Weingarten at DNC: "Teachers as partners, not pawns"

The UFT has posted the full text of Randi Weingarten’s speech last night to the Democratic National Convention, which ran a full 64 seconds over her time limit. Most of Weingarten’s speech was what you might expect from the head of the nation’s two largest teachers unions, but she included a subtle dig at Sunday’s “Ed Challenge for Change” event, which featured much union-bashing, when she said that students sometimes “bring their empty stomachs, untreated ailments, and life experiences that can chill you to your core” when they come to school, making teaching and learning untenable. Earlier in the day, however, Weingarten told Education Week’s Michele McNeil that she thought the Ed Challenge for Change event was “a cheap shot” against unions and said she was “really pissed” about it.