenetz is mistaken.) The 1945. After WWII, it became very clear that economic outcomes (not to speak of AFT On Campus welcomes letters to the editor. They can be education is a public good, an investment in psychological outcomes) are already among sent to Editor, AFT On Campus, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., the present and future well-being for all us with less reflection and less independent Washington, DC 20001, or e-mailed to [email protected].

14 AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 YOUR MONEY

More about ‘economic ecology’

BY DON KUEHN versify your assets so that some investments Hewitt revealed that the average defined- will be cycling up when others might be de- contribution account, like a 403(b) or 401(k), IN MY LAST COLUMN, I coined the term clining. Conservation also includes rebalanc- has a balance of $74,380. While that may seem “economic ecology”—how to make money, ing your portfolio as market conditions or like a fair sum, at 4 percent it represents a how to conserve it, how to grow it, and how your personal situation changes. As you near withdrawal rate of less than $3,000 per year. and when to harvest it. This topic is too big to retirement, that balance shifts toward more Knowing when to harvest your retirement fully tackle here, so I’ll spotlight some key safety and less risk. assets is a different issue. Americans have long points and urge you to go to the expanded How to grow it. I am a strong advocate of held the notion that retirement is supposed to online version (see box) to read more. no-load, low-cost mutual funds. A mutual happen at age 65. But retirement can’t be trig- How to make it. It’s not just about going to fund is a basket of stocks or bonds. By select- gered by an arbitrary date or age. If you have work and collecting a paycheck. It also means ing funds in various categories, over time you a mortgage, car loans or credit card bills, you budgeting and controlling expenses, living can build a portfolio that is diversified and need to work that debt off before you retire, or below your means and making wise choices balanced. you’ll deplete your nest egg faster than you about spending. An old axiom puts it like this: By late October 2012, the average stock planned. “It’s not how much you make that matters, it’s mutual fund had gained 11.4 percent for the Whether you are nearing retirement or just how much you keep.” year and 124 percent from the “bottom” of the beginning your career, it’s incumbent on you How to conserve it. There is a difference market plunge in 2009, according to Lipper to master your own “economic ecology.” It’s between saving and investing. You save in very Analytical Services. And the average general your money. Now is the time to get it together, low-risk accounts for short-term expenses. obligation U.S. bond fund is up 32 percent so one day you can enjoy the kind of retire- You invest to grow your assets over the long since September 2007. ment you deserve. term. How and when to harvest it. You should Investing has some inherent risks. To cush- be able to withdraw 4 percent each year from ______ion the effect of the swings in the market, di- a well-diversified portfolio without fear of Don Kuehn is a retired AFT senior national representative. For specific advice relative to your running out of assets before you die. The prob- personal situation, consult competent legal, tax or For an expanded version of this article, go to: lem is, 4 percent isn’t very much money. financial counsel. Comments and questions can be www.aft.org/publications/your_money. A recent study by pension consultant Aon sent to [email protected].

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AFT ON CAMPUS | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013 15 TECH NOTES TECHNOLOGY

