By now, everyone here knows that Washington was the only state to miss out on $13.2 million dollars in grant money from the National Math and Science Institute. (We posted on it here and here.) The teachers' union, appropriately, took some tough hits in the media, with my favorite shot being the Columbian's suggestion that they take the E out of WEA.
WEA president, Mary Lindquist wrote a response letter to the NMSI. It calls to mind the old literary line, "'Shut up,' he explained.
NMSI insisted on paying teachers a $100 bounty every time a student passed an AP math or science test.
Bounty. They suggested alternatives. NMSI rejected them. (It's their money.) And, suggesting the criticism of the union stung, Lindquist goes on.
WEA members are committed to quality education for all students.
They're just not committed to waiving their hard-and-fast collective bargaining rules to try something new.
Read the whole letter. it's an eye-opener.
