Showing posts with label Cathie Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cathie Black. Show all posts

Friday, April 8, 2011

If Bloomberg Appointed the Ghost of John Dewey I Would Still Be Opposed

LAST REVISION: Friday, April 8, 12:30PM

What a shabby start for the Walcott administration. Pulling a bunch of kids out of school for blatant political use. But as we've been saying all along, ed deform is not about education. 
At about 8 a.m. Thursday, an aide to Mr. Walcott called Laura Scott, the principal of Public School 10 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and asked her to arrange for a group of fifth graders to attend a press conference at City Hall, where they would serve as the backdrop for an announcement. The aide did not tell Ms. Scott the topic of the event — Ms. Black’s resignation.

"Dennis Walcott has been a 'Yes' man for the mayor."- Pamella Wheaton on Brian Lehrer.

Where's Opra and Whoopie who praised the Black appointment, now? 

Any assessment of the move by Bloomberg to replace Black has to be weighed against the question: Does it increase the democratization of schools?

The answer so far is “no”. The culprit is mayoral control. Our only hope is that Walcott can convince the mayor to put his ego aside and accept the fact that his educational policies are a failure. We want more stakeholder control, we want smaller class sizes, real curricular choices, assessments that are multifaceted and fair, and fixing schools to strengthen communities rather than breaking them up.

However, with mayoral control all we can do is hope our actions can convince an arrogant ego, who bought a third term, to change his mind.

Therefore, Walcott is probably only a change in style, but not substance.
John Elfrank-Dana, CL of Murry Bergtraum HS


People just don't seem to get it. The problem is not with who is the chancellor but in how the chancellor is chosen. So even though Dennis Walcott seems to be a thousand times more able than Cathleen Black, he will still be implementing a corporate reform agenda that is doomed to fail. Walcott will bring a slick and savvy look to the table and in fact if Bloomberg had any sense he would have appointed Walcott as Chancellor in 2002. Same results, but at least Walcott would have modified some of the voices of dissent increasingly emerging from the Black and Hispanic communities.

The very idea of the Black appointment, which some thought was akin to Caligula appointing his horse to the Roman Senate (HorseBlack Riding), was Bloomberg's way of dissing just about anyone who had any validity as an educator. Someone suggested on a listserve that he might as well appoint daughter Georgina's horse as chancellor. So even though Walcott has much more gravitas than Black, given Walcott's absolute and total support for the ed deform agenda, you might as well replace Black's face with Walcott's. (Get going photoshoppers.)

Former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern had "One piece of advice for Mr. Walcott: Call Diane Ravitch and Sol Stern. You don't have to do everything they say, but you should listen to them carefully. They can tell you a lot about the system for which you are now responsible. They are not bound by the mistakes of the past, and neither should you be. There are over a million children out there for whom you should be a great hope. Do everything you can not to let them down."

Sure, Henry. Hasn't Walcott been part of the process of shutting out voices like Stern and Ravitch? By the way, no matter how much I admire and like Diane and Sol, these are not the people I would urge Walcott to listen too. How about actual parents and teachers who do the work with kids? The feeling that somehow policy people know more than people on the ground is what has ailed education for far longer than the time mayoral control came into effect.

Last night, News 4 NY reported from Nutley, NJ on Dennis Walcott's appointment as Cathie Black's replacement. Why Nutley? Because that town's school board, unlike NYC's one-man school dictatorship, has been conducting a formal public search for a new superintendent of schools.

I have incorporated this small fact into my latest blog posting, "Be Like Nutley?" on the NYC Public School Parents blog. Please check it out for more at http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2011/04/be-like-nutley.html .

Steve Koss
_____________
On another topic, check out this article. Praise and condemnation for Joel Klein.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/magazine/mag-10School-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Commentary on out with the old and in with the new chancellor- Hey Cathie, I didn't get my good-bye hug

UPDATED 5:30PM- Posting commentary and links as they come in.
Mike Bloomberg in his just-completed press conference stated that he only discussed resignation with Cathie Black this morning, implying that in the last few hours he had a conversation with Ms. Black, did a "search" for a replacement, decided on Dennis Walcott, approached him about the job, and received his acceptance.

Another snap decision about who will be overseeing the education of 1.1 million children?

Despite repeated questioning from reporters, the mayor is refusing to say much about Ms. Black -- hardly surprising. He wants everyone to "look forward," not backward. Message: "Please, everyone, please forget that I made this decision to hire Cathie Black.

A reporter on NY1 just stated that Dennis Black has spent virtually his entire life in public education. I guess that's already being sold as the conventional wisdom, when I believe it is rather far from true. A masters in education, two years as a kindergarten teacher, some time spent on the old Board of Education, never an education administrator -- hardly an entire life devoted to education.

I can't say I was enamored of Wolcott's first decision: to drag a group of Brooklyn grade school kids into City Hall and away from their classrooms to serve as nothing more than background props for a press conference. Sorry, Dennis -- kids are more than props to pretty up your image.

Steve Koss

It is nice to read your thoughtful posts, again, Steve- we've missed your insights!

The mayor and his Deputy's unabashed use a group of kids as cover, to distract away from the adults' mistakes, is so emblematic of the 'Children First'  phonies.

 It is ALL about the adults- just look at the one's jumping ship, either to get further up the privatization pipeline ( can't you just hear the loud sucking sound?)or to propagate the politics and policies imposed on NYC in other cities across the nation.

Let's hope that the media continue to carry the real stories, connecting the dots and digging for facts, and never go back to reporting by press release as they did for the first 9 years of this disastrous dictatorship.

Lisa


State Ed Commiss Steiner is going too - rats deserting: David Steiner Out as State Education Commissioner - DNAinfo.com

Check out this link for the Cathie Black video in dist 14 on Feb 28:
http://vimeo.com/21717003

South African Mona Davids:
Hmm, interesting...
Shael Polakow-Suransky is officially ACTING CHANCELLOR. It's history, the first (South) African acting chancellor.

I guess 17% rating finished Black off. All I can say is that some poor magazine will end up getting stuck with her. Can she give back the 3 million and get back on the IBM Board so she can sell ARIS versions 2 through 10 back to the DOE?

Bloomberg finally pulled the race card in desperation.

Time to start a "Deny Walcott Waiver" movement? Yes he taught kindergarten and has a masters in education, but he has been a major architect of the dismantling of public ed. See Michael's comment below - but I feel it could have been worse - a sell-out educator with real creds and a P.H.d.

Watch the UFT try to claim credit for this, along with the earth spinning on its axis. It was those whistles they blew at the Feb. 3 PEP.

Sam Anderson comments:
With Dennis, the privatization plot thickens.

Connecting dots...
(a)  Al Sharpton becomes publicly closer to Obama as Obama launches re-election. Both Obama and Arne Duncan come to NYC to speak before Al's National Action Network.

(b)  Al's been chummy with Bloomberg and Walcott for years. Hence, Al's in the key position to "sell" Walcott to the negro loyal opposition forces in the electoral, business and religious sectors as a true promoter of Black Education. Meanwhile, Walcott is a proven "good negro" to white folks by his Urban League "street creds" and his 9-year proximity to Billionaire Bloomberg.

(c)  Walcott can become Bloomberg's and his class allies' blackface to their national privatizing of public education policies.

(d)   With a potential $2billion re-election war chest, Prez Obama will need a few "acceptable" Blackfolk to -once again- convince US educators to gather their collective strength and campaign and vote for this version of EVIL. Sir Walcott will make a great surrogate for Obama and the Dems.

(e)  The last dot is that if the republicans have the upper hand on the national scale, Dennis is their man also. He would have about 18 months to work with them on their national education policies.

