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It explains the Albert Shanker Institute’s founding in 1998 and leadership transition in 2021, setting up a conversation between Leo Casey and Mary Cathryn D. Ricker about Shanker’s legacy. The dialogue emphasizes public intellectualism, open-minded debate, and how public education, unionism, and democracy reinforce one another.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/following-shankers-lead-two-leaders-of-the-albert-shanker-institute-discuss-continuing-shankers-fight-for-public-education-the-labor-movement-and-democracy/591145/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/following-shankers-lead-two-leaders-of-the-albert-shanker-institute-discuss-continuing-shankers-fight-for-public-education-the-labor-movement-and-democracy/591145.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"McQueen","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Who was Albert Shanker, and what areas did he influence most?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Albert Shanker was a prominent figure who helped expand the labor movement, defended and improved public education, and worked to ensure people can live freely in democracies.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why was the Albert Shanker Institute established, and when did its leadership change?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The AFT created the institute in 1998 to continue Shanker’s tradition of openness and debate. In 2021, executive director Leo Casey handed the reins to Mary Cathryn D. Ricker.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What central theme do Casey and Ricker discuss about Shanker’s approach?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They highlight that Shanker resisted hardening into dogma, continually rethought issues, and shared new questions openly—suggesting public education, unionism, and democracy should mutually reinforce one another.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},591145,1792863646,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},5909890329169,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Following Shanker’s Lead  \nTwo Leaders of the Albert Shanker Institute Discuss Continuing Shanker’s Fight for Public Education, the Labor Movement, and Democracy  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY LUCY NALAND  \nFrom the 1960s until his death in 1997, Albert Shanker was a major force in expanding the labor movement, defending and improving public education, and fighting for all people to live freely in democracies. As president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), he became known internationally as an education statesman devoted to making all public schools excellent and as a fierce labor leader determined to ensure that working people hada voice and dignity on the job.  \nThe AFT established the Albert Shanker Institute in 1998 to carry on his intellectual tradition of being open to—and debating—any idea that might enrich the lives of working people and their families. In 2021, executive director Leo Casey handed the reins of the Albert Shanker Institute to Mary Cathryn D. Ricker, and that seemed like a perfect time to reflect on the institute’s past and present. What follows is a conversation between Casey and Ricker on Albert Shanker’s legacy and how the institute can ensure that public education, unionism, and democracy are mutually reinforcing. For an  \nintroduction to Shanker and the institute, seethe sidebar on page 22.  \nCasey is now an assistant to AFT President Randi Weingarten and a member of the editorial board of Dissent magazine. Previously, he served as vice president for academic high schools for the United Federation of Teachers. He began his teaching career in 1984 at Clara Barton High School in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn and has written extensively on civics, education, unionism, and politics. * Rickeris a National Board–certified middle school English/language arts teacher who has served as Minnesota’s commissioner of education, executive vice president of the AFT, and president of the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers (now the Saint Paul Federation of Educators) . Prior to her leadership outside of the classroom, Ricker was a classroom teacher for 13 years in Minnesota, Washington state, and South Korea.  \n–EDITORS  \n*To read an excerpt of Leo Casey’s book, The Teacher Insurgency: A Strategic and Organizing Perspective, see“Organizing and Mobilizing” in the Spring 2021 issue of American Educator: [aft.org/ae/spring2021/casey](aft.org/ae/spring2021/casey).  \nReflecting, Pursuing Knowledge, and Building Coalitions: Al Shanker’s Legacy  \nLEO CASEY: What did it mean to head up an institute with Albert Shanker’s name on it? There are different views of that, and I have a very distinct perspective. There are folks who knew and worked with Shanker who view him as an authority. And so, what Shanker thought about a particular question became what we should think. I always found that view problematic. I’m reminded of Thomas Aquinas saying the weakest of all arguments is the argument from authority.  \nWhat being the head of the Albert Shanker Institute meant for me was striving to live up to the example of Shankeras a public intellectual. One of Shanker’s most admirable traits as a public intellectual was that he never allowed himself tobe hardened into a dogma. He was always rethinking questions, always open to the possibility that the way he had addressed something in the past was not the corrector best way. Perhaps the circumstances had changed, or his own thinking changed.  \nRight before he passed away, an article† based on an in-depth interview ofShanker was published in New York Teacher; the interviewer asked if there was anything he regretted or would do differently now. Shanker said he had changed his mind about communists as teachers. He had argued that communists should not be allowed to teach because they adhere to a dogmatic ideology and are not openminded. Later in life, he realized that there are many causes of being closed-minded—including many ","cbCaitm8F2sbwwm4","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitm8F2sbwwm4","pdf",235629,"English","# Following Shanker’s Lead\n## Albert Shanker’s Legacy and Public Intellectualism\n## Institute Leadership and Ongoing Commitments\n## Conversation Between Leo Casey and Mary Cathryn D. Ricker","[{\"question\":\"Who was Albert Shanker, and what areas did he influence most?\",\"answer\":\"Albert Shanker was a prominent figure who helped expand the labor movement, defended and improved public education, and worked to ensure people can live freely in democracies.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was the Albert Shanker Institute established, and when did its leadership change?\",\"answer\":\"The AFT created the institute in 1998 to continue Shanker’s tradition of openness and debate. In 2021, executive director Leo Casey handed the reins to Mary Cathryn D. Ricker.\"},{\"question\":\"What central theme do Casey and Ricker discuss about Shanker’s approach?\",\"answer\":\"They highlight that Shanker resisted hardening into dogma, continually rethought issues, and shared new questions openly—suggesting public education, unionism, and democracy should mutually reinforce one another.\"}]","Following Shanker’s Lead - Two Leaders of the Albert Shanker Institute Discuss Continuing Shanker’s Fight for Public Education, the Labor Movement, and Democracy | PDF",1792071216,13]