Diane Ravitch Wins Moynihan Prize

Leonie Haimson Reports

Diane Ravitch was just selected as the 2011 recipient of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize, created by the American Academy of Political and Social Science to honor those individuals whose careers in the academic or public arena have been dedicated to the use of social science research to improve public policy.  The $20,000 prize was awarded in recognition of her long career of distinguished work on urban education as a researcher and public official.   More on the Prize here: http://www.aapss.org/the-moynihan-prize

Diane is a true public intellectual, someone who has engaged fully in the public arena in order to ensure that local, state, and federal education policy is informed by history, social science research and good sense.  She has also passionately advocated for the parent and teacher voice to be recognized in the national debate over education reform.   I can think of no one else in any field of public policy who is more esteemed, or who has made more of a contribution to the wider understanding of the history of public education and what should be done to ensure that all children receive a quality education.

Over the past few years, she has tirelessly written and travelled the country, cogently and persuasively arguing that the current craze for privatization and high-stakes accountability is neither research-based, nor an effective means to improve our public school system. Rather, she has pointed out how the imposition of these policies will further degrade opportunities for children, particularly the most disadvantaged students who reside in inner cities and other high-needs areas.

If it is indeed true that education is the civil rights issue of our generation, Diane is one of our most esteemed leaders in the struggle for the right of all children, no matter where they attend school, to be provided with a well-rounded and rich curriculum, high standards, small classes and experienced teachers – indeed, the same conditions as the elite have long demanded in the schools that their own children attend.

As John Dewey once wrote, "What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children".  Through her eloquence, vision, and scholarship, Diane has passionately and convincingly argued that our public school system should be strengthened, rather than undermined – so that it can provide for all the nation’s children the kind of education that the best and wisest parent wants for his or her own child.

I cannot imagine a more deserving candidate for this award.  Like Daniel Patrick Moynihan himself, Diane’s vision is entirely non-partisan, transcends ideology, and is based on the best evidence and scholarship, as opposed to the latest political fads or fancies. Her immense courage and honesty has impelled her to speak truth to power, whereas lesser individuals would keep quiet or repeat the delivered wisdom. 

More personally, Diane has been a mentor and a friend to me, as well as a personal inspiration, when I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the immense power and money of the oligarchy that has come to control education policy in this country.

She will receive the prize at an award ceremony in New York on June 2, 2011.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

Cathie Black Plan to Raise Revenue from Teacher Fines

Satire from The Eggplant @ Susan Ohanian
http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_news.php?id=846

New York City Expects Revenue Windfall from New Teacher Evaluation System

News Item:
New York City restaurant owners say they are racking up thousands of dollars in fines because the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is conducting more frequent inspections. The city is projecting that it will collect $36.3 million in fines from food establishments in the fiscal year ending June 30; as of Nov. 17, it had collected $12.1 million. Last year, the city collected $32.9 million, up from $27.8 million in the previous year and $17.3 million in fiscal year 2006. The figures don't include fines levied against food vendors.
--"Restaurant Owners Feeling Taxed by Grading "
Wall Street Journal, Dec. 18, 2010

At a news conference held at the four-star Eleven Madison Park, new schools chancellor-in-waiting Cathie Black rolled out a new teacher evaluation plan, "One with teeth," says Ms Black, former head of Hearst Magazines.

Black announced, "It is my pledge that schools will learn from business. My new plan for teacher evaluation will keep teachers on their toes and develop a positive flow revenue stream."

Black said she was inspired by the city's restaurant inspection program, pointing out that the New York City Public Health Sanitarians conduct unannounced inspections of food service establishments to evaluate food workers' practices, including the manner in which they receive and store foods, how they process foods and the temperatures at which they cook, cool, hold and reheat food. "How can we do less with the daily practices of our child workers?" said Black, announcing an inspection system on the delivery of classroom lessons, including a system of fines to be collected for infractions.

Black announced that a team of classroom inspectors is being trained "at this minute" by a $63 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mayor Bloomberg, standing at Ms Black's side during her presentation, enthusiastically endorsed the plan. "I told you she was a superstar manager who succeeded spectacularly in the private sector! There's no one who knows more about the skills our children will need to succeed in the 21st century economy!"

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, standing three feet behind Bloomberg and Black, affirmed, "We support transparency."

Also see
Ed Notes Exclusive: First Cathie Black Interview -...(satire)

• Video and Stories on Press Conference at Steiner R...
• Ed Notes Exclusive: Bloomberg Fallback Position if...(satire)
• Paul Moore on Unchattie Cathie and More
• Press conference at Steiner's Apartment, Monday No...
• Ed Notes Exclusive: Break In at UFT Headquarters (satire)
• NY Mets Were Set to Choose Black as General Manage...(satire)

Coming Soon From Chris Cerf: I'm Not a Crook

Gov. Chris Christie to nominate ex-N.Y. schools official for N.J. education commissioner
Susan Ohanian Comment: 

Just to keep in perspective what education "reform" means to these fellows--and to the media, Christopher Cerf, former President of Edison, the commercial outfit that has stirred up bitter controversy in 25 states, was hired in 2006 by Chancellor Klein, former Counsel to Bertelsmann, a transnational media corporation, and United States Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Education reform, anyone?

Christoper Cerf revealed that he's a fellow who has no regrets and never even says he's sorry--not even when he's caught violating ethics statutes.

Christopher Cerf was in charge of the project to measure teachers by student test scores.

Oh, and don't forget: Christopher Cerf graduated from the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy in 2004.

NOTE: It's the other Christopher Cerf, the composer of "Put Down the Duckie" for Sesame Street, who has been hired to write a "Blast Away Phuzzy Phonics" theme song for the Broad/Microsoft/Pentagon/McGraw-Hill kindergarten war games product.

Here is New York City Public School Parents on the Cerf Investigation Report. 

I had my own moment with Cerf when he appeared at a Manhattan Institute luncheon and made the rediculus comment that if we swapped the teaching staffs of a "successful" and a "failing" school we would see a big surge in the failing school and a drop in the successful school. I told him I would bet my pension against any stock options he owned that will enable him to enrich himself on the backs of poor children that there would be no impact - "try it in 10 schools to test your theory" I said. Even he looked sheepish at the bullshit he knew he was throwing around.

Tenure 101

Saturday, Dec. 17, Updated 9:30AM

Ed deformers would have us believe that the new crop of teachers are so much more concerned with issues beyond pensions and tenure. Not true.

Getting an early start on value-added testing

Do young teachers worry about tenure? You bet they do. 

One of the key people involved in the Rockaway Theatre Company is a 3rd year teacher. When I came in to the show last night she said she was contacted by the UFT to talk about the new tenure rules. "My luck," she said, "I'm a year late." She is not really worried because she knows she is good and has not had issues so far. Plus she is not teaching in a value-added testing grade. Yet. I imagine they will want to do value-added straight out of the womb so they can measure people who teach 2 year olds in day care centers. I didn't tell her about the stories that came in last year from people who didn't think they had problems until a month before they were to get tenure. One case involved a teacher who had not bowed and scraped - the main behind the scenes charge was she was not humble enough.

