WEA & NEA Exemplars

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #19 WEA & NEA Exemplars 5.18.20 If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say or read someone write, “Teachers’ Unions are only about demanding more money and protecting bad teachers”, I’d be dictating this blog to my secretary. Yes, I’m that old! But here I am at my keyboard, so let me tell you something you may not have seen or heard. WEA, it’s local associations, and NEA constantly seek to identify and tell others about members who are exemplars. These efforts recognize professionalism and set the bar of other members. In this case, the exemplar is WEA’s candidate for the NEA Foundation’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Let me introduce Kanoe Vierra, English teacher and Dean of Students at Scriber Lake High School in Edmonds. Hoʻoponopono Vierra’s teaching is rooted in traditional Hawaiian culture, Hoʻoponopono, to make things right, to restore relationships that have gone bad, to help individuals understand and internalize how their actions impact the larger group. This does not mean ignoring traditional discipline where needed. It means adding a personal connection. According to Edmonds EA President Andi Nofziger-Meadows, “Kanoe has been using restorative justice and restorative discipline practices for most of his career; they are the foundation of his interactions with students.” Vierra also serves as a WEA trainer for Culturally Responsive Classroom Strategies; helps bring community members to Scriber Lake; serves as one of the seven board members on the Teachers of Color Foundation, a community group established to provide scholarships and other assistance to paraeducators of color in Edmonds as they pursue a teaching certificate; participates in the Edmonds Educators of Color Network, of which he is a founding member, has served as a building rep.; & was elected as the Educator of Color Representative to EEA’s Executive Board. This is an example of what WEA & NEA do with some of our dues money. You can read more about Kanoe Vierra here: https://www.washingtonea.org/we-are-wea/weareblog/post/from-not-smart-enough-to-acclaimed-teacher-kanoe-vierra-understands-students-are-told-they-dont/ ------------ Ken Mortland is a member of WEA-Retired, continuing a long career of activism in WEA/NEA. He is also a lifelong Republican and a member of Mainstream Republicans of WA Board.

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