What's Leo Casey's response to Haimson calling out the UFT on not
fighting to lower class size???? He actually tries to defend the UFT's
inaction by insinuating that parents don't want lower class size. .... Roseanne McCosh, PS 8X
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| Leo, the gift that keeps giving |
Roseanne on the case. I can't wait for Mulgrew to visit PS 8.
Mr. Casey,
And your mean-girl antics continue...Leonie Haimson fights for lowering class size. She has also been vocal against high-stakes testing and vocal in support of parents who opt their children out of state tests. It's bad enough that the Unity-controlled UFT is on the wrong side of all of these issues but now you seem hell bent on attacking Leonie Haimson for merely pointing out where the UFT stands on class size. You guys have done nothing, own it.
More disturbing news on the UFT.....The arrogance and snarkiness continues from Leo Casey of the UFT. Leonie Haimson's organization, Class Size Matters, understands the detrimental effects of large class size. What's Leo Casey's response to Haimson calling out the UFT on not fighting to lower class size???? He actually tries to defend the UFT's inaction by insinuating that parents don't want lower class size. We know they do, but my question is... why doesn't the Unity-controlled UFT care that we, the dues paying teachers they work for, want lower class size? The MORE caucus of the UFT supports lowering class size. The Unity caucus led by Mulgrew does not. (The line in the sand gets clearer and clearer, doesn't it? MORE=GOOD for teachers, UNITY=BAD for teachers. As always---please share this with whomever you want. See Unity-UFT Casey's tweets below :
Roseanne
5 comments:
Back in 2007, The UFT promised the membership that the issue of class size would be addressed in the next round of contract talks. Obviously we are living with a new contract without any relief to large class sizes. Certainly our suburban counterparts in NYSUT have reduced class sizes.
I never saw Mother Teresa but I have heard from people who did that she projected a presence into the room that could not be ignored or denied.When Leonie came to Buffalo to share her thoughts with us I had that same sensation. She has the calm confidence of someone who knows exactly what she's talking about. I had the feeling I could have listened to her for hours. She is a giant. In trying to attack her Casey shows himself to be less than a flea. He's the prototypical pathetic party appartatchik -- the Tariq Aziz of UFT clinging to the hull of a sinking tub spitting vitriol and insults instead of owning the gross abuses of power he and his fellow stooges have perpetrated against the honorable rank and file for years.
There is a definite lack of nuance in Ms. McCosh's comments: More=good; Uniy=bad. No UFT member or caucus or member is in favor of increased class size. After all, the five boroughs of NYC have six more students per class than in the rest of New York State. What Leo Casey was defending was the opportunity for more flexibility in class size afforded by the PROSE program. PROSE amounts to a five-year school based option, something designed and chosen by the teachers in the school involved. It is not something that could ever be imposed from above. It does not mean that all classes would be larger, either. It might mean that capping a musical instrument technique class at 15 or 20 pupils but having an orchestra of 80, having a science lecture class of 75, but laboratories of 10. Get full information before panicking. Leo Casey is and always has been a committed educator, someone very capable of nuanced positions.
Then why can't he formulate a proactive argument??
I’ve never been a fan of nuanced wordsmithing. Too often nuance is just a fancy word for bullshit. I prefer to be blunt. What Mr. Casey was doing was trying to make Leonie Haimson look bad for committing the crime of pointing out one of the many failures of the UFT. Ms. Haimson was not arguing against the PROSE program. She, as always, was advocating for lower class size. Mr. Casey’s tweets speak for themselves. I stand by my assessment of Mr. Casey and UFT leadership but I understand that Unity member Paula Washington must remain loyal to the people in positions of power at the UFT if she wishes to continue her Unity membership. Nothing about my composure ever reads as panicked but nice try at the underhanded “nuanced” insult. The teachers in my school care about doing away with the unreasonableness of Danielson and the tying of teachers to test scores. Unity, on the other hand, is having a love affair with the Danielson/test scores eval system. Unity’s Michael Mulgrew said, “This system really will move us forward as a profession to have specific criteria laid out so that we can have a much more objective system and then more importantly tie that to professional development opportunities which relate directly to our performance inside the classroom is a giant step forward. And that’s why I love this proposal so very much.” Who needs nuance when the truth can be told in the simplest of words? Mulgrew “loves” it “so very much.” Unfortunately for Mulgrew, Casey and the rest of the Unity cheerleaders, PS 8 teachers hate it so very much. This is the kind of evidence, along with Leo Casey’s arrogant tweets, that I show the teachers of PS 8 when I say, UNITY= Bad for teachers and MORE=good for teachers. Blunt words backed by evidence beats nuance every time. And here is evidence of Unity-UFT’s nuanced words equaling bullshit: (from UFT.org FAQ) QUESTION: "If a member dies before the last retro lump-sum is paid in 2020, would the member’s beneficiaries receive the rest of the retro? UFT RESPONSE: As always, we will look to have our members' beneficiaries protected."
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