Obama Will Speak To Teachers This Weekend

TEACHERS  OBAMA  EDUCATION 

By Rob Manning

Portland, OR  July 3, 2008 4 p.m.

Barack Obama will address the nation’s largest teachers’ union this weekend, and about 160 Oregon teachers will be there. But the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee may be risking his reputation with teachers by not appearing in person at the National Education Association convention.

Instead, Obama will speak by remote from Montana.

Oregon Education Association president, Larry Wolf, says it's a little disappointing Obama won’t be on stage in D.C.

Larry Wolf: “I think a lot of people were upset at first, but I know in the Oregon delegation we had a long conversation about this, and we’re comfortable with it. In fact, we’re pleased that Obama is spending time in these states, like Montana and Wyoming, which are going to be so critical in this upcoming presidential election.”

Obama drew standing ovations from teachers at last year’s convention, when he criticized the No Child Left Behind act. But he raised eyebrows when he voiced support for exploring pay-for-performance, so long as teacher compensation wasn’t tied too closely to student test scores.

So-called “merit pay”  tends to be unpopular with teachers.

Obama’s likely opponent, Republican senator, John McCain, is not scheduled to speak to the NEA.   The teachers are slated to take a presidential endorsement vote on Saturday.  

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