It reminded me of the stupid stuff I did in my tenure year - which was my 4th year teaching because I spent the first 3 under a substitute license. I was in a new school and no one knew what I could do - and I got off to a rocky start. Btu I had such confidence in myself I was arrogant. I also got involved that year in district union politics and since the district was controlled by the UFT that was dangerous territory. The acting principal was a milquetoast kind of guy but a true educator. He gave me a "U" on my first observation. I was outraged and attributed it to his covering his ass due to my political activity.

I wrote up a 10-page response for my file and pinned it over the time card. Insane. But I think his being a serious teacher for so many years, some of what I said made sense - and I think he was covering his ass to demonstrate to his uppers - he wanted to be appointed - that he made an attempt to coral me. But he didn't have the stomach for that kind of fight and I guess my aggressive response intimidated him and I got tenure. Lesson to me that I followed for the rest of my career - let the powers that be know that if they mess with me they will get the fight of their lives.

A year or two later my AP told me he was paid a visit by the UFT District Rep and the District Supt. The wanted to explore ways for him to give me a U rating. He refused - and always maintained that was the end of his chance to become a principal in District 14, though he says he never regretted his decision. In 1974 they implanted an AP with barely any teaching experience, the clear successor as principal. When the old guy wouldn't go fast enough they transferred my AP who had been propping him up and installed a district hack who took over his office and started tossing his stuff on the floor - real gangsters. He cracked in 5 days and their gal took over as principal, starting an almost 20 year war between us.

Frankly, if I were in that position today I might have played my cards in a more rational manner. But on the other hand, they thought I was so dangerous, they may have been more afraid of me than I was of them.

Acting update
A whole bunch of pals from GEM and one from the original ICE days of late 2003 came to the show last night. Glad they did as the theater pros said it was our best performance. And Frank Caiati my acting teacher was there - he had been there opening night - and he said my performance looked so much more natural and the entire play ran smoother. That is another lesson. As a play runs things begin to mesh. So going to previews and even the opening week of a play you may not be seeing it in full glory.

I was real nervous going in as when we ran lines backstage a half hour before I blew a few biggies. I feel good now - maybe because we all stayed in the theater partying past midnight - and I got a kiss and hug from the most beautiful young actress who I've long admired but never seemed to know who I am. But I expect by tonight I'll be a wreck again. And tomorrow afternoon when we close we have a cast party and I get to miss another NY Jets debacle.

What I Am Learning From Acting 101

As I prepare for tonight's performance of The Odd Couple at the Rockaway Theatre Company - the 7th of 9 with the Sunday matinee most likely being the finale of my career - I am thinking of just how much hard work this acting thing is. As Vinnie, I have the least amount of lines but trying to nail it all is continuously elusive. People are telling me the show has been very funny and well produced - RTC always does things in a professional manner - and I have not sucked - yet. There's still 3 performances to go and the main thing I have learned is that you could do it perfectly one day and  totally screw up the next. The old pros are asking me how it is to no longer be a virgin as a performer and if I am having fun. I can't say it is fun yet - maybe at Sunday's cast party I will finally relax.

What I have loved is being involved in a show from beginning to end and learning all the backstage stuff. Fascinating enough to want to do more backstage stuff. I figure my debut would also be my finale as I don't see myself chasing around doing auditions. Then last night one of the directors said he has me in mind for a part in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" if RTC reprises the 10th anniversary version they did on 2005. Let's see now, I have 4 years to prepare. Better start Monday morning.

Tonight some GEMers and ICEers may be coming. Will I ever be able to show my face at a meeting again?

Below the fold are some pics from the last 2 weekend performances.

Follow-Up by John Powers, UFT Chapter Leader

John Powers joined Unity Caucus in August 2009 and left in June 2010. John is a high school chapter leader in Coney Island.

Norm, Thanks. I'd like to add some thoughts about the DA and "demo" in the last post.

(The UFT Non-demo at Tweed, Ad Hoc Committee to Fight School Closings to Hold First Meeting Dec. 21)

1. Unity put out an article about our pensions that Mulgrew published in Crain’s magazine. Summary: It’s Wall Street’s fault and they should pay. Fair enough. How do we do it?????????????????????

2. Marjorie Stamberg made an amendment that called for a mass rally/protest/walk across the Brooklyn Bridge as a lead up to the Feb. PEP rally. It was a one-line amendment that in light of the assault on education and teachers here in NYC, was actually rather "conservative" and should have been approved by the Unity body. The amendment was full of merit because it would’ve raised the profile on “school closings” and helped build for a better turnout in Feb. It was immediately shot down when one Unity delegate rose and actually said the following: "I do not support the amendment because the original resolution is just fine." No argument. No reasons. Pure conformity. Pure party line with no substance or call for debate.

Mulgrew spoke about the amendment from the podium, which is something I believe is against "Robert's Rules." He needed to vacate the chair and come to the floor but didn’t. He said that the amendment would not preclude the UFT from holding such a walk across the bridge. YEAH RIGHT.

The other thing he did which he learned from Randi was to repeat back the words/language for amendments with a certain emphasis or lack of emphasis which is Unity code for “Don’t vote for this.” For example, a tape recording playback would reveal how his voice changed in tenor when he repeated back the phrase Marjorie used in her amendment: “escalating action” (That’s code for: “Look out, this is a crazy radical idea”)

2. The Disco Party Rally a “football field” away from Tweed: 12-14-10 @ 5:15
When the DA adjourned, I grabbed a UFT cap but declined the “glow sticks” that were given out. How much did these glow sticks that are handed out at kids’ parties cost? My sons love them. Not me. Not for a union demonstration. I was one of the first to arrive at the police pen set up for us a half a block away from Tweed.

Once again, I was assaulted by Disco Music (Gloria Gaynor’s I will Survive). I watched union brothers and sisters walk into the pen bopping and dancing. PARTY. OH YEAH. DJ spin those records. Let’s get this party started.

AM I the only one who thinks this is weird. I admit I am biased. I love rock and jazz and play the drums but I just find this so offensive. How about some heavy “symphonic” masterpieces? Or some other form of “informational entertainment” while the crowd gathers.

We are in a crisis!!! Mulgrew gave a short and powerful speech but he had to bend his arm all the way back to point to Tweed when he railed against those inside. But powerful words alone will not save the day.

I can’t help thinking how Unity continues to rewrite history and pins all of this on Bloomberg and Klein.

Isn’t it time to take ownership over the destruction of our high schools? The regimentation of teaching and learning? The lack of a clear message about what K-12 education should do and include in order to teach the whole child? No sense in going on and on.

