E4E's Lori Wheal Declares Herself a Replaceable of the Highest Order

Gee Lori Wheal, how about "advancing" by just teaching? Maybe focus on advancing the kids rather than yourself.

Lori Wheal is leaving because she can't keep her little job and will now go into ed policy.

"The decision to leave the classroom was among the most difficult I’ve ever made, but I feel like my career is stuck in neutral, with no clear path of advancement."

Leonie Haimson: The "Irreplaceables"; another flawed report from TNTP

South Bronx School on Lori Wheal:  Lori Wheal Is Not Only a Master Teacher, But Master of Her Domain

Check the comments in this Gotham piece: City dissolves fleet of “master” and “turnaround” teachers

Wheal is one of the "master" teachers losing her job.

What's the matter Lori? being an ATR doesn't appeal to you

Diane Ravitch ‏@DianeRavitch tweets

@SoBronxSchool @loriwheal You are right. This was no sudden decision. E4E is a Gates-funded anti-teacher org.

	Educators 4 Excellence: A Corporate Suck-up Voice Against Teachers
	Wednesday, August 1, 2012 E4E In the News E4E-NY teacher Lori Wheal: Why NYC can't keep great teachers: In a New York Post op-ed, Lori reflects on her own career path and teacher retention in light of the new TNTP report (see below for more). » E4E co-founders guest blog on EdWeek: On Rick Hess Straight Up, an Education Week blog, Evan Stone and Sydney Morris recount their story and share teacher reactions to "The Irreplaceables". Check back this Thursday and Friday for more. » Learn New TNTP report urges smarter decisions about teacher retention: "The Irreplaceables" shows that the most and least effective teachers leave at identical rates (SchoolBook), including in New York (NY Daily News). Read the report. » In changes to teaching licensing, more teaching and less testing: As The New York Times reports, New York's licensing processes will include new measures, endorsed by both state officials and Michael Mulgrew, the UFT president. » Report: Calif. school facilities need funding, roadmap: A state-commissioned report highlights the information barriers to addressing school facility needs. (Also, sign our petition calling for fairer school funding.) » Court ruling may challenge Bridgeport, CT school system efforts: A court-mandated school board special election could challenge reforms being put into place by Superintendent Paul Vallas (The Wall Street Journal). » Network New York Policy Roundtable #2: The Future of Special Education: Join fellow E4E members for the second of three teacher-led conversations to examine the coming changes to classrooms that serve students with special needs and discuss how to ensure that all students’ needs are being met. Regardless of what you teach, these changes will affect all classrooms. We encourage all teachers to join us. TOMORROW: Thursday, August 2, 2012 | 5 p.m. Educators 4 Excellence, 333 West 39th Street, New York, NY 10018 Subway: A/C/E at 42nd St-Port Authority Bus Terminal; 1/2/3/7/N/Q/R/S at 42 St-Times Sq Take Action Sign the California Fair Funding Petition to show Sacramento's leaders and our fellow taxpayers that we need reform through revenue. » Join the E4E team: Through E4E, you can be part of a dynamic team that helps to grow this movement every day. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis - learn more on the Careers section of our website. » Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Watch Us on YouTube Upcoming Events New York TOMORROW - August 2 Policy Roundtable #2  5:00 p.m. Educators 4 Excellence 333 West 39th Street, New York, NY 10018 E4E Teachers Talk Back Brooke Wacha Brooke Wacha discusses the need to ensure that all students’ needs are considered and all teachers’ voices are included when making education policy. Brooke teaches high school in a 6-1-1 setting at PS223Q, a District 75 school in Queens. Did teaching meet your expectations? I expected to be working with low-income students from tough situations, but I ended up working in a District 75 school with a lot of students with autism. ...My job now has really opened up my world to what autism is and what it can be – there’s always something new, someone’s always going to surprise you. Read More » Subscribe | Contact Us | Privacy Policy© 2012 Educators 4 Excellence | 333 West 39th Street Suite 703, New York, NY 10018 About E4E: For far too long,education policy has been created without a critical voice at the table – the voice of reform-minded classroom teachers. Educators 4 Excellence (E4E), a teacher-led organization, is changing this dynamic by placing the voices of teachers at the forefront of the conversations that shape their classrooms and careers. To learn more, visit Educators4Excellence.org. Right now, educators are working through E4E to drive positive outcomes for students and elevate the teaching profession. Help grow this movement. Please donate today.

