Politics Are Us: Follow the Money

A recent comment by a reader on the NYC Education News listserve after I posted a link to George Schmidt's comments on Obama's education record in Chicago:

From what we've seen being played out in NYC public education, I've wondered if Barack's primary votes and money have been coming just from Democrats. After all, Republicans skewed the 2006 senate race in CT by crossing party lines so they could vote for Lieberman, and thus block his Democratic opponent. They were able to cross lines in Fro, independents could vote on either side in several of the early states, plus anyone can e-mail money to a candidate.

My suspicions are sadly confirmed by the ednotes article you sent. We already know that the GOP is incredibly active in privatizing the public school system, and, from Schmidt's perspective, Barack evidently supports that movement, along with its chief instrument, No Child Left Behind. Perhaps Ted Kennedy is supporting Barack as a way to preserve NCLB, which he co-sponsored. However, does that mean Kennedy is also inside the privatization loop, or is he too oblivious to see the uses for which NCLB has been co-opted?

That prompted this response:

Sorry, but this is absurd. Anyone who thinks that Obama's support is "Republicans crossing over" hasn't been paying attention, to what he says, to who is supporting him, to what is happening in our country.

I heard him speak a few weeks ago and he said, "we have to support our teachers, and pay them more. They should not have to only teach to the test. Children should have art, and music, and gym, and languages...,

Obama is running against the right, against Bush's policies, all down the line. Because he has excited and activated so many people, including young people, independents and those who are turned off by politics as usual, he actually could beat the Republican, in a landslide. And a landslide is what we'll need to turn the country around, including away from the attack on public education.

Which prompted this response from me:


I am pretty cynical about most politicians and subscribe to the belief expressed by that great political theorist Pete Townshend of The Who: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss/ I'll get on my knees and pray we don't get fooled again.

It is oh so easy for Obama to say teachers should get paid more.
Bloomberg said that too - as long as they put more time in and gave up chuncks of their contract.

And he thinks teachers shouldn't teach to the test?

Where did he ever take such a stand in Chicago his home base where that's what they do?
Chicago, where the BloomKlein style of reform began in 1995.

Has he played any role at all in diverting the attack on public education in Chicago?

The writer says to pay attention to who is supporting him. I say: "Follow the money."

George Schmidt, who clearly liked Obama as a man, squarley put him in the same camp as Daley/Bloomberg/Joel Klein camp. If you didn't get to his piece yet you can read it here.

Pray we don't get fooled again.

And if you admire Clinton, do not forget where Joel Klein came from. It is so easy to use rhetoric but always examine what politicians have done.

Trying to compare anyone to Bush makes them look good.

My wife works in the health field and she read Paul Krugman today and said she likes Clinton's universal health care plan better than Obama's and will vote for her on that basis.
I disagree. So what if Clinton says all the right things. I will bet a chunk of her money comes from the pharmecuticals and health care industry which will have to make a big buck out of any plan. Will Clinton/Obama be more loyal to the voters or to the people funding their campaigns? Any plan will be what the people who can profit from it says it will be. Follow the money.

But there are some differences if you believe the rhetoric. Take Cuba for instance, a place I got to visit legally in the late 70's when Jimmy Carter opened a brief window of liberalization.

John McAuliff, Executive Director. Fund for Reconciliation and Development writes:
Barack Obama has pledged unrestricted family travel and remittances, not just "easing" Bush restrictions of one visit every three years. He also has called for negotiations with Raul Castro without preconditions.
Hillary Clinton is Bush light on Cuba, seeming to take her cue from Sen. Bob Menendez and her Miami based Cuban American sister in law.Both candidates would do well to listen to the 2/3 of Americans who support normalization of relations and the right to travel to Cuba.

McAuliff's entire piece is here.


Two articles in the NY Times this past week on Bill Clinton and Obama were illuminating.

One delves into the actions of Obama when it came to a nuclear leak.

An excerpt:

"The history of the bill shows Mr. Obama navigating a home-state controversy that pitted two important constituencies against each other and tested his skills as a legislative infighter. On one side were neighbors of several nuclear plants upset that low-level radioactive leaks had gone unreported for years; on the other was Exelon, the country’s largest nuclear plant operator and one of Mr. Obama’s largest sources of campaign money. Since 2003, executives and employees of Exelon, which is based in Illinois, have contributed at least $227,000 to Mr. Obama’s campaigns.

The complete article is here.

The other one is about Bill Clinton and a uranium deal in Kazakhstan that led to praise for a dictator, a big deal for a Canadian who contrubuted millions to Clinton's foundation in exchange for lending his prestige to the arrangement. I think Borat may have been at the same meeeting.

The article is here:

While the Obama piece is not as bad as the Clinton article, rereading both of them side by side makes me want to take a shower. Despite all this, there's a good chance I'll vote for Obama because no matter what he said or Clinton said, as someone who was 15 when Kennedy was elected and turned my generation onto politics, there is something in what Elena said about activating and inspiring young people. It probably won't last, but I'll get on my knees and pray they won't get fooled again.

The UFT has NOT endorsed Clinton...

...but that doesn't stop the people using the UFT phone banks from telling people they have.

I told the caller it was a lie and that just becaue Randi Weingarten endorsed Clinton, the UFT still has rules and no body – the Exec. Bd or the Delegate Assembly – endorsed her. Only the AFT and NYSUT have endorsed.

The caller said she was reading from a script. "The script is telling you to lie to people," I said. She insisted there was an endorsement. I asked for specifics – a date of endorsement. She went to ask someone and came back and said it was in the last issue of the NY Teacher. WOW! That makes true, I guess. "I know it's hard to imagine, but they lie too," I said. She told me she would get the exact date of the endorsement and call me back. I'm keeping the line open.

A wow comment from a teacher on performance pay

At Eduwonkette, who says:

I had to excerpt this passionate comment on teacher performance pay. Rather than asking what its implications are for student achievement, this reader focused on what it means for teachers' personal and professional identities. This is an angle I'd never considered before - thank you, anonymous reader.

It starts out this way:
Look at places where teachers have been lured into these plans with money. The experiment always begins with apprehension, a sort of reluctance. The policy wonks explain that this fear is because the teachers have been brainwashed by the unions and don’t understand the science at work. Perhaps. It is also possible that experienced professionals know in their gut when something just feels wrong, even if they can’t explain why.

You can read the full comment here.