This is why listening to Leo Casey’s tremendous speech earlier at the DoE about school closings ultimately falls flat. The DoE was helped by Unity.

3. Everyone should recall last year's PEP rally and the DA that preceded it. Mulgrew played the tough, labor union leader while Barr played the cautious negotiator. It went like this: Mulgrew: I want a circus of chaos at the Brooklyn Tech PEP rally. A circus of chaos. I want to surround the building. Barr: (15 minutes later) We want to do this right. We need to be cautious. We can't walk into any traps. (Translation: Don't listen to Mulgrew. We have to be careful about how the media perceives us. We don't want it to appear that the PEP rally at Tech was heavily influenced by the UFT. Holy Crud.)

You can expect the same thing for the next big PEP rally. Instead of educating all teachers at all levels about the closings and mobilizing them, Unity still wants to play "patty-cake" with the DoE.

Until next time,
John

The UFT Non-demo at Tweed, Ad Hoc Committee to Fight School Closings to Hold First Meeting Dec. 21

UPDATE: SEE JOHN POWERS' ADDENDUM TO THIS POST
 
Friday, Dec. 17, 2010

I'm sorry if the Lehman teachers were looking for magic bullets to keep them open but we must link the fightbacks to the political intention of school closings, something the UFT refuses to do as they too fall into the data trap of defending the schools' numbers which are so manipulated based on the kinds of kids the school is sent and the number or lack of resources. - see my comment below

Did you know the UFT actually held something or other at Tweed on Wednesday? At least there was a rumor that they would end the Delegate Assembly early on Wednesday and march over to Tweed. I couldn't be there, thank goodness (Promises, Promises).

Were they worried that a resolution on closing schools was going to be sponsored by a variety of groups? Probably not but more a sign that they are feeling some heat from the members. Thus a pipsqueak show of force. Apparently they are saving their big one-shot show of force for the Feb. PEP meeting where closing schools will have their fate sealed.

Chapter leader John Powers, who has been sending emails daily to the UFT leadership sent this to ICE-mail:

SSSSShhhhhhhhhhh. Did you hear? There is a UFT protest outside of Tweed tonight. CL's received the news. How about the rest of our membership who toils every day under the dictates of a billionaire mayor and his puppet and soon to be puppet: Klein and Black? Did they receive the news?

SSSShhhhhhhhh. There is a protest tonight. SSSSShhhhhhhh. Don't bring anyone. It might get crowded.

BLUNT.

BLUNT.

BLUNT.

No action alert on UFT homepage. No e-alert to all members.

Big Mike wants it to be a quiet affair.

SSShhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Apparently John shamed them into actually posting something on the web. And there's a rumor they actually held some kind of rally. They even have a video. From the UFT web site:

Hundreds of UFT members gathered in the bitter cold on Dec. 15 outside DOE headquarters at the Tweed Courthouse to rally against the city's plans to close 25 struggling district schools.

Hundreds? You mean they actually got hundreds out? We got 500 last year at the rally at Bloomberg's house. How pathetic - there are over 3000 delegates and .....jeez, I won't go on.

There were some interesting posts on ICE mail regarding the UFT and how they are reacting to closing schools and I highlight two of them from Marjorie Stamberg and Ellen Fox at Norms Notes.
Here are a few excerpts but head over and read all of it.

Unity caucus is trying to pick up the opposition verbiage; their motion talks of "building a grassroots movement" to stop the closings and a lot of militant talk, for them.  I also think the word got out that many of us were organizing to bring signs and present a motion at the D.A. for a UFT citywide rally, to bring together the local school-based protests against the school closings. The bureaucracy wanted to get in front of the train, before it left the station without them.- Marjorie

The original resolution calls for the DA to vote on the following final RESOLVED: THAT     in recognition of the outrage this Delegate Assembly, representing the educators of all NYC public schools, feels about the proposal to close 25 schools, we hereby adjourn this meeting and reassemble for a mass protest [emphasis mine] at City Hall and the central offices of the NYC Department of Education. 

It's fascinating to see that, at least originally, our leaders were thinking of the number of Delegates and Chapter Leaders who manage to show up on Wednesday to constitute a mass protest.  I forget what the quorum number is, but the actual number of people in attendance rarely, if ever, exceeds 1,000.  Some mass protest!  I see London, I see France!

The words of the resolution sound militant, until you realize that, once again, the UFT "leadership" is putting the onus on individual schools, rather than formulating some sort of unified response that would apply to, and draw a connection between, all of the affected schools; and would also draw all UFT members into support of the threatened schools -- not just at the February "doomsday" PEP meeting, but in some sort of sustained way.  They've had the gall to suggest, at a variety of meetings, how they're going to "offer help" to the newly attacked schools just as they "helped" the threatened schools last year.- Ellen

Read both of their full posts at Norms Notes where they also discuss the attack on large schools as part of the weakening of the union by breaking down big chapters, though Ellen points out that while the union at the school level is weakened the top leadership actually benefits from small schools because the opposition has to work harder to do outreach.

I'm fairly sure that the closing of these schools would bring Unity leadership a bit of secret joy along with just the tiniest bit of angst about losing overall union strength.  On the whole, small schools are much easier to control, and keep within the Unity fold.- Ellen

I gave a presentation at the Lehman high school's UFT meeting a week ago in which I pointed to the failed policy of the union regarding the ed deform mania for closing schools, the main purpose of which is ideological, political, economic, even a real estate grab, with Children First being Last.

No matter what is said, the very idea of charging a school with being a failure comes down to blaming the teachers and then tossing them into an ATR pool where they will be vilified (the UFT honcho in the room made sure to say at least they still have a job and that we could have had a contract if the UFT were willing to give up the ATRs.) I pointed out that it is often a job in hell and these jobs only exist because of the 2005 contract.

I pointed to the UFT "victory" in the law suit last year that kept 19 school open temporarily (15 are on the new list) because the DOE had been sloppy in following procedure. In other words, the UFT was not opposing the concept of closing schools, which they have supported since the idea gained hold almost 2 decades ago, but making sure procedures are followed.

When the Far Rockaway HS closing was announced, I got a call from a disgruntled teacher who was upset that the UFT District HS Queens rep Rona Freiser (now Queens boro rep) had come down not to help them fight the closing but to inform them of their rights (which weren't all that much). Of course Howard Schwach, my editor at The Wave and I immediately began to predict that Beach Channel HS, the other large HS in Rockaway would be next because the small schools opening at Far Rock would not take the most difficult kids. And so that has come to pass. The UFT PR machine could have made a big deal about this intentional domino effect but didn't.

