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# Secretary Cardona Delivers Remarks to the National Education Association

# Secretary Cardona Delivers Remarks to the National Education Association

July 5, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
*On July 3, 2023, U.S.  Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona delivered remarks focused on fighting  “toxic disrespect” against teachers and public schools, including through the  “ABCs of teaching” and a call to “stop teaching to the test,”at the National  Education Association Representative Assembly.*

Thank you, Becky, for that  kind introduction — and for all you do as a fierce champion for our nation's  educators.

How we doing NEA?  I am so happy to be here- I hear this is the  place to be—is that right?  We gonna make  some noise this week?  So loud they can  hear you in Tallahassee?  

Shout out to my Florida  teachers. I see what you are going through and what you do for kids!

I’m honored to be here today  as Secretary of Education.  But I am also  honored to be here as a former 4th grade teacher, a bilingual  education certified teacher, husband of an educator, and a parent of public  school children.

Any high school educators  here?  How about middle school?  Any elementary folks here?  

Yes, despite the divisive drama  many want to create in education, let me say it loud and proud—YOU CHANGE  LIVES!  

It’s important to publicly  acknowledge educators that have changed your life.  

Mine is Linda Ransom — my  high school art teacher in Meriden CT.

Any CT folks in the room?  One day, Ms. Ransom saw a  mural that I was painting about racial justice, and she suggested that I put it  up in the school cafeteria bulletin board.  I did — and it even got me  featured in the local newspaper for the first time.  That lifted me up.  I felt seen and heard!

Later on in the year, she  gave me a little tap on the shoulder.  And she told me: you know, Miguel,  YOU could be a teacher.

That tap on the shoulder put  me on the path to becoming a teacher . . . and it made possible the journey  that brought me right here today as your Secretary of Education: an  educator fighting for educators.

You see, Ms. Ransom saw  something in me that I did not even see.  

So when I look out at this  room, I don't just think of it as a room of 6,000 incredible people.  

Because  together, you represent tens of millions of taps on the shoulder — just like  the one I got from Ms. Ransom.

***Your  passion***translates into children being able to fulfill their God-given  potential.  ***Your service*** leads to dreams coming true. 

You  CHANGE LIVES!

And  these last few years, YOU SAVED LIVES!  Thank  you!

Whether  you are classroom teachers, special education professionals, mental health  educators, School Nurses, Support professionals (I see you and appreciate you),  paraeducators, Custodians, bus drivers, early childhood educators, and I could keep  going, you have all stepped up and led our reopening with class, commitment and  student-centeredness.

As your Secretary, educators,  I am here to acknowledge that we, as a country, owe you. 

Yet in many parts of our  country, you are facing an onslaught of disrespect.  You went from pandemic to persecution.  

In some parts of this  country, there developed an intentional toxic disrespect against teachers and  public schools.

A  toxic disrespect from so-called leaders that complain about public education but  sleep well at night knowing their teachers are making less than $40,000 a  year.  

A toxic disrespect from  those who want to privatize education and starve public schools from the  resources they need.  

A toxic disrespect from  those seeking to divide our nation by politicizing equity and inclusion.  

There  is a toxic disrespect from demagogues who attack the safety and belonging of  LGBTQI+ students and students of color, banning books and whitewashing our  history.

There’s  a toxic disrespect from those that want to xerox privilege by standing against  Affirmative Action.  

A  toxic disrespect from so called leaders that have gotten millions in debt  relief but throw a tantrum when we try to give teachers $10,000. 

Sadly, there is even  toxicity creeping in from those that rather ban books than assault  weapons.  You know the type — the ones  that don’t trust you to select books but want you armed in schools.

There  is a toxic disrespect from those seeking to silence teacher voice or vilify  educators fighting for competitive wages and better working conditions.

I am  here to say you ***can*** fight for competitive salaries and be  student centered.  In fact, I believe  fighting for professional wages and benefits **is** fighting for  students—it is fighting for the profession—it is fighting for public schools!

The  time has come for us, as a nation, along with the NEA, to fight  unapologetically against toxicity.  ***My fellow educators, it’s time for a detox!***

It’s ***time*** to detoxify those who seek to destroy public  education.  

It’s ***time*** to detox them from ignorance.

It’s ***time*** to detox them from racism.

It’s ***time*** to detox them from hate.

It’s **time** to detox them from privatizing the great equalizer.

You  see, schools are the best intervention to fight ignorance, and educators are  the antidote, or dare I say in Florida, the vaccine against vitriol.  

We  need you now more than ever!

I  keep hearing talk about a teacher shortage issue.  When are we going to talk about the teacher respect  issue?!

Better  yet, enough with the talking.  Let’s see  action.    Action like lifting the teaching profession.  

