By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor

Governor Tom Corbett singled out teachers unions today in keynote speech today to the National Policy Summit of the American Federation for Children, a D.C.-based pro-vouchers group.

Several dozen protesters, including representatives of teachers’ unions, also the made the trip from Pennsylvania.

The bulk of Corbett’s remarks focused on what he said was the main problem with public education: teacher’s unions.

“Let me be clear. I am not blaming teachers for wanting a living salary. I am not faulting them for wanting protection against capricious dismissal. My first job out of college as teaching in high school.”

“What I do protest is the fact that in the years since teachers unionized, school districts began to focus too much on contracts, and too little on curriculum. The education model degenerated. it has shifted to a labor management model whose focus has become on teacher-parent-child. That’s entirely backward,” Corbett said to applause.

“That is not an education priority, it’s a negotiating strategy.”

Corbett also blamed decades-old social changes for the deteriorating state of public schools.

Welfare became a generational exception, Corbett argued, as people became reliant on government handouts, and ceased to be self-reliant.

“We held the weak captive with our pity,” he said, and substandard schools became an accepted norm.

Only changing the culture of public education would be enough to reverse this trend, Corbett argued, saying that efforts like SB 1 were crucial for future generations.

“We need to be committed to this. I am committed to this in Pennsylvania,” Corbett said. “The education of our youth to me is the most important domestic item that we have to deal with.”

Progressive groups including Keystone Progress and PennAction organized buses for the few dozen protesters who made the trip to D.C. from Philadelphia and Harrisburg. They singled out one family, who they accuse of planting the seeds for school vouchers nation wide.

The Inquirer has the story from the D.C. protest, much of which was aimed at Walker.

“The American Federation for Children (AFC),” said the groups in a joint media advisory, “is a group founded by the conservative DeVos family and a small core group of donors ideologically opposed to public education.”

“Walker and Corbett are carrying the water for DeVos and AFC, attacking teachers and students while gutting public education funding and silencing their voices.”

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party jumped on board with the criticism, forwarding news stories to the press about a recent poll showing that most Pennsylvania voters oppose school vouchers.

“Tom Corbett has to travel all the way to Washington, DC to find support for his risky and expensive school voucher program because Pennsylvanians reject his plan by a two-to-one margin,” said Party Chairman Jim Burn. “Tom Corbett’s plan cannot even win support from Republican State Senators. It’s just another example of Tom Corbett’s failed leadership and out-of-touch agenda that only benefits his donors.”

A protester briefly interrupted the program, shouting over the speaker introducing Corbett. The woman was escorted from the room.

“It’s a shame she wouldn’t sit down and listen to us,” Corbett said. “She’s exactly the kind of person we need to try and convince.”

The program also featured controversial Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who has sought to strictly limit the bargaining rights of public school teachers. Also speaking was Michelle Rhee, a former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools whose tenure has been hailed conservatives and criticized by public education advocates.

Last year’s keynote speaker was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is famous for his confrontation relationship with teachers unions. (Or infamous, depending on where you sit).