Unsubscribe your email from any future educators4excellence.org mailings.
333 W. 39th St. | Suite 703 | New York NY 10018

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

Failed Journalist Campbell Brown Joins StudentLast on the Dark Side

StudentFirstLastNY Slimebags ignore real sexual abuse of children by one of their own: 

Michelle Rhee husband Kevin Johnson was also under investigation for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 16-year old student at the school.

Brown and Romney Advisor Senor - She throws the bull

UPDATE: See NYC EYE for great summary:

Will Campbell Brown Play Even with Alleged Perv Kevin (Mr. Rhee) Johnson? & Haimson Scoops StudentsFirst Link

Leonie reports: 

Campbell Brown was the first witness chosen to testify at the Cuomo Commission hearings last week, all about how the UFT protects sex abusers.  She repeated the same claims in the WSJ a few days later.  

Bloomberg & Students1st NY (which essentially works for him, under the direction of Micah Lasher) are pushing a bill in the legislature, S.7497,  that would allow him to fire any teacher accused of abuse, no matter what the arbitrator decided.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Brown’s husband Dan Senor, a senior Romney advisor, is also on the board of Students1st. There is more on this here  and here – including about how Michelle Rhee’s own husband, Kevin Johnson has been accused of sexually molesting a minor under his supervision.

Crooks and Liars reports:

But Campbell Brown opened up Pandora's box, so let's just go ahead and lay it out there.
Michelle Rhee's husband Kevin Johnson was under federal investigation in 2009 for misuse of funds connected with his charter school, St. Hope Academy. This was a big right-wing story at the time, but mostly underreported by mainstream press or the left, because the Obama administration fired the OIG in charge of the investigation shortly after his report was issued. The timing gave rise to a shrill whine from the right wingers about cronyism, etc, while they ignored the actual report about Johnson's malfeasance. Here's a snippet of the letter from Chuck Grassley wrote concerning the investigation:

In September 2008, after reviewing the facts that the OIG investigation presented, the Corporation’s Debarment and Suspension Official (Official) determined that the grantee’s two principals, Kevin Johnson and Dana Gonzalez were responsible for six acts of diverting grant funds to non-grant purposes, and found that “immediate action is necessary to protect the public interest.”
In total about $850,000 was misused. As a result, the OIG requested that the Official suspend all future Federal grant funding to both St. HOPE Academy and Kevin Johnson and Dana Gonzales individually. The Official ultimately suspended St. HOPE Academy and its principals “from participating in Federal procurement and non procurement programs and activities.” None of the respondents exercised their right to submit facts objecting to the suspension.

What Grassley does not mention in his letter is that Kevin Johnson was also under investigation for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 16-year old student at the school. Skip to page 26 of the report below to read the specifics.

Here is the Students1st NY email blast sent out today:

We need your help, right now, to speak out against sexual misconduct in our school — and against sexism in the education debate.

On Monday, Emmy Award-winning journalist Campbell Brown — who previously served as White House Correspondent for NBC and as an anchor for CNN — wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about how New York law, supported by the teacher’s union, keeps sexual predators in the classroom.

Last night, the union responded — by attacking Campbell’s husband (who, among other things, serves on our Board).

National teachers union president Randi Weingarten took to Twitter and started republishing comments about Campbell’s “hubby” and his political views — as if Campbell’s accomplishments and perspective on this issue didn’t count. This morning, many of Ms. Weingarten’s colleagues have pursued the same line of attack.

Will you help us send a message that sexual misconduct has no place in our schools, and that sexism has no place in this debate?

Click here to speak out on Twitter. Tell Ms. Weingarten that she should focus more on protecting kids and less on sexist spin. Please use #protectourkids.

Of course, the union is looking for anything to distract from the issue at hand: that the union fights tooth-and-nail against giving school districts the authority to terminate anyone who engages in sexual misconduct.

Hopefully, if enough people speak out, we can convince the teachers union to put down the poison pen (and keyboard) and join us in trying to do something about this issue.

Click here to make your voice heard. Urge the union to put students first.

Chandra M. Hayslett
Director of Communications
StudentsFirstNY
http://twitter.com/StudentsFirstNY

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

GEM's Julie Cavanagh Debates KIPP's Mike Feinberg on Charters

Costco's monthly magazine, Costco Connections, with a circulation of 8 million, contacted GEM a year ago asking us to debate on the issue of teacher seniority. I wrote that piece in opposition to E4E leader Sydney Morris (GEM/E4E Debate Seniority in Costco Mag: I Go Manno.... ). This year Costco was kind enough to come back to us on the charter issue and they suggested Julie Cavanagh do the article based on her role in opposing the charter school movement. In the August issue Julie debates KIPP co-founder Mike Feinberg.

