If you can wade through the wordiness and obfuscation, watch the most intellectually dishonest member of the UFT/Unity hierarchy - aka Leo Casey - justify this mess at Edwize.
Blogger JD2718 calls Casey's junk "essentially Bunk"
These reports will provide new a ways to discipline teachers, and new tools to bend all of our teaching to ‘the test.’ Read his complete take.
Will this be the result when teacher evaluations are made public?
People are asking what the UFT had to gain by agreeing to the measuring of teachers based on students' test scores? Did they get something under the table for this? Did Tweed put a gun to their head? My guess is that is exactly what Klein did.
If Tweed made a unilateral announcement they would implement the program no matter what the UFT said or did, the UFT would look as helpless as it is. So they chose to jump on board to avoid looking even worse for the membership, who have to be outraged at this agreement.
The realities in the schools are that all the assurances given mean nothing. The UFT is not capable of resistance given the destruction of the union at the school level by Klein. They are only culpable for the current sorry state of the union.
Even reporters who have contacted me seem incredulous at the actions of the UFT.
Let's look at some implications.
- A teacher looks for a job and the principal asks for the personal report, which the teacher according to the union doesn't have to show. Good luck.
- Teachers who are measured will absolutely make sure they get good scores by whatever means necessary. Voila. The scores go up. Look how well BloomKlein are doing. Someone should measure the scores of a test group.
- Teachers in schools score poorly. Time to close them and create a whole new wave of ATR's.
What does this mean for ATR's who on the surface do not seem connected to this policy? If the UFT can give up teachers on this one, why not a deal that even if hidden under the covers, will end badly for ATR's? What if the DOE were to announce it would unilaterally fire ATR's after 1 year? "Go ahead, Chickie, do something," Klein challenges the UFT. "Grieve!" the UFT will tell people. "We'll go to court." Hey, maybe they'll even win. One day. The UFT can scatter the money over the graves of the ATR's.
Let's reiterate that no matter what is said in the joint statement, a witch hunt for teachers is behind it all, as Chris Cerf stated in the NY Times:
In introducing the pilot program, Mr. Cerf said it would be a “powerful step forward” to have the teacher measurements made public, arguing, “If you know as a parent what’s the deal, I think that whole aspect will change behavior.” But this week, he said that for now the reports will be treated as personnel records not subject to public-records laws.Ya gotta love Cerf. He says it like it is. Well maybe not exactly love.
In addition, no independent monitor has ever been able to verify the oft-repeated claim from DOE that “the school system has shifted more than $350 million from the bureaucracy to schools and classrooms” in recent years.
How about bringing back the old colonial stocks and put teachers who don't measure up on public display?
Coming around 6 PM today: Sample teacher data reports
Is Randy out of her mind? I bet she is already parading to have Bloomberg back for the third time. That is sickening.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me very nervous.
ReplyDeleteYes!! Yet another oh-so-tasty mudpie sandwich from the UFT-DOE
ReplyDeleteLet's see what the possibilities are:
1. Count the days to 55/25. Pray a whole lot. Hire a VooDoo priestess to make little dolls and heap curses and spells on Randi, Joel and Mike.
2. Announce that you wholeheartedly welcome the testing, brag about how use it to improve your already magnificent teaching skills. Hope you're at least an average teacher. Further, hope that your deep brown nosing will lead to #3 below.
(A little passive aggressive behavior goes a very long way in the Generation Y World View AKA The WeinKlein World View.)
3. Demand you be given only students who are highly intelligent.
(Think -- Are there enough to go around in your school? Nah!!!)
4. Get out of the classroom. Become an adminoflunky, ie. coach, lead teacher, AP, etc.
(N. B. Most of us will not qualify as one needs to be a relative, a crony or a really special kind of asshole.)
5. Get the out this besieged profession altogether.
(More, and more this is the only option makes any sense if one wishes to maintain sanity and self-respect)
Signed,
Bobby "I Love To Be De Tested" Brown
Anon 6pm
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it on Randi and extension of term limits:
From: UFT Press [mailto:UFTPress@uft.org]
Sent: Thursday, October 02, 2008 4:14 PM
To: UFT Press
Subject: United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten re term limits:
Ron Davis 212-598-9201 October 2, 2008
917-796-1305
United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten re term limits:
“Personally, I have always been opposed to term limits, as has this union. I am also, as are so many people, very concerned about the economy, and I am grateful the mayor is willing to step up. That said, I am very concerned, given that New Yorkers have twice spoken about this issue in referendums, and because of that, I think the most democratic way to change term limits is to go back to the people.”
In the HSs we were always identified by our Regents scores. This is nothing new.
ReplyDeleteYou must be drinking Unity kool-aid. Nothing new? Were your regent scores compared to how your kids did last year? Were you measured against other teachers who gave the same test? Were you issues reports with "suggestions" how you can improve? You must have taught in fantasy land.
ReplyDeleteTO ANON WHO WROTE THIS:
ReplyDelete"In the HSs we were always identified by our Regents scores."
This is nothing new."
You and some others like you must be a bunch of morons in the HS.-- because students are not passing the Regents eventhough that the maximun score is 65 and the lowest is 35. (correct me if I am wrong). As a result, colleges have to give your students 1.000 diferent subjects to remediate what they did not learn in HS. with you.