A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
As President-elect Trump prepares to take the oath, his political opponents are planning to counter many of the policies he's promised to set in coming days. Now, a key area will be education. During the campaign, Trump said schools shouldn't be, as he put it, teaching woke. He said he wants teachers certified based on what he terms their patriotic values. And he's vowed to dismantle the Department of Education, saying states would do a better job of administering things such as grants for special education or student financial aid.
Randi Weingarten is the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers. It's a union representing 1.8 million teachers nationwide. She joins us this morning by way of Skype. Randi, thanks for joining us. Now, how would the teachers you represent be affected by, say, a dismantled Department of Education if indeed he does that?
RANDI WEINGARTEN: So thank you for having us on today. And, you know, the real issue is not the form of a Department of Education but what it actually does, which is it meats out or it gives out the money that goes to kids with disabilities and the money that goes with kids who are poor, monies that were started in the 1960s by Lyndon Johnson and monies that disproportionately go to kids in red states. So we're going to fight for opportunity for all, you know, regardless of what - you know, and I wish the new president well, and I hope he's successful. But what I hope he's really successful at is doing what people who voted for him want him to do, which is to help the working class...
MARTÍNEZ: So even...
WEINGARTEN: ...And to help create opportunity.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. So even if it's dismantled or restructured or has a different name, as long as the money gets to where you feel it needs to go.
WEINGARTEN: Yeah. It's not - remember, the - you know, the department was part of HEW initially - health and education and welfare. And frankly, what we're looking for is every single kid should have a safe and welcoming environment. And let's do a lot more in terms of workforce development. That's something that Linda McMahon has talked about. We need to do - have more opportunities for young people - so workforce development, career and technical training. But we also have to deal with mental health issues.
MARTÍNEZ: Right.
WEINGARTEN: We got to deal with social media issues. So this notion of form over substance is something that I - you know, of course, we'll fight to keep the money. But let's make sure we can be more efficient, but let's make sure we help each and every child. So that means dignity for all and opportunity for all.
MARTÍNEZ: And you mentioned Linda McMahon. That is who Trump wants to be the education secretary. Are you sensing any energy for a resistance among the teachers you represent?
WEINGARTEN: Well, I think that our members - the teachers I represent, the teachers and nurses I represent - they want to make sure that our kids are protected. So, you know, they're really worried that somebody's going to come in and try to deport kids from a school. And school should be safe and welcoming. Think about the kind of anxiety that that's going to cause so many children if there are - if all of a sudden, there are deportations from school. Think about all the things that we try to do to make sure we create dignity for all and opportunity for all. So they're really worried about this, and they want the - they have a lot of energy for fighting for our kids and fighting for our families.
And, A, let me say one more thing, which is if you look at the election returns, you know, in state after state, even states that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, they voted overwhelmingly for public schools.
MARTÍNEZ: Right.
WEINGARTEN: So let's transform public schools. Let's have career technical education. Let's deal with mental health issues. Let's make sure that all...
MARTÍNEZ: Randi...
WEINGARTEN: ...Kids are literate. Let's do all that.
MARTÍNEZ: Real quick - I only got 30 seconds here. I just want to know how this resistance will be different from, say, 2017, after the - after Trump took office the last time.
WEINGARTEN: Because it's not going to be about just on the streets, yelling and saying, resist, resist. It's going to be about trying to force the new president to do his job and to keep the promises that he's made to working people, not just to the billionaires but to working people.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers. Randi, thanks for spending the morning with us.
WEINGARTEN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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