Julie wrote the piece in June while in the last month of her pregnancy but she would have done it while Jack was being born if she had to.

Here is the direct link: http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201208#pg1

Vote online:  costcoconnection.com

Or email:  debate@costco.com include your address, and phone #

UPDATE: Read Gary Rubinstein: What they teach the new CMs about public vs. charter schools

INFORMEDdebate

CHARTER SCHOOLS are independent, tuition-free elementary or high schools that receive public money and private donations. They are not subject to some of the rules, regulations and statutes that apply to traditional public schools but are held accountable for delivering certain academic results.

Supporters say that charter schools offer a greater range of educational choices, more innovative programs and a higher quality of education than traditional public schools. Since charter schools are created by the communities in which they operate they can provide exactly what the community needs, supporters add.

Critics argue that charter schools do not necessarily produce better academic results and that public schools also have innovative programs. Charter schools consume critical tax dollars, they add, money that would be better spent in our traditional public school system.

What do you think?

from an expert in the field:


Mike Feinberg is co-founder of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a charter school system (www.kipp.org).

THERE IS NO SUCH thing as a silver bullet for public education. Charter schools are merely one promising tool in our ever-expanding tool belt of approaches to K–12 educational reform. These autonomous public schools provide a testing ground for innovation, where ideas can be tried, refined and then shared with educators from across the public school system.

When we started KIPP, we weren't trying to solve all of America's education challenges; we simply wanted to set up our students for success in college and in life. Our plan? Hold classes from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, every other Saturday and three weeks in the summer; have teachers set high standards and be available via cellphone after hours; and focus on teaching both academics and character. Eighteen years later, with 109 charter schools in 20 states across the country, 84 percent of our eighth-graders go on to college.

Charter schools are based on a simple horse trade: Freed from the strictures of the traditional district system, public charter schools can use innovative new ways to engage and support students. If they don't meet goals outlined in their charter agreement with their sponsor, or authorizer, they can be closed. When done right, advancements don't stay within charter schools' walls; they spill out, sparking a vibrant dialogue among public educators. That way, the best school practices can reach many more students than charter schools would be able to serve on their own.

Cross-pollination between charter schools and traditional district schools is paying off. The Houston Independent School District's Apollo 20 program is implementing best practices from KIPP and YES Prep and other charter schools in struggling district schools, and the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston is partnering with KIPP to start new schools within schools modeled after our practices. This spring, officials from 18 urban school districts serving more than 3 million students entered the eight-month-long KIPP Leadership Design Fellowship, a federally funded program designed to share best practices and explore how to cultivate visionary leadership in public schools of all kinds.

High-performing charter schools over the past decade have shattered the myth that your ZIP code defines your destiny. To understand the true value of charters, it's important to look at not only the results, but how they are proving what is possible for public school students across the country. 

---------

from an expert in the field:


Julie Cavanagh is a teacher, member of the Grassroots Education Movement and co-producer/narrator of The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman (http://gemnyc.org).

CHARTER SCHOOLS, in theory, appeared to be a good idea. Unfortunately, the charter school landscape has evolved into a politically charged campaign that aims to impose the same business-minded approaches that took our country to the brink of economic disaster in recent years.

In the past, race, gender, financial and/or immigrant status, or whether one had a disability, were the determining factors in access to a quality public education. The promise of one common public education system was to make these factors moot, to eliminate the access gap and to provide educational opportunity for all.

We have fallen short of that promise. Charter schools, however, do not bring us closer. In fact, they threaten years of progress in educational policy that have brought us closer to the goal of a free, fair, high-quality, integrated public education system.

Charter schools are not public; they are education corporations, many run as chains, and some for profit. Charter schools admit children only by lottery and counsel out children who do not adhere to their rules or standards. Charter schools serve far fewer English-language learners, students with special needs and those who qualify for reduced-price and free lunch as compared with public schools. Public means there is public oversight; charter schools are their own independent boards of education, and are overseen by boards of appointed, not elected, members with no or minimal parental involvement and empowerment.

Charter schools are not more successful or innovative than public schools. They have significantly higher staff and student attrition rates, which contradicts claims of high student achievement. Test scores increase as charter schools counsel out the neediest students. Yet, a study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University of 2,403 charter schools across the country showed that 80 percent of charter school students performed the same as or worse than students in public schools.