Will comments like these have an impact on the merit pay supporters in the UFT, the business world, or the ed commenter/policy wonk world? I doubt it. When you have an agenda, you have an agenda. Cogent arguments and logic be damned when you have all too ineffective teacher unions to kick around.

Leonie Haimson kicks this in:

You might take a look at this report on merit pay from Univ. of Ark.– the no. of teachers who felt duped even after initially approving the plan – and this of course is a very conservative bunch of researchers.

http://uark.edu/ua/der/Research/merit_pay/year_two.html.

Report w/ appendices here: http://uark.edu/ua/der/Research/merit_pay/year_two/Full_Report_with_Appendices.pdf

Excerpt:
A review of teacher statements revealed that 13 of the 22 teachers who commented on the climate of their school felt that the environment had become more negative as a result of merit pay. This was likely attributed to the fact that a large number of teachers did not receive a bonus (see Table 3), even though many of them stated that they were told that everyone in their school would receive something. …

“Teachers were handling things in their own classrooms. Everybody was happy to be here. And then...the merit pay fiasco. And it’s been hell here ever since.”

“I mean...it was ugly...it was just constant people mad. The people that didn't get anything were upset, and I don't blame them, especially since we were told that everybody was going to get something.”

However, seven teachers asserted that merit pay had a positive effect on the environment of the school, resulting in an increase in collaboration and staff morale.

How I Joined Teach for America — and Got Sued for $20 Million

Just came across this article at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/924317/posts

It pretty much lays out so many issues new teachers face, but this one is a nightmare.

Not only new teachers face this as my old friend and colleague, 22-year teacher Kathy Blythe, found out a year ago when she sat a 2nd grade girl who had already run out of the room twice (and was eventually moved to a special ed situation I am told) down in her seat and was arrested by 5 cops a few hours later. I posted the story here back in April. Kathy still sits in the Brooklyn rubber room awaiting her 3020A hearing to terminate her despite the fact that the arresting cop said the entire case was "bullshit."

Get a LIF

The UFT leadership will do everything it can to disparage the ICE campaign to reopen the 2005 contract provision that doesn't allow teachers to grieve letters in files (LIF) even though Randi Weingarten told people back in 2005 this would be possible if there was a spike in LIF's. But we all know that was part of the selling of the '05 contract. They will attack the ICE proposal by denying there has been any such increase (check the numbers of rubber room denizens who haev been written up and removed.)

How will the leadership manipulate people at the Delegate Assembly this Wed. Feb. 6 to keep a full discussion of the ICE resolution from taking place? Make sure to avoid calling on an ICE person to speak during the New Motion period? Shift the agenda so the New Motion period is pushed to the end of the meeting? Or just ignore the NMP altogether, as Weingarten has done so often (her legacy will be taking an already undemocratically-run union and making it even more undemocratic.)

You might be asking why the LIF issue is important? The atmosphere in so so poisonous in so many schools run by dictatorial/abusive principals who, with their new "empowerment" - which is limited to power over the teachers and parents in their schools - have all too often gone hog wild.

Here is a story I heard at yesterday's Super Bowl (Yea Giants, even though I am a Jets fan) party:

A principal is throwing a dinner to honor herself. Besides the high cost, the teacher who I spoke to at the party dislikes this principal intensly - a short, trumped up rubber room visit didn't help - and doesn't want to go. Many of her colleagues are, only half-jokingly, telling her to expect an observation and a letter in her file the morning after the party.

This is the mental state of so many teachers. And for the usual teacher bashers out there, NO, we are not talking about lousy teachers who are afraid. I am hearing this from some of the finest teachers I have known. I have so many of these stories, I could devote an entire blog to them.

When the UFT gave up the right to grieve LIF in the 2005 contract, it was more of a blow to teacher morale as much as a loss of a right that many people never used in the first place. But at least those who wanted to felt they could at least get their day in "court" (a court stacked against them) and force the principal to explain themselves to a higher up. ("The teacher didn't come to my party, so I wrote her up.")

In my 4th year of teaching (1970) I transferred to a new school. I was just becoming active politically and the word was out from the higher ups to "get" me. I was lucky in that the tyrant principal was on terminal leave and the AP who was acting in his place was a milquetoast type. But he gave it a shot and wrote up a U-observation for me.

I may have been stupid, as I was not yet tenured, but I couldn't let this pass. Now, I wasn't necessarily the greatest teacher, but I had just come off a very successful year and a half of teaching and thought I was a hotshot. I hand-wrote a 7 page response and not only attached it to the observation, but posted it over the time clock. Crazy! But it worked and I was never bothered again.

Now I hear that the UFT is telling people not to even bother writing up a response, as what they say could be used against them. I still think in the right situation a teacher should consider doing what I did and go public. If you're a target, maybe going public will serve notice you are not going down without a fight and a principal might move on to a different target. Imagine if everyone banded together and supported each other?

Here is a version of the Leaflet ICE will distribute at the Delegate Assembly, February 6, 2008.

It repeats our points numerous times, but we feel we have to do that to get our points across. Urge your chapter leader and delegate (if they're not Unity Caucus) to support this resolution on Wed. Email me if you want a pdf to share with your colleagues.

After the meeting, the usual suspects are gathering at a local watering hole to celebrate - getting through another DA without snoring. I'll be there handing it out. Stop by and get the secret password for entry.

Independent Community of Educators – ICE

Phase One of ICE’s Plan to Fight Back Against the Givebacks:

Win Back the Right to Grieve Negative Evaluations & File Letters

Since December, ICE has been trying to raise a motion at the Delegate Assembly calling upon the UFT to reopen the Contractual provision so we can win back the right to grieve material in our files. Unfortunately, in December we didn’t get called on and in January there was no new motion period.*

*In the past 10 years, the New Motion time, the only opportunity for non-leadership positions to be presented, has been moved around the agenda or ignored altogether. Throughout the history of the Delegate Assembly under Al Shanker and Sandy Feldman, the New Motion time was always the 3rd item on the agenda after the President’s report and the Question period. Let’s preserve that long-standing UFT tradition. Roberts’ Rules of Order calls for members to have an opportunity to bring new motions before a body. Support our efforts to uphold Roberts’ Rules.

We urge every delegate to support our call to win back the right to grieve material in our files and to have the right to challenge supervisory judgment. We intend to bring this up at today’s new motion period. It would need a majority vote of delegates to be placed on the UFT DA agenda in March.

