High Turnout at MORE Summer Event Overflows the Space

One new attendee chapter leader said she wishes school was on now so she could share this with her chapter. The presenters really explained the different viewpoints of how to view union leadership so well...

They just kept coming and coming last night to see our UFT: Friend or Foe event on the lower east side. To such an extent that some of the MORE crew went out to the bar to make room for newcomers attending a MORE event for the first time. Well over 60 people I hear. I won't go into the  details -- MORE will post text of the presentations while I process the video -- I had some audio problems and will see how it comes out.

Last year we had 60 people for the History of NYC Teacher Unions event Michael and I did. (See [CORRECTED LINK]  video here.) With little historical context or info out there, the people in ICE who lived that history are important voices to counter whatever spin the UFT/AFT puts on things.

When we post yesterday's text/video I hope people take a good look at it. What was great about yesterday was the variety of views we had.

And of course, Gotham Schools continues its boycott of MORE events so bogus E$E can be promoted as the alternative to Unity, which when push comes to shove is really closer to them than to MORE.

After all, they both support most of the following:

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• supporting the teacher accountability ed deform mantra - the evaluation mess
• signing on to "we must get rid of bad teachers" as a solution
• variations of merit pay schemes
• mayoral control
• common core
• charters and co-locations
• rating and grading schools and generation of phony statistics on graduation rates, dropouts, all resulting in….
• Closing schools (which the UFT supported through the end of 2009 and still supports to some extent), destroying neighborhood schools, dezoning, eliminating comprehensive HS and availability of electives for the vast majority of HS students. Forcing children to travel longer distances.
• tepid defense of reducing class size, which ed deformers disparage as a solution
• the contract and agreements in 2005 that coupled school closings with the burgeoning population of ATRs who started off as in-house subs and ended up as the wandering unwanted. Leading to the forcing out of thousands of older and experienced teachers.
• charter schools, co-location (the union had 2 co-located charters), unequal treatment from DOE. The growing corps of temporary, non-unionized at-will teachers.
• the growing segregation of the student body—the wanted vs. the unwanted
• denial of tenure to newer teachers (year after year extensions, discontinues from principals with a grudge -- no rights for non-tenured and increasingly restrictive rights for tenured teachers who are now facing even the end of that protection
• a grievance procedure in the toilet
• multi pension tiers