...for the uselessness of the UFT
In opposing the ICE amendment to the term limits resolution, UFT District 11 (Bronx) rep Paul Egan made the astounding argument that if each individual in the room went home and called their city council rep that would have a greater impact than if the UFT as an organization took a stand and pressured the reps to deny Bloomberg another term of office. Even Weingarten seemed astounded and cut him off. Hey Paul, any chance for a dues refund?
The DA's provide so much material. I may take it all for tryout at Caroline's Comedy Club.
Note: Check the sidebar under the "UFT and Bloomberg Term Limits" for a running account of our posts on the subject.
Showing posts with label Bloomberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bloomberg. Show all posts
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Joel Klein devises a plan in which he can stay in power....forever!
Get the dope at the NYC Public School Parent blog.
Also check out Leonie Haimson on the
Also check out Leonie Haimson on the
Absurd, Ham-Handed Bloomberg Third Term PR Wave Hits Times
Is the NYC Parks Department Racist?
One would certainly think so given the fact that small, insular, wealthy communities (full disclosure - I live in one of them) get lifeguards - lots of them while the poorer east end Rockaway communities get zilch.More evidence that Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has compared himself to Martin Luther King as a civil rights activist, supports closet racist policies that have lead to more segregated schools, the disappearing black teacher, and entire beach communities of people of color who do not have lifeguards and are threatened with summonses and arrest by Parks Dept. police if they should venture to put a toe in the water.
Message from NYC Parks Dept. head Adrienne Benepe:
Hey people of color: OK to sit on a crowded beach, but don't go in the water.
Here is an excerpt from a letter to Parks Dept. head Adrienne Benepe by Jeanne Dupont, who leads the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance:
The population in these areas are polar opposites; Neponsit has a population of .02% minorities, where Far Rockaway has a 98% minority population. This cannot continue, as this is racial discrimination and could put the Parks Department in serious danger of legal action if it were investigated further.
Here's Jeanne's entire letter:
Please register your complaint that Far Rockaway needs its lifeguards every day, not just on the weekends. Visit 106 Headquarters for Lifeguards at Beach 106th Street on the boardwalk, call (718) 318-4000 extension 0, or call 311.
From Beach 75th Street on up, there are lifeguards every 100 yards. The outright neglect of our neighborhood is abominable, so please make yourself heard.
You may also want to write to Adrian Benepe, the NYC Parks Commissioner. Attached (and below) is a letter that Jeanne DuPont of Rockaway Waterfront Alliance sent today.
Thank you.
July 8, 2008
Mr. Adrian Benepe
Commissioner
NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
The Arsenal
16 West 61st Street
New York, NY 10023
Dear Commissioner Benepe,
As you know, Rockaway Waterfront Alliance has been working to encourage the public to use their waterfront through programs and activities that are so desperately needed in the Rockaway community. But it is difficult to watch as much of our work is undone by PEP patrol officers who chase the public off their beaches in search of an ‘open’ beach with lifeguards.
Last year in our local paper, you ‘Pledged a Commitment’ to the Rockaway community. But since that time little has changed and we still have no “Learn to Swim” or local “Lifeguard Training” programs anywhere in the Rockaways and the lifeguard recruiting process does not seem to be getting the numbers of lifeguards required to keep our beaches safe.
As it stands now, certain beaches are extremely well staffed for the privileged few, while other beaches in Rockaway are extremely underserved; putting the public at risk and overextending the lifeguards themselves.
For the past two weekends the beachfront at Beach 25th Street in the Rockaways has had well over 500 people each day, and no lifeguard at all during the week. This beach is adjacent to one of the largest populations of people on the peninsula, exceeding 25,000 residents and yet there is only 1 lifeguard stand for miles of public waterfront all the way to Beach 74th Street.
This seems extremely unjust given the fact that areas on the far western end of the Peninsula like Neponsit, have more than 21 lifeguards; 7 stands, 100 yards apart for less than 2,000 residents in an area with no public boardwalk, parking by permit only, and no access to public transit. This would seem to be a “private beach” paid for with public resources that are required to serve seven miles of public waterfront.
There is a drastic contrast in services provided between City Council District 31 and 32; two districts that lie adjacent to one another along the same waterfront. City Council District 31 presently has only 4 lifeguard stands from Beach
It is also important to note that the population in these areas are polar opposites; Neponsit has a population of .02% minorities, where Far Rockaway has a 98% minority population. This cannot continue, as this is racial discrimination and could put the Parks Department in serious danger of legal action if it were investigated further.
To address the present shortage on the Eastern end, I would ask that the Parks Department in the very least, have lifeguards all week long at the 1 stand at Beach 25th Street and consider designating more stands along the beaches from Beach 25th Street to Beach 38th Street, to ensure the publics safety and emergency back up for the lifeguards that are stationed there.
Additionally, NYC legislation should to be revised, as it is in all other US coastal states to have a “swim at you own risk” policy. By doing this the city would reduce their risk of lawsuits and could use the funds, presently used for PEP officers to hire certified lifeguards, so we can have more ‘open’ swimmable beaches and less harassment to the public who deserve the right to use their waterfront.
I would be interested in speaking with you further about these issues. If you would like to meet to discuss how some of these things might be resolved, I can be reached 917 975-5623.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Jeanne DuPont
Director
Rockaway Waterfront Alliance
cc:
Councilman Joseph Addabbo
Steve Cooper, Frank Ave Civic of Edgemere
Richard George, Beachside Bungalow Preservation Assoc.
Phil Karmel/ Bryan Cave LLC
Congressman Gregory Meeks
Les Paultre. Rockaway Beachside Neighborhood Assoc.
Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer
Stephanie Samoy
Councilman James Sanders
State Senator Malcolm Smith
Barbara Smith, Deerfield Civic Assoc.
Assemblywoman Michele Titus
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
NYC Principals: Fear and Loathing Tweed
I know someone who visits many schools all over the city and always checks the pulse of the principal to see what they think of BloomKlein. Overwhelmingly they trash Tweed
. At which point, they are urged to check out the ednotes blog. Scientific survey? That's pretty good for me. But Leonie Haimson of class size matters and Emily Horowtiz from St. Francis College have turned chatter into data.
