tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post1312813737400604869..comments2024-03-26T11:07:03.496-04:00Comments on Ed Notes Online: NYC Teacher Arthur Goldstein Speaks Out Against Mayoral Controled notes onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-30351559055116805862009-05-25T08:06:38.829-04:002009-05-25T08:06:38.829-04:00I don't want to seem petty, but when you discuss c...I don't want to seem petty, but when you discuss class size numbers, please don't forget to mention that music and phys ed teachers have 50 on register. Music, an academic subject like all the other classes, becomes nightmarish at times. Phys ed generally has two teachers in the gym room (making 100 a "normal" class size). The UFT and the DoE must be considering these numbers collateral damage or something, because they're still in place, contract after negotiated contract. <br /><br />Apart from the sheer numbers of kids, there is a fairness issue here. In these classes, the teacher does half again the amount of attendance taking, marking, grading, and the pie-in-the-sky differentiation that other teachers do, and the kids get less of the individual attention they need to succeed in those subjects.Under Assaulthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222267229529062957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-6298109629515898642009-05-24T22:19:33.400-04:002009-05-24T22:19:33.400-04:00Posted on the nyc ed news listserve:
The level of...Posted on the nyc ed news listserve:<br /><br />The level of contempt this Mayor has for public school parents -- and the citizenry in general -- would be astonishing in any public figure, but in a man who is ostensibly running in an upcoming election, it's simply extraordinary. Every time he opens his mouth, words come out that reflect a billionaire's arrogance, aloofness, and lack of empathy for and understanding of ordinary New Yorkers' lives. <br /><br />The Mayor tells everyone not to worry about flu, that just because there are a few people sick, "That it doesn't mean you stop living." Until a beloved Queens teacher and assistant principal dies and the Mayor dismissively rationalizes continued school operation with 40-60% of the kids absent as a day care issue. <br /><br />Norman Seabrook, union head for corrections officers at Rikers Island complains about the spread of flu among inmates there, and the Mayor's typically sarcastic response is, "If he is an epidemiologist, it's the first time I've heard of it." Nor, the last time I heard of it, was Mr. Bloomberg. <br /><br />Parents want a meaningful voice in the policies affecting their children's education, and the Mayor tells them by radio interview to butt out, that they're neither needed or wanted. And while he's at it, he reverts back to his usual scare tactics that any parental input is tantamount to destroying what he's built (such a bad idea??) and that it will automatically return NYC public education to "the bad old days."<br /> <br />It would be pleasant if just once, this Mayor at least acted like cares, even if inside he could care less. Of course, Mr. Bloomberg doesn't have to worry about offending parents or anyone else, since he has already haughtily subverted their term liimits wishes and bought and paid for both the City Council and the election itself. <br /><br />If you think about it, it's simply astonishing to realize that later this year, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will be voting for this bitter, intolerant, humorless, and affectless individual (I can't bring myself to use the words human being) as their Mayor for another four years. Or more, if Mike decides he wants to stick around. After all, what Mikey wants, Mikey gets, no more how much it costs him or how much pain it inflicts on the average New Yorker about whom he cares so little. <br /><br />Steve KossAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-38880433440147227502009-05-24T11:30:53.851-04:002009-05-24T11:30:53.851-04:00I think Eduwonkette exposed the sham of the small ...I think Eduwonkette exposed the sham of the small schools at Evander Childs a few years ago.Normnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33431390.post-2647182430229830972009-05-24T11:05:31.834-04:002009-05-24T11:05:31.834-04:00Hey, as far as Marc Sternberg's "For" opinion on m...Hey, as far as Marc Sternberg's "For" opinion on mayoral control...Isn't the Bronx Lab School one of those small schools that replaced the Evander Childs High School? Weren't people trumpeting the test score and graduation rate even though they were allowed to be selective with their incoming freshmen? For all the Bronx Lab's fabulous numbers, I'd be curious to know what the Special Ed. and ELL population is of that school.Poguenoreply@blogger.com