I told the teachers at Lehman that if they followed the pattern of Bronx school closings the arrow would lead right to them and that the UFT should have been exposing this and using its resources to forestall the inevitable instead of rushing in with too little too late. I didn't have time to mention that the DOE intentionally sends in principals as "closers", some sharp and ambitious who know exactly what they are there for and others clueless but clearly lacking people skills that would turn so many people off the school community would have little fight left to battle. I pointed this out in my blog the other day about Murray Begtraum and Lafayette HS. (Is Murray Bergtraum Principal a "Closer?")

I'm sorry if the Lehman teachers were looking for magic bullets to keep them open but we must link the fightbacks to the political intention of school closings, something the UFT refuses to do as they too fall into the data trap of defending the schools' numbers which are so manipulated based on the kinds of kids the school is sent and the number or lack of resources. To the DOE, resources means coordinators, watchers, trainers.

What can we do?
I have no easy answers other than to get out the word and try to organize and activate people as a force within the UFT that can become strong enough to either force the leadership to do the right thing (which you know I doubt since I consider them Vichy) or even stronger to threaten their control. I will post separately on how my point of view differs from other activists opposing Unity.

An ad hoc committee to fight school closings is in the process of forming. It is holding its first meeting on Tuesday. Come on down.

Fight School Closings

NO School Closings!

NO Charter Invasions!

All are welcome to join an

Ad Hoc Organizing Meeting

to fight back against:

-school closings

-charter invasions and privatization

-school transformations/restructuring 

Tuesday, December 21st

4:30 pm

CUNY Graduate Center

(34^th St and 5^th Ave)

Room 5409

You are invited to help build this major campaign. 

Bring your ideas to this planning meeting.  

We will plan mobilizations to the Mayor's PEP meetings, to DOE hearings to close schools and to invade with charters, and to pressure City Hall and the Mayor.

The campaign will involve letter writing, petitions, media blitzes, talks, workshops, forums,videos, cultural presentations, fight-back Fridays, and much much more. 

With your involvement we can build this campaign and movement to promote quality education and stop the drive to privatize.

Promises, Promises

Thursday, Dec. 16, 10AM
Promises, Promises could be the title of a video I've been working on with clips culled from the PEP meeting the other night regarding the PS 20/Arts and Letters District 13 school controversy over co-location and space.  As I said in my goodbye video to Joel Klein - school wars will be his lasting legacy.
I heard the word "choice" mentioned every 10 seconds and also heard promises, promises from PEP people and DOE officials about how much they want to help PS 20. I'll leave the rest of the commentary to the video when it is done - hopefully today - even though I am having a tough time doing much of anything once the daylight disappears. Last night after coming home from a matinee and dinner and with so much to do I watched Rohmer's "Claire's Knee" as part of my attempt to complete his entire series of "Moral Tales." A nice followup to the immoral tales at PEP meetings.

I was pretty tired  yesterday (Weds) - no, not from attending another bullshit UFT demo at Tweed (more on that later) which I mercifully missed due to family commitments.

Now, there is another moral tale. Here's the skinny:

Wife's brother and his wife are stuck with ferry tickets from Jersey - they bought a batch to go to Yankee games but one game was postponed - and they have until Jan. 1 to use it. Total would be $80, so they don't want to eat the tickets and suggest we meet them in the city for a matinee and dinner.

Tuesday
So Tuesday I drive my wife to downtown Brooklyn to the half price line on Jay Street and wait in the car. Now this is a major pain in the ass (Hamilton Ave bridge is up and it takes almost an hour) as I have to take her home and get back to downtown Broolyn for the PEP meeting later and in addition someone wants me to meet him at 4:30 to interview me for a documentary he is doing on closing schools. There is no line and she comes back with tics for "Midnight Quartet"- $70 a ticket - HALF PRICE? - and I get on the BQE while she calls to tell them. I'm in traffic around Atlantic Ave when the phone rings. They don't like Elvis or Johnny Cash. "Can we go back," from my wife. Jeez. I also think $70 bucks to see what is basically a review and not a real play is too much. They don't take back tickets but I practically make a U-turn on the BQE while briefing my wife on how to be nice - "BEG!" I tell her. And she does a great job - unheard of- they allow her to exchange the tickets for ------

PROMISES, PROMISES???????

You mean I have to submit to more Neil Simon after having lived with him for months for my role in "The Odd Couple" (WARNING - 3 more performances left to see me in both my simultaneous acting debut and end of career). Double Jeez. "Sean Hayes from 'Will and Grace' and Kristen Chenoweth" says my wife. "Who?" I never watched "Will and Grace" once. And while I liked Kristen in a few plays, no big deal. And my in-laws will probably hate it even more than than Elvis.

But I get a great excuse to miss the UFT DA and bullshit walk to Tweed and it will only cost me ---I can't even do the math but it will be worth whatever it costs.

So we get home around 1:30 and I head out to the PEP/meet with filmmaker at 3:30. PEP, blah, blah, blah. I get home around 10 and watch the first part of Claire's Knee).

Wednesday
Off to the city at 12:15. Train stuck in tunnel and get to theater at 1:45. In-laws freezing. Seats good - Orch row T on side- but cramped - bro-in-law is 6'3".

SHOW IS BEYOND GREAT. SEAN HAYES IS AWESOME. WORTH EVERY PENNY- GO BEFORE IT CLOSES ON JAN. 2.

Freezing walk to dinner at New Orleans style Delta Grill on 48th and 9th. Delicious gumbo and po' boys. Cost: around $70 a couple. Do the math. Cost in-laws over $200 because they didn't want to eat $80 worth of ferry tickets. But am I glad they decided to do this? I'd pay double to miss more UFT phony events.

Emergency Rally Against Community Roots Charter School Tonight

SPREAD THE WORD!

Dear Parent Leaders and Community Advocates:

District 13 is under attack by Community Roots Charter School and DOE.

We need every available body tonight at our P.S. 67 located at St. Edwards between Park Ave and Myrtle. 5:30

CRCS would like to have a middle school and have taken rooms from PS 67. PS 67 has a class in a closet. While CRCS has the famous class size of 25 and two teachers they also received an F on their last progress report.

We have had enough of the DOE and their Charter Schools.

Khem Irby
See below

Dear Office of Public Affairs:

Tonight I was made aware of a hearing for Community Roots Charter School via conversation.

They would like to add a middle school in District 13.
As a member of the CEC we were not given proper notice to participate in the hearing. Was this supposed to be a joint hearing with District 13?

Also, what are they legally supposed to do in regard to the new law?

Should the creation of a new middle school option for district 13 families?

Where do they plan to expand this school?

How many rooms were allocated to them when they entered PS 67? They are using the library exclusively and have locked out the D75 and PS 67 schools.

I am requesting that you cancel this hearing in respect of the law and the district 13 community that will be impacted.

Sincerely,

Khem Irby
CEC13

I Came to Praise Joel, Not to Bury Him

 I was signing in when I heard my name.
It was Uncle Joel stopping by to say hello. "Norm, don't feel you have to praise me tonight."
"I wouldn't miss the opportunity," I said. We chatted and I reiterated that anything I say is due to political issues not personal. He seemed to appreciate it.