One would think the "empowered" principals under Joel Klein and Mayor Bloomberg's administration of the schools would be the happiest people in the school system. After all, the union at the school level has been emasculated, with the help of the UFT. Hundreds of small schools have infiltrated the space of larger schools, resulting in the employment of hundreds of administrators. They have made it so easy to become a principal, especially for people with no educational background (where is the NY State Board of Regents - oh, yes, they also approved Joel Klein.)
But, as I pointed out, word of mouth from sources throughout the school system is that other than the newly cloned Kool-aid drinkers, most principals despise Tweed. Fear has kept them from speaking out publicly, though with BloomKlein about to sunset, more are doing so. Those lame ducks are flying closer to the sun. Just watch the flood when the ducks have issued their final quack, though fear of Bloomberg retaliation may keep some people in line.
One thing is as true as salt. The national press and ed wonk blogging cammunity will ignore this report as much as they have ignored the outcry from teachers and parents about how BloomKlein have turned a dysfunctional system into a catastrophy with failed, self-serving policies and bumbling implementation. At the least, one would have expected some level of competence from the so-called technocrats at Tweed. But they get almost nothing right.
Today's press release from Class Size Matters
Results from a NYC Principal Survey on overcrowding, safety and class size
Today, results were released from a survey of more than one third of all NYC public school principals. The full report, entitled “How Crowded Are Our Schools?” is posted at http://www.classsizematters.org/principalsurveyresults.html
Please reply to this email if you would like a pdf copy.
Fifty-four percent of principals say that the enrollment at their own school is not capped at a level to prevent overcrowding. Fifty percent say that overcrowding sometimes leads to unsafe conditions for students or staff; 43% observe that overcrowding makes it difficult for students and/or staff to get to class on time.
Nearly half (48%) of respondents believe that the official utilization rate of their own schools as reported by the Department of Education is inaccurate; more than half (51%) of principals whose schools are reported as underutilized say that the official rate is incorrect.
Eighty six percent believe that class sizes at their schools are too large to provide a quality education – and that the primary factors that prevent them from reducing class size are a lack of control over enrollment and space.
More than one fourth (26%) of all middle and high school principals say that overcrowding makes it difficult for their students to receive the credits and/or courses needed to graduate on time.
At 25% of schools, art, music or dance rooms have been lost to academic classrooms; 20% of computer rooms have been swallowed up; 18% of science rooms; 14% of reading enrichment rooms, and 10% of libraries have been converted to classroom space.
At 29% of schools, lunch starts at 10:30 AM or earlier; and at 16% of schools, students have no regular access to the school’s library.
18% of principals reported that their schools have classrooms with no windows. Many said that special education classes and services were being given in inadequate spaces, including closets.
Principals also reported ongoing battles with DOE over their schools’ capacity ratings, and expressed resentment at being assigned excessive numbers of students, particularly when they tried to use available funding to reduce class size.
Many observed that the problem of overcrowding has been exacerbated due to DOE policies: 27% said that overcrowding at their schools had resulted from new schools or programs having been moved into their buildings in recent years; and several reported that the decision to add grade levels in order to create more K-8 and 6-12 schools had led to worse conditions.
Emily Horowitz, co-author of the report and professor at St. Francis College says, “The results of this survey should appall every New Yorker with a conscience. Principals report that their schools are seriously overcrowded, with excessive class sizes and insufficient enrichment space, even though the official data continues to show that they have extra room. I hope that the Department of Education pays close attention and revises the way school capacity is calculated - and admits the critical need to build more schools.”
According to Leonie Haimson, co-author and Executive Director of Class Size Matters, “The administration has devolved more responsibility and autonomy to principals, claiming that they have all the tools they need to succeed. Yet principals themselves observe that they have no control over some of the most important factors that determine the quality of education they can provide: the allocation of space and the number of students assigned to their schools. Until and unless the DOE adopts a more aggressive capital plan, the condition of our schools – and the future of NYC schoolchildren --will not significantly improve.”
As Council Member Robert Jackson, Chair of the NYC Education Committee concludes: “We've known for years that official statistics on overcrowding and capacity were wrong but now we have hard data to show just how wrong. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a multi-million dollar no-bid consulting contract to see that the current capital plan and budget cannot even begin to remedy the conditions described in this survey - facilities that fail to provide the setting for a sound, basic education. In light of this information, we will be looking and listening especially hard to DOE and SCA testimony at tomorrow's budget hearings on the capital plan."
Emily Horowitz, St. Francis College
ehorowitz@aya.yale.edu; 917-674-9791
Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters
classsizematters@gmail.com; 917-435-9329
. At which point, they are urged to check out the ednotes blog. Scientific survey? That's pretty good for me. But Leonie Haimson of class size matters and Emily Horowtiz from St. Francis College have turned chatter into data.One would think the "empowered" principals under Joel Klein and Mayor Bloomberg's administration of the schools would be the happiest people in the school system. After all, the union at the school level has been emasculated, with the help of the UFT. Hundreds of small schools have infiltrated the space of larger schools, resulting in the employment of hundreds of administrators. They have made it so easy to become a principal, especially for people with no educational background (where is the NY State Board of Regents - oh, yes, they also approved Joel Klein.)
But, as I pointed out, word of mouth from sources throughout the school system is that other than the newly cloned Kool-aid drinkers, most principals despise Tweed. Fear has kept them from speaking out publicly, though with BloomKlein about to sunset, more are doing so. Those lame ducks are flying closer to the sun. Just watch the flood when the ducks have issued their final quack, though fear of Bloomberg retaliation may keep some people in line.
One thing is as true as salt. The national press and ed wonk blogging cammunity will ignore this report as much as they have ignored the outcry from teachers and parents about how BloomKlein have turned a dysfunctional system into a catastrophy with failed, self-serving policies and bumbling implementation. At the least, one would have expected some level of competence from the so-called technocrats at Tweed. But they get almost nothing right.
Today's press release from Class Size Matters
Results from a NYC Principal Survey on overcrowding, safety and class size
Today, results were released from a survey of more than one third of all NYC public school principals. The full report, entitled “How Crowded Are Our Schools?” is posted at http://www.classsizematters.org/principalsurveyresults.html
Please reply to this email if you would like a pdf copy.
