THE NATIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS - Right-to-work Bully “A must-see movie” PAGE 2 - Member Benefits

Sep 29, 2026

AFT Teachers membership materials advocate a teacher-to-teacher sharing network aligned with the Common Core State Standards. It emphasizes the need for educators to collaborate, access teacher-developed instructional resources, and use a trusted platform to replace fragmented, test-driven approaches. The message highlights professional responsibility, quality improvement, and standards upheld by members rather than outside reformers, encouraging teachers to submit content and rate resources for peer-supported learning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Teacher

Developing good digital citizens

The income achievement gap

A clear choice in November

Empowering a rural community

The footsteps of history

# Teacher | Developing good digital citizens | 4 | | --- | --- | | The income achievement gap | 7 | | A clear choice in November | 9 | | Empowering a rural community | 11 | | The footsteps of history | 22 | # THE NATIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS 'Right-to-work’"Bully"A must-see moviePAGE 2 SHOPPING + # KEEP ITFRESHFlowers Save 20 percent on flowers,gifts and plantsthrough Teleflora.Members can orderdiscounted flowers online or by phone andhave them hand-delivered by local floristsanywhere in the world—100 percentsatisfaction guaranteed. MORE VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP +For more information about this and other savings,go to. A Union of Professionals AFT+ aft.org/members Member Benefits AFT+is your advocate.For information onall AFT+programs,cll 800/238-1133,ext.8643,or e-mal aftplus@aft.org.The AFT has an expensereimbursement and/or endorsement arrangement for marketing this program.For more information,please contact AFT Financial Services at800/238-1133,ext.4493;send an e-mail to disclosureinfo@aft.org;or visit www.aft.org/benefits/disclosure. By teachers,for teachers RANDI WEINGARTEN,AFT President ASTHESCHOOLYEARENDS,you're probably like this when I was teaching.Like most new result has been a disjointed,test-driven educa-reflecting on what went well and what youteachers,I struggled to develop lesson planstion“system”in which,all too often,teacherswant to work on over the summer.Even withand find great materials.And,like most expe-are left both scrambling to supplement theirall the challenges this year—including budgetrienced teachers,once Ihad taught for severalinadequate textbooks and to meet standard-cuts,testing fixation,and pressure to do moreyears,I had carefully honed lessons that Iized test-driven requirements.with less—no doubt you still managed to de-would have been happy to share with col-Teachers have a crucial role to playin mak-velop lots of terrific lesson plans,and thinkleagues.Experienced teachers helping theiring sure history doesn't repeat itself.about what you might do differently next yearnewer colleagues is important,but masterThe CCSS create a newurgency,anda newWouldn't it be great if there were a trustedteachers have told me that they toowill benefit:window of opportunity-and they will be anplacewhere you could shareyour bestlessons,They are always seeking the growth—the sparkimportant part of this new platform.But evenresources andactivities with colleagues acrossoffreshideas—that only comes from connect-without the CCSS,this online network wouldthe country—and to find their best work? LORRETTA JOHNSON Secretary-Treasurer FRANCINE LAWRENCE Executive Vice President KRIS HAVENS Communications Director ◎2012 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS,AFL-CIO 03 Cover photo: BRUCE CRIPPEN Withyour help,there soon will be. A profession is measured byhow standards are upheld,by howquality is advanced,by how knowledge is spread—not byoutsiders,but by the members of the profession. The AFT is partnering with TSL Educa-tion—host oftheworld's largest onlinenetworkof teachers--to provide such a platform.Thiswon't be an online warehouse but a real net-work for teachers to share ideas and assumeresponsibility for thequality andusefulness ofthose materials.This is a need expressed re-peatedlybyourmembers.Weare askingteach-ers like you to provide the content so it be-comes a vital resource. be crucial.It's designed to do something that'smissing from most so-called reformers'ideas:supportteaching.Just thinkabout what teach-ers could accomplish if they had teacher-de-veloped instructionalmaterials at their finger-tips.As a teacher,instead of piecing a unittogether from scratch,I would have beenthrilled to begin with or build on an idea orresource orlesson that another teacher devel-oped,and then spend time customizing anengaging lesson formy own students. ing with fellow teachers. Too much of teachers'work is shap

FAQs

What is the proposed online network for AFT Teachers meant to do?

It is meant to help teachers share ideas and teacher-developed instructional materials in a real peer network, not an online warehouse.

How does the document describe the problem with current education requirements?

It criticizes disjointed, test-driven education where teachers are left scrambling without time for collaboration or resources to develop aligned instruction.

What role do teachers play in making the platform effective?

Teachers are asked to provide content, share best lessons, and rate resources so the materials are useful and high-quality.

Sep 29, 2026

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