City Labor Relations Commissioner James Hanley wrote to the union stating that the city agreed to negotiate on the issue (reopening the letters in the file provision) “if there is a disproportionate increase in the number of letters to the file.”
– NY Teacher, October 20, 2005

If you hear the argument that it is dangerous to reopen the contract, let’s make it clear: ICE is asking for this one provision to be reopened as per labor commissioner Hanley’s written agreement with Weingarten, not the entire Contract.

Randi visited our school before the ‘05 contract and stated that she spoke with the mayor about a possible spike in LIFs, and he told her that they would renegotiate that provision.
– Comment on the ICEUFT Blog

Letters in the File Grievances: Resolution to Reopen the Contractual Provision

WHEREAS, in selling the 2005 Contract to the members, UFT President Randi Weingarten answered objections to the removal of the right to grieve letters in the file by claiming the Contractual provision eliminating grievances for unfair and inaccurate letters could be reopened if there is a spike in letters to the file; and

WHEREAS, The Chief Leader reported recently that there was a 36% increase in teachers receiving unsatisfactory ratings in 2006-07 (the first full year under the 2005 Contract), a 39% increase in tenured teachers receiving U ratings, a fourfold increase in the number of teachers forced to extend their probation and a doubling of teachers denied tenure; and

WHEREAS, the UFT reported that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of teachers resigning compared to just a few years earlier; and

WHEREAS, it is reasonable to conclude that the spike in unsatisfactory ratings and resignations would not have been possible without a huge increase in negative letters to the file; be it therefore

RESOLVED, that the UFT reopen the Contract provision on letters in the file as per James Hanley’s 2005 agreement with Randi so this provision can be modified to allow members to grieve negative material in a timely manner and include the right to contest supervisory judgment to an impartial party, in addition to demanding that any material removed from a file can never be used in any proceeding of any kind against any UFT member.


Why Support Our Resolution?

The NY Teacher stated the following in the October 20, 2005 issue: “City Labor Relations Commissioner James Hanley wrote to the union that the city agreed to negotiate on the issue (reopening the letters in the file provision) ‘if there is a disproportionate increase in the number of letters to the file.’”

The evidence on increased discipline of teachers is in and for the first year under the 2005 Contract it is not a pretty picture:

1,333 Unsatisfactory ratings in 2006-07 compared with 981 in 2005-06. U rating increase of 36%;
(Source: Chief Leader)

918 tenured teachers rated U last year up from 662 the year before. U rating increase of 39%;
(Source: The Chief-Leader)

The number of teachers denied tenure more than doubled last year compared to the year before. (Source: The Chief-Leader)

The number of teachers forced to extend their probation increased almost fourfold in 2006-07 compared to 2005-06. (Source: The Chief-Leader)

The UFT’s own figures show that 4,606 teachers resigned last year, up from 2,544 who resigned just a few years earlier; it is sensible to conclude that many of those 4,606 were forced to resign.

Chancellor Klein in 2007 created a “gotcha squad” of lawyers and retired administrators to help build cases against tenured teachers.

There had to be a disproportionate spike in negative file letters to support all that increased discipline. We have to fight back now. The November 26, 2007 candlelight vigil was a good start but it was not enough. Let’s demand a letter in the file grievance process that is better than what we had before so we can challenge supervisory judgment. This Delegate Assembly should take a giant leap toward winning back our rights by putting this resolution on the DA agenda for March. Tell Hanley and Klein we mean business. Klein’s “gotcha squad” makes it “open season” to hunt teachers; we say close the hunt down now!

We are fully aware that if a letter stays in the file for three years, it can be removed if disciplinary charges haven’t been filed. However, the DOE keeps a copy and can still try to use it against you. Three years is too long to wait. Material that is over three years old is not normally admissible in 3020A cases against tenured teachers, but the DOE doesn’t have to wait three years to go after us. Finally, non-tenured teachers can easily be terminated at any point in their first three years of service and having a grievance procedure for unfair letters is their only hope for fighting back against abusive administrators.

If you hear the argument that it is dangerous to reopen the contract, let’s make it clear: ICE is asking for this one provision to be reopened as per labor commissioner Hanley’s written agreement with Weingarten, not the entire Contract.

School Chapters Signal Support

I informed my school and chapter leader at a meeting we held last Friday. I asked for a vote of support and everyone raised their hands (thank g-d).

I’m going to make copies of the resolution and hand it out at our chapter meeting on Friday.
–Comments on the ICEUFT Blog

Bloomberg Presidentital Bid Stillborn?

The rise of McCain seems to have nailed the nascent Mayor Bloomberg independent presidential campaign to the wall according to Saturday's NY Times. Darn it! We were so looking forward to having the entire nation get the full details of his disastrous attempts to remake the NYS school system into model of a corporation while alienating teaches, parents, principals and just about anyone who has any knowledge of education.

But this news is not necessarily a good thing for us. Without the distraction, Bloomberg can now focus his attention on finding a replacement for Mayor in his own image – a wealthy business/corporate type who will not reverse the BloomKlein damage.

Who Ever Thought Stressed Out Teachers...

.... is a good thing for kids?

In the corporate world stress may be looked at as a beneficial (I don't agree). But stressed workers doesn't have an emotional impact on widgets. But our widgets walk and talk - and are little or even if big, still not fully mature. Think they're not affected by the national mania for turning schools into mini-corporations?

Middle school blogger Have A Gneiss Day writes:

Administration is barely holding it together. Most of the staff is living on the edge (except for the ones that are either too new or too arrogant to care). What bothers me most is our stress is slowly but surely finding its way to the kiddies.

And NYC Pubic School Blue wrote:

chronic teacher fatigue?

CTF? I doubt the AMA recognizes such a condition, but if they did - I suspect I'm suffering from it.

Perhaps it's just the ELA prep that's getting to me. The simulation exams, the "incorporation" of testing skills in all subjects, the "pumping them up for the exam" hype ... it's all a bit much. The kids are trying their best; that I have to admit. But even they begin to become tired and need an outlet. Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly at the time of my class. So today's chatty class got the consequence for not completing their work. A 30 minute lunch detention. 30 minutes of agony for me. But once you say you're going to do issue a consequence, you have to follow through. Even if that means a loss of one's own lunch.

I'm slipping further and further behind in the curriculum due to this damn test. I can't wait for it to be over.