Here is what I said at the meeting. I included a piece by parent Richard Barr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njdi8XunEpQ


PEP Dec 14 Norm Scott and Richard Barr

Candi is Still Dandi

As new VP of the Washington Teachers Union, Candi Peterson has a whole lot on her plate and blogging may take a back seat for a while. We wish her well. How nice to see her still standing and Rhee off to sell herself to the highest bidders.

New Beginnings

From the desk of Candi Peterson:

December 1 marked a new beginning for me as the WTU General Vice President. During the past two years as the writer of this blog, I have enjoyed confronting stormy subjects on public education with readers by my side on a weekly basis. Topics here ranged from former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, to performance based excessing, unprincipled principals, inside teacher stories, and "holdover" union officials. I have frequently said this blog was never intended to be a permanent dwelling place and first started out with me trying to dispel myths about the red and green teachers contract proposal and later morphed into an online voice for teachers. 

 

I believe you can’t stand still in one place forever or it becomes a comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, I'm not through with blogging at least not yet but in my new role- more of my time will be spent seeking resolutions to teachers complaints.

Klein's Final PEP Tonight: Thanks Uncle Joel for Helping Organize The Resistance - Can I Give You Another Hug?

I was watching the videos of the press conference last week on the Norman Siegel lawsuit filed by 13 parents, two of whom are from PS 15 in Red Hook and one educator, also from PS 15, a school that Joel Klein allowed to be invaded by PAVE, an intrusive charter school with backing from a billionaire supporter of Mayor Bloomberg - the ultimate use of political muscle by people who are always charging their opponents with playing politics with kids lives.
None of these three people were activists in The Resistance before. It was the actions of Joel Klein and his minions that created this incredible hot bed of activism that gave rise to CAPE (Concerned Activists for Public Education). When they found GEM, many of whom were also activated by the actions of the Klein ed deformers, on the web a year and a half ago and we all linked up - it was kismet.

So, yes, thank you Joel for your unintended consequences.

I'd give him another hug tonight but I'm saving it for day Cathie Black is on the way out. I have a feeling that she may do in three years what it took Joel eight to do.

UPDATE:

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I Came to Praise Joel, Not to Bury Him

 I was signing in when I heard my name.
It was Uncle Joel stopping by to say hello. "Norm, don't feel  don't have to praise me tonight."
"I wouldn't miss the opportunity," I said. We chatted and I reiterated that anything I say is due to political issues not personal. He seemed to appreciate it.

Here is what I said at the meeting. I included a piece by parent Richard Barr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njdi8XunEpQ

If Shael Was a Real Teacher He Must Have Been Invaded by Data Munching Body Snatchers

Mr. Polakow-Suransky acknowledges that the tests are imperfect, but says they are a necessary measurement tool. “To put it very simply,” he said, “how do you know that the kids are learning?”  

Tell me that a real teacher would say "How do you know that the kids are learning?" without standardized tests. Every single teacher I know has given tests that tell them if kids are learning. Or they know from how they respond in class. This is such an anti-teacher statement. Note how Shael makes it seem that the choice is between standardized tests and not tests - totally negating what most teachers have always used in class.

Shael didn't escape

Now the contradictions in today's NY Times profile on Shael Polakow-Suransky (I've got a bias against hypehated names, especially long ones) who will be 2nd in command to Cathie Back are very revealing. He went to a progressive high school and studied with progressive educator Ted Sizer at Brown University (how interesting that I meet so many Brown grads counter to Shael who are active resisters to the ed deformers). Then he worked for Eric Nadelstern who once was a real reformer people tell me.

A Tweed insider told me the two of them always talked a good game but once inside the walls of Tweed they shifted to the party data line - the judgement: ambition and self-interest.

Now Shael will offer a menu of more tests:

He has been working with officials from New York and other states to create a new kind of testing that would include essays, classroom projects and multiple-choice exams, and that would be administered in stages, perhaps at four times during the year. 

Afterburn
See the web of corruption tying the Merryl Tisch family to the testing industry at Perdido St. School - comments section.

Hillcrest HS Has 11 Assistant Principals

Cathie Black visited the Queens school, which is heavily involved with the Gates Foundation. Their idea of support never involves reducing class size or putting a lot of resources like guidance counsellors and social workers as that would contradict the ideology they push that teachers are the issue.

So "support" means more people watching and training teachers or coordinating something or other. The Master teacher who makes 30% more is a big item - the union pushes this one too. Or eleven APs, including one for data analysis. Give me a break. Analyze this!!

Here are some comments Leonie put up:

Video of Cathie Black arriving at Hillcrest at NY1; w/ lots of big smiles and glad-handing from Bob Hughes of New Visions. 

Hillcrest is the one large HS that DOE continually rolls out that is supposedly a symbol of their success in “turning around” large schools, w/ the help of New Visions of course.

http://print.nycenet.edu/ChoicesEnrollment/High/Directory/school/?sid=3298

OVERVIEW
Hillcrest is a school composed of seven small learning communities with fewer than 500 students each and two one-year immersion programs. We are a New Visions School working collaboratively with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

They have 11 APs (count em!)

http://www.hillcrestweb.com/administration.htm

Here’s a quote from their AP for data analysis: Amar Nepal, A.P. Data Analyst
ANepal@schools.nyc.gov

Hillcrest High School is committed to data driven instruction.  It is through the effective use of data that our school community can make the decisions to promote teaching and learning.  "The goal is to transform data into information, and information into insight." - Carly Fiorina

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/130521/incoming-schools-chancellor-tours-queens-high-school/

--------------
Worth checking out: Steven Lazar's column at Gotham Schools:  Disconnections

Tweed and the UFT headquarters feel a world, and a mindset, apart from my daily education reality.
At my school, I am the most experienced social studies teacher; at the UFT last Wednesday, I was the youngest in the room. There are important things that go on at the UFT, and I support most of the union’s efforts, but there seems to be a large distance between what the UFT does and what I do. Likewise, I am sure some things that happen at Tweed have a directly positive or adverse effect on my school’s dally existence. But when someone said at the UFT High School Committee meeting last week that the UFT is now in a state of war with Tweed over school closures, if felt to me like a war between the Olympian gods where little thought or consideration is given to its effects, if there even are any, on the daily lived existence of most teachers and students in this city.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

Is Murray Bergtraum Principal a "Closer?"

Most of you have heard about the so-called student riot at Murray Bergtraum last week when the principal ordered the bathrooms shut. A contact there told me the day the new principal, Andrea Lewis, arrived last summer, she was a "closer" – a principal intentionally sent into a school (to supposedly save it) but with so little skill at relating to people in the school community that they would become so alienated they would amenable to the inevitable announcement that the school would be closed.

