Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, was interviewed by Molly Bloom in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about Atlanta being “…one of the top ten cities nationally for “school choice”—a category that includes charter schools as well as private-school vouchers and public magnet schools— according to a new ranking from the Fordham Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates for school choice.”
All that choice doesn’t sit well with Ms. Turner, who said: that “Calling Atlanta one of the most “choice-friendly” cities isn’t much of a compliment, said Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers.
“That’s like saying Chicago is the most murder friendly-city in the nation,” she said.”
The remark shocked Kyle Wingfield:
Which it should, because it’s pretty stunning to see such a level of callous disregard for the violence in Chicago coupled with such vehemence to any changes or progress in education.
UPDATE: PolicyBEST has a statement about this issue:
The GFT and ATL AFL-CIO don’t want no stinkin competition
Give her hell, Mike.
What an idiotic statement. It crystallizes perfectly, however, the purpose of the GFT/AFT.
“Teacher” unions (actually education employee unions that will enroll anyone in a school building except administrators) are staunch defenders of the status quo, of incompetent teachers, and of holding families and children hostage to their ZIP codes, regardless of the quality of their local schools or the lack thereof.