PET Hosts Conference At Pigeon Forge
	President Hamilton Recaps Year
	Executive Director’s Report
	Government Relations Update
	NEA Trying to Shed Political Party Image
	PET Personnel Update
	The Chaplain’s Corner

  In June, the Professional Educators of Tennessee hosted a gathering of educators that included not only our members from across this state, but also guests from Missouri, Virginia, and Georgia. There was a vital exchange of information covering such topics as: the problems of rapid growth; the most effective use of dues money, our growing legal pool of help, liability insurance updates and cases rendered (all won to date); colleges opening their doors to us; new locals organizing; state and national legislative updates; and our goals for the new year. In the Fall ’97 Teacher’s PET articles, our staff has worked diligently to present the essence of the conference.

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Executive Director’s Report
  The following is an excerpt of Executive Director Walter Jewell’s address to the PET’s Annual Meeting at Pigeon Forge on June 26, 1997.

Our founding of PET and our guide through the past years has been based on the following seven principles:

GROWTH - We are to grow by giving all Tennessee teachers the opportunity to be part of a professional association of educators by choice, not by force or coercion.

PROFESSIONALISM - We believe we are professionals, and we conduct ourselves as professionals; we expect others to treat us as professionals. SERVICE - We seek to always provide service to our members effectively and in a professional manner.

INSURANCE - We provide our members with the best professional liability insurance and other benefits that money can buy.

NONPARTISAN - PET does not and will not endorse or fund political candidates or contribute to political parties.

LEGISLATION - We seek to improve education in our state for students, teachers, and support personnel by informing our legislators on issues and policies that directly impact educators and school employees regarding their duties and rights.

COMPENSATION - We strive to sustain respect for Tennessee educators and vigorously promote professional compensation for them.

Even though these principles and ideas have never been formally adopted by PET, they have guided our board of directors through the years. I believe our membership has embraced these principals and goals and are proud of the direction that PET is headed. While we have had honest debate within our ranks concerning goals and direction for PET since the first day of our founding, these debates have always been conducted with respect for each others’ point of view. As each debate ended, or continued, there was always mutual consideration and a resolve to keep working for the best interest of PET. This honest and progressive environment within PET is indicative that PET is a healthy and growing professional organization.

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Education Accounts Here to Stay
  Growing coverage of education savings accounts indicates that President Bill Clinton’s threat to veto the tax relief package over the Coverdell amendment won’t be the last word on the subject. The Washington Times reported that Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) will deliver the Republican response to President Clinton’s remarks on this subject. Sen. Coverdell’s focus in his new bill, the PASS A+ (S. 1133) , which would expand the scope of tax-free education savings accounts to allow withdrawals for elementary and high school expenses at public, private, religious or home schools.

Action Moves to Home Front
  The U.S. Congress is currently out of session until September and members are in their home districts. With a number of education issues in play, September promises to have a major back-to-school focus for the Congress. Here are a few of the major education issues:

*PASS A+ Accounts (S. 1133, H.R. 2373)

*Goodling amendment to halt the Clinton administration’s development of national tests.

(Amendment to the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations, H.R. 2264).

*Federal funding for education programs like Goals 2000 (H.R. 2264, S. 1061).

Legislation Summit
  PET Director of Government Relations, John C. Bowman, will be hosting a Legislative Summit for all interested PET members, local presidents, and interested PET supporters on October 25 from 10:00 to 3:00 in Brown Auditorium, Lee University/ Cleveland, Tennessee. Please RSVP by Oct 15.

All PET members may attend, local presidents are encouraged to attend. J. C.

Bowman, in case we need to change to a larger or more appropriate location. This summit will set priorities for PET during the 1997-98 school year, and it will include a session on dealing with the media. If interested, contact Mr. Bowman at 423-476-3591. Remember to adopt a legislator this upcoming year. Your involvement will make a difference!

 
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By Adrion W. Baird
  The decline of student performance can be traced directly to the rise of teacher unions. The two national teacher unions are the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Both teacher unions believe forced unionism is the best way to improve teacher salaries and benefits. Both teacher unions have their headquarters in Washington, D.C. In states where forced unionism is legal, teachers are forced to join either the NEA or AFT in order to keep their jobs. Forced dues are sent to the respective union headquarters to pay for political lobbying and high salaries of union leaders, usually ten times higher than the average teacher’s salary. Union leader benefits are also ten times better than the average teacher’s benefits.

