Ask Antonio White what he thinks of Race to the Top鈥擯resident Barack Obama鈥檚 signature K-12 initiative鈥攁nd the Florida teacher will tell you the competitive-grant program is a 鈥渄ifficult pill to swallow.鈥� Merit pay for teachers based partly on student test scores is 鈥渁 joke,鈥� he says. He鈥檚 also not a fan of expanding charter schools, or of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Still, Mr. White, like thousands of 糖心动漫vlog around the country, has spent months making calls and knocking on doors, trying to persuade voters to support a president with whom he has sharp disagreements on a host of issues central to his profession.
The 20-year classroom veteran says he鈥檚 grateful to Mr. Obama for pouring billions of dollars into saving teachers鈥� jobs and investing in early-childhood education. And he鈥檚 very worried about GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney鈥檚 plan to turn more than $25 billion in federal education funding for special education and disadvantaged children over to parents, who could then spend the money at any school they choose, including a private school. That could ultimately undermine the public system, Mr. White said.
鈥淎s far as education is concerned, [Mr. Obama] is the only hope we have,鈥� said Mr. White, who teaches computer technology at Jose Marti MAST Academy in Miami-Dade County in a phone interview.
His outlook doesn鈥檛 come as a surprise to Jeffrey Henig, a professor of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 certainly the case that teachers and the unions are disappointed along several dimensions with the president, and with Arne Duncan, but when push comes to shove, there鈥檚 nowhere else for them to go, and they know it,鈥� Mr. Henig said. 鈥淚 expect them to be out there doing the [get-out-the-vote] job, just maybe not with as much bounce in their step as they have otherwise.鈥�
Dampened Enthusiasm?
Educators remain a crucial part of the Obama campaign鈥檚 efforts on the ground. Earlier this year, the campaign organized a national group called Educators for Obama. It鈥檚 being led by Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden. She is a former high school teacher who now teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College.
The campaign was unable to say just how many teachers have joined the effort but noted that the group includes many union members, as well as early-childhood 糖心动漫vlog, community college teachers, and others. The campaign is partnering both with unions and with education-redesign-oriented organizations to find volunteers. Only one other profession鈥攏urses鈥攈as a similarly structured organization within Obama for America, the president鈥檚 official campaign operation.
鈥淲e are seeing a lot of energy and enthusiasm鈥� among teachers, said Buffy Wicks, the director of Operation Vote for Obama for America. 鈥淭hey serve as great messengers鈥� for the campaign.
While there may be some policy differences between unions and the Obama administration, those disagreements haven鈥檛 been a stumbling block in recruiting teachers for get-out-the-vote efforts, she added. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been focusing on the things that unite us,鈥� such as the need to keep class sizes reasonable and ensure students have access to college aid, Ms. Wicks said.
In fact, the 3 million-member National Education Association has seen an uptick in its roster of volunteers this time around, according to Sara Robertson, a spokeswoman for the union. In 2008, nearly 200,000 members were involved in Mr. Obama鈥檚 campaign in some way. This year, the number is closer to 500,000, Ms. Robertson estimates. The NEA also has 35,000 鈥渟uperactivists"鈥攁lso called Educators for Obama鈥攚ho are especially engaged. And it has dispatched hundreds of members to serve as spokespeople, talking about the importance of the election for 糖心动漫vlog.
Members of the NEA are also reaching out to fellow teachers who have been identified as persuadable voters in politically critical states through a 鈥渟ocial organizing program,鈥� said Karen M. White, the union鈥檚 political director. And the union鈥檚 president, Dennis Van Roekel, traveled to the swing state of Iowa to campaign last week.
The American Federation of Teachers reports that it had more than 5,000 volunteers in 2008. This year there are more than 10,000. The union鈥檚 president, Randi Weingarten, was planning to take a bus tour of Ohio last week, helping to rally voters in a pivotal swing state for the president.
Get Out the Vote
Back in 2008, the 1.5 million-member AFT endorsed Mr. Obama鈥檚 opponent in the primaries, then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, while the NEA didn鈥檛 back a candidate in the primaries.
Both unions worked to support Mr. Obama in the general election against the GOP nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, even though they disagreed with a number of his policy positions. By then, Mr. Obama and his team had built a formidable get-out-the-vote operation, largely without teachers鈥� union help, said Terry Moe, a professor of political science at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank, which is at Stanford.
Mr. Obama 鈥渄idn鈥檛 owe [the unions] anything,鈥� said Mr. Moe, whose book Special Interest: Teachers鈥� Unions and America鈥檚 Public Schools focuses in part on the role of unions in politics.