The poster principal for this strategy was Jolanta Rohloff who was sent to the troubled Lafayette HS as the ultimate closer. I knew someone at the Leadership Academy, that failed Eli Broad supported principal training center that requires candidates to kill a pet dog before being allowed to run a school, who was with Rohloff and when her appointment came they howled with laughter because she had proven to be so inept. (A friend who got a transfer there went in to meet Rohloff the first day and Rohloff attacked her for getting a UFT transfer without every seeing her teach and then proceded to start U-rating her the second week of September, eventually driving her out of the school and almost ruining her career.)

I heard from a former teacher at Lehman HS a year and a half ago that the new 25,000 dollar bonus baby principal was also sent in to be a closer - and last week Lehman appeared on an endangered school list, in addition to all the cheating scandals.

See: 3rd negative study on NYC Leadership academy

So when Bergtraum students organized a protest - we are not calling this a riot but organized chaos- attention was focused on a principal who did not seem to have a clue on how to run a large high school.

In a post on the NYC Parent blog The underlying causes of rioting at Bergtraum HS,
Leonie Haimson wrote

On Thursday, December 9, students rioted in the halls of Murry Bergtraum High School in lower Manhattan. The latest straw that broke the camel’s back was the announcement of the new “executive” principal, Andrea Lewis, who received a $25,000 bonus to run the school, that none of the students could use the bathrooms for an entire day – a punishment for a fight that had broken out between a couple of students the day before.

Her announcement led to rioting in the halls. More on this at GothamSchools, which broke the story, here and here; and NY 1 has video.

But as John Elfrank-Dana, the UFT chapter leader points out below, in a missive to fellow faculty members, the anger that erupted last week was also the result of deeper issues -- the awareness on the part of students that they are receiving a “junk education.” Indeed, Bergtraum is another NYC high school in which rampant overcrowding, large class sizes, fraudulent credit recovery, and other learning conditions have worsened considerably as a result of the wrongheaded policies and educational and neglect of this administration.

John sent both Leonie and I this email. It is so powerful that it bears being sent around the ed world, as much for the way that John is standing up for both students and teachers as for what he has to say. What is clear to me - if the teachers could join the students in their activities after being treated the way Andrea Lewis, the closer - maybe Bloomberg should make her Chancellor since he is looking for a closer - they would.

Subject: So Much Junk... So Many Suits - A debrief of Last Two Days...

Many of our students chose to vent their outrage on Thursday in the form of running wild through the halls. A very dangerous situation. Hundreds participated. The principal's announcement of curtailment of bathroom access no doubt precipitated this action. Try and spin it how you like; that's the overwhelming consensus.

However, it seems to me that was just the last straw, i.e. that the revolt wouldn't have happed if it were not for a deep seated resentment brewing in the students. That resentment stems from the fact that they know they are getting junk education. They understand that they aren't getting their needs met by this system. That they need smaller class sizes, more family and guidance support, a genuine curriculum and not some cookie cutter/corporate template imposed upon them like Kaplan. They know that elsewhere in this city and country there are schools with class sizes of 12 or so, with students using the latest in computer technology to engage in enrichment activities not meaningless drill exercises and credit recovery fraud. Where teachers, who are not over-stressed and threatened by U ratings on a daily basis, are patiently providing needed individual attention to their needs. You won't find Class.com in the affluent suburbs; those parents would be outraged. They know all this, but they don't know they know it. As Palo Freire, the education theoretician, said that education is making the subjective objective. Not quite objective yet, the junk education is what the students would understand is the source of their rage.

The principal's curtailment of bathroom privileges was perceived by them as a slap in the face, adding insult to injury. It was, I believe, perceived by the students as punitive in nature and not to protect them. It was also ill conceived to create a demand overload situation for the nurse's office; which has many other vital services to provide students. While the principal does damage control with focus groups of students there's also the concern expressed by some of you that maybe she's on a fishing expedition to find evidence for blaming the teachers for the incident. If you hear of any such notion from students that this is the agenda of these meetings, do not discuss it with them or probe. Just let me know what you heard. As in my class yesterday we had a special lesson on student rights and responsibilities as well as creative and constructive ways to redress grievances. This should be the focus of moving ahead with our students.

Yesterday morning we saw a major operation of support by the UFT. Some of you met Michael Mulgrew and myself in the hallway. He brought with him a delegation of union personnel who are committed to providing the necessary means for protecting the students and staff. He sat at one end of the table, flanked by me and UFT reps, while at the other was the head of security for the entire DoE system. Present also was Glen Rasmussen, our main security liaison with the DoE and about 5 other suits from the DoE and our Network Support Group, and, of course, the principal. The discussion centered on the plans for the day and the short-term road ahead. It was understood that other volatile eruptions were likely if we didn't take appropriate action. We will meet throughout the week, myself, the administration, special reps from the UFT and DoE security to monitor and put together a more concrete plan to secure the school. Any suggestions and/or information you can share would be greatly appreciated.

At the morning meeting the head of DoE security commented that there was significant improvement in the school's security numbers (incident reports) compared to last year. Whoa! I thought, would my members really think that things have dramatically improved?! Therefore, at the end of the afternoon meeting I had to call out the "elephant in the room" that no one is talking about. I said that "morale in this school is at an all time low!" That we won't get as full support from the staff if they continue to feel harassed and intimidated by the spike in U-ratings. That many teachers fear that there will be retaliation for reporting disciplinary problems. It's because they feel the administration is out to get them. Against this backdrop the security situation in the building cannot improve.

I referred to the beginning of the school year that when, after he called for support for a classroom situation, the same teacher was told (within ear shot of his students at least) by the principal who came that he's getting a U for not having a lesson plan (forget the fact that he did, in the form of the NY lab book, but was too frazzled to point that out). That got around to the faculty the message: You ask for help with discipline and it will be held against you.

Second, that just yesterday during a class a girl's cell phone was stolen, the likely perp was asking to go to the bathroom, and the teacher, thinking on her feet, denied him. An SSA and Dean were called. The dean was reluctant to have the boy in question's bag searched by the SSA but chose instead to chastise the girl for bringing her phone to school and was going to leave it at that. Fortunately, the victim herself then went into the boy's bag and produced her phone. When the teacher went up to the dean's office to report it, another dean told her there was no need to as it was resolved. Mr. Rasmussen stated that's a Level IV infraction and should have produced an occurrence report. I will follow up. But, I am afraid this kind of thing goes on in the school on a daily basis. While I am confident MOST of our deans don't sweep things under the rug, I have to assess if we benefit at all from those who assist in keeping the school's crime numbers down.

No doubt you will hear the response: "They're gonna close the school! So, see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil!" However, they will close the school whenever they want for whatever reason they want. We could improve the stats (either by intimidation to pass 80 percent or more and/or scrubbing Regents exams scores and bogus credit recovery) or in a real way.