Here's an idea for all the gaggle of Whitney Tilson-like ed reformers. Let's do stress tests on kids and rate schools A-F based on the lowest (or highest in BloomKleindom) scores.

The UFT Says " Support Hillary Clinton this Weekend!"

I want to invite you to please join our UFT team and Hillary Clinton supporters at the following locations this Saturday, February 2:

Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah!

I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Marvin Reiskin
Director of Legislation/Political Action

Q: from someone receiving a call from the UFT phone bank:
Why are you calling for Hillary when the Clintons made those attacks against Obama?

A: You're right. I'm doing it because I have to.

Translation: I'm in Unity caucus and I have to follow the party line.

How do they get away with using UFT resources, mailing lists, the building, phone banks, personnel (think Randi does her Hillary work on her own time) etc. when they have not given the members any opportunity at all to discuss who they want to support? Not at the Delegate Assembly. Not even at the rubber stamp Executive Board where the New Action rubber stamps (most of whom probably support Obama) would just sit there and go along.

The leadership says that the AFT and NYSUT have endorsed Hillary. The UFT doesn't have to.

Do you think there aren't a number of UFT members who support Obama, particularly African-Americans? And what of the Black members of Unity Caucus who just might have a bit of pride in Obama's achievements and would love to share their thoughts? Not allowed.

Will the Clinton endorsement without allowing for open discussion one day come back to haunt Unity Caucus? More importantly, will Obama supporters among the membership call for a recount?

Room With a View: The Queens Rubber Room

I had an out of body experience yesterday when I was invited over to the Queens Rubber Room by the gang who went to federal court last Monday with a lawsuit. They are calling themselves "Teachers 4 Action."

Going in. Video posted below.

I got off the Van Wyck at Linden Place and looked for the ugliest building I could find – where was the sign proclaiming I had reached Shit's Creek? Part of the DOE punishment manual - put 'em in places with bad architecture. Also, not exactly near good public transportation. I parked – illegally – behind the building but no one seemed to be watching.

I was greeted by the T4A organizing committee (I'm not mentioning their names here until they give me the ok, but they know who they are). I will mention Florian Lewenstein who has been out front with his lawsuit. You can read more about Florian and the suit in a story written by Meredith Kolodner in The Chief, posted at Norm's Notes.

What are they shredding over there?


Their lawyer, Ed Fagan, led the charge into the building and I followed his blocking, dodging and ducking like any good running back in the Super Bowl. We got up to the 4th floor where the detainees hang out. I will say, they do have a room with a view – of highways.

It was clearly not a normal day at the office for the confinees. I started taking pictures, which always make people nervous. But I was careful to focus on Ed and the background. Ed talked to people briefly to tell them about the lawsuit and to announce a lunchtime meeting at a nearby church.

There followed lots of milling about as the powers that be began to get organized and an order finally came down from the lady in charge, who was not on sight, that we had to leave. Teachers organized themselves into cars to go to the church.

Ed scans the sheet listing where people are "supposed" to be.

About 50 people, some from Rubber Rooms in other boroughs, showed up. After an introduction by Florian, Ed Fagan explained what this was all about. (RR activist and lawyer Joy Hochstadt was also on board.)

Using the metaphor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he reprised the words of the past: "They have awakened a sleeping giant with a terrible resolve. We will fight to win with righteous anger. If we lose, we will still win by shining a light and raising awareness. We are facing a Goliath but we have a mighty slingshot."

That pumped up the crowd, which having faced so much demoralization, certainly could use a pep rally. Fagan went on to the details.

He didn't shy away from the issue of there are people who may have done things that are serious. But he focused on the issue of no matter what they did, they still have a right in this society to their due process rights. The DOE MUST play by the rules. Is the way they were removed from their schools without charges or any information such a violation? Is the very existence of the rubber room, with its humiliating rules and procedures, such a violation?

Ed and Florian at the church.

The two judges involved seem pretty decent. The Federal judge is Victor Marrero, who struck down provisions of the Patriot Act – twice. A good sign for due process. There is also a Discovery Judge. (Legalese like "discovery" gives me the heebies. All I know about "discovery" is Columbus "discoveried" America - maybe.)

The Judge (one of them) asked for the case to be tightened up and they have to return to court next week.

Fagan asked people to conquer their fears and stand up for their rights. "Until you do, you will lose." The judge has assured if there is any retaliation, it is against the law.

As to exactly which people and agencies to sue, that is still being determined. The UFT is still a candidate to be sued.

The audience at the church.

Teachers4Action can be reached at: teachers4action@gmail.com
Thanks to DB for video processing and editing.

Scoring ELA's for Dollars

From the ICE Mailbag:

I am scoring the ELA tests every day after school and Sat. and Sundays as well for two more weeks. I've already done it for nine days. There must be hundreds of teachers involved in this important task of making sure that as many kids as possible score as many 4's and 3's as possible irregardless of the quality of their work. Lots of money is being spent on this activity which is probably why the DOE is cutting 100 million from the school budgets.

Email from Time Out From Testing:

Last night the DOE slashed $100 million from school budgets. No discussions, no input from those working in schools. This morning principals woke up to find how much had been removed from their school budgets for THIS SEMESTER. Without any prior discussion; what an outrage!

Time Out From Testing would like to propose that each one of us write Chancellor Joel Klein, with copies to City Council Member Robert Jackson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and Jennifer Medina at the NY Times arguing that if there must be a $100 million cut, it should not be taken from instruction, but from the interim assessment contract (Acuity costing $80 Million and ARIS ($80 million), the system now in place to track every students' personal information. Those two contracts cost the DOE $160 million. That would leave $60 million for the schools to invest in teaching and learning.

In addition, we should DEMAND a listing of all those who work at TWEED along with their salaries.

Teachers rally at unsafe public school
BY JESS WISLOSKI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Teachers and parents picketed a Far Rockaway school Wednesday to protest what they said were increasing outbursts of violence in the school.

On Mayoral Control and School Governance

The more I think about mayoral control the more I think of some kind of decentralized system. The issue will always be keeping the politicians out of it. One intriguing idea is to use the Klein idea (bogus of course) of truly empowering the school as the basic unit. Empower SLT's to choose a principal. Each school has one rep (or base it on a ratio of number of students) to create a district. And each district sends a rep to a central level. The central operation would provide services and monitoring to the schools. They could also choose a chancellor to oversee things but that would be fairly powerless. However since money is always at the central level there would be allocation powers.