Fifty-four percent of principals say that the enrollment at their own school is not capped at a level to prevent overcrowding. Fifty percent say that overcrowding sometimes leads to unsafe conditions for students or staff; 43% observe that overcrowding makes it difficult for students and/or staff to get to class on time.
Nearly half (48%) of respondents believe that the official utilization rate of their own schools as reported by the Department of Education is inaccurate; more than half (51%) of principals whose schools are reported as underutilized say that the official rate is incorrect.
Eighty six percent believe that class sizes at their schools are too large to provide a quality education – and that the primary factors that prevent them from reducing class size are a lack of control over enrollment and space.
More than one fourth (26%) of all middle and high school principals say that overcrowding makes it difficult for their students to receive the credits and/or courses needed to graduate on time.
At 25% of schools, art, music or dance rooms have been lost to academic classrooms; 20% of computer rooms have been swallowed up; 18% of science rooms; 14% of reading enrichment rooms, and 10% of libraries have been converted to classroom space.
At 29% of schools, lunch starts at 10:30 AM or earlier; and at 16% of schools, students have no regular access to the school’s library.
18% of principals reported that their schools have classrooms with no windows. Many said that special education classes and services were being given in inadequate spaces, including closets.
Principals also reported ongoing battles with DOE over their schools’ capacity ratings, and expressed resentment at being assigned excessive numbers of students, particularly when they tried to use available funding to reduce class size.
Many observed that the problem of overcrowding has been exacerbated due to DOE policies: 27% said that overcrowding at their schools had resulted from new schools or programs having been moved into their buildings in recent years; and several reported that the decision to add grade levels in order to create more K-8 and 6-12 schools had led to worse conditions.
Emily Horowitz, co-author of the report and professor at St. Francis College says, “The results of this survey should appall every New Yorker with a conscience. Principals report that their schools are seriously overcrowded, with excessive class sizes and insufficient enrichment space, even though the official data continues to show that they have extra room. I hope that the Department of Education pays close attention and revises the way school capacity is calculated - and admits the critical need to build more schools.”
According to Leonie Haimson, co-author and Executive Director of Class Size Matters, “The administration has devolved more responsibility and autonomy to principals, claiming that they have all the tools they need to succeed. Yet principals themselves observe that they have no control over some of the most important factors that determine the quality of education they can provide: the allocation of space and the number of students assigned to their schools. Until and unless the DOE adopts a more aggressive capital plan, the condition of our schools – and the future of NYC schoolchildren --will not significantly improve.”
As Council Member Robert Jackson, Chair of the NYC Education Committee concludes: “We've known for years that official statistics on overcrowding and capacity were wrong but now we have hard data to show just how wrong. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a multi-million dollar no-bid consulting contract to see that the current capital plan and budget cannot even begin to remedy the conditions described in this survey - facilities that fail to provide the setting for a sound, basic education. In light of this information, we will be looking and listening especially hard to DOE and SCA testimony at tomorrow's budget hearings on the capital plan."
Emily Horowitz, St. Francis College
ehorowitz@aya.yale.edu; 917-674-9791
Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters
classsizematters@gmail.com; 917-435-9329
Friday, May 2, 2008
NYCDOE Policy Reflects Bloomberg Discrimination
The long reported stories of the intensive discrimination against pregnant women with women with young children resurfaced in a story in the NY Times today that 54 women have joined a suit against Bloomberg, LP. (Once Bloomberg buys the Times, you won't be seeing such stories again.)
When the story first surfaced, some of the original women filing the suit repeated Bloomberg quotes that would made whatever hair I had left stand up.
All this is not surprising. We have been making the point for some time that the missionary style of teachers who spend 12 hour days and weekends working as teachers until they are burnt to a cinder or decide to have families is also discriminatory against women with families.
With all we can complain of in the BloomKlein stewardship of the education system in NYC, we can at least say there is consistency.
Graphic from womensspace.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Broke Everything and Fixed Nothing...
...This comment about the BloomKlein tenure over the NYC school system came from Lisa Donlan, parent activist from the lower east side in Manhattan and a proponent of local community control as an alternative to mayoral control.
It is so totally true and is so ignored by BloomKlein adherents - the amazing level of incompetence, covered up by mucho PR. One thing we would have expected from the Bloomie technocrats, would at least be doing things with some level of efficiency, no matter how hare-brained the scheme.
We all know that there was a lot that needed to be changed. But instead of picking and choosing and doing it rigth, the broke it all. And they not only fixed nothing, they broke it worse.
Lisa wrote this on the NYC ed news listserve after reading about the Tisch family attempt to start the ball rolling towards a 3rd Bloomberg term in office:
It is so totally true and is so ignored by BloomKlein adherents - the amazing level of incompetence, covered up by mucho PR. One thing we would have expected from the Bloomie technocrats, would at least be doing things with some level of efficiency, no matter how hare-brained the scheme.
We all know that there was a lot that needed to be changed. But instead of picking and choosing and doing it rigth, the broke it all. And they not only fixed nothing, they broke it worse.
Lisa wrote this on the NYC ed news listserve after reading about the Tisch family attempt to start the ball rolling towards a 3rd Bloomberg term in office:
I tell you- it sure makes one nostalgic for the old local school boards and all those opportuniites for local corruption, cronyism and nepotism.
In its place we have citywide, wholseale corruption and cronyism in the form of $300 million in no-bid contracts; top DoE officials with major equity holdings in for-profit vendors; legions of retired superintendents/administrators double dipping while in the employ of the market-driven SSO's and other DoE partnerships; networks of enlightened scions holding the purse strings to many facets of our parapublic education system; and untold backroom deals of the strangest of powerful bedfellows cutting up pieces of a growing pie.As the French say- the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Give me local control and its small scale flaws that can be addressed in face-to-face community confrontations, over system wide policy-by-press release, kick-the-anthill-to-see-what- crawls-out management of a million students in 1400 plus schools, and sophisticated spin in place of transparency and accountability.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
"Average Citizen" Jessica Tisch Calls For Bloomberg 3rd Term
Today's Post includes an op-ed calling for voters to decide on term limits so Bloomberg can run again. The piece claims Bloomberg has outperformed, citing his record in improving the schools. It's written by a Jessica Tisch, identified as a "law and business student" in New York. Does anyone know who that is, if she went to public schools or how she otherwise arrived at her insight into our "improved "schools?