Another tech bubble? In his GeekWire column, Seattle tech consultant The myth about online courses Frank Catalano worries that the boom in education technology has less to do with Why the argument against faculty just won’t die improving education and more to do with profits. By Cynthia Eaton speeds through engaging online content that He points to an “overinterest” in digital You’ve heard the myth about offers built-in assessments, allowing them to learning by venture capitalists, citing this determine when they are ready to move on. factoid from the news site EdSurge: “In online courses? A single faculty 2011, we passed the last peak of edtech member, the story goes, cannot They could get help through networks of peers investment, which occurred during the possibly develop and deliver an who are working in the same courses; online memorable bubble of 1999.” effective online course—not discussions could be monitored by subject ex- He also notes an uptick in the promo- alone—because online instruction “requires perts. When they’re ready, students could com- tion of ed technology by those with a politi- deliberate instructional design that hinges on plete a proctored assessment, perhaps at a local cal agenda, i.e., former Florida Gov. Jeb linking learning objectives to specific learning high school, or perhaps online. The university’s Bush, whose Foundation for Excellence in activities and measurable outcomes,” and few staff could then grade the assessment and as- Education has digital learning as a core part faculty possess such expertise. Ouch. sign credit. of its “reform agenda.” Adding politics to The argument for “reconfiguring” the fac- “And the education could be far cheaper the mix, Catalano writes, could mask or ulty role in higher ed was made more than 15 because there would be no expensive make divisive technology’s application and instructor.” effectiveness in the classroom. years ago regarding online courses, and the Could too much overhyped edtech argument continues today regarding MOOCs, The latest myth-spinners argue that higher “collapse into a black hole of failure?” he massive open online courses. Why won’t these education needs the “disruptive potential” of asks. “That’s a gravity well that could suck arguments against faculty fade? MOOCs. While faculty express concerns across its event horizon not just bad In 2003, the AFT Technology Review about most MOOCs as “teacherless products, greedy investors and clueless dismantled the ar- classrooms” and glori- entrepreneurs, but also the good of each gument for dis- fied technological group—with teachers and students mantling the “textbooks,” the dragged into the maelstrom.” That black professoriate. American Coun- hole, he notes, would absorb all learners, Tom Krieger cil of Education including the children of edtech entrepre- argued that the has just opened the neurs to come. (Hat tip to Hack [Higher] door by which students Education, Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 12, 2012) mid-1990s movement to “disaggregate” or “un- in these courses—which thus far have granted successful Unfulfilled expectations New bundle” faculty roles in distance data from the annual Campus Computing ed courses was a thinly disguised participants only a certificate of Survey by Kenneth C. Green show college attack on faculty as professionals. completion—might receive college

presidents and chief information officers Krieger wrote, “DE courses, the N enad J akesev i c credit. (CIOs) have mixed feelings about how well argument went, would reduce This raises numerous questions, their institutions’ technology investments the need for faculty interaction, some of which ACE promises to are paying off. For example, three-fifths of providing students with greater explore, but the crux of the issue is the CIOs view the institutional investment independence while facilitating this: While technological enhance- in IT for library resources and for adminis- their ability to work on collaborative projects ments to education might scale up well to trative information systems to be “very with peers.” What are the touted benefits of “massive,” education that is predicated upon effective,” and just over half (55.2 percent) genuine interaction with a highly trained and cite the investment in IT for on-campus MOOCs, free online courses by professors from educated professional does not. instruction as “very effective.” By compari- elite universities enrolling tens of thousands of son, a different survey Green conducted of students? Reduced need for faculty interaction, So it comes down to how we define educa- campus CEOs shows just 39.0 percent of reliance on greater student independence, and tion: Is it the process of teaching and learning presidents and 33.4 percent of provosts use of computer- and peer-grading systems. In between students and a more educated, more view the IT investment to support library other words, unbundle the expensive faculty experienced professional? Or is it the product resources and administrative systems to be role in educating students, and let technology represented by a credential, a certificate of “very effective,” and just 42.1 percent of and classmates fill in the blanks. completion, a diploma? presidents and 50.0 percent of chief Just last year, president of Southern New It’s high time to bust these myths about on- academic officers assess the IT investment Hampshire University Paul LeBlanc’s vision for line education and keep faculty voices central to support on-campus instruction as “very “the next big thing” in online education was during this period of exploration with MOOCs. effective.” described in a Chronicle of Higher Education ______In other news, 60.2 percent of the Cynthia Eaton is associate professor of English at Wired Campus posting: campuses participating in this year’s survey Suffolk County (N.Y.) Community College and a have activated mobile apps as of fall 2012 “The vision is that students could sign up for distance education mentor for her union, the Faculty or will do so in the coming academic year. self-paced online programs with no conven- Association of SCC. Send comments to her at cynthia@ View the whole survey at bit.ly/UaV4pF. tional instructors. They could work at their own fascc.org.

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