Now there are elements of what Klein says he tried to do in here but with this plan the power doesn't reside on top but at the place where it is needed.

ICE is going to address this issue at Friday's meeting. I don't see how we will come to a conclusion at that point but the discussion will clarify things. Anyone interested, come on down. 4:30 at Murray Bergtraum HS.

And be sure to check out Meredith Kolodner's excellent piece in this week's Chief on the UFT Governance meeting last week featuring excellent points made by our buddies Josh Heisler (left) and Michael Fiorillo. Josh teaches at Vanguard HS in the Julia Richman Complex and has been part of the Teachers Unite Forum Planning Committee. Michael, one of ICE's founders, is CL at Newcomers HS in Queens. The article is posted at Norm's Notes.

Rumor on 55/25

Just in from a chapter leader:

Have you heard rumors that the 55/ 25 pension is being held up because those that be in charge want to raise the amount of money we would have to pay to opt in??

If you've heard anything, let us know.

When Weingarten announced the merit pay plan she said it was teamed with 55/25. Merit pay has been voted upon and is being put into effect while 55/25 pension plan is delayed. She spun this as a good thing at the last Del. Ass. – see, the longer the delay, the less you have to pay. But she promised there would not be one without the other. I'm just shocked she might have been a shade less than straightforward on this. Just shocked!

THIS JUST IN: Pension plan changed from 55/25 to 95/75. UFT argues this is a good thing as the DOE will allow those who die on the job to be buried on school grounds free of charge.

UPDATE: Sunday Feb. 3 from a CL:
At Middle school chapter leaders meeting last week, vp said that 55/25 is expected to be signed at the end of February or the beginning of March.

Mayoral Control and the UFT

Over at NYC Educator, Schoolgal asks:
Will you be attending any of the UFT's meetings on the subject of mayoral control? I want to go, but after the last 2 contracts I always feel decisions are already made ahead of time and Randi will either support it or some version that still gives the mayor some power.


I think you may be right though there is some value in your going and reporting back to the gang here on what happened.

UFT events like this are basically venting mechanisms.

I missed the one at MLK HS in Manhattan last week which I wanted to attend. They are basically dog and pony shows like the high stakes testing committee was and that the UFT has a commitment to a system based on some form of mayoral control which they will not be moved off no matter what people say. Expect some tweaking of mayoral control. Remember, the UFT will support Bill Thompson for mayor and sell it as a way to have mayoral control with your own mayor.

When you say to Randi you are opposed to mayoral control she often will come back with : We don't want to go back to what we had.

I'm not so sure anymore.

The trick to is to come up with an alternative which we are beginning to struggle with in ICE. ICOPE is doing a bunch of stuff too. And we are going to do forums on this issue with Teachers Unite probably in the fall and we hope to attract teachers and parents. But I'm concerned that might be to late.

Lucy Woodward Performs Friday

One of the fun things about this teacher activism business is meeting people with interesting backgrounds and families. One of the original founders of ICE, a former opera singer, happens to have a daughter who also went into music. Not exactly opera, though.

I've seen Lucy Woodward perform a few times and she is worth a visit. Her new album includes songs she co-wrote with Itaal Shur (who won a Grammy in 1999 for co-writing the song "Smooth", recorded by Santana).

Friday can be an afternoon of ICE (meeting at 4:30) and Lucy at 7:30.
Mom sent these pictures along.

Samples of the music can be heard on www.lucywoodward.com and on YouTube (e.g., Use What I Got) Geographical Cure and Slow Recovery

Tickets at: highlineBallroom

Concert starts @ 7:30PM
Doors open @ 7 PM
Tickets $18.00 in advance
$25.00 at door.

Buy Tickets Online

Robotics in the Bronx in NY Times Today

A great story on robotics by Sam Freedman in today's NY Times metro section.

And almost every one of the coaches of the 142 teams in NYC that have participated this year have stories to tell about the kids that were changed by this experience.


Photo by Gary Israel at Saturday's robotics tournament at Riverbank State Park.

The Bronx robotics story is worth expanding upon beyond the Ridder kids.

I was working with people doing a video for FIRST in Atlanta last April at the Word Festival (among teams from almost every state, int'l teams included Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel and teams from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong - FIRST might solve world problems) and we interviewed the Principal, Claralee Irobunda who said she would have robotics throughout the school and curriculum if it was possible. Think the DOE "test 'em every minute of the day" program interferes?

Laura Rodriguez has been a major supporter of this program from the time she was a District and then a regional Supt and now as the head of a Learning Support Network. She hired Gary Israel.

Gary has put together a massive operation in the Bronx along with 5th year teacher Evan Weinberg (a Tufts engineering grad who became a teaching fellow and teaches at Lehman HS), a bunch of engineering students from Columbia organized by the amazing Wayne Penn who is now in a Phd program in Boston in medical engineering and also working for FIRST founder Dean Kamen on the artificial arm project. Wayne comes down to NYC constantly to help out and was at our tournament at Riverbank State Park this past Saturday.

They provide the kind of support for the schools with training for teachers and kids that exists in very few places (other than in Region 4 when it existed) and it has survived all the reorganizations.

A whole bunch of us are going to Tokyo at the end of April with the Ridder Kids and possibly another NYC team for the Asian Open FIRST LEGO League tournament.

To their credit, the NYCDOE press office played a very supportive role in working with the Times on this story. Thanks to David Cantor and Maibe González Fuentes for their work on this - now you skeptics who say it was an obviously feel-good story, stop rolling your eyes. I've been doing this stuff for 6 years and this is first time they've showed an interest.

You can track NYC robotics doings at my other blog:
http://normsrobotics.blogspot.com/

8TH GRADE EXAMS....

....FROM 1895

What would be the grad rate today?
Were they worried about the upcoming Y1.9K problem?

UPDATE: Wed 7am
This came late last night and I didn't see it in context. John Lawhead scoped this out for ICE-mail as a hoax. View it as part of the attack on today's education system in an attempt to brand today's teachers and students as failures. What % of the entire US population in 1895 do you think could have passed this?

Go to: http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

Anonymous from email

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original docu ment on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , KS , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS, 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the pa rts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie", "play", and "run."
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 65 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of w heat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per meter?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent. < /STRONG>
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States .
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) (Do we even know what this is???)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and syllabication.
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, sub vocal, diphthong, cognate letters, and lingual.
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi-, dis-, mis-, pre-, semi-, post-, non-, inter-, mono-, and sup-.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North A merica
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of: Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10 . Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Could they have filled in a bubble answer sheet?