What the Post didn't tell you:
NY Times, Nov. 2006
Jessica Sarah Tisch, the daughter of Merryl and James S. Tisch of New York, was married last evening to Daniel Zachary Levine... The bride, 25, and bridegroom, 26, met at Harvard, from which they both graduated magna cum laude, and where she is now in the third year of a combined M.B.A. and law degree program and he is a second-year M.B.A. student.
Her father is the president and chief executive of the Loews Corporation in New York, which was founded by her late grandfather Laurence A. Tisch and late great-uncle Preston Robert Tisch. The bride's father is also the chairman of the board of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, the parent organization of two New York-area public television stations, WNET and WLIW. Her mother is a member of the New York State Board of Regents and the chairwoman of the board of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
Meryl Tisch, another useless NY State Board of Regent. Time to call for elections of these jokers.
A response from SK to the NYC Education News listserve:
You're simply not going to believe this -- I'm sitting here with my jaw resting on the floor. I'd say there's a 99%+ likelihood that Jessica Tisch is hardly a disinterested observer of the NYC political and school scene. She's one of "the Tisch's." Her mother is even a member of the NYS Board of Regents. See the NY Times wedding announcement below fro 11/2006. Young Ms. Tisch is apparently a "law and business student" at Harvard -- I'm sure the Tisch family name and money guaranteed that. What are the chances she's an NYC public school student? Does less than zero count? Hers is a family that would never do more than hold it's collective nose as it was chauffered past our public schools.
I guess Mike and Joel are now recruiting their rich friends' kids to shill for them semi-anonymously. I'm just astonished by the sheer brazenness of this, and the timorous little identifier of Ms.Tisch as a "law and business student." That would make Chelsea Clinton "a recent Stanford graduate." So much for full disclosure on behalf of the Post, as if we might have any reason for them to do this honestly. This is utterly outrageous, truly appalling in every way I can imagine. Sadly, it's nothing I wouldn't otherwise expect from the Post and its editorial board. How many other "law and business student" letter writers would get a guest editorial spot in a major NYC newspaper? No different than what doubtless got her into Harvard Business and Law Schools, I'm sure.
What the Post didn't tell you:
NY Times, Nov. 2006
Jessica Sarah Tisch, the daughter of Merryl and James S. Tisch of New York, was married last evening to Daniel Zachary Levine... The bride, 25, and bridegroom, 26, met at Harvard, from which they both graduated magna cum laude, and where she is now in the third year of a combined M.B.A. and law degree program and he is a second-year M.B.A. student.
Her father is the president and chief executive of the Loews Corporation in New York, which was founded by her late grandfather Laurence A. Tisch and late great-uncle Preston Robert Tisch. The bride's father is also the chairman of the board of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation, the parent organization of two New York-area public television stations, WNET and WLIW. Her mother is a member of the New York State Board of Regents and the chairwoman of the board of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
Meryl Tisch, another useless NY State Board of Regent. Time to call for elections of these jokers.
A response from SK to the NYC Education News listserve:
You're simply not going to believe this -- I'm sitting here with my jaw resting on the floor. I'd say there's a 99%+ likelihood that Jessica Tisch is hardly a disinterested observer of the NYC political and school scene. She's one of "the Tisch's." Her mother is even a member of the NYS Board of Regents. See the NY Times wedding announcement below fro 11/2006. Young Ms. Tisch is apparently a "law and business student" at Harvard -- I'm sure the Tisch family name and money guaranteed that. What are the chances she's an NYC public school student? Does less than zero count? Hers is a family that would never do more than hold it's collective nose as it was chauffered past our public schools.
I guess Mike and Joel are now recruiting their rich friends' kids to shill for them semi-anonymously. I'm just astonished by the sheer brazenness of this, and the timorous little identifier of Ms.Tisch as a "law and business student." That would make Chelsea Clinton "a recent Stanford graduate." So much for full disclosure on behalf of the Post, as if we might have any reason for them to do this honestly. This is utterly outrageous, truly appalling in every way I can imagine. Sadly, it's nothing I wouldn't otherwise expect from the Post and its editorial board. How many other "law and business student" letter writers would get a guest editorial spot in a major NYC newspaper? No different than what doubtless got her into Harvard Business and Law Schools, I'm sure.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
An Ode to Bloomberg
I entered Eduwonkette's Valentine Poetry Contest, using a poem (comment #3) by a Bloomberg Presidential shill as a framework. Graphic by David B.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm scared of your candidate
And you should be too.
Change is the word
But no one says how
We can't ask him questions
He just wants us to bow
They owe him favors
Sycophants all
Politicians should be accountable
Or made to fall
He made an already broken school system
So much worse
Failed reorganizations galore
Parents and teachers curse
He goes to work on a subway token
Only a few blocks for show
After being dropped off by his SUV
To avoid the snow
We must draft Mayor Bloomberg
To go to Iraq
Where his "experience" and "leadership"
Will prove his lack
Get Bloomberg into the race
I suggest he run 10 miles a day
A year from now
He will have gone away
And New York City schools
Will say "Hooray!"
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Bloomberg Presidentital Bid Stillborn?
The rise of McCain seems to have nailed the nascent Mayor Bloomberg independent presidential campaign to the wall according to Saturday's NY Times. Darn it! We were so looking forwa
rd to having the entire nation get the full details of his disastrous attempts to remake the NYS school system into model of a corporation while alienating teaches, parents, principals and just about anyone who has any knowledge of education.
