NEA needs a tutor...

The president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel said, "President Obama always says he will do it with educators, not to them."

"That is a wonderful feeling, for the president of the United States to acknowledge and respect the professional knowledge and skills that those educators bring to every job in the school," van Roekel said.

Van Roekel insisted that Obama's call for teacher performance pay does not necessarily mean raises or bonuses would be tied to student test scores. It could mean more pay for board-certified teachers or for those who work in high-poverty, hard-to-staff schools, he said.

However, administration officials said later they do mean higher pay based on student achievement, among other things.

This is a wonderful microcosm of the mentality brought forth by the Obama Brigades.

The Administration has just unwrapped their education goals for all to see. Obviously, and expectedly, it was a lot of rhetorical fantasyland type goals. However, the "teacher merit pay" based on student performance highlights this package.

When George W. Bush attempted to fund teacher merit pay based on performance, this is what the sitting National Education President (Reg Weaver) had to say.

Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, recently said the setup "is nothing more than a merit-pay system, and merit pay hasn't worked wherever it has been tried, for the most part."

Far from spurring teachers on to greater effectiveness, extra bonuses for some and not others simply "creates tension" between teachers and kills any teamwork, he said.

"It doesn't work and it's not going to do anything to attract and retain quality teachers," Mr. Weaver said. What will work is getting teachers involved in the decision-making process, giving them a safe and orderly school and a decent salary, he said.

The NEA head today stated (as posted above).

Van Roekel insisted that Obama's call for teacher performance pay does not necessarily mean raises or bonuses would be tied to student test scores.

So first...we have denial. Van Roekel can't believe that "The One" would present such a travesty...so he chose to suggest that the words must mean something entirely different.

But:

However, administration officials said later they do mean higher pay based on student achievement, among other things.

And, of course, water carrier Associated Press fails to follow up with President Van Roekel to secure his feelings on the fact that he misinterpreted "The One's" position...and since the NEA was severely against merit pay when the previous president presented it, what would the NEA's current position be on the issue.

Once again, I am holding my breath like Michael Hutchence in wait of the follow-up report from the AP and the remedial reading tutor to arrive at Van Roekel's office.