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it? This also shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! We don't have the answers.

Ed Note: Our commentator takes the opportunity to slam current ed. But could those 8th graders text message?

Principals Demonstrating Principles

Elizabeth Green's piece in the NY Sun today on the anger being expressed by principals over being kept in the dark over budget cuts hits cuts to the core. Remember the mantra of the multiple reorganizations of BloomKlein was the empowerment of principals – empowerment means the ability to screw teachers and shunt them and parents out of the ed process. Green nails the World of Tweedledom in these 3 sentences.

The department's deputy chancellor for finance and administration, Kathleen Grimm, said last week that her staff began brainstorming cuts about two months ago, in November.

No principals have yet been informed of the cuts.

A Department of Education spokesman, David Cantor, said they would be informed in the next few days.

Hmmm! Let's see. November, December, January, almost February. Bet if not for Green's article they wouldn't hear in May.

Featured in Green's article is Brian (Leavy) De Vale, principal of PS 257 who is one of the first principals to lay out the BloomKlein regime with a roundhouse right and couple of left hooks – a sure sign that lame duck status is descending on the BloomKlein era.

A few more choice quotes from the Green piece:

[De Vale] listed several multimillion-dollar expenses the Department of Education might cut from its central office budget instead, including ramped-up testing; a new data warehousing program called ARIS, and a process of reviewing schools through an outside contractor based in Britain. The ARIS system is costing the Department of Education $12.2 million this year, and the review process is costing $5.9 million, Mr. Cantor said. The new interim tests were to cost $80 million over five years.

To save money, Mr. Bloomberg's budget calls for scaling back the tests to four a semester from five. Mr. Klein hails all three programs as innovations that put New York City schools ahead of the country in terms of their ability to individualize teaching.

In an interview yesterday, Mr. De Vale, whose school received an A grade on its progress report, said the emphasis on data did not match his priorities. "We don't spend our day looking at flow- charts," he said. "My priority is keeping kids off the street."

The criticisms come a week after Mr. Klein released a survey showing wide approval among principals for the programs Mr. De Vale disparaged.

The survey was given anonymously, and about 70% of principals responded.

Mr. De Vale said the results were distorted because many principals were not under the impression that their answers were actually anonymous.

"This is a climate of fear," he said. "Principals don't speak the truth."

I knew Brian [as Leavy] when he worked for the District 14 office and he became principal just as they folded the districts. Brian was part of the old machine in the district and is proof that not all was bad in the old regime. I have lots of friends who work at PS 257 and there are only raves for Brian as a principal. I won't go into the reasons that he is such a good leader because having teachers, parents and children love you doesn't fit the Tweed model corporate type.

Kudos to Green for following up on the Klein press conference we both attended last week where Klein Kvelled about how wonderful principals thought he was doing. The rest of the press corps I'm sure sat there thinking Klein must be Bubble Boy if he thinks those surveys were really honest since principals have such mistrust in Tweed, sure their responses are being tracked, yet did not try to follow up on the possibility these surveys were a sham. The cracks are beginning to show, thanks to Green's work.

Make sure to check out NYC educator's take on this issue today.

Randi's Rubber Room Letter to Elected Officials

See Jan. 28 post on Rubber Room for full background.
I know these are hard to read. Email me if you want a pdf (which I will post later on Google docs.)

Victory at PS 84K: Tweed Backs Down

THANK YOU!

Please share with all of the people with whom you shared the earlier email to thank them. The support of the people on your e-mailing list was overwhelming, and the DOE officials acknowledged that “their phone was ringing of the hook all day.” They called it off. I had forgotten how many good friends I had. And, thanks for those, like Luis Reyes, who immediately defended the integrity of the movement when someone questioned it – as well as Mickey, Luis Garden, Angelo Falcon and Lillian.

-Jaime Estades

We just had a meeting with James Quail, Superintendent of District 14, John White, Chief Operating Officer of the DOE’s Office of New Schools and Portfolio Development, and Olivia Ellis, Director of School Support for DOE’s Office of Parent Engagement. John White began the meeting by stating that “there is not going to be a new school sited within P.S. 84 next year.” He went on to state that this decision does not mean that the Department of Education is giving up its belief that parents need to have more educational options within District 14, but that it is clear that there is not community support for placing the proposed elementary school within the existing PS84 elementary school’s building.

When White stated that he understood that PS 84 wanted “to protect the space within the school,” he was told by the parents that “we are not trying to protect the space, we are trying to protect our children.” He promised that there will be no new school sited within PS84 within 2008-09, but he would not promise that there would not be a separate program or school in 2009-10. We consider this a temporary victory. Olivia Ellis stated that because PS 84 is such a unique situation, with issues such as gentrification, such a proposal cannot be viable at this point, while alluding to Superintendent Quail’s agreement with the “gentrifiers”.

After being promised that there will be no school within PS 84, the PTA decided to declare a victory in halting any plans of a new school as planned by the “gentrifiers” and the Klein administration for the academic year 2008-09, taking into consideration that there will be a new mayoral administration which hopefully will be more sensitive to the educational needs of minority students not only in Williamsburg, but in New York City as a whole. The PTA emphatically requested that Superintendent Quail and Mr. White come to the school or provide a written apology to all of the parents of PS 84, particularly the 350 parents who met with Quail on January 24 when he described to them the plan for a new elementary school within PS 84. White and Quail refused to apologize.

The parents communicated to Olivia Ellis that an apology must come from the Department of Education to all the parents of PS 84, particularly to the more than 350 concerned parents who attended the meeting last Thursday and heard Quail describe a the plan to displace the children of PS 84.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We received phone calls from CNN, Daily News, ABC, Post and others that I could not get because my battery wore out while I was in Albany today. There were many groups and organizations which knew about the issue and wanted to join us for the Press Conference on Wednesday. We are calling off the press conference based on tonight's agreement, and instead will have a celebration and full report to the parents next week.

Thanks again,

Jaime Estades

See ednotes' previous posting on PS 84 here.