But this news is not necessarily a good thing for us. Without the distraction, Bloomberg can now focus his attention on finding a replacement for Mayor in his own image – a wealthy business/corporate type who will not reverse the BloomKlein damage.
rd to having the entire nation get the full details of his disastrous attempts to remake the NYS school system into model of a corporation while alienating teaches, parents, principals and just about anyone who has any knowledge of education.But this news is not necessarily a good thing for us. Without the distraction, Bloomberg can now focus his attention on finding a replacement for Mayor in his own image – a wealthy business/corporate type who will not reverse the BloomKlein damage.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Giuliani Horrors Revisited in NY Times
Today's front page of the NY Times is a must read to remind everyone of the mean-spirited "politics of retaliation" of the Giuliani years as mayor. And it doesn't even mention the day care center forced out because a local City Councilman who backed it made some critical comments. Or how the entire "Neponsit Home for the Aged" in Rockaway was condemned on a moment's notice and the entire population terrorized as they were removed in a middle of the night raid. Supposedly because some real estate interests connected to Giuliani were interested in the prime beach front property. The place
still remains shut down today.No matter what you think of the Bush years in the White House, they will pale in comparison with the loss of democracy that would take place under Giuliani. Expect an immediate attempt to cancel the Bill of Rights.
What is notable is the use of the entire city force at the Mayor's disposal to go after even the mildest critics and the absolute and devastating fear Giuliani inspired in everyone around him.
Now, fear also exists in relation to Michael Bloomberg who also practices a less obvious politics of fear. That's only because he has the advantage of money and makes use of the fear factor in more subtle ways. Or, he just buys people. The story about how Giuliani would change the charter to keep Public Advocate Mark Green from taking office could be matched by the same relationship between Bloomberg and Betsy Gotbaum. Keeping her out of office is a major incentive Bloomberg has not to resign even if he runs for President.
The NY Times should hold onto this article for a few years and just change "Giuliani" to "Bloomberg," get a new cast of characters Bloomberg has retaliated against and republish it in a few years when the "all clear" is sounded.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
NYCDOE Appoints CEO of "Broad Prize Banners and Flags"
EDNOTESNEWS (EDNN) Reports:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has appointed his old pal Smellington G. Worthington III, the founder of BFER (Billionaires for Educational Reform), to a newly created position as the CEO in charge of "Hanging Broad Prize Banners and Flags." Worthington will generously take a pay cut and work for a nominal salary of $225,000 a year. "It's my civic duty to serve the poor children of New York," said Worthington.
"Imagine their glee when upon arriving at school every morning from their little hovels, they will gaze upon the banners celebrating the wonderful achievement of our winning the Broad Prize, something we will use to get Michael Bloomberg elected as president."
Chancellor Joel Klein has appointed Alvarez and Marsal as consultants on the project for a $5 million a year. "We were lucky to get A & M so cheap," said a DOE spokesperson, citing their historical expertise in being able to find just the right spot to hang a banner. "That is not an easy thing to do and we just don't have people with those kinds of skills currently working in the Department," said the spokesperson, "particularly since they were ordered NOT to hang the banners on a school's exterior wall." [See DOE announcement to Principals below.]
The money for A & M was raised privately from the profits from foreclosing on the homes of people ruined by sub-prime rate mortgages.
Bloomberg will hire a fleet of skywriting airplanes to blanket the skies with facsimiles of the Broad banner and flag.
NYC schools received notice of these banners in Joel Klein's weekly Principal's Weekly (more popularly know as The WEAKLY) with this item:
Delivery of Broad Prize Banners and Flags
All schools / Event: This week
The Broad Foundation has provided us with flags and banners for our schools. These are in recognition your hard work that helped New York City win the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education. You will be receiving one banner and one flag during the next week. They will be delivered to your building's general office, to your attention. Your custodial staff can assist you in determining how to display the flag and the banner. Keep in mind that you should not hang the banner on the exterior of your building, since it is likely to be blown around in inclement weather. For additional information, contact the borough facilities director at your ISC.
Here are the joyous reactions of some parents on the nyceducation news listserve:
We were dumbfounded when it arrived this morning. "We need _____" (fill in the blank with any NUMBER of things), "and they spent how much money on THIS?" - BB
There is a huge banner in my school of congratulations to the NYC Dept of Education as broad prize winner. Its like 8 FT wide! What we really need is wiring , not a huge banner, LOL. Any other schools have one? - L
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has appointed his old pal Smellington G. Worthington III, the founder of BFER (Billionaires for Educational Reform), to a newly created position as the CEO in charge of "Hanging Broad Prize Banners and Flags." Worthington will generously take a pay cut and work for a nominal salary of $225,000 a year. "It's my civic duty to serve the poor children of New York," said Worthington.
"Imagine their glee when upon arriving at school every morning from their little hovels, they will gaze upon the banners celebrating the wonderful achievement of our winning the Broad Prize, something we will use to get Michael Bloomberg elected as president."
Chancellor Joel Klein has appointed Alvarez and Marsal as consultants on the project for a $5 million a year. "We were lucky to get A & M so cheap," said a DOE spokesperson, citing their historical expertise in being able to find just the right spot to hang a banner. "That is not an easy thing to do and we just don't have people with those kinds of skills currently working in the Department," said the spokesperson, "particularly since they were ordered NOT to hang the banners on a school's exterior wall." [See DOE announcement to Principals below.]
The money for A & M was raised privately from the profits from foreclosing on the homes of people ruined by sub-prime rate mortgages.
Bloomberg will hire a fleet of skywriting airplanes to blanket the skies with facsimiles of the Broad banner and flag.
NYC schools received notice of these banners in Joel Klein's weekly Principal's Weekly (more popularly know as The WEAKLY) with this item:
Delivery of Broad Prize Banners and Flags
All schools / Event: This week
The Broad Foundation has provided us with flags and banners for our schools. These are in recognition your hard work that helped New York City win the 2007 Broad Prize for Urban Education. You will be receiving one banner and one flag during the next week. They will be delivered to your building's general office, to your attention. Your custodial staff can assist you in determining how to display the flag and the banner. Keep in mind that you should not hang the banner on the exterior of your building, since it is likely to be blown around in inclement weather. For additional information, contact the borough facilities director at your ISC.
Here are the joyous reactions of some parents on the nyceducation news listserve:
We were dumbfounded when it arrived this morning. "We need _____" (fill in the blank with any NUMBER of things), "and they spent how much money on THIS?" - BB
There is a huge banner in my school of congratulations to the NYC Dept of Education as broad prize winner. Its like 8 FT wide! What we really need is wiring , not a huge banner, LOL. Any other schools have one? - L
Friday, January 18, 2008
8th Grade Holdover Policy Designed to Force Dropouts
It is so simple. Want to enforce the illusion that graduation rates are rising so you can use that issue to run for the presidency? Start holding back 8th graders before they reach high school. Just enough might of them be disgusted with school to drop out right then and there and never besmirch a Bill Gates school with their presence.
