MORE: Take a Chapter Vote to Endorse the Moratorium!

My chapter was so excited to hear about this way of pushing the UFT to act that they suggested voting to endorsing this petition right after I showed it to them in our union meeting... Megan Moskop, MORE

Long Island Teacher Accuses Commissioner John King of Institutional Child Abuse www.raginghorse.wordpress.com/

I know. Some people say "why a moratorium and not abolition?" Especially since the UFT, AFT/Randi etc. are calling for moratoriums? Darling, the devils is in the details. You see, the UFT likes the eval system -- or it did - selling it - or shoving it down throats - until Mulgrew now claims he wants to renegotiate with deB.

Here is some background on the UFT waffling:

• Patrick Sullivan and Leonie Haimson on Leo Casey S...
• Hypocrisy of the Day: UFT Call for Renegotiating E...

So yes, let's say the MORE petition call for a moratorium played some role in pushing the UFT to try to coopt that position. MORE is in some ways left behind the more militant segment of the membership who want a flat out stand calling for repeal of the whole shebang: RTTT, Evals, and common core. That certainly seems to be in the direction things are moving if you read my post this morning about the Long Island revolt against John King and Queen Tisch with the Port Jefferson Station union crew making a splash. Ravitch posted this:

Is This How a Revolution Begins?

by dianeravitch

In this short video taken last night at the public forum on Long Island, a "highly effective" teacher demands that Commissioner John King be rated "ineffective" and fired based on the failure rate across the state on the tests he authorized. The crowd went wild. She said what the state is doing to children today is "child abuse."

Folks, this is the local community in East Setauket, Long Island, New York. This is not the Tea Party.

Man. Diane Ravitch talking revolution.

Here is some nice work from one of my fave new MOREistas at the MORE blog.

Take a Chapter Vote to Endorse the Moratorium!

by morecaucusnyc

One exciting and quick way to support MORE's work is by asking your school's UFT chapter to vote on endorsing our petition for a moratorium on the new "Advance" teacher evaluation system.

We're all fed up with "Advance," and all the teachers I've talked to wish the UFT was doing more to oppose this system and stand up for a better one.  My chapter was so excited to hear about this way of pushing the UFT to act that they suggested voting to endorsing this petition right after I showed it to them in our union meeting.

I wanted to make sure everyone had time to read up and consider their options before a vote though, so I sent them an informational e-mail, and we scheduled a secret-ballot vote for the next week.  Teachers cast simple paper ballots, they were counted by an impartial committee, and then my chapter leader and I composed a letter like the one below.

Voila!

It only took about 30 minutes, and my chapter is excited about their involvement in our fight to build a stronger union and a better evaluation system.

You can also take a vote to endorse at your next chapter meeting.

We will present the petitions and chapter endorsements at the November 20th delegate assembly, when we raise a resolution calling for a full repeal of this flawed evaluation scheme that was imposed on us.

Let us know your chapter endorsed our petition by emailing us at more@morecaucusnyc.org

Moratorium endorsement model

Date

(school name)

UFT Chapter

On (date) we, the UFT chapter of (insert school name here), voted to formally endorse MORE caucus’s Petition for a Moratorium on the “Advance” Teacher Evaluation System.

 The chapter endorses this proposal and encourages our leadership to act quickly in the face of actions that jeopardize our profession and our students’ quality of learning.

Fraternally,

(name)

Chapter Leader 

(name)

Chapter Delegate

 

submitted by Megan Moskop- Teacher/ UFT Delegate at M.S. 324- Patria Mirabal