In Struggle,

Sam Anderson
Michael Fiorillo:
Hello All,
This is not a good development. Every day that Black was Chancellor, she further undermined Bloomberg and revealed his contempt for students, parents and teachers. Walcott will follow the same smash-and-grab agenda, but will be far more adept at it, and his being black will provide a partial shield from criticism.
After all, if people are motivated by power and greed, better for the rest of us if they are incompetent and the butt of jokes. Black was a gift from the Gods of Absurdity, which they have sadly taken back from us.
Let's all hope that this comes too late to revive people's view of Bloomberg, but it makes our job harder, not easier.
Best,
Michael Fiorillo

 Lisa Donlan on Nadelstern blames press for CB's failure! (These no excuses guys sure have a lot of excuses)
Clearly the failure was not about the lousy results of the neo-liberal union-bashing, autocratic, privatizing educational experiments, re-orgs , complete 360's and other kick-the-anthill management tricks passed off by this administration for the last 10 years as reforms.
 No,  w/o the necessary pandering by the press and the inflated edubudgets spent on the vendors, bells and whistles,  the very system is destabilized since it can stand no scrutiny and obviously hangs by a thread of PR gloss and spin. Good riddance to all the rats fleeing this sinking ship. Too bad we and our kids are going to be stuck w/ the remaining wreck for years to come.


DENY WAIVER COALITION
.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 7, 2011

CONTACT:
Mona Davids                                                    917-340-8987
Lupe Todd (for Assemblyman Jeffries)          917-202-0116
Chris Owens                                                     718-514-4874 


Deny Waiver Coalition Statement
on the resignation of
Unqualified Chancellor Cathie Black

"Mayor Bloomberg's political treatment of
education is leading to disaster for our children." 

Today's resignation of Schools Chancellor Cathleen P. Black closes another sad chapter in the history of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's manipulation of public education in the City of New York.  Ms. Black's departure is a clear victory for parents and all those who care about the quality of public education.
After disregarding the concerns of many, Mayor Bloomberg pushed ahead with the nomination and defense of a candidate unqualified to lead the largest public school system in the United States of America.  Cathie Black's departure confirms for parents, teachers and administrators their fear that the Bloomberg administration's education track record is strong on rhetoric, hype and titles, yet weak on substance. 

The Mayor has provided a textbook lesson in the dangers of unfettered Mayoral control of our education system.  In sum, Mayor Bloomberg's political treatment of education is leading to disaster for our children. 

The Deny Waiver Coalition is proud to have continuously highlighted the fact that the Mayor "had no clothes" when it came to this appointment.  The Deny Waiver Coalition has never wavered in its demand that an appropriate individual serve as Chancellor -- an individual whose experience in education substantially exceeds the minimum criteria for the position. 

There remains cause for concern.  The Deny Waiver Coalition called for a national search to find the best Chancellor candidate.  That has not happened.  The Coalition demanded a Chancellor with proven experience at leading public schools or school systems.  New York City still does not have that.  The Coalition advocated for transparency in the Chancellor selection process.  That has yet to happen.

Accordingly, the Deny Waiver Coalition members support the immediate adoption of legislation amending the New York State education law to strengthen the minimum requirements for service as Chancellor of New York City's public schools, and to minimize the discretion allowed with regard to waivers on the part of the Mayor and the State Education Commissioner.

The Deny Waiver Coalition includes individual petitioners who challenged the appointment of Cathie Black in court.  Parent Petitioners from the five boroughs are New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries (Brooklyn), Democratic State Committeeman and District Leader Chris Owens (Brooklyn), Ms. Mona Davids (Bronx), Mr. Noah E. Gotbaum (Manhattan), Ms. Khem Irby (Brooklyn), Ms. Lydia Bellahcene (Brooklyn), Ms. Patricia Connelly (Brooklyn), Ms. Monica Ayuso (Queens), Ms. Mariama Sanoh (Brooklyn), Mr. John Battis (Brooklyn), Ms. Latrina Miley (Manhattan), Ms. Shino Tanikawa-Oglesby (Manhattan) and Ms. Maria Farano-Rodriguez (Staten Island).  The teacher Petitioner is Ms. Julie Cavanagh (Brooklyn).


A blast from the past, thanks to Jeff Kaufman. Check out Walcott's subcontractor pals.
November 3, 1999, Wednesday


URBAN LEAGUE GETTING $9M CONTRACT FROM BOARD OF ED.




BYLINE: SUSAN EDELMAN


The Board of Education is set to award a massive $9 million contract today to the New York Urban League in a deal aimed at getting parents to join "school leadership teams" to help run the city's 1,100 schools.


The unprecedented contract - $3 million a year for three years - is earmarked for a citywide campaign and media blitz to drum up interest in the teams and to train parents who sign up.




"This will cover five boroughs and reach parents of different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds," said league president Dennis Walcott.


The money will pay for staff, educational forums, training sessions, an Internet site, public relations and advertising such as bus posters.


School leadership teams spring from the 1996 Governance Law, which gives Chancellor Rudy Crew broad powers over school boards and superintendents, and were supposed to be in place by Oct. 1.


Each team is to have 10 members - half parents and half school administrators and teachers. They will have input in educational plans, budgets and issues such as school uniforms and safety.


The Urban League has subcontracted with three groups for its Parent Leadership Program: the United Federation of Teachers; Aspira of New York, a Latino community organization; and the United Parent Associations.


Ernest Clayton, UPA president, said the $9 million to be spent by the board isn't enough.


"When it comes to teacher and principal development, they spend money like crazy," he said. "It's about time they try to make an attempt to treat parents well."




ORGANIZATION: UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%); UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%);


COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (90%);


STATE: NEW YORK, USA (90%);


COMPANY: UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%); UNITED FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (55%);


SUBJECT: EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION EMPLOYEES (90%); TEACHING & TEACHERS (90%); EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION (90%); SCHOOL BOARDS (90%); CITY GOVERNMENT (78%); SCHOOL PRINCIPALS (78%); SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS (73%); MARKETING & ADVERTISING (71%); TEACHER UNIONS (67%); RELIGION (55%); PUBLIC RELATIONS (54%);


LOAD-DATE: November 3, 1999

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Voices of Parents, Teachers and Principals at Feb. 28 District 14 Meeting with Cathie Black

Coming soon: report of Mar. 30 meeting of Black with CEC 14

Must see video highlight:
A principal questions Santiago Taveras:
Do you believe that when the parents (opposing Eva's school) go to the PEP meeting at Brooklyn Tech everything is predetermined or are they going to listen to the parents?
Taveras answer is such obvious bullshit the principal follows up with: You are an educator, right? You sound like an educator. You actually believe when they have these massive meetings this mass of  people opposed to what they are doing, you actually believe the system  are putting these schools in without any care for what the community believes? You actually believe that? I know what you have to say, but you are an educator.
Taveras says he stands on his integrity as an educator and his work over 22 years.  Then he pulls a card by shifting the issue and goes on the attack claiming someone asked him earlier why they couldn't fire kids and says he is highly insulted because he has a special ed kid. What a piece of crap this guy is turning out to be.
The principal is incredulous and doesn't give up. He says he himself has been in the system for 33 years - points to parents and professionals on the CEC - they don't believe it either. (The video ends with me asking him: Don't charter schools fire kids all the time?)



CEC 14 pres. Tessa Wilson
Just a note: this principal is one of the tops in all ways and runs one of the very best middle schools in the city - a school he taught at. I know him for 30 years. If Tweed retaliates there will be a massive reaction.

To better understand the backdrop of my report yesterday about the stealth meeting hastily set up for Cathie Black with CEC 14 (Cathie Black's Stealth Visit Today to District 14 (Williamsburg) With a bit of Skulduggery Thrown In) I have put together a half hour video of extracts from the raucous Feb. 28 meeting in the District. I know it is long but there is some remarkable comments and challenges and lots of anger - a microcosm of a system expressing absolute disgust at the insanity emanating from Tweed. It seems that Eva Moskowitz's entry into the district, which already has a number of charter schools, inundating entire neighborhoods with posters, fliers, doorknob hangers, etc,  has been a trigger point.

You can scroll though it but I urge you to try to watch it all.

Here are some more highlights:

The CEC when it was formed was told it would be given an opportunity to have a dialogue with the chancellor...we are the foot soldiers who walk through our schools...the reason you see such anger is because no one hears those voices. ---- CEC 14 President Tessa Wilson (first minutes of video)

We are for educational options but we are very much for district schools - former school board president Juan Martinez (from 5 minute mark)

Questions from audience: your background demonstrates your total unfamiliarity with public schools-- how do you justify your ability to run the largest public school sysem?

Why are charter schools exempt from the disciplinary code public schools face?

The video of the principal starts at the 28 minute mark and runs 3 minutes.