There are consequences when 8th graders are held over. These "social seniors" often feel that is the last straw for them and many drop out right then and there. The ones who show can become a problem for the school – their behavior reflects the impact of being held over.
I was in some middle schools that had to isolate these senior holdovers in a special class. The class size was small but they were so turned off, even that didn't make a difference - maybe 50% attended on any given day with some not showing up for a week or more at a time. Spending any time at all in this class made it clear that though these students were not exactly flourishing before, holding them over made a bad situation intolerable.
I was in some middle schools that had to isolate these senior holdovers in a special class. The class size was small but they were so turned off, even that didn't make a difference - maybe 50% attended on any given day with some not showing up for a week or more at a time. Spending any time at all in this class made it clear that though these students were not exactly flourishing before, holding them over made a bad situation intolerable.
Driving them out of school before they can affect the HS grad rates is one of the ideas behind the plan.
Here's what Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters had to say in her listserve:
Today, in his state of the City address, the Mayor announced that the DOE will now extend their policy of holding back students on the basis of low test scores to 8th graders as well. This is the way they intend to cure the problems of our middle schools!
As the research overwhelmingly shows, holding back kids doesn’t work. 107 academics, researchers, and national experts on testing understand that this policy is not only unfair, given the unreliability of one day’s test results, but will also lead directly to lower achievement and higher drop out rates. They signed the below letter drafted by Class Size Matters and Advocates for Children in 2004 opposing this policy, and nothing has changed since then. In fact, if this policy worked, the DOE 7th grade retention would have caused a rise in 8th grade achievement rates, but instead as the recent NAEPs show, our 8th grade test scores have been stagnant over many years.
Among those who signed our letter included Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Ernest House, who did the independent evaluation of New York City’s failed retention program in the 1980’s, four past presidents of the American Education Research Association, Robert Hauser, the chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Appropriate Use of Educational Testing, and several members of the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council. Even the two largest testing companies are on record that the decision to hold back a child should never be based upon test scores alone.
Indeed, the professional consensus is so overwhelming about the policy’s destructive academic and emotional consequences that its use amounts to educational malpractice, according to Prof. Shane Jimerson, a dean at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Nearly everyone who’s looked at our middle schools realizes that their number one problem is huge class sizes. Our middle schools have the largest class sizes in the state by far, and some of the largest in the entire industrialized world. About one quarter of our middle school students are in classes of 31 or more. Yet this administration refuses to intervene by reducing class size, even when the Middle School task force recommended this step. Instead, holding back 8th graders will likely cause class sizes in these grades to grow even larger.
It’s a shame that this administration refuses to take action to actually improve the opportunities for students to succeed, but rather insists on increasing the chances that they will fail.
As the research overwhelmingly shows, holding back kids doesn’t work. 107 academics, researchers, and national experts on testing understand that this policy is not only unfair, given the unreliability of one day’s test results, but will also lead directly to lower achievement and higher drop out rates. They signed the below letter drafted by Class Size Matters and Advocates for Children in 2004 opposing this policy, and nothing has changed since then. In fact, if this policy worked, the DOE 7th grade retention would have caused a rise in 8th grade achievement rates, but instead as the recent NAEPs show, our 8th grade test scores have been stagnant over many years.
Among those who signed our letter included Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Ernest House, who did the independent evaluation of New York City’s failed retention program in the 1980’s, four past presidents of the American Education Research Association, Robert Hauser, the chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Appropriate Use of Educational Testing, and several members of the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council. Even the two largest testing companies are on record that the decision to hold back a child should never be based upon test scores alone.
Indeed, the professional consensus is so overwhelming about the policy’s destructive academic and emotional consequences that its use amounts to educational malpractice, according to Prof. Shane Jimerson, a dean at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Nearly everyone who’s looked at our middle schools realizes that their number one problem is huge class sizes. Our middle schools have the largest class sizes in the state by far, and some of the largest in the entire industrialized world. About one quarter of our middle school students are in classes of 31 or more. Yet this administration refuses to intervene by reducing class size, even when the Middle School task force recommended this step. Instead, holding back 8th graders will likely cause class sizes in these grades to grow even larger.
It’s a shame that this administration refuses to take action to actually improve the opportunities for students to succeed, but rather insists on increasing the chances that they will fail.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Bloomberg Presidential Campaign being Derailed by Obama?
I am saddened at the story in today's NY Times, "Obama’s Surge Deflates Forum and Talk of a Bloomberg Run."
We will be missing an opportunity to focus national attention on the BloomKlein educational "reform" disaster. Not only are they an indication of ed policy gone awry but also a tale of major incompetence that has invited comparisons to the mismanagement of the Bush administration.
Photoshopped by DB at pseudo-intellectualism
Monday, November 19, 2007
Incompetently Yours from Bloomberg and Klein
One thing people expected from entremanures like Bloomberg was some level of competence. People working in the schools have seen so little evidence that many are pining for the good old days of corrupt local school boards where at least you knew who was stealing from you. As for competence, the local yokels actually knew how to massage the bureacracy to make things work.
The next time the national press like Newsweek wants to write glowing reports on the competence of BloomKlein and the miracles they have wrought, they should check this story out as a prime example of how incompetently these "business" model people are running things. And while they're here, they should jump to the story in today's NY Post on further distortions in the grad rate at the much heralded small schools, where diplomas are granted based on passing rates of 55 instead of the more difficult 65.
The next time the national press like Newsweek wants to write glowing reports on the competence of BloomKlein and the miracles they have wrought, they should check this story out as a prime example of how incompetently these "business" model people are running things. And while they're here, they should jump to the story in today's NY Post on further distortions in the grad rate at the much heralded small schools, where diplomas are granted based on passing rates of 55 instead of the more difficult 65.
Melvyn Meer from the Queens Community Board 11 Education Committee reports
I went to an official SLT "training" this morning. It was something of a fiasco.
Scheduled from 10 am to 12:30, it began at 10:15 and ended at 10:55.
Almost all that happened was that there was an outline handout that was also flashed on a screen. A lady read it, slowly, and it was almost over. I'm certain almost everyone in the audience knew this oh so basic material of the outline before going to this "training".