In 1976, the NEA aligned itself with the Democrat Party and vigorously endorsed Jimmy Carter. The NEA has endorsed only Democrats for president since 1977. The same holds true for state and local elections: The NEA only endorses Democrats. The AFT also leans toward endorsing Democrats but is not as lopsided in support of Democrats as the NEA. Tennessee is a right-to-work state which means forced unionism is illegal. Strikes are illegal. If forced unionism were legal in Tennessee, every teacher would have to either join the Tennessee Education Association/NEA or AFT and pay dues to support politically partisan causes. Strikes would be legal and schools could be shut down while school boards and unions brutally battle each other trying to settle their differences.

The political partisanship of unions has hurt teachers and education in general. The NEA is painfully aware that its image as a Democrat organization does not serve it well when Republicans control local, state and national offices, including the U.S. Congress. The NEA is seeking desperately to shed its image as an obstacle to education reform and as a politically partisan organization. It is searching for Republicans whose views don’t give it indigestion to support in political campaigns.

NEA leaders want to change the public’s negative perception that they protect teachers while students suffer. To do this, they hired the Kamber Group, a Washington, D.C. based public relations firm, to help them look better. The Kamber Group prepared a blueprint for improvement and delivered it to the NEA last January.

The report warned the NEA to act in positive ways, not simply talk about the critical issues. The report said, "The impression is that the NEA will study anything, but it will not bring hard, results-driven solutions which might inconvenience their members. The NEA is perceived as unwilling to acknowledge certain problems in education, costing the organization credibility as a legitimate voice for reform."

The Kamber Group’s report to the NEA proposed three objectives for the NEA union: Establish itself as the champion of public education through an initiative to produce better teachers, better students, and better public schools; Seek to co-opt the other side’s turf so the NEA can direct reform discussions rather than have them dictated to it; Put teachers front and center and pull in allies to make the association’s case while working to protect public education. The report went on to recommend that the NEA President Bob Chase launch the campaign in a speech in which he should say "there are bad teachers, and our job is to make them good or show them the way to another career."

You guessed it, Bob Chase, in a speech at the National Press Club on Feb.5, 1997, said: "There are indeed some bad teachers in America’s schools. And it is our job as a union to improve these teachers or - that failing - to get them out of the classroom. NEA spokeswoman Kathleen Lyons told me on May 29 that the union is reaching out to Republicans, but she defended its virtual 100 percent support of Democrat candidates at all levels. "We don’t want to be seen as a Democrat organization. But we support the campaigns of people who support public education." In other words, she told me that Republicans do not support public education.

In spite of the Kamber Group’s advice to the NEA, it is clear from Miss Lyons’ remarks that the leadership of the NEA is out of step politically with vast numbers of its members. But in states where forced unionism is legal, teachers do not have a choice they must pay dues to the NEA even though they disagree with the NEA’s political partisanship. In 1994, about 40 percent of the people who identified themselves as union members voted for Republican congressmen, and in 1996 it wasn’t much less than that.

During NEA’s recent annual convention in Atlanta, the agenda was basically the same: "Don’t ask us what we plan to do for children, but ask us what we plan to do to increase our power over teachers and to get more Democrats elected to office."

Ever since the NEA’s adoption of Gay and Lesbian History Month, which urges teachers to promote appreciation of diverse lifestyles, the public began to take negative notice of NEA activities. What they did in Atlanta this year simply brought to the public’s attention the hidden agenda of the NEA. That agenda does not put students first.

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PET Personnel Update
  PET’s new administrative assistant is Vanessa Bolton. Vanessa joins our staff with a background in law, insurance and medical offices. On behalf of PET members across the state, we welcome Vanessa as she adapts to her role in the operation of PET. PET’s office hours are from Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. central time. The office telephone numbers are (615) 840-5460; FAX (615) 840-5461. Vanessa will check PET’s E-mail daily: pet@teacherspet.com

 
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The Chaplain’s Corner
 
  It has dawned on me that I have been teaching for 8 years!! To many of you, I am still a "Kid" in the profession. But the thought occurred to me that I am finally seeing my first group of students move into the adult world. Yesterday’s silly, goofy students are not only driving, but are focused on careers, homes and families.

I realize there are many problems that our students bring to the classroom, but there are also many students who desire to learn, to concentrate, and to pursue life’s many challenges. As we begin this year, let me encourage you about the future. I know there are many of you out there with more experience than myself. I appreciate what all of you have done for your students over the years. Remember, just when all is dark and cloudy, there is always hope. I John 2:15-17.
Love in Christ,

Phil Pippenger
 

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