The DoE has closed improving school for real estate to open charter schools. All we can do is do the right thing by the school community; stand up for what is right and decent for our students and staff and be public about it. Our staff must be treated like professionals with fairness and respect, parents need to be parents and provided school support. Last and not least, the students must be given what they deserve; a quality education. Without this, we will measure success though quietly putting out fires and suppressing reports of incidents in the school while cooking the books on student achievement. Such a fraud produces a house of cards. And when that house of junk blows over, all suits in the DoE's army may not be able to erect it again.

In solidarity, John

--
John Elfrank-Dana
UFT Chapter Leader
Murry Bergtraum High School
www.Elfrank.com/UFT

I sent Leonie's and John's comments out to listserves and here are some responses which you can read below the fold. But first I wanted to mention some...

Personals
How amazing to read this link I picked up at Gotham  - An assistant principal at Grover Cleveland HS in Queens is bringing geocaching to his students. (Times) -  just a day after being introduced to this very gentleman by a very good friend of mine when they both came to see my performance at this past Saturday's "Odd Couple."

And thanks to the well wishes for my dad after the bleeding/emergency room visit Friday night - and by the way - the people in the ER were great. (I Need a Vacation). Today's visit to the dentist went well and he has his uppers with the lowers coming in a few weeks. No Peter Luger steak for him 'till then.

And finally, kudos to the principal who reads this blog and gave such a great welcome to the young lady friend of my cousin who I recommended for a job- and actually found a way to offer her some hope in a very tough market.

These Truths Are Self-Evident

There was an interesting discussion on Brian Lehrer on NPR the other day with Eric Snyder, the parent who filed the first lawsuit on the Cathie Black nomination. Snyder was challenged by Lehrer that Snyder  was interested in his own children who have a parent for a lawyer. What about the poor children of color who perhaps don't have the advantages and need the structure and standardized tests?

Snyder was eloquent in his reply. It wasn't about his kids, who would thrive under any system. Poor kids would suffer more from being branded by a test score and the kind of narrow education it takes to get there. Right on Eric. I hope to thank him for that personally if I go to Albany on Dec. 23 when the court case is heard.

People ask me how I know market based ed deforms won't work - even though it will take a generation of ruined children - and ruined teachers I might add - for us to find out - and when we do, that information will be suppressed by Gates and his clones.

I don't need no stinkin research to tell me. My instincts as a teacher who worked closely with children and as a human being tell me. I think of the way my principal tried to stop the teachers from taking trips until all the tests were completed - I continued to defy her for 5 years until she made teaching a self-contained class so distasteful I became a cluster. About 4 years ago a former student from the late 70's got in touch. She told me she used to take her own kids to the very same Central Park playgrounds I took her class to. When they asked why they didn't just go to Brooklyn playgrounds she told them, "You don't know how much those trips meant to me." Years later they told her how tired they were of hearing about "Mr. Scott's trips."

I thought about how kids from wealthy private schools - and I got to know lots of teachers from these schools from various computer user groups - has such a totally different education than the kids in the poorest areas. How the NYC museums were often filled with them while poor kids remained trapped in their neighborhoods.

I heard the same comments almost word for word from my principal in the early 80's and Joel Klein over the last 8 years: Kids need skills before they can absorb content. Of course I take the view that content will drive skills. I think of the time my kids found a book on a trip with sexual content - it was a much higher level than they were reading at. Somehow they got the comprehension. I would use anything that interested them if I could get away with it to get them to see reading as useful.


An excellent piece by Steve Nelson, head of the private Manhattan Calhoun School, has been floating around. I remember we used to meet at that school with the LOGO users group in the late 80's. One time the host teacher had to leave and she was the last one in the building other than us and a bunch of kids working on a project. She told us just to leave when we were done and they would lock up. I was astounded.

Excerpts from Steve Nelson's The Disservice of a 'Rigorous' Education

Tests, standards, accountability, economic competitiveness, managers, vouchers, data, metrics... does anyone actually care about children?

While multi-billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates and Eli Broad talk about tough management and data-driven reform, real children languish in abject poverty. That's unfair enough, but then we also rob them of their childhoods. Everything is about money, even their small lives. Social scientists talk about poor kids' education as an "investment" and act as though the worth of children is in their development as resources for the competitive marketplace.

Jean De La Bruyère, a 17th century French moralist and philosopher, once wrote: "Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present -- which seldom happens to us." In the South Bronx or in Grosse Pointe, children are too often deprived of the present. At each end of the economic spectrum, we are pressing children harder and harder in the service of a "rigorous" education. It is not mere semantic coincidence that the word "rigor" is most often paired with the word "mortis."

As De La Bruyère wrote, the present seldom happens to us. But the present is all that children have.

It's heartbreaking to hear administrators and politicians talk about children as raw material to be crafted into productive cogs in the global economy.

Read it all: http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_atrocities.php?id=4072
Yes, I am a proud teacher who worried about the present my students, many of whom did not have the best lives, had to deal with. I know I would be vilified today but I tried my best to make the year they spent with me the happiest year in school they could have. Naturally part of their present was getting them promoted (yes, Bloomberg. we did NOT have social promotion) so I did what I felt I had to do to get them test-ready - within reason. Funny, but when test time came and we did do some prep for a few weeks, it was the most miserable time of the school year.

Susan Ohanian commented:

I don't know anything about the Calhoun School of which Steve Nelson is the head. But I like their mission and philosophy, which you can read at the bottom of this piece. It's nice to know that there are some rich people who want their children to have a progressive, non-competitive education.

Steve Nelson for Chancellor: Hear, Hear!

Updated: Exclusive video: Lawsuit to Deny Black as Chancellor - in 5 parts

Updated: Sun. Dec. 12, 12PM.

This is well worth watching as parents slam the Black appointment - see espcially John Battis' comment about Bloomberg's "Cathie Black is the closer" statement and how Mariano Rivera would be a better choice.

Deny Waiver Law Suit Press Conference: Dec. 9, 2010
(Suit will be heard in Albany on Dec. 23)

Part 1: Mona Davids, Norman Siegel and Herb Teitelbaum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_PrJBagCWc

Part 2:  Hakim Jeffries, Lydia Bellahcene, John Battis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Tjt8a8kBU

Part 3: Shino Tanikawa, Chris Owens

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfMX1zAJcKI

Part 4: Noah Gotbaum, Patricia Connelly, Norman Siegel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UhfRNmlNoY

Part 5: Wrapup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF4TQIZHBjY

Attorney: Cathie Black will never get to serve as NYC education chief

Renowned civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel tells examiner.com that Chancellor-designee Cathleen P. Blackshould savor her time visiting New York City public schools, because she’ll never get to run them.