After the reading there were to be questions and an Asst. Principal from a middle school rose as if to ask a question. But what she said was that all the teachers from her team, as well as herself were there, and the school went to the expense of hiring substitutes for them so that they could attend. Her point was that for the considerable expense and effort the "training" was ridiculous--
I guess she expected to get some sympathy from a DoE attorney who was there as a back-up knowledgeable resource. Instead she got the bad news that it was a violation of State law for principals and teachers to be attending that meeting during the official school day.
Well, there must have been many others, for the room broke out in uncontrolled and furiously noisy argument all over the place and the meeting was, effectively, over.
I suggest that if you have to go to the training, bring something to read.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
BloomKlein WIN!
BloomKlein WINNNNNNNNN!!!Say the above using your best John Sterling "Yankees Win" voice!
You can fool most of the people most of the time
But not all...
David Quintana rains on the parade
As one of the four (4) parent participants in a focus group held at
This group of parents, handpicked by Martine Guerrier of the Department of Education (DOE), expressed uniform disappointment with the various changes put into place by DOE, the lack of transparency and accountability, and the lack of consideration given the views of parents about what their children really need to succeed.
Clearly the Broad Foundation did not take parents views into consideration when awarding this prize to NYC today.
I feel that the DOE is totally dismissive of parents views and makes short shrift of our concerns for our children (i.e. - class size reduction, cell phone ban, school bus fiasco, numerous reorganizations of the DOE, et al)
Thank you.
David M. Quintana
District 27 Presidents Council - Recording Secretary; District 27 Representative to Chancelors Parents Advisory Council, Queens Community Board 10 - Education Committee and Queens Borough President's Parents Advisory Council member
http://davidmquintana.blogspot.com/
"never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; it's the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Tweed's Trojan Horse
Bloomberg/Klein Intentions Revealed
The Department of Education is pledging to help solve a charter school space crunch, pointing to an aggressive campaign to close a slew of city-run schools in the next two years.
A new accountability plan slated to begin in September will place about 70 schools under consideration for closure in 2008, creating potentially dozens of abandoned school buildings for charter schools to take over. Chancellor Joel Klein's Office of New Schools is touting the possibility to charter operators desperate to find new facilities as their schools grow."
Thus begins "School Closures May Open Way For New Charters," an article by Elizabeth Green in the NY Sun that exposes in one of the clearest ways we've read the true intentions of BloomKlein: To turn over as much of the school system to private operators as possible
and to facilitate this by manipulating school closings so they can turn over entire school buildings where there will be no public oversight and little or no union presence. (Oh, sorry! That's already the situation in most schools.)Phew! For a while we thought they were going to sell off all schools in hot neighborhoods to condos developers and adopt our idea to build stadiums where 50,000 kids at a time can be taught. Shh
hhh!Actually, when you tie all the building of housing without asking developers to account for where kids will be going to schools, it all begins to make sense. Drive people with children who can not afford to live in NYC out by turning over local schools to charters which will never be able to handle the large numbers of students. What will be left are overcrowded schools with high class sizes (note how the Ross Charter based at Tweed just had their class size capped at 20) loaded with the most at-risk students who will be doomed to fail.
The insertion of charters into school buildings targeted for failure could be compared to Trojan Horses. Well, at least Troy didn't abandon their experienced warriors. The invading forces of BloomKlein will ultimately find their Achilles heel as in the post BloomKlein tight lips will become unsealed.
And by the way, where it the UFT on this? Jumping right in and trying to get a piece of the gravy by setting up its own charter schools in public space.
Green's full article is posted on Norm's Notes.
Lisa Donlan from the District 1 (lower east side) Parent's Council, who blogs here, commented on the NYC Education News Listserve:
In a mailer from Saint Ann's School I found an article by the founder of the charter school Girls Prep, class of '84, who writes:
" To introduce choice and accountability into the system, Bloomberg and Klein encouraged the creation of 45 charter schools with in the city... Intrigued by this I met in the fall of 2002 with Chancellor Klein to ask whether he was serious about letting private citizens run public schools. "Serious?" he asked at our first meeting. "We need public charter schools to show the other public schools how accountability works. Would it be easier for you to start if I gave you free space in a public school building?"
Of course the article fails to describe the PS where the charter has been "incubating,
Why? According to the author, it is because " our lack of overhead means that we can pay our teachers more. In exchange, our teachers work longer hours and a longer school year, and can be fired if their students do not show progress. We find that this deal- better pay for better performance- attracts talented teachers." As a result, there are 200 applicants for 4 new teaching positions next year, he boasts.
If the PS gets an F next year, Girls Prep can start rolling out their plans for expansion, maybe even a Boys Prep to boot, with all that "free space" up for grabs.Wednesday, August 1, 2007
NYC Grad Rates Rising?
Samuel Freedman's column in today's NY Times (posted here) finally touches on the source of DOE claims for rising grad rates. Of course the DOE attacked the teacher (unfortunately there were a few negatives). I raised these issues in my 2 minute presentation at the July PEP meeting. Teachers have been reporting grade inflation, being told to mark the exams of their own students (with a wink), enormous pressures to pass kids who are failing, etc.
The state ed department has a hand in all this to make sure everyone all around looks good - easier exams, shady rubrics (if the kid fogs a mirror, PASS.)
A column I wrote in The Wave and on this blog called "Indecent Exposure" back in December touched on these issues:
Inflated test scores and cover-ups of massive cheating scandals in addition to scores being pumped up by constant test prep. “Test-mania fuels cheating at many schools, teachers say,” said just one headline that is just the tip of the iceberg. The overwhelming majority of school personnel will remain silent due to fear. (Maria Colon, the union rep at JFK HS in the Bronx, was persecuted because she exposed her administration, which has gotten off Scot-free.)
Teachers toe the line, especially newer, inexperienced teachers. The attack on senior teachers (anyone with about 7 years in today's world) is not just about money, but compliance in solidifying the sham BloomKlein are pulling.
At the end of my presentation at the PEP I pointed out that we can see even higher grad rates once the principals get their hands on the bonus money.
Going up, anyone?
