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Past Events

  • New Visions of Collective Bargaining in American Education

    May 11, 2016

    May 11, 2016. When the first collective bargaining agreements in American education were negotiated a half century ago, they were largely focused on wages, working conditions and due process. School district officials resisted the inclusion of educational issues as encroachments on “management prerogatives.” Meanwhile, the fledging teacher unions modelled themselves after progressive unions, such as the United Auto Workers and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, using industrial-style contracts as a template for their own collective bargaining. But the democratic idea that teachers should have a collective voice in their educational workplace could not be contained within such limited parameters. For a generation, teacher unions have struggled, with increasing success, to expand collective bargaining into the professional sphere. Our panel will investigate some of the most promising efforts on that front around the country, as teacher unions find new ways to negotiate contracts for educational innovation and improvement and build new partnerships with community around that work. Watch the video.

  • Educating Tomorrow's Teachers: Are U.S. Education Department Regulations for Schools of Education a Help or a Hindrance?

    April 13, 2016

    Controversial new regulations for teacher education have been proposed by the U.S. Ed Dept. Although there are objections to the regulations, the controversy centers on the proposed measures of teaching performance -- student test scores, as seen through the prism of value-added measurements, and surveys. Are there better alternatives? Can they be replicated at scale? Given the need for teacher ed schools to prepare teachers to do well from day one, what is the best way to ensure that all teacher prep programs are of the highest quality? Wed., April 13, noon to 2:00 pm. Watch the video.

  • Education Research and Teachers Unions

    April 9, 2016

    AERA2016 Presidential Session, Washington, D.C. Panelists: Deborah Lowenberg Ball, Ellen Bernstein, Leo Casey, Susan Moore Johnson. Watch the panel video.

  • The Social Side of Education: How Social Aspects of Schools & School Systems Shape Teaching & Learning

    April 8, 2016

    The notion that teaching and learning are social endeavors may seem obvious. Yet, the implications of that statement for research, policy and practice are less so. This conference foregrounds recent evidence showing that social aspects of schools and school systems deeply influence school improvement. The conference will also encourage in-depth debate on the practical implications of this evidence. Watch the videos here.

  • "No Excuses" Schools and the Education of Impoverished Students of Color

    March 9, 2016

    "No Excuses" Schools and the Education of Impoverished Students of Color. March 9, 2016, noon to 2:00 pm, 555 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20001. More information and registration Watch the video..

  • Conversation on Teacher Diversity

    March 8, 2016

    Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Howard University School of Education,Teach For America, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Albert Shanker Institute, this panel discussed why teacher diversity is important and how it can be strengthened through recruitment, retention, and continued support for teachers of color. Watch the video and downloard the ASI report here.

  • Where We Live and Where We Learn

    February 10, 2016

    February 10, 2016. View the video and download the materials.

  • Teacher Tenure: An Outmoded "Job For Life" or Essential Right to Due Process?

    January 13, 2016

    In this panel, we will explore divergent viewpoints by focusing on what tenure laws actually consist of, how they work in practice, how they might be improved, and, of course, their impact on important outcomes such as teacher retention and student achievement. Watch the video.

  • Quality Teaching: Individual and Social Approaches

    December 7, 2015

    This two-panel conversation focused on theresults of the annual “PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes toward the Public Schools,” and their implications for policy and practice, taking on the question of how government, schools of education, school districts and schools can promote, nurture and support quality teaching. Watch the video.

  • Kent Wong Conversation, Lunch and Book Signing

    November 19, 2015

    Join us at the AFT for a conversation, lunch and book signing with Kent Wong, the director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education on Thursday, Nov. 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wong will discuss the center’s latest book, Dreams Deported: Immigrant Youth and Families Resist Deportation, featuring stories of deportation and the courageous immigrant youth and families who have led the national campaign against deportations and successfully challenged the president of the United States to act. RSVP: bookevent@aft.org.

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