Access to a high-quality public education is a basic human and civil right; it is not something that should be won in a lottery. Instead of creating winners and losers, as the business model of competition and choice ultimately does, we should focus on the real reforms that will finally achieve the promise of one free, fair, high-quality and integrated public education system.

Find out more about this topic on the Web

Hong Kong Protests China Version of Common Core

 Here is a short break from @AFT coverage even though it links up given the support the AFT/UFT give the common core which will include more testing. I'm working on a video report on the contradictions inherent in the much ballyhooed AFT testing reso.

See Leonie's critique of the ed deform TNTP report -- TNTP is loaded with former Tweedies:

The "Irreplaceables"; another flawed report from TNTP

and her piece on testing in the NY Times: NYT Room for Debate 

Here are 2 messages on the Hong Kong story, the first from a NYC teacher traveling in China and Leonie.



Norm,
Please feel free to share this with our comrades. Hong Kong people seem to get it right. They are also the only ones worldwide with a vibrant OWS movement camped in the courtyard of the HSHB bank in Hong Kong that refuses to be disbanded.

 NYC Teacher in Shanghai

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/hong-kongers-protest-an-official-chinese-curriculum/?src=twrhph

  

In Hong Kong thousands Protest plan to impose Chinese national Curriculum

Meanwhile kids of elite attend exempted priv schls

http://goo.gl/xYKq8

Sound familiar?

Leonie Haimson

NYC Parent Steve Koss who spends a lot of time in China commented:

Middle and high school students are fleeing China's education system by the thousands, heading for Australia, Canada, the United States, and even England or other European countries (although they generally prefer English-speaking countries). I don't have the statistics at hand except for some numbers from private schools in the US (up from just 65 students in 2005 to 6725 in 2010, per Bloomberg Info Svcs), but I know the numbers are exploding in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. 

The costs for this pre-college foreign education are HUGE, 150,000 to 250,000 yuan annually in a country where the average middle class family might earn 100,000 yuan in a year. But the benefits are worth it for these families: escape from a system in which one's entire future is based on high-stakes testing and the pressures on students are incredible -- exactly the things the Obama administration and the ed deformers are promoting most heavily. My wife is Chinese, and her cousin sent her high-school-age daughter to Canada for one year of high school, and now she's planning to go to Macalaster College in Hamilton, Ontario for undergraduate studies. She can get a good Western education without having to enter the unbearable national competition for college entry, the infamous gaokao (pronounced gow-cow) that ranks every high school senior in the country based on a single, three-day exam. And, of course, this says nothing about the problems of vast numbers of Chinese students who excel at rote book learning but lack even an ounce of creativity, inquisitiveness, or passion for learning.

The dirty secret in Chinese education is not Hong Kong, it's the massive flight away from the system and into foreign middle and high schools by parents who are savvy enough and financially capable enough to get their kids out of it. I suspect that Hong Kong parents are more worried about being co-opted into that rote learning, high-stakes-test-based measurement system than they are of their kids being "brainwashed" by political propaganda in the classroom. I know that would be my biggest concern if I lived there.

Steve Koss

I do want to add my own experience with Chinese students when I refereed a robotics tournament in Tokyo a few years ago. Chinese kids seemed so desperate and competitive -- when I issued one ruling against them they went wild -- one kid blaming the ruling if he doesn't get into a good school. Here are some posts from 2008 on norms robotics blog.

• Tokyo Notes
• Illiterate in Tokyo
• Asian Open - Tokyo, April 27-29

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

@AFT - Chicago Teachers Protest RTTT During/After Biden Speech

UPDATED WITH VIDEO:

Substance REPORTS: Some AFT delegates protest Race To The Top while majority don 'Obama Biden 2012' tee shirts during speech by Vice President Joe Biden 

UPDATE: Read Biden speech, NYC Educator style:

Good Day AFT

MORE UFT Members Lisa and Gloria show solidarity with the CTU

We took most of these pics right after the Biden speech as CTU members handed out leaflets outside the hall. The first few were taken as Biden began to speak. Karen Lewis, CTU President and an AFT Ex Bd VP did not join the other AFT Veeps on the stage. Below she crosses her arms, showing displeasure at an unconditional endorsement.

Note that while most people in the audience wore blue Obama/Biden tee-shirts, most CTU members wore their red shirts.

This came in from an ed notes reader:

I just learned that Joe Biden's brother operates a charter chain in Florida I think teachers should not vote for Obama. I think the push should be to get as many teachers as possible to state they will not vote for Obama as long as he supports RttT and refuses to affirm support for public schools in a meaningful manner, and, addresses the issue of Biden's brother operating a charter chain and the possible affects in may have on this administration's education policies.