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Privatization & Mayoral Control
Mayoral control of school systems is a symptom rather than a cause. What has occurred is privatization of policy over public schools, where people like Eli Broad and Bill Gates get to use their private money to make public policy and shape urban public school system the way they want to without public oversight. Mayoral control is their instrument since it allows then to do their thing without having to open themselves up to public scrutiny. All they have to do is get Bloomberg, et al on board, which is easy to do by the offer of money.Can you imagine them getting away with this in places like Scarsdale? "We think you should break up your high school into small schools."
All over this nation, local people have some say over their schools. But not the people in urban areas that have given themselves over to mayoral control. When the UFT agreed to this model, we should not pretend they did not know what they hath done. They hath proven themselves part of the Broad/Gates cabal of corporate takeover of the public schools to the detriment of students, teacher, parents and the general public.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Too Little, Too Late on Class Size...
....UFT uses borough hearings as "Do Nows" to let out a little gas as a way to control militancy.While we all appreciate the eloquent comments from so many people like John Elfrank-Dana (see post below this one), the reactions of parent groups and the UFT is a case of too little too late.
David Quintana commented on this blog:
I never understood why Randi and most of the other coalition members believed the empty promises of the Tweedies and allowed Bloom/Klein to effectively disrupt and cancel our original rally...We had the Tweedies nervous and they were on the run...Parents got little or nothing in return...Lets be honest...Our side blinked...I know many CPAC members wanted the rally to go forward, even after the UFT bailed out...A parents rally is needed now more than ever...
Our April 20 post titled, "A Unique Opportunity had been missed," was a reaction to the bitter disappointment over the cancellation of what was expected to be a massive rally on May 9th that was killed by the deal between Mayor Bloomberg and a coalition of parents and teachers, but it is clear it was Randi Weingarten's dealings with Bloomberg that killed the rally.
Why? Because Weingarten has the same alliances as BloomKlein do: Eli Broad, the Clintons, Green Dot charters, etc. She can get away with rhetoric criticizing Bloomberg (and note how the UFT has focused on Klein, as if he is independent from Bloomberg), but any street action that actually would have results is too dangerous. The enthusiasm at the Feb. 28th rally at the church that was the precursor to the excitement among teachers and parents in planning the May 9th demonstration scared Weingarten as much as Bloomberg.
Ironic, since she had so much to do with building a good coalition of groups that for the first time was a credible threat to BloomKlein. I never believed she ever intended to hold the demo May 9th in the first place. Her role is not to lead any street movements but to make backroom deals that would prevent any possibility of militancy getting out of the hands of the leaders.
Think of it as a bottle of gas. The leadership keeps things under control by letting out a little at a time and then shutting it once some steam is let out. The current storm of testimony in front of the bogus borough panels set up by Tweed is a perfect example. Busy work and Do Nows for the activist people in the UFT, including the opposition. I can' tell you how many of my colleagues who are opposed to Unity raced down to speak. To what end?
Would you be surprised if you found out that these borough events were part of a plan hatched by Bloomberg and Weingarten as a way to let out that gas just enough to shut people up and distract them from calling for a demo?
When the deal in April was announced, I posted the following on the issue of class size to the influential NYC Education News listserve, which is dominated by activist parents in the NYC area:
"On class size, I don't care what they say or what committees they form. They do not believe that reducing class size will have the same impact spending money on professional development will. That is their mantra... They will say one thing and do another. To put any trust in Tweed given their record is a mistake."
Many other posts to the listserve made similar points. NYC High School Parent Council head David Bloomfield: Promises of consultation on class size, drop out prevention, and middle school reform seem little more than crumbs.
The leaflet put out by the Independent Community of Educators (ICE) at the April Delegate Assembly said on the class size reductions in the deal:
"Expect spinning the wheels. ICE’s position has always been that there will be no reductions in class size without contract negotiations."
The reactions of the UFT and parent advocacy groups - attend press conferences, write politicians, speak out at the borough meetings are all fine. But if all they do is let off steam then it is just a case of marking time - more of the same old, same old.
Forget all of this and start building for a rally at City Hall this fall. We have been told all along by Weingarten when we kept calling for the May 9th rally to be held (the UFT rescheduled it's Delegate Assembly on May 9th) and when the Manhattan HS chapter leaders' call for a rally was rejected by Weingarten and Unity Caucus at the DA (see video of the DA here) with the argument that we will hold a rally if the DOE goes back on its deal.
Holding that rally on May 9th would have been the best way to get class size reduction and many other items on the agendas of parents and teachers. But the age-old reliance on politicians and the leadership of Randi Weingarten has misdirected all too many people away from the understanding that street action works. No one seemed to learn the lesson that was made so strongly at the February 28 rally that frightened BloomKlein into sitting down at a table that was heavily tilted in their direction. But when the very person supposedly leading the movement is really in alignment with Bloomberg, the chances of putting something together that will actually have an impact is very unlikely.
Only when there is a movement of teachers independent of the yoke of Unity caucus and a corresponding movement of parent groups not under the dominance (and fear) of the UFT leadership, will there be a chance to have an impact.
Follow ups:
An article and leaflet handed out by ICE "What was gained and what was lost" and the "Top 10 reasons to oppose the reorganization".
Friday, May 11, 2007
Taking a shot at Bloomberg's presidential balloon
On the Bloomberg presidential balloon:
<http://www.nytimes.
Times description : Visitors "will find celebratory images of the mayor holding children and smiling amid a receptive public."
Noel, a parent of a pre-k child, writes on the nyceducationnews listserve:
It's too bad that those "celebratory images" couldn't be put side by side with some decidedly less celebratory images of parents and teachers rallying together yesterday. For one short moment there was a coalition that could have made a large public statement against Bloomberg's "reforms", a statement that would have been impossible to ignore. That coalition was broken in exchange for a handful of supposed concessions that have already turned out to be empty, and the net result was a loss in morale, a loss of collective energy, and the loss of an opportunity to stop this juggernaut which is rolling through New York City and on to
Washington, furthering the reach of this disastrous "accountability" that is sucking the last life out of our democratic public education system.
I know this is just stating the obvious, but next time there's an opportunity to work together on such broad terms, if there is such an opportunity, I hope the parties involved will be a little less short-sighted and a little less easily placated.
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