For those who are not familiar with what CECs are, they are the remnant of the old school boards pre-Bloomberg years but basically toothless. Margianalizing parent voices is a major plank of the ed deformer strategy of privatization.

Use this link directly for better video and if it plays slowly on ed notes.
http://vimeo.com/21717003


Cathie Black and Santiago Taveras at 2/28 CEC District 14 Meeting Face Intense Questioning

Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

------
Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Must See Video: Brooklyn Principal Challenges Cathie Black Face to Face on Unions and Seniority

Principals, 80% (according to scuttlebutt) of whom have been appointed under the Bloomberg regime, are increasingly becoming a Trojan horse for Black & Bloom as they see the favored charter schools inundating their neighborhoods with flyers and expensive ads while their schools are cut to the bone. Black came to a Williamsburg District 14 Community Education Council meeting on February 28 at a particularly sensitive time. The entire neighborhood has been inundated with Harlem Success Academy fliers, ads at every subway stop and on every doorknob while public schools are starved. There are many charters in District 14 but as usual Eva has pushed the buttons a bit too far. She doesn't know just what she is in for and it will be fun to watch this develop as Eve puts young children into the IS 33 building in the middle of one of the most dangerous areas - a point people made at this meeting (video of this in a few days.)

Many of the old guard people who have worked and lived in the district for years are outraged. Not only at the charters, but at the attack on seniority and LIFO. I worked in the area for over 35 years and saw many old friends at the meeting at IS 71. Many teachers and supervisors were neighborhood people and they came out in force.

Here is a video of principal and community leader Brian De Vale going one on one with Black over seniority rights, all while holding a Teddy Bear. Black tried to make a joke - "Don't I get the bear" but when De Vale came up to offer it to her she refused it, saying "give it to a child." What a humanitarian she is - most likely she was afraid of touching it.

Direct link to you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibwyGXD3CI4




I'm including a letter to parents from another Brooklyn principal from another district as another  example of the outrage.

Dear Families:

We can’t help but comment briefly on the debate about teacher seniority that is all over the news. I  remember my mother, Rose Barr's stories of pre-union teaching. Behind closed doors, and with a promise to keep her salary a secret, each year she negotiated her contract. She could not be hired for one position because she would have been a second Jew, and the quota allowed only one per school. She could not wear shorts in public, could not be pregnant and could not ask about her colleagues’ salaries. Most schools don't teach much about labor history and many Americans seem to have no notion of how unions have improved the quality of life for generations of Americans. My father, an early 20th century labor organizer, spent many months of his life in prison, fighting for the rights we are now expected to silently surrender.

Over and over we read about countries where students out-perform Americans. What we need to ask is how educators and education are regarded in those countries. Are teachers vilified or venerated? Are students sent to school with the message that schools, teachers, and educational leaders are to be respected, that education is of great value? Read our newspapers and see what is said about our teachers, people who have committed their professional lives to helping young people learn. Today's New York Times provides an excellent example of the effect of such negative publicity on our profession.

Seniority is a complex issue. First and foremost, there is a big difference between the city cutting positions throughout the city and cutting budgets at the school level. A citywide cut of positions would be unconscionable and should not under any circumstances occur. As bad as cuts to school budgets are, it is much better when we at the school level decide what to cut.

But what about this seniority question? There is no doubt that our system for teacher tenure could use a little tweaking and it would be great if the UFT and the DOE could agree on some changes to this system. But make no mistake about it, it is a dangerous thing when it is said that the difference between a brand new teacher and an experienced one is irrelevant. It takes time to develop your teaching practice and one of the wonderful things about the profession is that you can always learn more as a teacher. There is so much to learn and know when it comes to supporting others in the learning process. When we think back to our first years of teaching, we remember our energy and our commitment, wonderful qualities for new teachers. But when we recall later years, we remember our wisdom and how much we could do for both our students and our newer colleagues. That’s part of what makes teaching such a rewarding profession. We need both the experienced and learned teachers and the thoughtful, new and energetic teachers. In fact, you can’t have one without the other!

Let’s remember to keep on thanking these teachers for their intelligence, integrity, commitment to young people, and love of learning.
Anna Allanbrook    Brooklyn New School (BNS)
Alyce Barr             Brookyn  School for Collaborative Studies (BCS)

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Cathie Black District 14 Town Hall: No Sex, but Plenty of Lies and Videotape


District 14 Principal Brian De Vale with Teddy Bear pal
LAST UPDATE:
Tues., March 1, 8AM

Links to coverage of last night's meeting:
Parents and community members lambasted Chancellor Cathie Black in Williamsburg. (Brooklyn Paper)


Preamble
I was able to view tonight's events from a different perspective than I usually do since I knew the scene and the players so well, having spent over 35 working in District 14 (Williamsburg/Greenpoint). To me this was a sign that BloomKlein did not totally stamp out the old and bring in the new. But even one of the new Leadership Acad grads who I know (and like very much) seemed to be on our side. See videos in upcoming posts.

I returned to the scene of the crime tonight when I attended the CEC 14 Cathie Black town hall meeting at IS 71, the home of the old district 14 office and the monthly school board meetings where I and other radicals used to question the basic policies of the old school board. It was old home week as I saw so many people from the old days - principals, teachers, parents - even a former student - who now has 2 grandchildren - does that make me a great grand teacher?

And now we were all on the same side - opposing the policies of Black & Bloom. Many of the schools seemed to be represented and anger was pulsing throughout the auditorium.

There was to be no direct questions from the audience but the usual tactic of having people write questions on index cards to keep Black from having to look her questioner in the eye.  I didn't know what to expect from the CEC, which consists of parent leaders. Would they cull the questions to be less confrontational. But they came up BIG, with one question after another directed right at the gut of Black, most of them anti-charter school in nature.

The audience hooted and hollered at Black and her responses and there were pro-unions signs all over the place.

And then Principal and District 14 Council of Supervisors head Brian DeVale took took the mic to confront Black directly., holding a Teddy Bear to symbolize President Theodore Roosevelt who created the civil service system. When he finished, Black said, "Don't I even get the bear?" Brian came up and offered it to her but she told him to give it to a child.

This will be making the news and NY 1's Lindsey Christ was there to get it - so check out her reports. I got all the video too but it will take my a day or more to figure out what to do with so much good material.

After Brian's speech most people left but there was some great stuff to follow.

Question: Do charters have the same disciplinary code as public schools?
Answer: No.
Duhhh!

I had some fun with Santi Taveras when he tried to pull a political stunt when he expressed outrage that one question on a card said, "Why can't we fire the kids?" I asked him directly: Don't charter schools fire kids every day? He wouldn't answer.

Another principal asked him directly if he actually believed the PEP was listening to the community or was the question pre-decided. Taveras staked his educational rep on the fact that it was an honest process. The principal looked at him incredulously. Taveras immediately jumped 10 spots up the food chain of dishonest Tweedies.

Here are some pics taken by GEM's Lisa North.






Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Cathie Black: Soft Core Pornographer

"He pressed his hands between her thighs, spreading her legs. She moaned as he gripped the band of her silk panties and pulled them down...." - New curriculum for NYC schools proposed by Black?

Susan Ohanian sent this:
Warning: There is objectionable language here, language unsuitable for family viewing. This article raises the question of how the media mogul who sat at the top of the empire producing this material is now in charge of New York City Schools--without a peep from conservatives who claim to represent moral issues. David Berliner is on target: Why no MORAL outrage at Hearst chief Cathie Black's selection as the leader of schoolchildren in New York City? I've always preached that there's no escaping it: We can only teach who we are. I am happy that David Berliner forces the reader to face this issue.

by David C. Berliner

I must state at the start of this essay that I am no prude, no Victorian. In fact I am generally quite tolerant of contemporary mores in the area of sexuality. But I have my limits. I still expect my school leaders to behave with sobriety, to be prudent, to not push the limits of our secular and permissive society and to model more of what might be called traditional American values. Although I choose to live my personal life according to more modern and secular values, I do not see my position to be hypocritical. I think modern youth needs some grounding in prudence, restraint and responsibility, before their involvement in the difficult work of becoming a responsible young adult in our tumultuous times. Perhaps this belief is shared by others and is why there is such a furor over the new MTV show "Skins." The blatant sexuality of the young people in this TV show, understandably, is scandalizing many of those who worry about the moral behavior of our youth. But for some reason they let another questionable event go without protest.