(SEE SUBSTANCE ARTICLE BELOW PICS)

David Stone writes  at Subsatnce:

Trying to send a message to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden when he addressed the American Federation of Teachers on Sunday, July 29, 2012, delegates from the Chicago Teachers Union joined by other delegates held signs protesting Race to the Top. The CTU members wore CTU red shirts, while the majority of AFT delegates were wearing blue shirts with an Obama/Biden message.
The AFT has taken no official stands against the Obama Administration's under-funded, coercive, test-driven Race to the Top education program. The resolution passed by the convention against high-stakes testing and test abuse mentions "No Child Left Behind" (the program of the Bush administration) as creating test abuse, but does not mention "Race To The Top" (the current program of the Obama administration), which requires even more testing.

David R. Stone - July 29, 2012


 Chicago Teachers Union delegates to the AFT convention (above) refused to wear the blue "Obama Biden" tee shirts that were being given away to delegates or hoist the "Obama Biden" signs, instead wearing Chicago's distinctive red tee shirts and silently holding up signs reading "Stop Race To The Top" during the July 29 speech by Vice President Joe Biden. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.

Video @AFT Special - Solidarity Resolution - Mulgrew, Lewis, Johnson Rock the House

You come after one of us, you deal with all of us ---- Michael Mulgrew.

Karen Lewis led it off and Mulgrew finished it, with Detroit's Keith Johnson and someone from Colorado whose name I didn't get in between. We get a sense that we are all in this together and if we don't fight this together no one can win.

Listen to the Colorado union rep if I remember correctly 2 years ago there was so much excitement about the "collaboration" in Colorado which she says has now been thrown out. Yes, are people learning that even when you try to give them much of the loaf and keep a piece for yourself, they don't even want you to have that piece.

And Detroit Fed Teacher head Keith Johnson who seemed so smug in Seattle got up and made a rousing speech about the overwhelming attack going on in Detroit and other cities. Lisa and Gloria were sitting with a Detroit teacher who told them her salary this year was $8000 less than last and she will finish her career making less than what she started with.



http://youtu.be/nFczwUFc6Nk

I know many of you guys are saying it's all bullshit. But I was in Seattle in 2010 the Gates fiasco and the climate here has turned. Will they act on it or are these just words? I truly believe the UFT and the AFT will back Chicago all the way. There is no choice. I told Randi the other day that Chicago was bringing us all together. While I will continue to hammer them when needed I am also looking for areas where we can agree.

I was impressed and shook Mulgrew's hand afterward. When they do the right thing we should say, "Right on" and the message Mulgrew sent and the way he delivered it was Right On!

Read Biden speech, NYC Educator style:

Good Day AFT
--------
Previous @AFT Ed Notes Reports (in reverse chronological order)

• Video @AFT Special - Solidarity Resolution - Mulgr...
• @AFT - Chicago Teachers Protest RTTT During/After ...
• @AFT - Chicago Teachers Show Displeasure at Uncond...
• Breaking @AFT - Before Biden Speech: STOP RACE TO ...
• RAVITCH ROCKS @AFTConv12
• @AFT Share My Lesson = No Speeches
• @AFT: NYC/Chicago Showdown Over Moratorium on Cha...
• @AFT: Stephen Sawchuck on Unity Caucus and Leo Cas...
• @AFT 11PM Friday UPDATE - A Walk and Talk With Ran...
• @AFT - Friday July 27 11:30AM - Solution Driven Un...
• @AFT - Friday July 27 10AM Report
• @AFT Convention: Thursday July 26

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

James Eterno on Jamaica HS

Hi Everyone-

The State Education Department has released its report based on their visit to Jamaica High School in February.  The SED confirms what we have said all along about our students being cheated.  I have a piece on the ICE UFT blog and Diane Ravitch has written something on her blog.  Please go to either one and comment.  NY1 has also covered the story.

The Report

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/pla/documents/JamaicaHSPRR.pdf

NY 1 Story

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/165512/state-doe-slams-jamaica-hs-in-report

Diane Ravitch Blog

http://dianeravitch.net/2012/07/29/how-nyc-department-of-education-kills-a-school/

ICEUFT blog

http://iceuftblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/ny-sed-issues-report-showing-how.html

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

@AFT - Chicago Teachers Show Displeasure at Unconditional Obama Endorsement

Inside the hall as Biden starts speaking

CTU President Karen Lewis Reacts to Biden Intro as she refused to join other AFT veeps on stage

More photos later.

