From the AFT Bulletin, March 3 2001
  
  
FELDMAN MEETS WITH FIRST LADY LAURA BUSH ON READING
AFT president Sandra Feldman and a small group of AFT staffers were at the
White House on Feb. 28 for an informal visit with first lady Laura Bush to
exchange ideas and information on reading.  The AFT has been a champion of
approaches to reading instruction that show solid, research-based evidence
of success--including explicit and systematic instruction in phonemic
awareness and phonics.  Many of the same experts who have worked with AFT on
reading also consulted on elements of the Texas Reading Initiative that
President Bush points to as a model of success (see Jan. 29 edition of
"Inside AFT").  President Feldman noted after the meeting that Mrs. Bush, a
former school teacher, was very familiar with the AFT's reading materials
and was interested in professional development, particularly how to get good
information about reading instruction into the hands of classroom teachers.
The first lady also spoke of her love for teaching and her understanding of
how truly difficult--and rewarding--teaching is, said Feldman. Also, joining
Feldman and AFT staffers at the meeting were Burnie Bond of the Shanker
Institute and Aminda Gentile, who heads the Teacher Center at the United
Federation of Teachers of New York City. For details about AFT materials on
reading, visit our Web site at http://www.aft.org/edissues/reading/.