Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker

The Committee for Economic Development (CED) in partnership with The Century Foundation cordially invites you to attend a breakfast discussion on Richard Kahlenberg's new book, "Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy". The discussion will take place on November 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the East Side Marriott in New York City (525 Lexington Avenue, at 49th Street). Breakfast will be available at 8:30 a.m. The program begins at 9 a.m. In addition to the author, panelists will include: Eugenia Kemble, the Executive Director of the Albert Shanker Institute; Sol Hurwitz, CED President Emeritus; Dr. Diane Ravitch, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education; Bella Rosenberg, former Shanker advisor; and Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation of Teachers. The discussion will be moderated by Richard Leone, President of the Century Foundation.

In his 1973 comedy Sleeper, Woody Allen depicted teacher union leader Albert Shanker as the man who destroyed the world. In Tough Liberal, however, Albert Shanker is described as a complex and visionary figure whose life story offers timely lessons for contemporary debates over education, labor, civil rights, foreign policy, and the future of liberalism. Albert Shanker, the legendary president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) from 1974 to 1997, was a founding father of modern teacher unionism and a leading advocate of education reform. Although a staunch unionist, he was also a strong proponent of standards-based reform, teacher-led charter schools, and the professionalization of teaching. Shanker had an unusual ability to work with both liberals and conservatives and a unique world view that stood firmly for public schools and trade unionism on the one hand, but departed from traditional liberal orthodoxies on issues like affirmative action, bilingual education, and national security on the other.

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