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

Breaking @AFT - Before Biden Speech: STOP RACE TO THE TOP From Chicago Teachers

NO to Overtesting, NO to Merit Pay, NO to Privatization.
YES to small class sizes, YES to early childhood education, YES to wraparound services.

Leaflet was passed out outside the hall by members of the Chicago Teachers Union as Biden is about to speak. But most delegates do not have it in their hands.

CTU people tweeting it.
The amazing Jen Johnson Jennifer Johnson ‏@jenj2399

CTU is a solutions-based union.

 #AFTConf12 @CTULocal1 http://pic.twitter.com/TQTos2Aa

Members of AFT Exec Council invited to stage.
Lots more to report but it is already 3:45.
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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

RAVITCH ROCKS @AFTConv12

I included Randi's intro which is pretty good but you can move the slider if you want to skip it. I didn't even have to bother as I saw Randi tweeted the official speech which is better video since mine is from the screen. http://bcove.me/58x81rug

Diane Ravitch at the AFT from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.


https://vimeo.com/46556439

Here are my tweets for some of her great quotes - in reverse order:

Norm Scott ‏@NormScott1

#aftconv2012 Stop Walmartization of pub education. U will persist, your cause is just and u will win. Thank u. Standing O. 

#aftconv2012 bad things don't go on forever and when it collapses u will be there to celebrate the end of reign of error.

#aftconv2012 Louisiana props, Texans school bds oppose high stakes testing. Deform in Tex and will end there.

#aftconv2012 Florida - parents/tchrs beat parent trigger law - calls it parent tricker law. Props to Fla.

#aftconv2012 Stay strong UTLA

#aftconv2012 props to Chicago TU for beating Rahm - 98% yes strike. Way to go CTU. HOPE

#aftconv2012 Carrots and sticks for donkeys not professionals. Props to UFT for beating Bloomberg on 24 schools. Best - took judge 7 minutes

#aftconv2012 tchr need to be eval by prof principals not by those who took one yr course. Loudest cheers.

#aftconv2012 ravitch -do most to fix schools: open health clinic in every school

#aftconv2012 Merit pay- as it you aren't trying. Never worked, doesn't work. Raise scores if threaten to cut off tchr fingers

Here is what I wrote before the speech and notes I took until I got tired.

@AFT Share My Lesson = No Speeches

It's like giving you the best wine and pissing in it with the common core --- George Schmidt

 Remember when Randi spent a million bucks developing a curriculum for NYC teachers to use? Nada came of it but it looked like good PR at the time. She might as well have dug a hole and tossed the money in.

Now we have Share my lesson online as solution driven unionism. You know the solution is we need better lesson plans. How about share my test prep lessons for common core?

This is in the ed deform book ---- solutions are on the teacher. Have 35 in your class or an abusive principal who makes you teach pablum and test prep? No excuses and no worries. Go to Share My Lesson.

She just acknowledged David Sherman, the old UFT Veep I think I once ran against in the elections, for being involved in this project.

I went to the bathroom and saw 2 of our Brooklyn UFT people, one of whom teaches 1 period a day. I urged him to use Share My Lesson.

UPDATE: 10PM

Forget everything I said about Share My Lesson. We went to the Detroit Institute of Art for a few hours tonight and SURPRISE, we all got this nice lunch bag with a box of caramels (they ran out of dessert in the museum). I don't know what I will do with a lunch bag other than packing it to eat in my backyard. But I can be bought for a lunch bag and caramels. Don't forget it.

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

@AFT: NYC/Chicago Showdown Over Moratorium on Charters, School Closings, Turnarounds

UFT/Unity Caucus AFT delegates stood small and showed their true colors in opposing a reso calling for:

a moratorium on new charter schools, school closings, turnarounds and for a return of charter schools to their original purpose 

proposed by the Chicago Alliance if Charter Teachers and Staff.

WTF you must be saying. How can the UFT be opposed to this reso? Well, they didn't openly oppose it but instead tried to table it by referring it back to the AFT Exec council for the next 2 years. Hell, in 2 years there may no longer be a public school system.

I was sitting next to an elderly delegate from Florida and she was astounded at the arguments being used by Unity Caucus "leading lights" Jackie Bennett and James Vaszuez as they led an assault on a reso sponsored by the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff calling for a moratorium on new Charters, School Closings, Turnarounds.

