Hillary Clinton met with the members of the National Education Association (NEA) in a general assembly Tuesday. America's biggest labor union has confirmed its endorsement of the Democrat's presidential nominee as early as October 2015, and as expected, thousands came to the event.
However, in the middle of her speech, Hillary Clinton supposedly made a comment regarding charter schools, which was booed by an audience full of teachers in the labor rank and file. Specifically, Hillary Clinton said that schools should follow what successful schools are doing and share the formula within the institutions, "whether they're traditional public schools or public charter schools," per The Daily Caller.
According to The 74 Million, teacher unions have been strongly opposed to charter schools from the beginning, specifically because its teachers are not required to become union members. These institutions operate with more flexibility than regular public schools, but some union members also view charter schools as ineffective and detrimental to school districts. Hence, the strong opposition for it.
Politico reports that the Clintons, even before Hillary's husband, Bill Clinton's presidency, have been staunch supporters of charter schools. This fact has not been welcomed by union members. However, some political observers note that since the campaign, Hillary Clinton has been slowly critical of charter schools. Not all teachers are buying this change in stance.
Additionally, even as the NEA and other teachers' union have thrown their support as a group for the Democratic nominee, not all teachers are apparently for Hillary Clinton. This has caused a divide within the rank and file of the teachers groups.
The NEA supports Sec Clinton but many educators do NOT agree with her education policies. @Lily_NEA @HillaryClinton.
— Stephen Krashen (@skrashen) July 5, 2016
Not taken aback by being booed, Hillary Clinton instead encouraged the teachers to set aside their differences. "We've got no time for all these education wars, where people from the outside try to foist for-profit schools on our kids," she told the crowd. Watch her full speech to the NEA in the video below.
