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Norms low line |
I seem to be busy though I am not sure why and thus have neglected Ed Notes. I spend a lot of time sitting on my porch or backyard deck. I've been paying more attention to my writing group where they have been trying to get me to write some fiction and I
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Just built trellis leaning on deck |
picked up a novel I last worked on 5 years ago. Writing fiction is as hard as writing blogs is easy. I've also been busy working at the Rockaway Theatre Company building the set for La Cage Aux Folles and rehearsals even though I have the tiniest part imaginable (we have a few hours of rehearsal today at 11). And there is the MORE book club where we are reading about the 68 strike. And the MORE other summer events. And the work I am doing around the house - yesterday my friend Tony helped build a massive trellis for my deck which I still have to install. I've been building my version of the high line, calling it Norm's low line only to find out someone is actually building a low line in Manhattan - but it won't be finished until 1920 - I hope I can beat them to it.
Getting ready to leave very early Monday for the AFT convention with a crew from MORE. We were going to originally leave Sunday and probably should have since we are missing a bunch of events with the Chicago Teacher reception, BATS and UCORE. So when we get there we have a lot of catching up to do.
And then of course are my columns for The Wave - which kills one morning a week of blogging. Here they are for the July 15, 2016 edition.
http://www.rockawave.com/news/2016-07-15/School_News/Meeting_Hillary_Sort_of.html
Meeting Hillary (Sort of)
I
can tell school is out for summer vacation by all the open parking
spots on my block, which is near a school. Since retiring 14 years ago
this is the one of the main ways I notice school is over. I usually
write only one column on education during the summer but this year I may
not be able to shut it down so easily. There is too much happening
regarding politics, education and race to keep quiet for the entire
summer. My problem is that there is so much to say I’m having trouble
deciding on exactly what to say. The more I think, the less I write.
Even my blog has gone fairly silent recently. So I am emptying my mind
right now – that shouldn’t take long – give me two seconds.
Okay, I’m back. My fingers are taking over so don’t hold me responsible for what comes out. I’m heading to
Minneapolis for the
American Federation
of Teachers (AFT) convention next week with what I hope will be press
credentials to cover the event for The Wave. I’ve gotten such
credentials for the past three conventions since 2010 in
Seattle,
Detroit and
Los Angeles
but I am always concerned that the people running our union will try to
stifle dissenting voices. Two years ago I was the only one to videotape
UFT President
Michael Mulgrew
saying he would punch people in the face who tried to take his common
core away. The video went a little viral with the story being picked up
by local and national press. Of course when common core became a hot
potato Mulgrew backed off and claimed he was now against common core –
but he never said he would punch you in the face if you tried to force
common core upon him.
Hillary Clinton
is due to speak Monday and I hope we get there in time. I want to hear
how she walks the tightrope of appeasing her charter school and
corporate education deformers while trying to make teachers feel she is
on their side. Having her main supporter, our
AFT President Randi Weingarten,
standing next to her and cheerleading should help. Especially since
Randi is bringing along 800 of her NYC buds who were elected as
delegates in the recent UFT election.
My caucus, MORE, won the majority of high school teacher votes which
gave us seven executive board seats and over 25-30 percent of the total
vote in various other divisions and about 11,000 votes all told, but get
no delegates. Thus, 11,000 UFT members are disenfranchised. Taxation
without representation. A bunch of us from MORE are going at our own
expense. Why? Because we are nuts. I hope to have something written for
next week’s edition on what Hillary said.
I and others are union political junkies. MORE is running a summer
series of workshops on dealing with organizing at the school level,
especially if there is an abusive principal, of which there are too many
to count. The UFT does nothing about these people and MORE is trying to
fill the gap. Our next workshop is on Aug. 3 and if you are dealing
with a crappy principal email me for details. We are into exposing these
people. At a recent Panel for
Educational Policy (PEP) meeting I and others spoke on this issue where we challenged
Chancellor Carmen Farina
over her continued support for bad principals. (See videos on my blog
at:
ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2016/07/ video-norm-scott-comments-to-farina-at.html,
ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2016/07/video-chapter-leader-of-art-and-design.html.)
From what I am hearing from too many schools, one of the major issues
we are facing in education in this city is the poor state of so many
people in charge of schools. But everyone wants to ignore that and focus
on the bad teacher. Farina empowered her superintendents to put their
buddies into these supervisor jobs. Since I began teaching 49 years ago
the percentage of competent teachers outstrips that of supervisors -
truly competent supervisors were a rarity – and those who were, quickly
rose to their level of incompetency within the DOE bureaucracy.
I started to write this column to talk about Hillary, Trump,
politics, race and education but quickly got overwhelmed by what is
going on in today’s news. Teachers and police occupy some similar roles
in society and we all intersect on the issue of race. In my years of
teaching in Williamsburg I had about two or three kids who weren’t black
or Hispanic. I went into the job as a liberal who supported civil
rights but had no idea about race and racism and to what level I myself
had racist attitudes. Spending 30 years teaching kids of color taught me
a hell of a lot and even recently I have been learning from my former
students through
Facebook
and a recent reunion I had with some of the students from my 1979 sixth
grade class (who are approaching 50). I don’t have my thoughts together
enough to get deep into this issue. I read some comments in The Wave
that are disturbing. I’ll try to address some of these issues in future
columns.
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My other column for this week is below:
Memo From the RTC:
Breaking in La Cage
By Norm Scott
Well, master Rockaway Theatre Company builder Tony Homsey
and crew are getting close to completing the set for the August 5th
opening of La Cage Aux Folles with the last major piece being the bird cage
that must be large enough to contain eight dancers. Tony procured every pcb
plastic pipe from miles around for the
project. Some of the set pieces are truly massive and the painting crew
headed by Frank Caiati and Cliff Hesse are busy at work. Frank painted a
simulated stone wall running across almost the entire stage that looks so real
I want to get a piece for my garden after the show is over. I mean why try to
find real (heavy) rocks? I can’t wait to show people how strong I am by lifting
an entire stone wall with one hand.
The large cast is busy almost every night and weekends
rehearsing complicated dance routines under the direction of choreographer
Nicola DePierro-Nellen and vocals under musical director Richard Louis-Pierre.
Director John Gilleece and Producer Susan Jasper are riding herd on the entire
crew for one of the more ambitious shows the RTC has undertaken. Even I have a
bit part in the show. Why go see Hamilton for $800 when you can see our show
for $15? Evening performances Aug. 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20 and Sunday matinees
Aug. 7, 14 and 21. Don’t miss this one.