What are the differences between the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)?
The NEA is the largest professional and employee association in the nation. Formed during the second half of the 1800s, initially it was slow to work for the needs of its members, but by the 1960s and 1970s, the NEA became a strong teacher rights advocate. While significantly smaller, the AFT has historically taken a more militant position, demonstrated by its early support of teacher strikes. Today both the NEA and the AFT offer a range of services, including magazines, journals, and other professional communications; legal assistance; workshops and conferences; assistance in collective bargaining; and political activism. The NEA and AFT continue to explore a possible merger. • Are America’s schools a secret success story, doing better than the press and the public believe? The lower performance of American students on international tests may be attributed to curricular and cultural differences, not necessarily to educational deficiencies. Many indicators, from SAT scores to high scho