How about Jackie saying "we already have a reso opposing school closings in NYC but that may not be appropriate for the AFT?"

Then James said it was too broad -- blah, blah, blah --- and we stopped Bloomberg's turn around with court action --- so this was not needed. Huh? Come back next time James and let us know where your 7 Queens schools you "saved" are at.

Unity trotted out a Brooklyn charter school Chapter leader who said this reso would make it hard to organize charter school teachers -- by calling for a moratorium? Remember this reso is sponsored by the Chicago charter school organizers and they were astounded at this argument.

(I have more notes on the debate and what they were saying and will post later if I have a chance, besides Vasquez calling the question when he could as did Jackie's husband, Tom Bennett, the SI/Bklyn Dist rep -- and possible replacement for Leo Casey as HSVEEP.)

Yes, hard to believe, but for those of you who might think the UFT is rigorously opposed to all of the above (closings, charters, turnarounds) you should attend an AFT convention to see Unity Caucus in action. (They also scuttled an agreement with the Chicago TU on an anti-testing compromise. More on that later as I flesh out all the facts.) I use their actions on a reso like this as my proof they are closet and not so closet supporters of much of ed deform policy no matter how it slaps the rank and file teacher in the face. But that is what collaboration brings.

The Chicago Teacher Union reps led the call for putting this motion on the convention floor today instead of burying it as Unity tried to do. Theirs and other arguments were so powerful that Unity list for one of the few times by a vote of 225-192 to the cheers of the crowd. My Florida neighbor jumped out of her seat in exultation. Unity slugs called for a roll call but were shouted down.

I left at that point but what followed was typical Unity skulduggery. Not being able to kill the reso for 2 years they resorted to using the committee procedure of bringing only 3 resos out of committee to the floor. All others are deferred to the end of the convention (I believe). And so Unity found another way by making this the 4th reso.

Not only did they do that but they shoved all other Chicago testing resos to the back of the line. I was told that Chicago and NY spent the morning working on language on a good CTU reso requesting a cost analysis of testing and test prep. Chicago amended the reso to make it more palatable to NYC and Jen Johnson from CTU and Janella Hines from UFT both got up and supported it and it passed overwhelmingly (sorry I don't have electronic versions of the resos now.)

Then Unity turned around and made the reso 5th on the list so it would not come to the main body today.

Last night, I spoke to some CTU delegates and they were livid. Interesting that at the top level of the CTU relations with Randi are very good and I do not believe these low ball dirty actions will have an affect as they can probably in their minds separate the actions coming out of NYC from Randi at the national level. Some talk at the press table with Chicago people is that if Randi were hands on this would not have been so crude. I'm not so sure.

You can't have a democracy in a capitalist society without strong unions as check and balance. Randi left out: you can't have strong unions without democratically run unions. --- Ed Notes

Chicago is now talking about floor strategy when the education committee reports to the convention. Right now it is after 11 and all sorts of presentations are going on. I will post a blow by blow account while also trying to video our Unity slugs at the mics trying to manipulate the debate. Lee Sustar says they use this mind-numbing stuff to lull people before the floor debates begin. I gotta get some coffee but am afraid to leave and miss something.
 
Afterburn
The basic work is always done in committees, which non-delegates are not allowed to attend. So I've never been able to attend a committee meeting at an AFT convention (see NYC Educator). But there was room in the education committee meeting and Lisa and Gloria got in while I was out looking for smoothies. I was not going to bother and head back to the hotel when it started to pour so I went on over and was I glad I did. I got to watch all my old friends from Unity pull the same old crap --- it was like being at a UFT delegate assembly. I was in the back behind Brooklyn High School District Rep skuzzball Charlie Turner who is not only a red neck but actually has a big red neck.

Oh, and there was a Progressive Caucus meeting yesterday right after but I went back to the hotel to get ready for the evening events by changing into my Tommy Bahama shirt which I wore for the first time -- (on sale at West Palm Beach Macys in Feb.) When I went back later, they were just breaking up and I was glad I didn't go. Some of these people who I see at every DA give me the creeps. I know I keep harping on it, but every single CTU/CORE person I meet is so awesome to talk to.

Previous reports

• The Motorless City: @AFT Convention

• @AFT Convention: Thursday July 26

• @AFT - Friday July 27 10AM Report

• @AFT 11PM Friday UPDATE - A Walk and Talk With Ran...
• @AFT: Stephen Sawchuck on Unity Caucus and Leo Cas...

