CARNEGIE REPORT: A BOLD NEW VISION

WHEREAS, the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession has issued a report with far-reaching implications for the teaching profession; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report, more than any other external education reform report, represents an opportunity to seize a bold new vision of the future of public education and turn teaching into a full profession, but rejects policies that would respond to this shortage by lowering standards to enter teaching; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report recognizes the national need to recruit and retain a massive number of teachers in an environment of intense competition with other professions, but rejects policies that would respond to this shortage by lowering standards to enter teaching; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report proposes a comprehensive set of recommendations to attract and retain minority teachers; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report underscores the critical relationship between a well-educated citizenry and the vitality of this nation's democratic institutions and economic prosperity, now and for the 21st century; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report is virtually the only major education reform report of the past few years to recognize the perils of substandard educational opportunities and the performance of an alarming proportion of the nation's disadvantaged youth, and to deal constructively with these problems; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report contains many important ideas long espoused by the American Federation of Teachers, such as the full professionalization of teaching, professional salaries and teaching conditions, reform of teacher education and teacher-licensing processes, teacher-controlled staff development programs, more effective educational opportunities for disadvantaged students, greater utilization of trained paraprofessionals, and increased resources for public education, etc.; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report contains a number of ideas long opposed by the AFT because they were efforts to impose from without and were designed to reduce the professionalism of teachers; and

WHEREAS, the Carnegie report recognizes these shortcomings and treats these traditionally resisted ideas as part of a plan designed to professionalize teaching, asserts the importance of teachers' involvement and approval in all matters concerning education policy and practice, and affirms the crucial and constructive role of the teacher union in education reform:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers hail the Carnegie report as the most important contribution to the continuing public discussion of education reform; and

RESOLVED, that without modifying its policies, the AFT continue to encourage and offer support to state and local affiliates that wish to explore and experiment with these new directions; and

RESOLVED, that these explorations and the results of new experiments could serve in the future as a basis for the reconsideration of some of the AFT's traditional policies; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT widely disseminate the reports of the Carnegie Task Force and the AFT Task Force on the Future of Education to its members and organize conferences and other forums to discuss the reports with teachers, other educators, and the public; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT share information about the progress and results of new directions and experiments pursued by its affiliates and others; and

RESOLVED, that, above all, the AFT continue to pursue its tradition of seeking creative and responsible means to shape public education into an institution where excellence and equity coexist, where our members realize their professional aspirations and help all students to become thinking, productive, and ever-learning citizens.