Glad to see this happen. There has been too much of teachers' union leaders standing with reformers in ways that harm the public school teachers who trust their union.
From Huffington Post today:
Matt Damon, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Decline Education Award Nomination Over USA Today Op-Ed
Actor Matt Damon, and his mother Nancy Carlsson-Paige arrive at Universal Pictures' premiere of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' held at the ArcLight Hollywood on July 25, 2007 in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
First Posted: 1/5/12 03:30 PM ET Updated: 1/5/12 04:16 PM ET
Matt Damon and his mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, have declined a nomination for the Friend of Education award from the National Education Association's Massachusetts arm -- because of the NEA's collaboration with Teach For America on a USA Today op-ed.
In a letter Wednesday to NEA President Dennis Van Roekel, Carlsson-Paige, a professor of early childhood education at Lesley University, says that she and Damon had originally planned to accept the nomination when they discussed the possibility over the summer.
But in December, Van Roekel and TFA Founder and CEO Wendy Kopp co-authored a piece in USA Today on how to improve America's teachers.
"I have decided that because of your collaboration with TFA, it would not be wise for me or for Matt to be nominated for the Friend of Education Award," Carlsson-Paige writes in her letter. "I regret this turn of events."
There have been a lot of upset education bloggers over the op ed by Kopp and Van Roekel. Quoting Anthony Cody of Education Week.
NEA President Sends Mixed Messages about Teacher Preparation
The column states, "Unfortunately, not all teachers are getting the high-quality preparation they need to excel with students in the classroom."
Unfortunately indeed.
Does Mr. Van Roekel believe that Teach For America's five or six week long training is adequate preparation?
Teach For America is on the verge of a major expansion into new territories. We heard a month ago about concerns being raised in Huntsville, Alabama, where the school board voted to spend $1.7 million to bring Teach For America teachers to the District. More recently, we are hearing similar concerns raised in Ohio, where more than $2 million in grants will pay for "at least 30" TFA teachers. These funds will not cover the teachers' salaries, which are paid by the local districts, which also must contribute several thousand dollars per teacher for training costs.
Some more background on this, about a meeting with Arne Duncan by the two mentioned above.
Van Roekel’s date with Kopp and Duncan not going over too well.
The Valerie Strauss column in the Washington Post addresses the backlash to a USA Today column jointly written by DVR and Kopp and a follow up joint appearance with Arne.
There is a growing backlash against National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel’s recent collaborations with Teach for America leader Wendy Kopp on the issue of teacher preparation.
Some NEA members have written on blogs that they are furious at Van Roekel, and early childhood expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige just declined an opportunity for her and her son, actor and activist Matt Damon, to be nominated for the Friend of Education Award from the NEA.
Some might say that DVR’s meet up with Duncan and Kopp went worse. The three appeared together at a meeting on teacher training (something Kopp’s TFA pays scant attention to). Duncan then spent most of the time gushing over Wendy, claiming nobody has done more to get great teachers into classrooms than she has.
Actually Arne Duncan publicly said this about Wendy Kopp:
I don't think anyone in the country has done more over the past 15 to 20 years than Wendy Kopp to identify the talents and characteristics that lead to great teaching. This is complicated stuff—there is no easy formula. And no one has done a better job of tracking the impact that their graduates and alumni are having in the classroom. Wendy is relentless in looking at that data and honestly self-reflecting on what is working and what's not working in their program. Teach for America has been a great movement for our country, so thank you, Wendy, for your leadership and commitment here.
A New Approach to Teacher Education Reform and Improvement
No one? Really? What a slap at educators throughout the country. He just insulted universities, colleges, professors in education, researchers of education, principals, teachers. He elevated Wendy Kopp to a godlike level.
Good for Matt Damon and Matt Damon's mom. So few are standing up for public school teachers now, and it is special that they are doing so.