Last year the top priority of the National Education Association — the nation’s largest teacher’s union — appeared to be implementing the ideas behind the controversial Critical Race Theory under the guise of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
NEA this year continues its focus on culturally divisive issues instead of academic improvement with an attempt to replace “mother” with “birthing parent” to avoid being “transphobic.”
NEA made the proposal at its annual convention this year, according to the Washington Examiner.
“The resolution or new business item, labeled NBI 63, was one of many proposed that could be voted on by the Representative Assembly …,” the Examiner reported. “‘Using this contract language, members need not worry about how a Board of Education/solicitor defines ‘maternity leave,’ ‘mother,’ and/or ‘father’; the language is an inclusive reflection of how LGBTQIA+ members build families,’ the resolution said.”
The proposal was ultimately not brought to a vote, but it drew ire from parents.
“I don’t think we can put anything past the unions at this point,” Moms For Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News. “I don’t believe that they represent parents and children and what we need in the future of America.”
Another priority appears to be political lobbying rather than education.
According to Fox, in April, an analysis of the National Education Association’s spending shows that in 2020-2021 the teachers union spent a fraction of its money on representing members and more than double that amount on political activities.
According to data compiled by Americans for Fair Treatment, 17.6% of the NEA’s spending went to political activities and lobbying, with just 8.6% going to representational activity. Political activities also accounted for more spending than employee benefits, which made up 15.1% of the organization’s expenditures.
Educating kids is low on the list
What does not appear to be a major priority for the nation’s largest teacher union is educating children.
The Kansas National Education Association won’t comment on a Harvard University study that shows student achievement declined with remote learning during the pandemic, with minority students suffering the greatest learning loss, despite claims by large teacher unions a return to classroom instruction was “racist.”
Thomas Kane, professor of education at Harvard and one of the study’s authors, summarized the findings:
”Where schools shifted to remote learning, gaps widened sharply. Over the last 30 years, there has been a gradual closing in both the Black-White and Hispanic-White achievement gaps. The latest assessment was conducted between January and March of 2022. Our results imply that when those results come out later this year… there will be a decline nationally, especially in states where schools remained remote, and gaps will widen sharply for the first time in a generation.”
