The President of the National Educational Association gave what many critics saw as an "unhinged" speech at their Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly in Philidelphia over the weekend. Rebecca Pringle, president of the largest labor union in the nation representing public school teachers and other staff across the country, was seen waving her arms and hands, yelling and repeatedly screaming about "winning all the things!" in her speech in front of the crowd.

This is the president of the nation's largest teachers union. Insane. pic.twitter.com/jepTF9jxEr

— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) July 7, 2024

In her speech, Pringle repeatedly referenced transformative social justice reforms in the public school systems across the United States to pursue the so-called leftist dream of "equity."  

"To unite not just our members, but the nation to reclaim public education as a common good, as the foundation of our democracy, and then transform it into something it was never designed to be—a racially and socially just and equitable system," Pringle said. "We worked hard to rid ourselves of a tyrannical, deceitful, and corrupt White House, but the reality is that the seeds that were sown during that horrible season continue to germinate." 

"We are the ones who help shape the heart of this nation's hope and dreams. We are the ones who hold steadfast to the belief in the plausibility of the possible. We are the heirs of all who did this work before us. We must keep going. NEA Delegates, we can do this work. We must do this work," she added.  

Pringle's statements and performance did not sit well with critics of her and the labor union, which pointed to the success, or lack thereof, of the public school system at large in the country. Corey DeAngelis, an advocate for school choice in America, called Pringle's speech an "off the rails" performance reminiscent of the eccentric Dwight Schrute, a character from the hit television series, "The Office." 

"These power-hungry control freaks think they own your kids. They're in a cult that worships government and detests parents. It's time to defund teachers unions and allow the money to follow the child," Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital. "Becky Pringle pulled a Dwight Schrute. She is off-the-rails and desperate to maintain control over the minds of other people’s children." 

In an episode of "The Office," Dwight Schrute gave a speech at an awards ceremony where the writers of the episode based Schrute's speech on the ex-Italian fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. The character's mannerisms and voice were oddly comparable to Pringle's performance, where he waved his arms and hands, banged his fists on the podium, and screamed at times. 

STRANGER THAN FICTION: The NEA's Becky Pringle, the unhinged Democrat activist who represents government teachers, copied The Office's Dwight Schrute's infamous speaking style this weekend. Who did it better? pic.twitter.com/sD27oQ9oh7

— @amuse (@amuse) July 8, 2024

Jason Bedrick, a research fellow with the Heritage Foundation, described Pringle's speech as "overwrought" and "hyper-partisan" and a strong advertisement for school choice in the country. 

"During her speech, Pringle claimed the NEA would 'continue to embrace the profound trust that has been placed in' them. Apparently, she hasn't seen the polls showing record-low public trust in public schools," he added. "Even Pringle's over-the-top, Dwight Schrute-like theatrics can't distract from her union's role in the dismal state of education in this country, from keeping schools closed for far too long during COVID, to shielding bad teachers from accountability--all at the expense of students' learning."

This was not Pringle's first speech with this type of language and comments. At last year's Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly, she made similar comments as well. Several of her critics call her performance that of a preacher, dictator, or a renegade, becoming completely unglued at times. Calling for her supporters and followers to "fight for freedom" rather than coming up with plans to increase student's proficiencies in their classes, or come up with ways to better teach students. 

The closing of Becky Pringle's latest speech to the NEA was a Hitlerian performance. This is not a casual comparison. https://t.co/TuDs8EXW8V pic.twitter.com/B0Ow7uBqZA

— Paul Rossi (@pauldrossi) July 14, 2023