For reasons I don't understand, the chairman of a large corporate entity that publishes salacious material was selected to be the leader of a major American school system. I always had considered some of this business leader's publications akin to soft-core pornography. Thus, I wondered about the propriety of this person's appointment to lead a school system and the lack of attention to the person's publication record. The new school leader in question, while in business, published magazines with suggestive photos and articles. For example, highly sexualized, barely clothed woman stare out at you from some of the chairman's best known publications. The women often have what on the street would be called a "come hither look." Often these women are in intimate positions. Some pictures suggest bondage by the woman, to please a man.

This chairman/now school leader has published prose like this:
Mikayla felt his lips trail down the side of her neck. Her body stated tingling with anticipation. He caressed one nipple with his tongue, then the other....

He pressed his hands between her thighs, spreading her legs. She moaned as he gripped the band of her silk panties and pulled them down....

Nik led her to the bed.... Then suddenly his mouth was on her, exploring her with his tongue as he gripped her ankles with his hands.

A month later another one of the publications of the chairman/now school leader included this:

His hands, hardened and callused ... ran up her thighs, until he reached her panties. She felt a quick tug and heard a ripping sound, then felt his fingers, gentle and tender, finding her, stroking her and bringing her to higher and higher levels of pleasure.

.... He entered her slowly, deeply, but then pulled back out. He groaned with pleasure.

"Please" was all she could utter.
In what genre might we classify the prose represented by these recently published excerpts from the chairman/now a school leader? Readers may disagree but I would label them "woman's romance," soft-core pornography, or both.

On another page of a publication by the chairman/now school leader one woman tells us that the casual sex she engaged in was "so good, it was worth the guilt." One can question the wisdom of such advice to any young woman, but to teenagers still in school it is simply bad advice. In fact, in the advice realm, the chairman/now school leader seems quite enthusiastic about what is possible sexually.

For example, the chairman recommends the following as fun: That woman/girls choose a deserted corner of the parking lot and back in. Then put up their sunshade on the windshield and hang their jackets on the hooks over the back windows, so it's harder for people to see in. The chairman then recommends: "Jump his bones." Other advice to spice up relationships include light whipping, or a new high-tech form for arousing a male partner, namely, texting pictures of your vagina via your cell phone to your boyfriend across the table while dining out. Apparently, when he checks his mail, his appetite is increased!

Other advice presented is from men to women. One guy says he liked it when his date undid her shoes under the table at a restaurant and gave him "a foot job under the table." Another reported "This girl was riding me in reverse cowboy when she stopped, leaned way forward and started sucking my toes." Still another told women what he liked about his ex-girlfriend: She would "put my whole package in her mouth. Then she would hum to create vibrations."

And we also learn from the horoscope in a publication of the chairman/now school leader that Aries men, in particular, are visual and thus would like to have sex doggie-style in front of a mirror. On the other hand, the chairman apparently believes that Taurus men would prefer woman to slowly lick down their chests and nibble their thighs, before ending up at their package. Gemini men, different than others, like to take the lead, so, ladies, bend over against a wall and have these gentlemen enter you from behind and let the Gemini guys set the pace and depth for themselves. Capricorn men are equality minded so, ladies, you might want to "Guide him into 69, with you on top, using your lips and tongues to trigger insane pleasure." And if you forget all these helpful hints the corporation headed by the chairman has an iPhone and an Android application offering you the sex position of the day, allowing your phone to choose your position!

Honestly, you cannot make this stuff up! As I stated at the start of this essay I am not personally offended by any of the text cited. What I do find distasteful is that women are presented as objects in these publications, apparently under the guise of making them powerful. To me, the major publications under the chairman, now a school leader, make objectification of women their theme. A smart business person like the chairman must understand that the stories told, the advice given and the photos that accompany them could be harmful to youth. That is probably why, stuck away in an obscure part of the publications from which I drew my illustrations and in small font, the chairman cautions "The models photographed ... are used for illustrative purposes only: [This publication] does not suggest that the models actually engage in the conduct discussed in the stories they illustrate."

The former chairman, Cathleen Black, was recently appointed by Mayor Bloomberg of New York to be the Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools. By all accounts she is a successful businesswoman. Among other accomplishments she was chairman of the Magazine Division of Hearst publications, whose flagship magazine is Cosmopolitan. The examples I just provided of what Black has published for girls and young woman all come from the January and February 2011 issues of Cosmopolitan magazine, selling well on newsstands across the country right now.

Although many complained about the mayor's appointment of Black because of her lack of knowledge about schooling, I was surprised there was no mention of the appropriateness of her appointment on the basis of her ethical and moral fitness to lead our schools. Doesn't that count anymore? Where were America's conservatives, such as Alan Bloom and Bill Bennett, when her appointment was announced? I expected them to be outraged. Where was the Christian right, when so clear a secularist and morally suspect person as Black was appointed? Why did Pat Robertson and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council give Black a free ride? Where were the critics, now attacking "Skins," when Black was appointed? Why weren't critics pointing out that the success of Cosmo and other magazines over which Black has editorial responsibility (e. g. Seventeen, Marie Clair), is not based on their literary qualities, unless sexual titillation is the readers' goal.

I am afraid that I see a difference only in degree, but not much of a difference in kind, between Black and two other successful publishers, Larry Flynt and Hugh Heffner. But they would never be allowed to interview for the job, despite equal records of business success. My question is this: Shouldn't an appointment of this magnitude have generated more debate? Black's lack of knowledge for the position of chancellor of the New York City schools is surely matched by the questionable moral values expressed in the publishing empire she headed. But debate about her lack of knowledge has been muted and debate about her moral fitness to lead the system has been virtually non-existent and that makes me angry.

Debate should have occurred. What Chancellor Black believes and does will, literally, affect the lives of millions of American teachers and students in New York and the nation. I am appalled that a position of this significance can be obtained without proper and public vetting of the candidates qualifications, especially when it is quite clear that her knowledge and her moral vision are both questionable. Although we have been told that mayoral control of the schools would aid in reforming them, it looks to me like mayoral control of the schools simply allows for the old New York patronage system to continue.

David C. Berliner has authored more than 200 articles, books and chapters in the field of educational psychology teacher education, and educational policy, including the best-seller The Manufactured Crisis (co-authored with B. J. Biddle) and six editions of the textbook Educational Psychology (co-authored with N. L. Gage). He is a past president of the American Educational Research Association, and of the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Berliner is a Regents' Professor at Arizona State University in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies division. — David Berliner
Truthout

2011-01-25

http://www.truth-out.org/soft-core-porn-and-crisis-school-leadership67125

Friday, January 21, 2011

At the PEP: Cavanagh Challenges Black on Choices She Made for Her Children/UFT's Mendel Promises Resistance/Black Incoherent on NY1

Here are two videos plus a link to Cathie Black's almost incoherent comments on NY 1. This has got to be a joke Bloomberg is playing on educators all over the nation- his message that a buffoon running the largest school in the nation is preferable to anyone with real education experience. (See my comments to Black at the PEP the other day on this issue.)

Try this one out from Too-Chattie Cathie: "We know, study after study shows the most effective people in front of our students, are the best teachers possible.” Huh? Does anyone in the press have the guts to call her on this gibberish? One comment: "As a nation we celebrate our corporate leadership. Makes you wonder! Has she uttered an original thought yet?"

Paul Moore wrote:
One of the most shocking things I have ever witnessed! The Chancellor of the nation's largest public school system cannot form a coherent sentence. This is the best you could do Bloomberg? I realize that Ms. Black can serve as a model for some of the children of New York City but what about those who go beyond 3rd grade?

I stand at the ready Mayor Bloomberg if you are now ready to consider an upgrade in communication skills at the Chancellor's post.

Professor Irwin Corey
Steve Koss said:
Ahem.

I believe Ms. Black was referring to several formal studies published over the years by successive third grade classes at P.S. 87. Those third graders did indeed discover from their research that the most effective teachers deserved to be called the best.

