This past Sunday's New York Times Magazine chronicles social activist Geoffrey Canada and his ambitious goal to radically improve the lives of approximately 6,500 children living in a 60-block area of Harlem. Canada draws upon a wide range of liberal and conservative ideas to attack poverty, all under the umbrella of the "Harlem Children's Zone." The article is an inspiring look at what many see as the most ambitious anti-poverty program currently being implemented in the United States, now three years into the making.

One relatively new feature of Canada's strategy that has ruffled a few feathers is his intention to create charter schools, having decided that the public schools were not producing sufficient academic gains yet were unwilling to make the changes that Canada felt would improve student performance. These charters will employ nonunion teachers who will be asked to work longer days for twelve months a year, but will be eligible for more pay than their public school counterparts.

Canada's decision to forego public schools and the teachers' union has enraged Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). "If you truly want schools to succeed," said Weingarten, "you work with the people who represent teachers."

What Ms. Weingarten seems to miss is that Canada is not interested in saving the public school system. He's interesting in saving Harlem's kids. By resisting the concessions sought by Canada, AFT's Weingarten (the UFT is the local affiliate of the AFT) is in danger of joining her colleagues at the NEA in increasing marginalization.