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

@AFT: Stephen Sawchuck on Unity Caucus and Leo Casey Response

You can't have strong unions without democratically run unions. --- Ed Notes.

Leo Casey explains "democracy", AFT/UFT style to Stephen Sawchuck. I call it Dictatorship. 

Randi said yesterday, "You can't have a democracy in a capitalist society without strong unions as check and balance."  Randi left out: you can't have strong unions without democratically run unions.

Leo Casey ‏@LeoECasey
Think you miss the role of union history, and how the traditions the AFT comes out of understands democracy. 

20h Leo Casey ‏@LeoECasey

For AFT, democracy is organized, with political parties that advocate ideas & platform. Caucuses are our political parties. 

Leo Casey ‏@LeoECasey

AFT always a union & as such comes out of social democratic tradition, with focus on collective voice. 

Leo Casey ‏@LeoECasey

NEA has a much more individualist notion of democracy --anyone can command the attention of all 6000 delegates on any topic.

20h Stephen Sawchuk ‏@TeacherBeat

@LeoECasey I'm not saying one is superior to the other, just that they are different, and explain some of how the conventions work 

19h Leo Casey ‏@LeoECasey

I am just saying your explanation was not complete. This is poorly understood topic, with lots of uninformed commentary.

Of course in the world of Leo, social democratic "tradition" and "collective voice" means undemocratically shut out all voices of disagreement. 

We, and the Stalinists, call Leo's version of democracy "Dictatorship." A poor excuse to justify having all 800 Unity caucus people here represent the view of the leadership while shutting out views like ours ---- ICE/TJC got thousands of votes of people who have no voice here. Read NYC Educator for more.

Stephen should ask how it is possible that every single elected position in the UFT is controlled by Unity Caucus, 100% unlike even Russia and Burma and more like North Korea.

Stephen followed up with:

@TeacherBeat NEA has a much more individualist notion of democracy --anyone can command the attention of all 6000 delegates on any topic.

@TeacherBeat I am just saying your explanation was not complete. This is poorly understood topic, with lots of uninformed commentary.
 Stephen's piece At Edweek.

 http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2012/07/understanding_the_unions_inter.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

And some more links on AFT from Gotham.

• Randi Weingarten opened the AFT convention by calling for community-oriented unions. (Answer Sheet)
• The new brand of unionism she’s proposing will be “solutions-oriented,” Weingarten said. (Teacher Beat) (this idea of "solution-driven unionism" appears to be a further gloss on the idea of labor-management collaboration., Hmm, "new unionism" 2.0?"

Understanding the Unions' Internal Politics

By Stephen Sawchuk on July 27, 2012 9:26 AM

From Detroit
The American Federation of Teachers' convention begins this morning, and it's as good a time as any to review how the teachers' unions' internal politics govern what those of us attending these policymaking sessions see.
Each local AFT affiliate gets to send a number of delegates to the national convention, allocated proportionally based on the size of its membership.
Here's where it gets complicated. The locals get to choose how the delegate elections run, a process that is shaped by each local's internal political system. This matters most in the case of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT's New York City affiliate and the largest by far. It is heavily dominated by individuals belonging to one particular "caucus," or internal political party, called Unity. Nearly all, if not all, the UFT delegates belong to Unity.
Essentially, the combination of having lots of delegates, coupled with "caucus discipline"—toeing the party line in public is a condition of membership in Unity—means that much of the convention's direction is shaped largely by this constituency. In addition, many, though not all, AFT executive council members belong to the national version of Unity, known as Progressive.
The bottom line for our purposes is that Unity/Progressive folks are often at the microphones during debate, and have a lot of pull in the resolutions committees that decide which resolutions will be put to the delegates.
Compare and contrast this to the National Education Association. NEA politics are primarily state-based, with the larger, more populous state delegations obviously carrying the most weight. In practice, state affiliates also often team up on particular issues that arise at the conventions. Steve Owens, a Vermont local union leader, has a good description on his blog of how some state leaders successfully united to defeat a new business item at this year's NEA convention.
In addition, the NEA has a few powerful internal interest groups, like the National Council of Urban Education Locals, a group representing urban NEA affiliates. NCUEA often has a hand in shaping policies, as they did in 2011 in introducing qualifications on testing into the NEA's teacher evaluations statement.
Still, it takes only 50 delegates to put a new business item to the entire delegation, a process that doesn't have a parallel for the AFT.
These differences help explain why the NEA has a somewhat more boisterous, spontaneous feel, while the AFT convention tends to come across as more businesslike and orchestrated.

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.