Fed Judge Calls Emergency Hearing on Rubber Room Suit

Updated Monday, Jan. 28, 9 AM

• When? Monday.
• RR group, Teachers4Action, growing by leaps and bounds.
• Randi and UFT not supporting teachers. Writes letter to elected officials disavowing suit.
• Randi is sent "cease and desist" letter by lawyer who accuses her of attempting to undermine RR teachers.
• Details to follow as they come in. I'll put a direct link to this posting on the upper right corner of the blog, so check back.

That the UFT will oppose any independent action on the part of teachers is a given. Unless they can coopt it like they did the rally at the PEP in November. Remember the mantra: The "job" of the UFT leadership is to control the members and dampen any militancy that might arise in the rank and file.

I believe both the DOE and the UFT are working together to eliminate the rubber room, not for good reasons, but to find a way to keep people away from each other so such militancy won't occur again. The key was the favorable mainstream press some of the outrageous cases were getting, which embarrasses both Tweed and the UFT.

Who knows? Maybe there is enough anger to cause a lot more people than have come in the past to stand outside the Delegate Assembly on Feb. 6 and tell people what is going on.

Tonight, another group, TAGNYC, will be at the PEP at Tweed to give Klein a lecture.

Check out Chaz's School Daze for his Jan. 21 report.

UPDATE: I only have pdf's and jpegs of Randi's Jan. 16 letter to elected officials. I am working to get them clear enough to read and will post them below Fagan's letter later today. Fagan nails a bunch of stuff in this excerpt:

teachers were forced to take action because, in part of the UFT’s failings to do its job to protect teachers. Unfortunately, you did not see fit to provide a copy of your response to my clients and instead circulated your proposals in a typical political maneuver.

Via Fax # 23 January 2008
Randi Weingarten, President
United Federation of Teachers
52 Broadway
New York, NY 10004

Re: Teachers4Action et al v. Bloomberg et al 08-cv-0548 (VM)

Dear Ms. Weingarten,

I represent Teachers4Action in the above referenced matter. We have just received a copy of the letter you circulated to elected officials on Jan.16, 2008 in response to my clients’ Jan. 15, 2008 letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein.

My clients’ Jan. 15th letter was faxed to you to inform you of our/their demands and actions. My client’s letter was sent so that you would realize the seriousness of the problems that exist, the immediate, irreparable and ongoing damages that the teachers are suffering and the fact that the teachers were forced to take action because, in part of the UFT’s failings to do its job to protect teachers. Unfortunately, you did not see fit to provide a copy of your response to my clients and instead circulated your proposals in a typical political maneuver. Your Jan. 16th letter illustrates (i) the failures of the UFT to address these problems and (ii) the UFT’s knowledge and failure to take action related to the ongoing damages which Teachers4Action members suffer because of the "Rubber Room“ practices. Your Jan. 16th letter also underscores the need for the above referenced complaint filed by Teachers4Action.

My clients and I consider your Jan. 16th letter as an attempt to undermine their efforts to protect their rights. Your Jan. 16th letter gives the impression that you have labored long and hard to find a solution for my clients and the other teachers and DOE staff who have been, or continue to be, caught up in the mayor’s and the DOE’s scheme to reduce salaries by getting rid of senior teachers. However, the truth is that my clients and Teachers4Action members were forced to take action because you and the UFT failed them and violated your obligations to them.

My clients demand that you and the UFT advise us immediately that you will (i) cooperate with and support Teachers4Action members individual rights to protect themselves and prosecute these claims; (ii) stop interfering with/undermining legitimate efforts of teachers who are UFT members to protect their own rights and interests; (iii) stop misrepresenting what actions the UFT has and has not taken related to teachers in “Rubber Rooms”; (iv) cease and desist interfering in Teachers4Action’s efforts to protect themselves and their members; and (v) immediately produce any and all UFT correspondence, letters, emails, faxes, computer stored records and other documents related to “Rubber Rooms” dating back to 1999.

We look forward to receipt of your direct, full and prompt response to this letter.

Sincerely,


Edward D. Fagan

PTA of PS 84K Protest on Wed at noon- I spent 5 years at this school and this is beyond outrage

P.T.A. of P.S. 84, The José de Diego School
A Magnet School for the Visual Arts
250 Berry Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR JANUARY 30 at 12 PM:

Contact: Jaime Estades 347.446.5786

CHANCELLOR KLEIN JOINS GENTRIFICATION PROCESS
IN WILLIAMSBURG IN A SECRET ‘SEPARATE BUT EQUAL’ POLICY

At the January 24, 2008 meeting of the PTA of P.S. 84, more than 350 incredulous parents and teachers heard District 14 Superintendent Quail confirm that the Department of Education plans to place a separate elementary school within the building of P.S. 84, an existing elementary school serving minority children within the same grades as the proposed school. Quail stated that the new school is in response to the demands of a group of overwhelmingly white parents who have recently moved into the Williamsburg community and who have demanded their own school to provide them with additional “options and choices” -- by eliminating the “options and choices” of the predominantly Latino and African American children of P.S. 84.

This is a clearly discriminatory decision with no policy or social justification, and in which P.S. 84’s school administration and families were not consulted or notified. P.S. 84 children will be over-crowded in fewer classrooms, teachers will lose their jobs, the school will lose many enriching educational programs, students will have less access to its computer lab and other resources and the children will suffer the effects of negative stigma as a result of this segregation which will send our City back 120 years! P.S. 84 welcomes the integration of newcomers’ children into our school, without the creation of a separate school. This plan endangers our children’s education, safety and self esteem!

WHO: PTA and Community of P.S. 84

WHAT: Press Conference to Protect the Children of P.S. 84

WHEN: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 (12:00 P.M.)

WHERE: 250 Berry Street (corner of South 1st Street) Brooklyn

I watched the neighborhood gentrify but PS 84 is still mostly an Hispanic school with some special ed classes. Over time we expected that some new parents would start sending their kids to the school but this sounds like pure segregation.

Reminds me of the time a Hasidim group of kids were put into PS 16 (not that far away on Bedford) about 30 years ago and the Superintendent ordered a wall to be built to keep the 2 populations from coming into contact with each other. It led to a boycott of some kind by the Hispanic community and the wall was taken down.

I will try to be at PS 84 on Wed. maybe with a video camera. If anyone wants to come, take the L to Bedford Ave. Walk north a few blocks to Grand St. trying to avoid becoming overly hip as this is the epicenter of hipsterdom in The Burg. Go left for one block to Grand and Berry. School is on the corner. Walk one block on Berry to South 1st.

