UEA tells educators to 'push back' at convention

SANDY — Not much has changed since Lily Eskelsen Garcia was named Utah Teacher of the Year in 1989.

That year, funding was the main concern in education. Teachers, who had long been told of funding constraints and who were paying for student supplies with their own money, learned of a proposal for a state surplus to be given out as a rebate to residents instead of toward education expenses.

Teachers took to Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, with Garcia, then Utah Teacher of the Year, for a speech and to sing the "I'm a Teacher and I Got to Work in Utah Blues."

Now, Utah still has the lowest per-pupil funding in the U.S., teachers are being asked to do more with less and they're being blamed for the poor performance of students, she said. Now the president of the National Education Association, Garcia sees hope in teachers making their voices heard.

"I want them to know that pushing back on things that don't make sense — and are actually hurting students — is what we have to be about. I think we've tried to work around some of these failed reforms," Garcia said. "It's time to stop trying to make unworkable things work. It's our job to tell the truth. And the truth is those factory corporate reforms never did work."

Garcia was the keynote speaker during Thursday's opening sessions at the 2014 Utah Education Association Convention and Education Expositions held at the South Towne Exposition Center. Thousands of Utah's teachers flocked to the convention center to hear from Garcia and to attend workshops on topics ranging from dealing with difficult students, to surviving the first years as a teacher and working with students who have dyslexia.

Garcia was also one of six panelists — including Utah Senate President Wayne Niederhauser — who discussed education policy Thursday afternoon.

Topics ranged from federal versus local control of education, funding, teacher autonomy, the state's education task force, Prosperity 2020's vision for Utah's students, and technology in the classroom.

Niederhauser said funding education is "one of the main responsibilities of the Utah Legislature," but one of the state's laws makes this difficult. It allows education funds to be applied toward higher education — which formerly came out of the general fund — and general funds to be applied to road work.

Legislators reflect the will of the people, he said, so "if you're really wanting to change something, you've got to change the people."

Niederhauser told educators to show up to events and town hall meetings to meet legislators, and to be prepared to discuss their messages with civility.

Ruthanne Buck, senior adviser to the secretary in the U.S. Department of Education, told teachers they were the "most important in school factor to a kid's success," but added that there are a "number of other factors that we can't ignore and we need to address," including teacher preparation time, equal funding to schools, student and teacher resources and concerns with children living in poverty.

Garcia called Utah teachers "weird" and "odd" during the panel, adding that "we actually have a profession where we steal stuff from home and bring it to work."

Nearly every person in the room raised a hand when she asked who in the room had bought school supplies with their own money.

"The people of Utah are lucky to have us. Luck is a lousy business plan," Garcia said.

Teachers have lost the authority to be creative and teach in ways they see best, she said, and it is time for them to reclaim that authority.

Recently retired teacher Debbie Green said the concerns brought up in the panel about teachers being blamed for poor student performance and being expected to do more with less were ones she saw in her time as a teacher and continues to see in her work as a substitute teacher.

"This is just like you're walking into a glass dome, and someone's got a hammer and they're going to hit it at any second," Green said, adding that she sees things improving. "My hope is that someone can say, 'There's my teacher. That's my teacher,' and say it with reverence and say it with respect and to remember, 'You know, I had some fabulous teachers.'"

Elsewhere during the convention, children were invited to learn and play at booths manned by KUED partners, including the Utah Education Network, Discovery Gateway, the Salt Lake City Public Library and the Museum of Natural History.

Children dug through sand to find dinosaur bones, created rockets out of paper and a straw, learned about magnets, and used a pencil to find their blind spots and learn about depth perception.

Educator Jodi Rees, who brought two of her nieces and a nephew to the conference, admitted "they're probably having more fun with this than I am."

The messages of teacher autonomy and empowerment resonated with the educators who attended Thursday morning, according to UEA President Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh.

She called for teachers to be given more time to collaborate with their colleagues, to receive more funding and to be seen as experts in their fields. Gallagher-Fishbaugh encouraged teachers to "continue to work to build relationships," with each other, principals, superintendents and legislators.

"Be strong, be honest, be forthright, speak from your heart, speak for the students, speak for our profession," she said.

The Utah Education Association also gave out 10 Excellence in Teaching Awards Thursday evening to Alaina Allred, eighth-grade English teacher, Centennial Junior High School; Glen Carpenter, drama teacher, Stansbury High School; Kelly DeHaan, vocal music teacher, West Jordan High School; Bruce Elliott, kindergarten teacher, Park Elementary School; Bruce Gunn, district math specialist, Jordan School District; Jill Major, resource teacher, Taylor Elementary School; Lynn Meek, school counselor, Lehi Junior High School; Kelly Peterson, science teacher, North Sevier High School; Cindy Skillicorn, first-grade teacher, Sego Lily Elementary School; PJ Steele, technology specialist, Stansbury Elementary School.

Recipients were given an award, a poster for display at their school and $1,500 from sponsors.

Workshops and classes for the UEA convention will continue Friday.

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