Published: March 1, 1996

Trading Places

When it comes to their views on what needs to be done to make schools work better, the nation's two major teachers' unions seem to have switched places over the past year.

The National Education Association, long viewed as cautious about many of the prescriptions for fixing schools, is now touting its attention to teaching and learning and its support for innovation. The American Federation of Teachers, which has a reputation as the more adventurous of the two organizations, has embarked on a crusade for orderly schools and high academic standards that has been criticized by some observers for its back-to-basics flavor.

The unions have formulated their positions, in part, by blending past experience with a reading of the current political climate, in particular the growing national interest in private school vouchers. While the AFT has long been viewed as a leading force in the education reform movement, the NEA is seen by many as a welcome newcomer. Each in its own way is struggling to figure out how to "protect not only teachers but also teaching," says Ann Lieberman, a professor at...