Ms. Black's statements on "Inside City Hall" demonstrate that she is quickly coming up to speed as regards the central issues of public school education and that she is quickly assimilating the findings of serious educational research up to at least Grade 3 level.

At least this latest assertion by Ms. Black is one that she won't have to "refudiate."
Julie Cavanagh wrote:
Ridiculous one might say. And how does Ms. Black propose we choose the best teachers and layoff the apparently less-bestest (as she might say)?  Are we to leave this decision to principals alone so that teachers who stand up for kids are fired?  Are we to base the decision on test scores, for the teachers who generate them?  Will we base these decisions on the level of one's degree?  A survey?  What will be the standard for choosing our best teachers that apparently some mysterious research shows has nothing to do with years of experience... even though any educator and most parents would tell you that experience is one of the most significant factors in student achievement.  I can't believe they let her loose to speak again.
In the video below, Julie, a NYC decade long special ed teacher, holds Cathie Black's feet to the fire on choices she made for her own children: low class size and experienced teachers. UFT Officer Michael Mendel challenges Black to restore credibility to the system and declares the UFT will fight back on school closings, etc.
The UFT endorsed our Jan. 27 rally and Michael will deliver a fiery speech.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qglFL2HGBSo




Well, heading over to our Fight Back Friday Press conference at Tweed this afternoon where will attempt to deliver an invite to Cathie to come to our Jan. 27 rally just down the block from Tweed.


Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Condomnation

by Norm Scott
To be published in The Wave (www.rockawave. com), Jan. 21, 2011. Submitted Jan. 19.

There's an old story floating around that years before he became Mayor when a female employee of Bloomberg informed him of her need to go on maternity leave, he urged her to have an abortion and reputedly said, "Kill it." Apparently she wasn't the only one he told that to and there was some kind of lawsuit by a group of female employees. People were connecting some dots when his handpicked Chancellor Cathie Black just a few days after taking over for Joel Klein made her now famous "can't we have some birth control" comment to a mostly white parent group in Tribeca when they raised the issue of severe school overcrowding. I can imagine in the social circles Black and Bloom run in there must often be conversations going on about how the lower classes breed like bunnies and deserve class sizes over 30 while Black and Bloom sent their own kids to schools with no more than 15 (or less) in a class. Oh, the riff raff.


Would Black have dared made a "control your breeding" comment in certain communities outside Tribeca where she might have been outside her comfort zone? She is so arrogant and clueless in taking a job she is so eminently unsuited for I wouldn't be surprised.


Bloomberg, who is never sorry for anything, must be regretting his decision to choose Black. Is there no educator more competent than Black in an entire school system of people who manage all kinds of things way more complicated than anything Cathie Black has managed? Just think of what it takes for a principal to manage a high school with 300 teachers and 4000 students, while the most people Black has managed is about 2000. Even a teacher managing a classroom is a skilled manager.


Bloomberg actually had to apologize, pointing out that Black's booboo was due to the fact that she is used to the private sector (duh) where you can easily make racist tinged jokes and get away with it. Bloomberg didn't address Black's holocaust gaffe which she made at the very same meeting just a few seconds after the birth control comment when a parent asked about the policy of favoring charter schools over public schools. As reported by the Tribeca Tribune (which also has video up of Black's remarks):


Following the 35-minute listening session, Black’s one-minute response was tempered with warnings of “tough sledding ahead” in anticipation of an austere state budget due Feb. 1 and a reminder that she has had similar “conversations” with parents all around the city. But it also contained another line seized upon by the press and the chancellor's critics. “I don’t mean this in any flip way. It is many Sophie’s choices,” she said, in a reference to the book and film in which a mother in Auschwitz must decide which of her two children will die.


There was even greater outrage in some circles over even referencing the decisions she faces as in any way comparing to Sophie's choice. Wow! All this in only one minute. Boy do Bloomberg's PR people have their work cut out for them. The easiest thing would be to throw a blanket over Black.


With Black facing her first Panel for Educational Policy meeting on Jan. 19 some activists planned to toss condoms at her – condemnation by condom (condomnation) – but cancelled when a parent tested the physics and found "regrettably-- the little buggers don't have enough weight to propel far enough in order to span the distance between our audience seats and the stage." Oh, well. I'm glad things won't be thrown as I will be covering the meeting for The Wave. Besides, two PEP members, Manhattan's Patrick Sullivan and the Bronx' Monica Major are on our side. (Unfortunately, our own Queens rep is mostly missing in action.)


There have been lots of comments over what is now being termed "Cathie's choice," where she will favor charters over public schools, cut budgets to the bone and accelerate the attacks on teachers and the union with a particular focus on ending "last in first out" - LIFO - when layoffs come. If Black and Bloom get their way, with the help by the way of Governor Cuomo, that will effectively end tenure protections. Layoffs will hit the highest paid teachers even though the end of LIFO is being advertised as keeping better younger teachers, who may cheer this policy but if they stay in the system will one day find themselves in the same position, as one public school after another is closed down and replaced by non-union charters.


I missed last week's closing school hearing at Beach Channel HS because I was in Florida but reports came in that it was pretty depressing as people have pretty much given up. The Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), the group I helped found, sent a rep to the meeting. That she is a 3rd year teacher under 25 and was willing to schlep out to Rockaway is quite impressive and a sign that something is brewing amongst some younger teachers who I've been meeting. GEM is part of the "Ad Hoc Committee to Stop Closing Schools" and she was there to promote two activities: The January 21 Fight Back Friday where schools around the city were urged to "Wear Black and Take OUR Schools Back!" to be followed by a press conference at Tweed where an invitation will be delivered to Cathie Black to attend a rally outside City Hall on January 27 to hear the concerns of parents, teachers and students (there will be no condoms attached).


The sham of the school closing mania has been revealed time and again - that this is about real estate, market based ideology, and the hounding out of the system of the highest paid teachers who are left scrambling for jobs after their schools close. Unfortunately, most of these teachers instead of joining with others to fight back for their dignity and for public education, all too often develop a hangdog victim mentality. With the UFT unable (and at times unwilling) to stop the assault, people are left defenseless. Thus the rationale for the Grassroots Education Movement (gemnyc@gmail.com.)


When Norm is not pitching foil-wrapped objects at chancellors he blogs at http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com. His email is normsco@gmail.com.

Video of Black's comments:
http://tribecatrib.com/news/2011/january/864_cathie-black-hears-pleas-for-downtown-classrooms-to-stem-school-crowding.html
AFTERBURN BELOW THE FOLD: waylaid plans for greeting Black at the PEP

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Chatty Cathie: NYC"s Wind-Up School Chancellor Doll

BLACK IS BLOOMBERG'S FAILURE AND WILL COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM MORE THAN THE SNOWSTORM!

I had a link up a few weeks ago from an ed deformer (Mike Petrilli I think) predicting that Cathie Black would be out of there by April. Accountable Talk figures April Fool.

How about this Wednesday (Jan. 19) at her first PEP meeting? Come on guys, get on down and join the Real Reformers as they try to give Cathie a great welcome - it is after the UFT Delegate Assembly - or concurrently - I am going there first to hand out some leaflets and then on to Brooklyn Tech by 5:30.

We just can't keep up with all the comments on newly Chattie Cathie (remember when we called her Unchattie Cathie when she wouldn't talk to the press - maybe she was right) after her birth control and Sophie's Choice comments. We can only pray she says some more wonderful things at her first PEP on Weds. Jan. 19 but I wouldn't be surprised to see her show up with a muzzle.

David Bellel came up with this graphic at his blog inspired by a post from Perdido Street
Cathie's Choice: New Yorkers Comment On Cathie
Some very interesting comments on the latest Cathie Black gaffe in which she suggested birth control as a solution for school overcrowding and compared "tough decisions" she has to make on school funding and placement to sending children to a Nazi death camp:
A word of advice, Cath. You need to build up a modicum of credibility before you start with the wisecracks. Despite what you may believe, you have none when it comes to the educational system.
Well, what do you expect from a Waspish Park Ave matron? It's just a matter of time before her views on eugenics become public.
Come on, you guys. She was absolutely right. A little birth control would have been a great thing. Pity her own parents didn't use it...........
Here are more posts from RBE at Perdido:


Cathie's Choice: The ATR Solution


Cathie's Choice: To Open A Charter Or Take A Trip To Auschwitz

Cathie's Choice: Even The NY Post Hammers Cathie Black For "Nazi Death Camp" Reference

Wow - you know Cathie Black is hitting bottom when even the NY Post editorial writers are hammering her:

Cathie's Choice: Clueless Cathie Black Puts Her Foot In Her Mouth Again

Cathie Black might possibly be one of the most clueless people in the education reform world today - and given who inhabits this world, that's really saying something:
And of course NYC Educator: Dear Cathie Black, and South Bronx School: Cathie Black's Choice Of Birth Control.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Finally, an Analysis of Cathleen Black's Corporate Skills - Or Lack Thereof

 Here's a Black critique from the pro-Joel side of the tracks. But we've been hearing she was kicked upstairs and also many of use weren't willing to accept as gospel she was a brilliant innovator or manager. The word out in the publishing industry to describe her and why she was brought in is obvious to us: union buster.

" Say what you will about Joel Klein, who has held the job since 2002, but the fact is that 40 percent of all kids in Harlem now start their education at a charter school...It required an audacious, rule-breaking spirit to accomplish, not cautious tinkering. But everything about Cathie Black's management background screams "incrementalist." She has never been a change agent."

Another take on why Black doesn't qualify...

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/02/why-cathleen-black-was-the-wrong-choice-to-head-new-york-citys/

Why Cathleen Black Was the Wrong Choice to Head New York City's Schools

As usual, the press and the complaining hordes are focusing on the wrong issues. Everyone assumes that Cathleen Black, who starts her job next week as New York City Schools Chancellor, is a fine choice from a management perspective, but what's lacking from her resume are any educational credentials.

I challenge that. What the New York City school system needs is bold and imaginative thinking that breaks out of the calcified structures that have imprisoned it and its students for decades. Say what you will about Joel Klein, who has held the job since 2002, but the fact is that 40 percent of all kids in Harlem now start their education at a charter school. This is a stunning statistic. It could never, ever have happened under a Black-led regime, It required an audacious, rule-breaking spirit to accomplish, not cautious tinkering. But everything about Cathie Black's management background screams "incrementalist." She has never been a change agent.

First, what do we really know about her management skills? Since Hearst is a private company, we don't know her "metrics." I put metrics in scare quotes because one of the huge fights raging now in the New York City school system is over whether teacher performance data should be made public, and whether the Klein Era has put too much emphasis on teaching for the test. Ironically, we have no view into Cathie Black's own performance record, even though it is her management skills that Mayor Bloomberg cited as the reason for her selection.

When you look at her tenure at Hearst, it was marked by two essential successes – the creation of O magazine, launched in April of 2000, and the expansion of Cosmopolitan globally. She also launched Food Network magazine.

None of these were innovative or game-changing. Martha Stewart Living was launched ten years before Oprah. All Cathie Black did was Xerox the concept of an eponymous lifestyle magazine, and successfully pitch it to Oprah Winfrey. So Ms. Black's big resume item was a copycat idea whose success was due to the galactic appeal of the most powerful woman in media.

I'm not minimizing her ability to sell. That's her calling card - she started as an ad salesperson and climbed the ladder to publisher, which is nothing but a salesperson with a bigger office, town car, and wardrobe allowance. So let's be honest about her accomplishments. Most people outside of publishing and the media don't understand what Cathie Black did, they don't know the difference between editors and publishers, and often attribute an un-earned aura of creativity and imagination to the publisher business card. Publishers have a simple mission – to sell ads and cultivate relationships with big advertisers.

Ms. Black's other big success was the global expansion of Cosmopolitan. A fine tactical move, but considering that the UK edition of the magazine was launched back in 1972, it doesn't exactly take a visionary to say "Hey, why don't we take our successful formula of 'fearless sexuality' everywhere?" The current #1 featured story on the Cosmopolitan website: How to Give Him a Lap Dance." That'll help prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.

She also had flops. Talk magazine, in partnership with Miramax, and Lifetime magazine, cost the Hearst heirs many tens of millions. And it's not like these flops were noble failures based on innovative ideas that were ahead of their time. Both Talk and Lifetime were small (at best) twists on existing magazine formulas.
But the biggest shortcoming of Cathie Black's tenure was her failure to recognize and stay ahead of the tectonic shifts that the Internet has brought to the traditional publishing model.

Hearst was every bit as Paleolithic as its publishing peers. Which means they were slow to bring their magazines online and slow to recognize the power of Web 2.0 and the social aspects of sharing and community. There isn't a single meaningful web innovation that has come out of Hearst. Even now, their digital revenue, according to MediaWeek, is only "slightly better" than the industry average.

Further, under Mrs. Black's leadership, Hearst was abysmal when it came to recognizing its internal limitations and, in turn, using its massive bank account to make smart strategic acquisitions. Hearst failed to identify and invest in entrepreneurial start-ups and early-stage companies in any significant way, either. They haven't built anything real, or bought anything important. Their digital acquisitions include a cheesy question-and answer company called Answerology.com, a company that tricks you into buying vitamins by asking you what your "real age" is (RealAge.com) and Kaboodle.com, a third-rate shopping site.

Her newspaper experience is no better, perhaps worse. She was President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America from 1991 through 1996. These were pivotal, critical years for the industry, its last chance to redefine newspapers for the Internet era. Anyone who has witnessed the carnage of the last few years in the industry – the gutting of staff, the closing of venerated newspapers, "for-rent" signs being hammered on bureaus around the world – is painfully aware that the newspaper industry was shockingly negligent in planning for its own future. Even with the standards of social promotion, you'd have to give Mrs. Black an "F" for that tenure.

Mayor Bloomberg defended his secretive selection of Mrs. Black by describing her as an "expert manager." But even that is a whopping overstatement. Hearst isn't a complicated business to run. No publishing company really is. There's a sales force and an editorial group to manage. And newsstand distribution. That's essentially it. There's no R&D, no complex supply chain, no complicated retailer ecoystem, no buying and hedging of commodities, no manufacturing, no giant employee network, no unions. It's wildly misleading for Mayor Bloomberg to elevate Mrs. Black to the level of a real world-class manager, say someone like Alan Mulally, who transformed Boeing and moved brilliantly to Ford, where he was the only auto CEO who didn't need bail-out money.

But even if she was an expert manager, the New York City school system, with its massive bureaucracy and entitled constituencies, requires far more. And besides, expert management should exist at many levels below the chancellor position, especially after eight years of Joe Klein and his culture-changing leadership.

To deliver high quality education to every student, to lift up the still-suffering performance of minority students and dozens of schools, cries out for someone with a history of seeing ahead, with a passion for new ideas who takes genetic pleasure at upending conventional wisdom.

Joel Klein said his biggest regret wasn't being "bold enough." When you can point to something profound and inspiring that happened at Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, Redbook or Hearst itself, then you can tell me that Cathie Black has the necessary boldness for the job.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Oh, the Irony: Deny Black Waiver Post Dec. 23 hearing comments of parents and lawyers

At the end of the hearing on Dec. 23 I did short interviews with some of the participants. Below is about 4 minutes of irony given the outcome.

The full video coverage - see for yourself what went on in front of the judge and decide if he made a good legal decision or was it politically tainted. Read the judge's decision:
SupremeCourtDecisionOnWaiver_101230.pdf

Part of a series of videos.
28 minute Norman Siegel presentation: http://vimeo.com/18152230
State Attorney General and City Corp Council defense of Black - so you can see just how lame it is. http://vimeo.com/18154003
Roger Wareham presentation: http://vimeo.com/18162396
Eric Snyder presentation: http://vimeo.com/18169037
Rebuttals from all sides: http://vimeo.com/18169854
 
Post-hearing reactions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX2YGKw4DOI


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Supreme Court Rules for Black Despite Strong Arguments Against Her Nomination, Parents Stand Firm

UPDATE:  SupremeCourtDecisionOnWaiver_101230.pdf

If you've seen the videos I posted apparently the lame pro-Black arguments won out - or maybe it all didn't make a difference.  Now some of our allies think this is a good thing for all over time. But let's wait and see.

Meanwhile, my wife's co-worker who manages large systems and numerous employees in a large hospital called today to say she is more qualified than Black. And my wife who also managed at the same place just reminded me she has a Masters in Public Administration from NYU. I'm sending Bloomberg her info just in case Black makes a total mess.

One thing I thought was funny was how even some attorneys at the hearing gave Black the benefit of the doubt about her managerial ability - large budgets, lots of employees, managing large facilities - when the largest number of employees is supposedly around 2000 - and in fact she was being kicked upstairs.

Thanks to Queens Teacher 
Update: Story is now here. Money quote from Mayor4life Bloomberg:

"This decision should bring an end to the politicking and grandstanding and allow us all to focus on what matters most: continuing to improve the quality of education we offer New York City’s public school children..."
No doubt he'll give those 1.1 million schoolchildren the same attention he gave the snow around their homes.
I have bad news for his dishonor- it's only just begun.
JOIN IN JANUARY 19 AT BROOKLYN TECH TO GREET BLACK FOR HER FIRST PEP MEETING.

NY Times report here (and there will be an appeal.)

Well anyways, here is a report I wrote with Lisa Donlan based on the notes she took at the hearing for The Wave to be published in the Dec. 31 edition. Lisa and I are working on putting her extensive notes into some form of historical record to go with the videos so next time they choose someone even less unqualified than Black - why have any degree at all?


Lawyers for Three Groups Fighting Black Nomination Get Hearing in Albany

by Norm Scott and Lisa Donlan 

With designated NYC schools chancellor Cathie Black due to take office on Jan. 3, a hearing was held on December 23 in Albany over three lawsuits opposing the nomination with State Supreme Court justice Gerald Connolly presiding.

Attorney and Brooklyn parent of two children Eric Snyder made the first argument followed by Roger Wareham representing two parents and famed civil rights attorney Norman Siegel representing one teacher and 13 parents, including Brooklyn State Assemblyman Hakim Jeffries.

Snyder claimed that all routes to qualifications for Chancellor outlined in the law require a graduate degree. The legal question seemed to hinge on the fact that while State Ed Commissioner regulations relating to how the education law is to be applied explicitly require a graduate degree, the education law itself (revised in 2007) does not explicitly do so. Snyder argued that the statute refers to the regulations and the regulations are explicit in NOT allowing the waiving of the higher degree requirement. The legal problem seems to be to puzzle out the intentions of the law: is a Master’s degree required by law or not?

Waivers for past chancellors, all of them lawyers but not meeting the qualifications for the Chancellorship (Joel Klein and Harold Levy among others) were granted because a JD degree is considered equivalent to a Masters. Black only holds a BA. The judge pointed out that he was “cognizant” of the disconnect between the statute and the regulations. Snyder claimed that State Education Commissioner Steiner’s decision in granting the waiver relied on the regulations and not the statute.

Norman Siegel claimed that even in granting the waiver, Commissioner Steiner pointed out that Black lacks skills in many critical areas: educational standards, curriculum, accountability and the use of performance data, preparation of great teachers and turning around low performing schools, only granting the waiver on the condition that a deputy with these skills be appointed. Chief Accountability Officer Shael Polokow-Suransky was subsequently given the position but Mayor Bloomberg affirmed that Black would be totally in charge.

Siegel said that the statute makes no provision for a chancellor to rely on a staff for these qualifications with the law specifically referring to how “the candidate” (and never a plural or team or staff supported candidate) shall meet the requirements laid out in the law for the position of Chancellor (termed by Roger Wareham as a "shadow" Chancellor as second in command to palliate the lack of training, credentials and experience of the candidate). "Thus one can make an irrefutable inference as to the intentions of the legislature on this matter."

Wareham reviewed Black's lack of qualifications, interest, knowledge or involvement of any kind in public education and said the over 1 million children would be done irreparable harm with the appointment of a Chancellor who was not even qualified to teach, let alone supervise teachers who all must hold a Masters. "If this nomination goes through I can foresee the day when even a Bachelors degree is waived," said Warenham.

"Black has exceptional experience in dealing with large organizations, collaborating, leading, engaging diverse stakeholders, building relationships and managing facilities and money," said Assistant Attorney General Kelly Munkwitz, who represented Steiner and NY State, claiming that what Black didn't get in the classroom was covered in her career as a magazine and newspaper publisher.

This led to some discussion over the nature of substantial experience, private vs. public sector, the experience that would inform decisions making, the role a second in command with qualifications could play, and the fact that surely an educator with substantial management experience could have been found. Wareham pointed out that indeed context does mater when it comes to qualifications for decision making in public education, citing several coaches/sports teams managers who by the same logic would be as qualified to run our public school system as Black by these standards.

"This is about the individual best suited to run a school system that's the size of a fairly large city," said Assistant Corporation Counsel Chlarens Orsland who represented Bloomberg. None of the lawyers pointed out that with a $23 billion budget, 1700 schools and 135,000 employees, managing the NYC school system is far out of the range of Black's managerial experience in organizations with no more than 2000 employees and budgets not even one tenth the NYC schools budget. "What does she know about facilities management," asked one observer in the gallery?

The respondents made mention of the unique nature of NYC school district, which the law mentions in several places may require unique requirements for NYC as an argument for the Black waiver even though this section of the law does not make this exception explicit. Had the Legislature wanted NYC to have different requirements for the NYC chancellor the law would state so claimed the lawyers challenging Black.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Deny Waiver Hearing Videos

Last Update:Sunday, Dec. 26, 8:45pm

I'm putting up unedited videos of sections of the hearings as they process. If I have time I'll pull extracts.

Here is the 28 minute Norman Siegel presentation - he went third but since I am working with and documenting the Deny the Waiver Coalition, I am giving it priority.
http://vimeo.com/18152230

One thing - I felt that there was an acceptance of sorts that Black's experience in managing large corps was a real asset - it was never pointed out that the largest number of employees she managed was arounf 2000 as opposed to the 130,000+ NYCDOE. Not even close.

Here's the State Attorney General and City Corp Council defense of Black - so you can see just how lame it is. http://vimeo.com/18154003

Roger Wareham presentation: http://vimeo.com/18162396

Eric Snyder presentation: http://vimeo.com/18169037

Rebuttals from all sides: http://vimeo.com/18169854

Thursday, December 23, 2010

DWC: Albany Road Trip

Thurs., Dec. 23, 7PM


See NY1 Story here and AP story here.

Just got back from Albany for the Deny Waiver Coalition Cathie Black Waiver law suit. I got up at 4AM so I will old off on the details of the court case and leave it to the video which is being processed tonight. And therein lies a tale.

I was told the other day to fax a request to tape and asked Chris Owens, one of the parent plaintiffs if he could take care of it and he did a great job but as of last night I hadn't received word from the court. Early this morning before I left I had an email from Chris with the letter attached. I printed them out and it turned out to be very lucky I did.

I left at 4:45 to pick up Lisa Donlan on the lower east side. Got there at 5:20. Lisa was loaded down with coffee, carrot cake and truffles. We hit a rest stop at around 7:30 where she treated me to the big meal with hot cakes at McDonalds (over 1300 calories - called my wife to give her the news and tell her to reinforce the floor boards.)

Hit Albany by 9AM, parked and headed to court house. Chris had told me I couldn't bring a camera in and he was right - I had to leave it with security - even my voice recorder.

Got to court room - 3 cases - Eric Snyder - parent, Roger Wareham and Norm Siegel. Siegel wasn't there yet - so I went up to clerk and asked about my faxed request to tape. She said she didn't get it. I gave her my copy - she said she'd go show it to the judge.

Judge Connolly came in with my letter and announced my request would be first on the agenda but he was waiting for Siegel and his partner Herb Tietelbaum. When they came he asked if anyone objected to my taping and of course the people suing didn't.

The reps defending Black - from  State Attorney General and NYC Corp council had differing responses. The former said no objection as long as I had proper press credentials but the Bloomberg rep of course objected because little ole me with my tiny camera shooting from the back would - as Noah Gotbaum tweeted:

They said the videotaping: "doesn't benefit the dignity of the court" (!)  You can't make this stuff up...

