The October 2016 edition of Ed Notes, downloadable for any readers wanting
to share with colleagues, was distributed at the Delegate Assembly on
Weds and they were going like hot cakes.
The most pressing issue to me is the situation with bully principals.
People have been coming to me for advice. The striking thing is that
many of these vet UFT members who have often dealt with principals are
shocked when they get one who had an agenda of wiping out the staff in a
coordinated assault. They have been totally unprepared by the UFT to
respond. The union doesn't look at this as a conspiracy and views each
school and individual action on teachers by themselves. Last month I featured a school where this has happened with a 90%
staff turnover in 2 years without a peep from the UFT. You can download
the Sept. issue here.
I believe if
there was a coordinated response and the UFT leadership made it clear to
Farina and the CSA that they were in for a war at every school where
the principal engages in these actions, much of it would stop or be
curtailed. In the meantime entire careers are being destroyed, often
senior teachers or untenured, and chapter leaders.
This is the situation going on at Art and Design HS - a CTE school in Manhattan where the new principal who came in in January caused 16 people to leave the school by June. That is the focus of this edition of Ed Notes.
People seemed more receptive
than when I hand out MORE lit. Interesting. I think that some people
don't want to read something clearly labeled as opposition lit. I also
brought back the jokes which used to be so popular. Thanks to the delegate who I didn't know who told me she was a regular reader of this blog.
I decided to republish Education Notes a couple of times this year at the UFT Delegate Assembly after a decade of absence. Why? I feel there needs to be a targeted newsletter addressing certain issues in greater depth than is done in MORE lit, which in going through a vetting process of a committee loses some style and substance. The current MORE newsletter is basically devoid of information, with a full-page ad about the upcoming social justice curriculum fair next week. With so many issues on the minds of UFT members, I felt using 50% of the ability to communicate with people for the ad was a bad decision and left the newsletter scanty (there could have been a quarter page or even a separate flyer for the conference). One MORE member on the way in offered to help me hand out Ed Notes. When I suggested handing out the MORE newsletter, the response was "It doesn't say anything."
I too felt it was just not something I felt like spending time handing out. If I am going to schlep in to the DA I want to hand out something that says something to the delegates or else it isn't worth going. I want the freedom to be
critical of MORE, if necessary. At my age I'm too ornery with a
libertarian tendency to get locked in to "caucus think" - loyalty to a caucus over everything which is an unofficial loyalty oath.
You can view or download the October 2016 edition here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4zyl-rfcGZaTlpRNnRpUWp3Wmc/view?usp=sharing
Written and edited by Norm Scott: EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!! Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Education Notes: Art & Design HS Staff in Revolt, Unity Tables Reso on Abusive Principals, Schirtzer on Ex Bd Experience and more
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