WOW!

That's all I can say about Saturday's FIRST LEGO League tournament at Riverbank State park in Manhattan. About a 1000 teachers, administrators, kids and parents as active participants and high school and college students joined by people from the business/corporate world as volunteers and contributers, plus around another 1000 there to support them and cheer them on. We were on the edge of capacity and victims of our own success. We are already talking about next year.

This blog can get pretty negative about what's going on in the NYC school system but working on these projects and being with so many people active in a positive way is a great counterweight. We even had cooperation in getting the word out from the DOE publicity department. Due to their efforts, look for a profile of a team in the NY Times this week.

Everybody is in a good frame of mind at FLL events and here I schmooze with the principal of Bronx Latin HS, which won 4th place overall.

Hōs successus alit; possunt, quia posse videntur.
('Success nourishes them; they can because they think they can.')

Photo by Gary Israel

Schmidt on Obama and Education

Hello Everyone,

Given Barack Obama's stated enthusiasm for merit pay, I thought there might be things we needed to know about his relationship to renaissance 2010 in Chicago. Therefore, I e-mailed George Schmidt, since he would be in a position to know. Below is his response.

Best,
Michael Fiorillo

Subject: Re: Obama/Renaissance2010

1/26/08

Here are the facts:

1. The election of Barack Obama to the U.S. Senate was a blow against white supremacy and all of us should cheer. The election of Barack Obama to the U.S. Presidency would be the same, on the world scale. I don't think we can overestimate its importance. The man is qualified – or more qualified - than about half the politicians who have been elected to that office during the past 140 years, and certainly better by far than any of the last four Republicans. (My family always told me to consider Dwight Eisenhower in a different way, since both my parents served in World War II).

Having struggled against white supremacy, racism, and racial segregation all my adult life, I'm in wonderment about how this is developing.

However:

2. There has been no difference between Barack Obama and Mayor Richard M. Daley on any of the corporate "school reform" plans foisted on Chicago since Daley pioneered the "mayor control" dictatorial model of school governance (thanks to a vote of a Republican dominated Illinois General Assembly, a la the Gingrich Congress) in 1995.

3. Despite the fact that many community leaders and even some public
officials have challenged Mayor Daley on "Renaissance 2010" -- especially the wholesale relocation of children as schools were closed and often flipped for charter school use, Barack Obama was not public with any criticism of "Renaissance 2010." In fact, his positions are indistinguishable from Mayor Daley's or those of his Hyde Park neighbors and the people pushing privatization, charterization, and corporate "school reform" out of the University of Chicago and elsewhere in corporate Chicago. Rumor locally has been that Barack Obama has included Arne Duncan [the Joel Klein of Chicago] and others of that ilk in his informal educational brain trust.

Needless to say, he has no interest in hearing from critics of "Renaissance 2010" or from those of us who maintain that No Child Left Behind has to be abolished.

4. Barack Obama has close ties with a large number of corporate types who are happy with the Daley dictatorship. Most important of these is John Rodgers of Ariel Capital Management, which has placed Arne Duncan and one member of our seven member Board of Education at the "top" of the school system, despite the fact that Duncan had absolutely no experience, training, knowledge or credentials to head up a public school system. Obama's allies, in fact, were partly responsible for Duncan's quick rise to the top of the executive heap.

Ideologically, he seems to share the economic philosophy of the majority of his colleagues at the University of Chicago Law School -- and that is, ultimately, a very reactionary conservatism.

We may go further than this for Substance as we discuss our positions.

5. On the many occasions when I met Barack Obama while I was working for the Chicago Teachers Union, I found him amazingly charming, intelligent, and all of the other things that have brought him this far. He was a superior candidate for the Illinois Senate and for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. He was also, and always, a Chicago politicians, with all the deals that entails.

In those days during the early 2000s -- prior to Renaissance 2010 and prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama was a regular at Chicago Teachers Union events. He even came to the union offices to thank us all after he was elected to the U.S. Senate and prior to his national debut with that speech at the Democratic Convention. I have shaken his hand more times than I have shaken the hand of any politician, ever, and find him immensely likable.

We also have dozens of photographs of Barack Obama at various Democratic Party and union functions. As we've reported, one of the reasons Barack Obama is where he is today is that the leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union in 2003 broke with the labor unions, via the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and endorsed Obama for the U.S. Senate nomination over Dan Hynes, a regular organization guy.

I personally had heated arguments about this with "regular" Democratic Party types (many of them friends) in the CTU during those months, and always countered the opposition to Obama with something like "Will you listen to the guy for a minute..."

6. I oppose Barack Obama's plans for health insurance, which in my opinion will continue the ruin of the American health care system that's developed since the "market" took over and greed ruled over the hypocratic oath. If "Sicko" were made today, there could be a very interesting piece devoted to an interview with Barack Obama.

7. I'm disappointed that his education policies will be in the same
neo-liberal vein, and I don't expect much from him on No Child Left Behind. Our position is that it must be abolished.

8. On February 6, in the Democratic Party Primary here, I will be voting for John Edwards or Dennis Kucinich. With rare exceptions, for the past 40 years I have voted as a Democrat, although sometimes holding my nose. Were there a viable socialist party contending for power in U.S. elections, I'd probably investigate that option deeply.

While I will doubtless vote for the candidate of the party who is running against the Republicans, it will be with a heavy heart, since I think the Presidential election will prove an even bigger disappointment than the Congressional election of November 2006. I worked the streets and all day election day in the Sixth Illinois Congressional District on that transformation on November 6, 2006, and we were not working for a compromise on the war in Irag. As you know if you read Substance closely, we covered the Obama speech against the Iraq war in Substance, both then and since. Most recently, we reprinted the actual text of that speech in Substance.

My one regret about that event is that we didn't take photographs of the speakers, foremost (now) among whom was Barack Obama.

However...

Even in as strong a Republican district as the Sixth Illinois (where Henry Hyde had vacated his seat after decades of reactionary leadership in the U.S. House), the people we were dealing with were focused on many issues, most notably the war. Although our candidate (Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Afghan War vet) lost narrowly to the Republican, the intent of the voters was clear, and it was not to continue to compromise with Bush.

You may share this widely and freely with colleagues, comrades, friends, and anyone else who is asking about Obama's education stands.

Anyone who stands with Richard M. Daley is an enemy of public schools and public employee unions.

Solidarity,

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance