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SPRING 2011
Page 8A
Adviser Update
Union history lesson emerges from posts
By KATHY CRAGHEAD
ny adviser who is not a part
A
of the Journalism Education
Association’s adviser listserv has
missed quite a discussion during
this cold, snowy winter. The listserv has been on fire. There have
been rants, parodies, pleas, news,
requests, trauma and drama —
all primarily about teachers and
their rights. There was no consensus, and no real reason for one
on this multi-faceted subject. The
education came from reading the
posts, which came from a large
geographic area and from a wide
experience-range of advisers
What was of true value, however, was the history lesson that
emerged as part of the posts.
Regardless of your stand on
teacher unions or right-to-work
states, the information that presented the backstory of this issue
and our profession was interesting.
We heard from strong union
supporters and from 40-year
JEA listserv
Regardless of your stand on teacher
unions or right-to-work states,
the information that presented the
backstory of this issue and our
profession was interesting.
teachers in right-to-work states.
We heard from the daughter of
a Kentucky coal miner and an
adviser whose education was paid
for by her UAW union member
father. We heard from a school
board member who is a former
adviser, the head of the Student
Press Law Center, and puzzled
first-year advisers.
We heard an adviser who had
taught in both right-to-work and
union states declare he would
“never teach again without a
union.” This post was followed
by a testimonial from an adviser
who was the “former president
of a local teachers’ independent
profession organization’’ who felt
during her tenure that advocacy
for the members was respected
and effective.
Much of the information came
from Wayne Brasler, a scholastic
journalism pioneer in Chicago. He
and former-adviser Merle Dieleman of Iowa gave insights on
the “olden days” of teaching and
advising. No matter your stand
on the issues, it’s fascinating to
hear from advisers who have been
alive long enough to have seen
our world of scholastic journalism
in its earlier days.
The discussion about the “Wisconsin” situation then oozed into
a series of posts about 1) how collective bargaining has its roots in
First Amendment freedoms and
2) what the ramifications might
be of film maker Michael Moore
setting up a High School Journalism site for students to “freely”
publish anything, including what
had been censored by their local
high school papers.
And so the debate/di ͍