Where We Stand

Al Shanker died, after a long battle with cancer, on February 22, 1997. Al's first Where We Stand column appeared over 25 years ago on December 13, 1970. His final one is taken from an autobiographical essay, "Forty Years in the Profession," which originally appeared in Reflections: Personal Essays by 33 Distinguished Educators (Phi Delta Kappa, 1990). In the essay, Al talks about his lifelong dedication to "gaining collective bargaining rights for teachers and using the collective bargaining process to improve teachers' salaries and working conditions." He also makes it clear that the teacher union movement always had an equally important aim: making schools work better for kids. His tireless efforts, during the past 15 years or so, on behalf of high standards of conduct and achievement and against the fads and follies that threaten to destroy public education were not an "about face" but a logical extension of his trade unionism.

Archived Where We Stand Articles

January Jan22, 1989

Choice Plan Can Bolster Public Schools, But It's No Education Cure-All

On January 10, 1989, I was invited, along with about 200 others, to attend the White House Seminar on School Choice. It was to be a day of speeches and discussion, featuring President Reagan, President elect Bush and Education Secretary Cavazos.

January Jan15, 1989

Prince George's County Draws Line Tough Penalties for School Disruption

Year after year, polls show that school discipline is a major concern of parents and the general public. They're right to be concerned. But school boards across the country are doing very little about it.

January Jan8, 1989

Learning from Learning How to Spark 'Wonderful Ideas'

We could learn a lot about how to run our schools by thinking about how we as individuals best learn something. Reading, although I'm all for it, is probably the least effective method.

January Jan1, 1989

Education Reform '88 More Heat Than Light

A quick review of the events surrounding education reform in 1988 suggests that there is less there than meets the eye. Many of the stories generated lots of heat, but there was very little light shed on the real problems facing schools.

December Dec25, 1988

Our Neediest Find a Powerful Voice A Vision for All Children

It's encouraging to see so many parents who are willing to go the extra mile for their children during the holiday season. The impulse to make sacrifices for children is perhaps our most precious gift and our most civilizing talent.

December Dec18, 1988

PROMISES, PROMISES! A Tale of Two Texts

Little children and fools always go with whoever promises the most. But most of us soon learn that that's not usually the wise thing to do.

December Dec11, 1988

Will Public Business Go Private? Questions for a University President

John Sibler, president of Boston University, has been trying to take over a public school system for a number of years. He twice tried in Boston and once in Lowell, but was rebuffed. Now Chelsea, the poorest district in Massachusetts, is willing to let BU run its public schools for ten years.

December Dec4, 1988

School Boards Under Fire: Are We Backing Into Change?

A unique American institution -- the local school board -- may be on the way out. In many countries, the national government runs the schools. In others, it is the states or provinces.

November Nov27, 1988

The High Price of Giving Up: Chelsea Plan Needs Scrutiny

The United States, New York State, and Massachusetts all have something in common. They're running big budget deficits.

November Nov20, 1988

Learning Conditions and Working Conditions: Recognizing the Student-Worker

Teachers have often complained that they can't do their best because of sub-standard working conditions. A number of recent studies have shown just how bad those conditions are and how much needs to be done to turn our schools into tolerable work places.

November Nov13, 1988

The Virtue of Not Knowing: The Road to Educational Diversity

The pendulum is swinging again. Five years ago, a number of education reports revealed disturbing facts about our schools. Many students were graduating from high school without taking solid courses in English, math and science.

November Nov6, 1988

Dukakis for Education: President Election Result Crucial for Schools

Even though the presidential campaign and the debates haven't dealt with education as much as I would like, the election results will make a big difference in our schools.

October Oct30, 1988

"Functional Illiterates" Can Read! And Do A Job in Business and Industry

Whether they like the attention or not, the nation's estimated 20-60 million "functional illiterates" are in the spotlight.

October Oct23, 1988

Getting a Fair Measure of Learning: Testing Needs Regulation

We live in an era of deregulation. It's unpopular to call for regulation and government intervention, but I'm going to do it anyway.

October Oct16, 1988

Winning the Brain Race: Restructuring the Dinosaur

If you had to give a description of our education system in business terms it would go something like this: For year after year, the majority of our "products" have been lemons, and the majority of our customers have been dissatisfied.

October Oct9, 1988

School Improvement? Just Try Coping! Building Houses Without Nails

In recent years, education reform has focused on raising standards, increasing graduation requirements and improving student performance on achievement and SAT exams.

October Oct2, 1988

Reforming the Education "Corporation:" Common Sense on Expectations

Once again, the SAT scores are down. True, it was a decline of only two points, but they were down.

September Sep25, 1988

The Truly Disadvantaged The Burden of Abandonment

Five years ago, when A Nation at Risk was published, the country turned its attention to the question of "excellence" in education.

September Sep18, 1988

School Failure= Downtown Blight A Warning for Real Estate

The education reform movement has seen the shattering of some old stereotypes. The classic image of Big Business was one of solid opposition to higher taxes and government expenditures.

September Sep11, 1988

Public Relations or Public Disclosure School Failure Needs Airing

As schools reopen, a small number will be trying to make some major changes. Most will continue to do what they did last year and for years before.