Methodology
How to find, document, and continuously update material on NEA, AFT, and AEA positions related to curriculum, LGBTQIA+, economics, family structures, and related themes—and how to keep this static site’s news aggregator current.
1. Primary sources first
- NEA: nea.org — resolutions handbook, resource library, RA new-business items, LGBTQ+ and inclusive-education pages, professional-learning catalogs.
- AFT: aft.org/resolutions, convention documents, Share My Lesson, policy pages.
- AEA: alabamaea.org (or current domain), AEA Journal archives, local affiliate pages; cross-check NEA affiliate directories.
Use site search and operators: site:nea.org LGBTQ OR "gender identity" OR "sexual orientation" curriculum,
similar queries for privatization, voucher, capitalism, “family structure,” “marriage equality,” etc.
2. Secondary documentation
Watchdog and news outlets (Defending Education, Alabama Policy Institute, major media that quote primary text) help surface resolutions and trainings. Always verify against the primary document. LM-2 union filings and FEC data document political spending patterns.
3. Evidence standard
- Prefer exact quotes and full resolution text over paraphrases.
- Record date, URL, and whether the item is binding policy, training recommendation, or partner content.
- Distinguish national vs. affiliate vs. secondary characterization.
- Present the organizations’ own framing (equity, inclusion, public-education defense) alongside any interpretive labels.
4. Updating the news aggregator on this site
- Edit
data/stories.json— add objects withid,title,org,date,url,excerpt,tags. - Useful tags:
lgbtq,econ,family,gov,aea,curriculum. - Re-zip the site folder (or push to a Git repo connected to Cloudflare Pages) and deploy.
- Optional: automate with a script that appends RSS items or spreadsheet rows into the JSON before deploy.
5. Cadence
Re-check after NEA Representative Assembly and AFT conventions; monitor handbook updates and major new-business items. Archive pages with screenshots + permanent links where possible.
6. Limitations
True intent of classroom implementation is hard to verify at scale. Membership views are not uniform. This archive is a research tool, not a claim that every classroom or member adopts every national position.