But that may change in Mr. Obama鈥檚 second term if the union get-out-the-vote effort proves critical in key swing states, helping to sway an election that鈥檚 shaping up to be much closer than the 2008 contest, Mr. Moe said. 鈥淭hey will all go out and get Obama re-elected and then they will turn around and say, 鈥榃e supported you, we want you to come through for us over the next four years,鈥� 鈥� Mr. Moe said. Still, he added, 鈥淚t may not work. I think Obama and Duncan have made it clear that they support reform.鈥�
Other Issues Key
Mr. White, the Florida teacher, said he doesn鈥檛 necessarily expect that the Obama administration would reverse course in a second term. While he鈥檚 noticed that some of his colleagues are less enthusiastic about Mr. Obama than they were in 2008, he鈥檚 urged them to look at the broader picture.
鈥淭here are people that are disenchanted with him at this point,鈥� he said. But he added, 鈥測ou can鈥檛 base your decision solely on education.鈥� Mr. White, for instance, is a big supporter of Mr. Obama鈥檚 views on economic issues and the environment.
And Mr. Obama鈥檚 championship of a bailout for the automotive industry has been popular among union members in the critical swing state of Ohio, said Melissa Cropper, the president of the 16,000 Ohio Federation of Teachers, an AFT affiliate.
鈥淗e saved the auto industry,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 emphasize how huge that is.鈥�
She also credited the administration with supporting the unions鈥� effort to pass a ballot referendum overturning a new law that would have significantly curtailed teachers鈥� ability to negotiate over working conditions, wages, and benefits.
Still, the recent teachers鈥� strike in Chicago highlighted the rift between unions and the education redesign wing of the Democratic Party. The Chicago Teachers Union, an AFT affiliate, clashed with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Mr. Obama鈥檚 former chief of staff. At least one striking teacher held up a sign that read: 鈥淒emocratic Party, Where Are You?鈥�
No Time to Volunteer
At a recent meeting of the NEA-affiliated Fairfax Education Association, in Fairfax County, Va., another key state, more than half a dozen teachers reported that they were supporting the Obama campaign in some capacity, even as many of them voiced dissatisfaction with his administration鈥檚 decisions on K-12.
鈥淚鈥檓 not happy with a lot of his policies, but he supports public education,鈥� said Robin J. Rubio, a reading-resource teacher at Beech Tree Elementary School. 鈥淚 just wish that he and his education secretary would listen to the people who know鈥� what goes on in classrooms. Still, she added, 鈥淚 canvassed, because when I saw what we were up against, I had to go with President Obama.鈥� She鈥檚 particularly worried about potential cuts to federal education funding under a Romney administration.
But others say that they are coping with curriculum changes, a new emphasis on data, and a recent overhaul of Virginia鈥檚 teacher-evaluation system鈥攑olicy shifts that appear to be linked in part to the Obama administration鈥檚 recent waiver for the state from provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. That has left them few spare hours for campaigning.
鈥淚 wish I had the time,鈥� said Sean Cammaerts, a media specialist at Lanier Middle School in Fairfax County. 鈥淢y workload is incredible.鈥� Although he recognizes the administration鈥檚 role in recent policy changes, he doesn鈥檛 blame the president. 鈥淚 see it as an outgrowth of [the NCLB law]. Everything Obama has done has been in response to a rock that鈥檚 already rolling downhill.鈥�
Robert Smith, a special education teacher who heads up the Young Democrats Club at South Lakes High School, also in Fairfax County, said he 鈥渨orked very hard鈥� for Mr. Obama back in 2008, but doesn鈥檛 have as much time to devote to the campaign this year, in part because of what he sees as new demands on his professional time. And he鈥檚 noticed that fewer students are volunteering, too. Four years, ago, he said, 45 students at Mr. Smith鈥檚 school 鈥渨orked very eagerly鈥� for Mr. Obama. Now, there are about a dozen.
鈥淭hat shows the difference in student enthusiasm,鈥� he said.
But Mr. Smith is still planning to vote for the president, even though he finds himself at odds with the education secretary on areas such as teacher evaluation. Mr. Duncan has gone along with 鈥渢he push from the right wing to try and hold teachers more accountable,鈥� he said.
Still, the president鈥檚 views on education have helped steer Becky Sawyer, an Ohio 1st grade teacher, in Mr. Romney鈥檚 direction. Ms. Sawyer voted for Mr. McCain in 2008 but has supported Democratic candidates in other elections, she said in a phone interview. Under Mr. Obama, she said, teachers have been subject to more public criticism than ever before.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen my profession become basically a lot less supported,鈥� said Ms. Sawyer, who works at Chippewa Elementary School in the 4,500-student Brecksville-Broadview City Heights district, near Cleveland. 鈥淚t鈥檚 made a very difficult job even more difficult.鈥�
Her vote isn鈥檛 based solely on K-12 policy. Mr. Romney, she said, is in a better position to improve the nation鈥檚 struggling economy and shares her views on some social issues.
And, when it comes to education, she said, 鈥渉e can鈥檛 be any worse than what we already have.鈥�
