Reports of the MORE Meeting: A Maturing Organization Plus How Jia Lee Helped Rescue MORE

AN EXHILARATING BREATH OF FRESH AIR WHEN TAKING PART IN DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

There are two bogger reports out on the MORE meeting this past Saturday by

• James Eterno at ICE: MORE CONTINUES TO GROW and 

• Peter Zucker at SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL South Bronx School Endorses Jia Lee as Next UFT President.

Caucus building is a long and winding road

These positive reports on the state of MORE are somewhat remarkable as they come from people who a little over a year ago were not happy with the state of MORE and either had left or contemplated withdrawing. They were joined by other blogger critics and I too felt I was on the ropes with frustration. 

We actually held an ICE meeting attended by 25 people, including many non-ICEers where people vented their frustrations.

We knew that MORE, as a multi-year effort to pull many of the disparate elements involved in the UFT (ICE, TJC, GEM, NYCORE plus non-affiliated) together into one group, would be the only sustainable game in town over time and turning it into a viable organization was worth putting effort into.

People went back to their corners to lick their wounds while things cooled down. One new person who walked into the storm emailed me to suggest that why don't people in MORE just work on the issues that interest them? That opened up the idea that MORE could use some open internal space for people who might not agree on everything to pursue their aims using the structure of MORE - an attractive idea to building a caucus that wanted to not be Unity. If you have an idea and others are with you and you aren't going so far off the reservation as to violate core principles then JUST DO IT. MORE began to focus more on some core stuff like supporting chapter leaders by running training and a powerful listserve as a helpline when people in their schools ran into trouble

Of all the people in MORE, one particular person held her cool and worked across the lines to put things back into order: Jia Lee. I, as one of the hotheads, received encouraging missives from Jia as did many others. Jia tirelessly - remember she is a single parent of a now 12-year old - put herself out there to find ways to make this endeavor work. 

Only a tiny sliver on the fringes of MORE saw this as an opportunity to do their own self-promotion rather than try to help put Humpty Dumpty back together again as Jia did. 

Which is just one reason why the majority of the long and short term fighters against Unity are supporting Jia Lee for UFT President.

James Eterno points to the maturing of MORE - and that is such a wonderful point. So many of us were not thinking that little babies like MORE had to go through its tantrums before learning how to work with each other or if you can't work with certain people there should be enough space for them to to their thing.

Peter Zucker's piece is also a powerful statement from someone who barely know Jia but sat next to her at the MORE meeting on Saturday and has an account of his conversation with her. Peter also saw something James and I saw - where MORE general meetings had at times been difficult, and this one had a patch of rough road too - which I will get into in a future post -- the democratic process was such a breath of fresh air given how we see the UFT operate - really an exhilarating breath of fresh air.

Peter saw what we have seen in Jia since she and Lauren Cohen walked into a More Than a Score event GEM held on testing almost 4 years ago. That event, which included Leoine Haimson, Carol Burris, Gary Rosenberg (Stuy teacher and major blogger about TFA) and Arthur Goldstein (NYC Educator)- who was supposed to attend but due to a death in the family had his statement read by the chair person of that meeting: a 7 month pregnant Julie Cavanagh who 6 weeks after giving birth accepted the MORE nomination for its first presidential candidate in the 2013 UFT elections.

Is there any better sign that MORE can go from Julie to Jia without missing a beat?

SRO at overcrowded MORE meeting - dozen people waiting to get in

What an excellent, well-run meeting, organized by MORE steering committee. Well, I was sort of shocked. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, so many people tried to get into the MORE meeting, the guards had to stop people from going in -- only when someone left would someone be allowed up. A bunch of the usual participants didn't even come. MORE will have to consider a bigger space.

Who knew? And a bunch of new people too. The Cuomo ed deform program and the tepid UFT response has apparently spurred people to take some action. I never get too excited because we have been down this road before. There was so much on the agenda, the meeting went longer than expected -- but we still made it to the happy hour afterwards.

The key is will people not only come back but also become active participants on growing the movement. Parents connected to Change the Stakes attended as did some high school students and their recently rubber-roomed teachers from NYCLetEmPlay. I visited David Garcia-Rosen in the rubber room the other day and this is some story, which I will going into

David Garcia-Rosen

detail - teachers pulled from their schools because they took a personal day to take their kids on a trip - a trip they had approval for months ago but was cancelled on the orders of Farina because it is a political hot potato. David turned down a Farina job offer (bribe) at Tweed last year.

Can Farina actually turn out to be worse than Joel Klein? Wait till I report in more depth on this story. David and his crew brought the issue to MORE at the meeting and this one will have legs. If the DOE goes to a 3020a hearing it will be open and a circus.

The skinny: David, teaching in a small high school, saw that the breakup of large high schools in poor areas left the kids without decent sports programs as PSAL money kept flowing to the large high schools left intact (in more affluent areas) while small schools were starved. He started his own alternate sports league for small schools in the Bronx. And therein lies a tale. Here are some quick hits from a search to get those interested up to speed. 

Ø David Garcia-Rosen sent the first of a series of FOIL requests to the DOE this morning. Ø He will continue to do this until the Mayor appoints an independent ...
A teacher's crusade to bring competitive sports to small ...
ny.chalkbeat.org/.../a-teachers-crusade-to-bring-competitive-sports-to-sm...
May 9, 2013 - What David Garcia-Rosen started as a single-column spreadsheet has turned into a 17-page report and a mission to provide more team sports ...
Ed Notes Online: NYC Teacher David Garcia-Rosen Battles ...
ednotesonline.blogspot.com/.../nyc-teacher-david-garcia-rosen-battles.ht...
May 28, 2014 - I ran into David Garcia-Rosen, who I met years ago at Teachers Unite meetings, at a UFT event at the Hilton recently where he was promoting ...
In Schools Where Sports May Be Most Vital, New York City ...
www.nytimes.com/.../in-schools-where-sports-may-be...

The New York Times
May 27, 2014 - In 2011, David Garcia-Rosen, a history teacher and dean at International, formed the small schools league, and International got its first ...

UFT Caucuses and Loyalty Oaths - How About a UFT Cut-the-Strings, Free-the-Puppets Caucus?

Arthur Goldstein has another assault on Unity Caucus at NYC Educator (How About a UFT Cut-the-Strings, Free-the-Puppets Caucus?)
Arthur is often focused on the Unity Caucus loyalty oath. I believe this is the wrong terminology. Unity Caucus follows democratic centralism, a staple of the left since Lenin but also adopted by right wingers as a way to control the message and the membership. Lenin said "freedom of discussion, unity of action." The problem in Unity is that they never had freedom of discussion - it was one man or one woman rule. If Unity had a democratic structure where we could actually argue and discuss issues I could live with a loyalty oath.

Unity Caucus was founded by a right wing branch of the Socialist Party, Social Democrats USA, which operated under democratic centralism and they brought that to Unity Caucus, the mass organization they were embedded in. Then they used Unity Caucus to control the entire UFT. Al Shanker, Sandy Feldman and the entire leadership of the UFT were members of SDUSA. Randi seemed to abandon some of their  principles - or any principles in fact - so it was never clear of her connection. I always found it hard to believe that Shanker and Feldman would chose Randi if she didn't adhere to their politics. And knowing her, she may have convinced them and then once in power abandon them. Thus, Unity Caucus since Randi and Mulgrew no longer has a climate of SDUSA politics, which had a strong trade union bent. Some think Mulgrew had family union connections to SDUSA which was why he became UFT President.

Thus a relatively small group of people can control an entire union and even an entire nation. Thus the genius of Lenin and why he is so revered on the left. The Bolsheviks may have been the most successful party in history in their capture of Russia.

democratic centralism, decision-making practice and disciplinary policy adopted by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and subsequently followed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and by communist parties in other countries.
Democratic centralism purported to combine two opposing forms of party leadership: democracy, which allows for free and open discussion, and central control, which ensures party unity and discipline. At the 10th Congress of the All-Russian Communist Party (1921), the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Ilich Lenin declared that the party was not a debating society in which all opinions were tolerated and freely expressed; it was a “vanguard” party whose role as leader of the revolution demanded extreme discipline and a high level of organization. Unrestrained discussion, he insisted, would produce intraparty disagreements and factions and prevent the party from acting effectively. On the other hand, absolute control by a centralized leadership would discourage new ideas from lower-level party members. Therefore, Lenin argued, free discussion within the party should be tolerated and even encouraged up to a point, but, once a vote was taken, all discussion had to end. The decision of the majority should constitute the current party “line” and be binding upon all members.

Which brings me to the role current Leninist party (ISO, PL, Socialist Alternative, Class Struggle) members play on even opposition caucuses like MORE and to some extent used to play in ICE. If the members of these organizations operate under loyalty oaths - ie - democratic centralism - and their parties internally take a stand on education and other related issues, then their members are bound by loyalty oath/democratic centralism to follow the party line in the mass organizations (Unity/UFT, ICE, New Action, MORE.)

I'll be writing more on this subject in follow-up posts.

I'll leave you with this from Arthur:

I have a novel idea.  What if democracy in the U.S. applied to our UFT?  What if the puppets and their allies press for a real voice, the freedom to vote their views or those of their constituency?  What if the puppets rise up en masse in rebellion and demand the dignity of exercising their rational power of thought?  Educators teach people to think, not blindly obey.  History teaches us the same.  Do I dream big?  Free the puppets!  Form a Cut-the-Strings Caucus.  Let the world know.  Liberate minds!  Liberate our union!  Let teachers think for themselves!

An ICEer Comments on the Sharpton March

Judging an organization's commitment to social justice on the basis of how they stand on a demo called by one of the most dishonest people on the face of the earth is absurd... A member of ICE

With lots of back and forth inside MORE over MORE's ambiguity on the Eric Garner march, one of the founders of ICE, who has not taken part in anything related to MORE, commented off-list on the debate. He was a long-time activist and chapter leader in Bed-Stuy from the 60s through the 80s - a left winger with a strong anti-capitalist and anti-racist history, working with local community activists in District 16. I'm making this point to counter people who are branding opponents of the march as coming from the right. I would say about half the people in ICE were not in favor of endorsing the march and it was in consideration of their point of view that led to some of the ambiguity in the MORE statement as Julie tried to take their views into account when writing the statement.

I'm sure he has no problem in my using his name but I want to make sure, so I am posting now and will update with his name when I reach him.

Who calls for a march or demo is always an important question in the decision of whether to support it or not. Judging an organizations commitment to social justice on the basis of how they stand on a demo called by one of the most dishonest people on the face of the earth is absurd....

But for us a march in support of civil rights, in the context of what's happening nationally with rising police misconduct, is something that we should be in solidarity with without question....

The march that Sharpton called was clearly in response to what happened in Staten Island and that's why it was held there. It was called even before the events in Missouri. Why were none of these marches called by Sharpton and his cronies during the Bloomberg era - especially with all of the stuff going on with stop and frisk? Why was the march held in Staten Island, making it difficult to get to? Why not hold the march in Manhattan if they really wanted people to come out? Why didn't the UFT members, or even much of the Unity Caucus come out?

As for being in solidarity with the march without question, who are they kidding? 

Who calls for a march or demo is always an important question in the decision of whether to support it or not. Judging an organization's commitment to social justice on the basis of how they stand on a demo called by one of the most dishonest people on the face of the earth is absurd. 

Much of the opposition to the march did not center the issue of police brutality but on the fact that the central player was Sharpton.

MORE Update: Come out to the Delegate Assembly to Take a Stand against the New Evaluation System!

There is no question in my mind that the MORE initiatives and organizing efforts have pushed the UFT leadership -- but I view recent moves as an attempt to co-opt, not a real change in policy. Support for common core? Check. Support for teacher ratings based on VAM? Check. And so on. It's all about lousy and incompetent implementation, blah, blah, blah.

At the first MORE meeting in September a new attendee turned to me and asked, "Why are you guys calling for a moratorium and not the abolition of this system?" I  responded that the idea was to try to get something that could provide immediate relief for teachers, students and parents and use that to build momentum for a call to end Race to the Top and all the crap that comes with it.

When another new attendee said something similar a few minutes later,  it began to dawn on me that maybe we -- MORE -- were tailing the sentiment of the rank and file by not calling for something stronger.

Since then events have certainly taken on a momentum of their own, with parents rising up around the state, teacher disgust running rampant, the union backtracking while still claiming the problem is the implementation.

MORE has reshuffled a bit. While still planning to present the moratorium petition signed by so many, there is a newly written resolution calling for repeal of the state law. Pie in the sky? I would have thought so 2 months ago. There is a state-wide parent uprising, including a growing opt-out movement -- which our exalted leadership views as a plague (in contrast to the Chicago Teachers Union). But if the UFT rank and file rises up and joins with MORE forcing the leadership to move in that direction becomes more feasible. REMEMBER THEIR PRIME DIRECTIVE: TO HOLD ONTO POWER AT ALL COSTS. So when they see a threat they will move the needle but to coopt and distract not a real change in policy. I have no trust they will really change.

Below is the full reso and talking points -- hard to read here but if you click this link (http://www.scribd.com/doc/185106219/MORE-Calls-for-Repeal-of-NY-State-Evaluation-Law-3012c) it is better - and you can download and share with colleagues. It is followed by the MORE Weekly Update packed with info and links to some good stuff.

MORE Calls for Repeal of NY State Evaluation Law 3012c

If you are a delegate or chapter leader or just an interested party, meet us at the DA where MORE will present the petitions calling for a moratorium we have been circulating since the school year began. Naturally, the UFT/Unity crew has tried to co-opt the MORE move with its own call for moratoriums.

And meet outside at 6:15 to head over to some local joint for libations and celebrations.

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Join MORE Delegates and Chapter Leaders to Demand an End to the New Eval System at the UFT Delegate Assembly Wednesday, November 20th 4:15pm, 52 Broadway (4,5,6, 2, J to Wall St., 1 to Rector, J to Broad) Click here for the flier of our resolution calling for the UFT to  mobilize to end the new evaluation law, including talking points on the reverse side  We can use the introduction of this resolution to organize people and build a campaign against the evaluation system, before, during and after the Delegate Assembly. Please help out by making copies of the leaflet and coming early to help distribute it. MORE Holiday Party Check out the awesome video here We have a lot to celebrate! All year we’ve been fighting for better teaching and learning conditions and a more democratic union. Join us for festivities, fun, food, and drinks Friday, Dec. 6, 5-9pm O'Reilly's Bar + Kitchen 21 West 35th St. (between 5th – 6th Aves.) NYC View Map · Get Directions · RSVP on Facebook KAREN LEWIS of CTU  Brooklyn College Tue., Nov 19th 11AM and again at 4PM Click here for details Resistance News Round-up John King Faces Parent, Teacher Wrath at Hearings The PJSTA An Open Letter to Bill de Blasio MORE's Mike Schirtzer 10 Collossal Errors of the Common Core Anthony Cody Should We "Play Nice" with the NEA/AFT? Lois Weiner NEA, AFT, Common Core and VAM Mercedes Schneider Machinists Defeat Boeing/Union Proposal Labor Notes Steering Committee Elections A new election for Steering Committee is quickly approaching. There are 9 seats with 6 month terms, any MORE member is eligible. our membership agreed we wanted diversity in all of its forms. Please nominate yourself or someone else by emailing jcavanagh15@gmail.com before December 6th. Voting will be electronic between 12/6 and 12/20. Don't like what the Common Core is doing to our schools? Join the committee formulating MORE's position - email normsco@gmail.com. Membership Renewal Time is here. Please renew your MORE membership for the  2013-14 school year. You can pay via Paypal, send in a check. We are asking $25/year (or less, if this is not possible). Better yet, become a Monthly Sustainer. To renew your membership, click here. Only current members can vote in the elections for the MORE Steering Committee.

Share Tweet Forward to Friend Join MORE Today / Renew Annual Membership Make Sure You Join Our Listservs! Click below to join: News (announcements/articles) Discussion (debate/back-and-forth) Chapter Leader (discussion for chapter activists) NEXT GENERAL MEETING Jan. 18th, 2014 12pm-3pm New Location! The Commons 388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11217 MORE HOLIDAY PARTY! Friday, Dec. 6th, 5-9pm O'Reilly's 21 W 35th St (betw. 5th & 6th) CHANGE THE STAKES Fri., Nov. 22, 5:30pm CUNY Grad Center 365 5th Ave, Rm, 5489 COMMITTEES: Steering Committee steering@morecaucusnyc.org Phone Meeting Mon., Dec 2, 8:30pm - Reply for info Membership Committee membership@morecaucusnyc.org Bring ideas to help new members get involved in our work! Sat., Nov. 23th, 11am - 1pm Park Slope Reply for exact location Contract Committee contract@morecaucusnyc.org Next Meeting Wed. Nov. 20 after DA Au Bon Pain 60 Broad St. Chapter Organizing Committee chapters@morecaucusnyc.org Planning Meeting Nov. 21, 5PM Location TBA High Stake Testing Committee testing@morecaucusnyc.org Mon., Dec 30, 1pm Public Atrium, 60 Wall Street Newsletter Committee news@morecaucusnyc.org Media Committee media@morecaucusnyc.org STAYING IN TOUCH:  Comments? Suggestions? Email update@morecacusnyc.org with items for future updates Facebook Twitter Email

MORE Weekly Update #70: Are you coming out for Win Back Wednesday?

You should be getting the idea of why you should drag your ass over the 52 Broadway this Weds (Oct 9) for the 4PM "Win Back Wednesday" rally. Certainly if you read my earlier piece on what is going on in Newark where the pressure of an insurgent social justice oriented caucus has led to the Unity style leader, who only won re-election by 9 votes, to take a position against RTTT. And you should sign up to distribute the MORE newsletter in your mail boxes. We ran out of our first run and 5000 more are being printed. My goal this year: To have 25,000 MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox going out to - well - UFT member mail boxes.