Judge Connolly, who seemed very reasonable and fair throughout, asked me to do a short presentation on my credentials. I wasn't exactly prepared but I said I was ed editor of The Wave and was also covering for the Chicago based Substance for print and video. Also that I had been chronicling ed events on video for a possible documentary. He asked how long it would take me to get ready and I said 5 minutes to go down. Mona Davids tweeted:
Bloomberg's lawyers are objecting to Norm Scott videotaping and recording the hearing. AG's office has no objections.
Yes, to democracy!! The judge approved Norm Scott's request despite Bloomberg's attorneys objections!!!!
Go Norm. Yippee!!!!
A woman also asked to tape and even though she didn't ask prior permission he was lenient and we raced down to get our stuff. We were joined by a woman who introduced herself as the NY Times' Sharron Otterman, whose work has been impressive, especially on Cathie Black, so it was a pleasure to meet her.

Here are some pics I took and this afternoon"s press release.

Norm Siegel

Eric Snyder

Patricia, Shino, Lisa

Mona and Patricia




DENY WAIVER COALITION
.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 23, 2010

CONTACT:
Norman Siegel (Attorney)          347-907-0867
Herbert Teitelbaum (Attorney)   518-441-9412
Mona Davids                                 917-340-8987
Noah E. Gotbaum                          917-658-3213
Lupé Todd (for Asm. Jeffries)      917-202-0116

Cathleen Black Waiver Hearing Completed In Albany 
.
Public School Parents Fighting for a Qualified Chancellor
See Victory in Court Challenge Against Commissioner Steiner


Earlier today, attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum appeared before Judge Gerald Connolly in the Albany County Supreme Court on behalf of 13 parent Petitioners and one teacher to challenge New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner's granting of a waiver to Cathleen Black so she may assume the office of Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.  Ms. Black was nominated by Mayor Bloomberg on November 9, 2010 to succeed outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein.  Commissioner Steiner granted the waiver on November 29.

The Petitioners, including New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn / District 57) and members of the Deny Waiver Coalition, have contended that Ms. Black does not have the qualifications necessary under New York State law to oversee the educational system that serves their children and, furthermore, that Commissioner Steiner misinterpreted State law and exceeded his authority in granting the waiver to Ms. Black.
The parents, educators, and community members now await the Court's decision, which may come before the end of the next week.  Regardless of the outcome, however, the legal challenges to Steiner's waiver have already confirmed that Black's appointment by Mayor Bloomberg and the granting of the waiver by Commissioner Steiner represent a serious "disconnect" between these policymakers and the citizens they serve.  New Yorkers recognize this problem and have opposed the appointment of Ms. Black by a margin of two-to-one.  Since early November, the Deny Waiver Coalition has worked to make sure that the voices of all New Yorkers are heard. 

As parent Petitioner Noah E. Gotbaum stated, "Parents and educators believe that this waiver has broken the law.  We are hopeful that Judge Connolly will hold that Mayoral control stops at the courthouse steps."  Gotbaum is the President of Community Education Council 3 in Manhattan.

Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum were joined by attorneys Roger Wareham and Eric Snyder, each representing additional New York City public school parents who are also challenging the Steiner waiver.  Three separate Article 78 petitions challenging the waiver had been filed and were consolidated during the court hearing, which started at 9:30 AM. 

The Office of the Attorney General and the Corporation Counsel had each responded to the anti-waiver petitions on behalf of New York State and New York City respectively.  At the hearing, Ms. Kelly Minkowitz represented Attorney General Cuomo acting on behalf of Commissioner Steiner, the New York State Education Department, the New York State Board of Regents, and the University of the State of New York.  Mr. Chlarens Orsland represented the Corporation Counsel's office acting on behalf of Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York.  During the hearing, all sides presented oral arguments and answered questions posed by Judge Connolly.

The Judge, who appeared to have reviewed all of the legal submissions thoroughly, did not specify when a decision would be forthcoming.  Observers believe that it could be handed down as early as next week.
Prior to today's hearing, on Wednesday, December 22, attorneys Siegel and Teitelbaum filed their Memorandum of Law with the court in response to papers presented by the Attorney General's office and the Corporation Counsel.  The Memorandum reinforced four points that were discussed during the Court hearing.

First, Commissioner Steiner could not provide a "substantially equivalent" qualification for Ms. Black that would "provide her with the requisite knowledge, skills and experience" in subject areas that Steiner himself identified as "critical," including educational standards, curriculum, staff development and turning around low-performing schools.
The fact that Commissioner Steiner improperly looked beyond Ms. Black's qualifications to the qualifications of potential staff in assessing whether or not she herself possessed the necessary knowledge and experience was the second argument.  Third, nothing in the relevant State law provides for a waiver of the requirement that Ms. Black have earned a Master's degree or higher -- and she does not have one.
The fourth argument was the fact that the Petitioners' challenges to the waiver are only asking for appropriate enforcement of standards put in place by the New York State Legislature and the New York State Commissioner of Education, and that the Petitioners are not requesting extraordinary action by the Court. 

Siegel and Teitelbaum referenced the fact that, in 1983, Education Commissioner Gordon M. Ambach fulfilled the intent and letter of the law when he refused to grant a similar waiver request on behalf of Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who actually had more extensive education and public policy experience than Ms. Black -- who has none -- but still not enough to meet the appropriate and legislated standard for the position of Chancellor. 

As Commissioner Ambach stated in his decision, "The certification requirements are intended to assure that there is proper training and experience for educational leadership.  The determination to be made by the Commissioner in any case where an exception to regular certification is requested is not whether there is potential for or promise of effective service by the candidate, but rather whether the candidate currently possesses 'exceptional training and experience which are the substantial equivalent of the stated requirements and which qualify such person for the duties of a superintendent of schools.' "

To the extent that there were no surprises during the Court hearing, attorneys Siegel and Teitelbaum were cautiously optimistic regarding the outcome.  "In our Constitutional democracy, when government officials do not adhere to the rule of law, it is important for the judiciary to uphold the rule of law," said Siegel.  "We are hopeful that the Supreme Court in Albany County will grant our petition in all respects."

Parents present in court today were also encouraged by the day's proceedings.

Mona Davids, parent Petitioner and President of the New York Charter Parents Association said, "Today marks the beginning of a new era of parent involvement in public education. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired and we will continue to advocate for quality public schools and education leadership in New York City.  We will no longer allow the Bloomberg administration to violate our rights and education law."

Patricia Connelly, Petitioner and a parent of a student with special needs in Brooklyn, stated, "I am grateful that we still have the judiciary to turn to for refuge and possible redress, even if we have to travel miles from home during the holidays to seek it."

Shino Tanikawa-Oglesby, parent Petitioner, and leader within NYC Kids PAC and Community Education Council 2 (Manhattan) concluded, "Governance by lawsuit is not a good way to run our school system. I hope the Court will see the importance of our petition and recognize the implications of a negative ruling." 

"Simply put, parents and educators are no longer going to accept a 'business model' which 'contracts out' our school system to hedge fund managers and other institutional interests, while treating parents and teachers as 'competitors' and excluding us from having any input into our children's educations," said Noah E. Gotbaum.

Assemblyman Jeffries (Brooklyn), Ms. Davids (Bronx), Ms. Connelly (Brooklyn), Ms. Tanikawa-Oglesby (Manhattan) and Mr. Gotbaum (Manhattan) were Petitioners who could attend the hearing. 

Parent Petitioners who could not attend the hearing included Hon. Chris Owens (Brooklyn), Ms. Khem Irby (Brooklyn), Ms. Lydia Bellahcene (Brooklyn), Ms. Monica Ayuso (Queens), Ms. Mariama Sanoh (Manhattan), Mr. John Battis (Brooklyn), Ms. Latrina Miley (Manhattan), and Ms. Maria Farano-Rodriguez (Staten Island), as well as teacher Petitioner Julie Cavanagh (Brooklyn).
Over the objection of the Corporation Counsel's representative, the Court granted a request to videotape the proceedings, which were then recorded.

# # # 

Visit the Deny Waiver Coalition website:  http://www.denywaiver.com/



The DENY WAIVER COALITION ("DWC") is an association of public school parents and educators as well as concerned community leaders opposed to granting a waiver of employment qualifications to Ms. Cathleen Black, the proposed Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.  The DWC also supports improvements to the Chancellor selection process.

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