I call  it the ABCs of teaching.

A – Agency.  Let’s treat our educators like the  professionals that they are.  You know  what you’re doing.  You need the agency  to get it done.  

That means that educator  voice is woven into how schools work, along with the autonomy for teachers to  make decisions based on what they know is best for their students.  

B – Better Working  Conditions.  Better working conditions  means we are not normalizing 95-degree classrooms or buildings that were  designed for the turn of the ***20th*** century.  

That’s not all.  

Let’s make sure you have  enough planning time to learn collaboratively with colleagues like other  professions, and that there is high quality professional development available  during work hours, so you don’t have to choose between professional growth or  seeing your family.  

Let’s make sure there are  pathways for career growth where you don’t have to leave the classroom to lead,  and let’s end the professional learning practices that expect you to be trauma  experts after an hourlong meeting.  

To improve working  conditions, let’s support our building leaders to ensure there is a positive  culture in school.  Poor working conditions  and terrible school climates are pushing teachers away!

Better working conditions  also means having a beautifully diverse workforce that represents the mosaic of  diversity that we see in our students and our country.  Ya es tiempo que nuestros niños aprendan otro  idioma!

And last, but definitely  not, least, we have: C – Competitive Salaries. Teachers earn 24% less than  other college graduates. 

Pay our teachers what they deserve!

As of last school year, 35  states still started their teachers with a salary of less than $45,000 and 17  states with salaries below $40,000.

How can we expect to lead  the world or create the career pathways needed in this country if we are  expecting teachers to drive Uber on the weekends?

Shout out to states like  Maryland and Idaho for lifting salaries of educators ***without*** attaching it to a voucher plan.  

Educators, again I repeat,  do not let our advocacy for competitive wages be reduced to being anything but protecting  public education.  

Don’t mistake our  selflessness with submission!  

When we invest in the  profession, we invest in our students – and we invest in our nation.

At the U.S. Department of  Education, we are not just talking about it.   We are putting our actions and funding behind it.  

We have budgeted $3 billion  in teacher development, recruitment and retention programs, and much more in salary  increases through the American Rescue Plan.   We’ve also pushed out $400 million for teacher pipeline programs  already.  We believe in this and will not  stop fighting for you.  

In addition to the ABCs of Teaching, we are Raising the Bar in  education.  Recovery is not enough. We  must Raise the Bar. You can see our plan on ed.gov.

This is our moment.

It’s also time to focus on a comprehensive education.  An education strong in the arts, music, and  hands on learning.  An education that  values college ***and*** career.   One with strong pedagogy, high standards, and authentic  assessments.  

We must stop teaching to the test.

Too many generations of students, particularly black and brown students,  missed out on STEM, hands-on learning, experiential learning, or project-based  learning because teaching was reduced to test prep.

Enough is enough!

I was a school principal when my awesome bilingual students and  teachers reduced their worth to the percentage of mastery on a standardized  test in a language the students didn’t even know.  

This, despite the fact that the students were growing at ***double  the rate*** and their bilingual teachers were working ***twice  as hard*** to help the students learn a new language and culture.  It felt like educational neglect that we  allowed this to happen.  

We must take steps in this country to recognize the power of formative  and curriculum-embedded assessments that drive instruction and curricular  decisions.  

***Yes*** you can have high quality formative assessment that connect to high standards  taught by highly qualified professionals.   Isn’t that what we should be doing?

I was a teacher and principal during the era of bubble kids, and  I don’t want to go back.  And quite  frankly, our literacy and numeracy rates in this country are too low.  Apparently, that didn’t work.  

Let’s get back to high  expectations and high standards for ***all*** kids, not just the  ones in affluent neighborhoods, let’s get rid of the Aye Bendito! effect or poor  kid mentality, pobrecito, and let’s invest in great programming with better authentic  assessments.  

These assessments need  to be flashlights to drive instruction and support, not hammers that put a  scarlet letter on teachers or schools.   We are proposing $100 million in that to get the ball rolling. 

I want to thank NEA for all the work it’s doing to develop  principles of authentic assessments.  

We know we have to make sure our innovative assessments program  is working for more states – so that we can demonstrate how authentic  assessments can work, and secure the real, lasting change our students and  educators deserve.  This is an area I  will continue to focus on—one where my experience as an educator matters.  One where your voice matters.  

Look, we are not going  to solve all of our needs today, but as your Secretary of Education, I commit  to engaging, listening, and standing side by side with you as we fight for the  soul of our nation and work to detoxify those seeking to harm public  education.  

Along with our  students and parents, there is nothing we cannot accomplish if we work  together.   Together, we ***will*** lift public education to  greater heights.  ***We have to.***

Our kids are watching.  Thank you! Pa’lante Siempre!
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