And it you are a chapter leader or delegate there is no excuse not to be in the dynamic MORE Chapter Leader (discussion for chapter activists) CL/Del listserve where you can get expert help on contract items and other issues in your school.


Time to stop the test-based evaluation system!

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Weekly Update #70

October 7, 2013

Join MORE Today Make Sure You Are On Our Listserves! Click below to join:  News (announcements/articles) Discussion (debate/back-and-forth) Chapter Leader (discussion for chapter activists) Day of Action Against Test-Based Evaluations Wednesday, October 9th Outside DA @ UFT HQ 52 B'way - 4pm-6pm City-wide at schools FALL GENERAL MEETINGS 3rd Saturday - Noon to 3:00pm October 19 224 West 29th St 14th fl. (btwn 7th and 8th ave) November 16th Location TBA COMMITTEES: Contract Committee contract@morecaucusnyc.org Wed. Oct 9th at 6:15pm Au Bon Pain - 60 Broad St. Meeting Minutes here Steering Committee steering@morecaucusnyc.org TODAY Mon. Oct. 7th at 8pm Phone Conference - reply for details Mon. Oct. 21th at 5PM CUNY Grad Center, Rm. 5409 Meeting minutes here Newsletter Committee news@morecaucusnyc.org Membership Committee membership@morecaucusnyc.org Wed. Oct 9th at 6:15pm Au Bon Pain - 60 Broad St. Chapter Organizing Committee chapters@morecaucusnyc.org Media Committee media@morecaucusnyc.org High Stake Testing Committee testing@morecaucusnyc.org Monday, Oct. 14th, 2:00-4:00pm. CUNY Grad Center, Rm 5414 STAYING IN TOUCH:  Comments? Suggestions? Email update@morecacusnyc.org with items for future updates Facebook Twitter Email

OCTOBER 9th Day of Action! Check out the toolkit and stickers (PDF, doc) Mobilize your coworkers, parents and community to take a stand against test-based teacher evals.  Wear RED and stickers to work Distribute this flyer to coworkers Join us at the UFT Delegate Assembly at 4:00-6:00pm (52 Broadway, 4/5 to Wall St. A/C to Fulton) Make copies of the flyer to distribute there (will be posted tomorrow on MORE website) On October 9th at 4:00 p.m., activists from all over the city will gather at UFT headquarters to protest the emphasis on high stakes testing that is harming our children, educators, and public schools. Read more at MOREcaucusNYC.org... RSVP on Facebook here High Stakes Disaster Around New York MORE's Jia Lee and CTS' Fred Smith speak out at HST Forum in District 15. Lisa North points out that the UFT said not to evaluate based on test scores Almost 40% of Syracuse Teachers need improvement plan under new eval system. Common core textbooks still not delivered to New York City schools 2500 teachers, parents and administrators protest high-stakes testing in Buffalo Educator under attack?  Join MORE's "Don't Tread on Educators" support group by emailing dtoe-subscribe@googlegroups.com MORE's next general meeting is on Saturday, October 19th [at 224 West 29th St 14th fl., btwn 7th and 8th ave]. Discussions will include the our campaign against the high-stakes test based evaluation system and MORE's strategy and tactics in the UFT Delegate Assembly. MORE Newsletter Sign up to help distribute MORE's newsletter, "MORE Stuff in Your Mailbox," to your colleagues. Reply to this email if you can pick up copies or would like to help distribute it, or pick up copies at our general meeting. And read the newsletter online: morecaucusnyc.org/newsletter

Video: MORE Brunch, Please

MOREistas and supporters gather for a great day of brunching - great food ala chef/teacher Sean Ahern, great music from Patrick Walsh and Fred Arcoleo, great conversation with everyone, and inspiring words of wisdom from Julie Cavanagh, Jia Lee and Megan Moskop.

https://vimeo.com/76258078




Amongst many interesting conversations with people I had never met before was this one. I see a young lady sitting at a table all by herself. She looked young but could have been a teacher. She tells me she is a senior in one of our elite high schools. "How did you end up here," I asked? "One of my favorite teachers - a young energetic teacher she tells me -- is so inspiring and urges us to get involved -- told us about this event - so I am here." I never heard of her teacher but did know one of our contacts had put our newsletters in the mail boxes. She said she wants to study film. Boy we need socially conscious film makers.

Here are some pics:

Jack Channels Daddy the musician

Happy B-Day Diana

Jia and son

Megan and Peter: MULTI-GEN MOREistas

Megan: New MORE leaders emerge

Patrick and Fred

Master chef Sean