Siegel filed a legal challenge in State Supreme Court yesterday afternoon, arguing that Education Commissioner David M. Steiner’s waiver to allow Black, who prior to her appointment had never set foot in a school was “arbitrary and capricious.”  Siegel said that the judge scheduled a hearing for December 23rd –

Full story at:

http://www.examiner.com/government-in-new-york/attorney-cathie-black-will-never-get-to-serve-as-nyc-education-chief
 

Another story here.

I Need a Vacation

I wanted to share my schedule last week. I have to check my Blackberry as memory is fading fast.

Sunday, Dec. 5
10AM-11:30PM: Acting class at the Rockaway Theatre Company
Race home for a bite and head back at 12:45 to prep for my third Odd Couple performance at 2pm.
Show ends at 4:30. They tell us it was the best one so far and also my best. Survived another one.
Watch zombie stuff on AMC all evening, followed by Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's."

Monday, Dec. 6
Hot yoga, 9-10:30AM.
Spend rest of day and eve recovering.
Eat and drink while wife heads to city for lit course at NYU.
Evening - watch Jets get killed. Impact more intensive than hot yoga.

Tuesday, Dec. 7
AM:  go to gym, walk on treadmill for an hour
GEM meeting at 5. Get in early at 4. leave at 7:15
Forget to wish one of my best friends a Happy Birthday.

Weds, Dec. 8
2:30 Meeting with former 6th grade student from class of '74 who is out of prison for a year - after 27 years for murder. Says he is clean and out of trouble. Keep fingers crossed. He's 50 years old. Oy!
3:30 Meet up with someone connected with the Joel Klein admin - social meeting but we chat about lots of great stuff. We probably agree on 80%.
5PM Attend Teachers Unite event on UFT. Lots to talk about here but in a follow-up post.
7:30- Brushup rehearsal for Odd Couple. Enticement: Director Mike Wotypra brings sandwiches and cheese fries from Roll and Rooster.

Thurs, Dec. 9
10:30 AM - Tape Press conf on Black lawsuit in State Senate Conf room at 250 Broadway (Hope to get to J&R after but it goes on too long.) Took subway.
1:30 - get home and start processing tape, eat lunch and leave at 2:20
3:30 - 5 - Attend chapter meeting at Lehman HS with other GEMers. Fairly new CL has invited us and officials from UFT. School is on danger list. Great discussion and though I am critical of UFT we all leave as friends.
6PM - conf call for robotics - ooops. missed it.
7pm - drink so much wine, fall asleep till 12am.
12-3am- work on announcement for GEM to attend PEP. Don't finish. People will be mad.

Friday, Dec. 10
9am Pick up almost 93 year old dad to take to dentist - today is the day to pull most of his teeth for dentures. I'm worried about complications - I have a performance of Odd Couple in eve and if something goes wrong ....and so it does.

11:45 - still waiting over an hour late. Finally- meet oral surgeon. 11 upper teeth have to come out. At first not sure if he will take all - but then dad won't get a denture. Decides to go for it.
2PM. Dad still bleeding They put on denture and tell him not to take it off for 24 hours - pressure will stop bleeding.
3PM - still bleeding. I go back to dentist to ask what to do - they give me gauze - take out denture and tell him to press down hard.
Woman from next door stays with him and I go home.
5PM - still bleeding. Call emergency dentist number. Head honcho calls back from Puerto Rico - great.
Worst case - take him to Maimonides. I have to leave for theater and wife is out playing marjong. Finally reach her - she comes home and will monitor.
(Finally remember to call and leave my friend a HappyB message)
7-10:30 - act in play without trying to be distracted. Text wife between acts. She doesn't know how to text - calls - she is in emergency room with dad- they are having trouble stopping bleeding.
11:30PM - still bleeding. Wife has gone beyond call of duty. I head over to take her place.
1:30am - they send him home - 95% of bleeding is stopped.
He has no problems with any of this. Can I get a "calm" transplant?
Home by 2:30am

Sat. Dec. 11
7-8AM _ get ready to leave for film shoot.
Dentist calls again from Puerto Rico - Check in with dad -  all seems well. He can't wait for his new teeth so I can take him to Peter Luger for a celebratory steak. I think it will be a few months.
9AM - 2:30PM Meet Julie C, Brian Jones and Darren in Williamsburg for Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman film shoot. Fabulous day at various locations - then back to Darren's place to download video to his computer - we head out to eat pizza.
3:30 - home, nap, ready for bunch of company going to see Odd Couple tonight, process more Press conf video.
5:30-6 - head over to theater with my friend Mark and my cousin Danny to set up camera for Mark to tape tonight's show. Cousin Shari and Mark's wife Peggy are also coming. They all go off to dinner while I eat a crummy sandwich as I prepare for the show. This acting business is hard work.
7:45 - sold out house - 250 seats.
Meet Mark to review film procedures and head backstage to keep practicing lines - which I flub in line reads with other actors.
8:15-11 - Survive another show. Only flubbed once (or twice - who's counting?)
Pack up camera. Find out the Dec. 7 Birthday gal, one of my oldest friends who I met as a new teacher at my school in 1979 when she was 24, came to the show with her boyfriend who is an Assist principal at one of the DOE target schools - first time I met him as her BF (though we once were at a meeting together re: robotics.) Pleasant surprise to see her.

Sunday, Dec. 12
8AM Keep processing press conf video, work on PEP announcement leaflet for GEM - they are going to kill me.
10AM - Skip acting class. Maybe make it to gym.
11:45PM - oh well, skip gym. Wife calling me for breakfast. I owe her BIG for Friday.
Twenty four year old cousin Rachel is bringing her new boyfriend to the show this afternoon, then out to dinner with them. And the Priscos are coming too see the show too.
Better start practicing lines.

12PM - ell wife to book trip to Florida.

Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

Black and Bloom: Norm in The Wave, Dec. 10, 2010

by Norm Scott

I can fill an entire edition of The Wave with new chancellor Cathie Black related stories and in fact my blog has been overflowing, along with the blogs of NYC teachers. So the process of choosing what to share for my twice monthly column is almost painful. I've been attending rallies and meetings of parent and teacher groups. A Brooklyn parent has filed a lawsuit over State Ed commissioner David Steinberg's granting her a waiver ­– no one in the know is buying "Black's deputy is an educator line." As we hit deadline we have an exclusive report that activist lawyer Norman Siegel will file another lawsuit. I will be covering the press conference for The Wave and should have a report next week.

Cathie Black's placement on the board of Harlem Village Academy as a way to get her ed creds- despite the fact that she didn't attend any meetings, has focused attention on this scandalous school and its relation to the BloomKlein corrupt running of the NYCDOE. This school has been lauded nationally. So naturally school founder Deborah Kenney takes home $450,000 for managing 450 students. HVA loses 32% of their students between 6th and 8th grades and there is vast teacher turnover. Bloomberg has called the school a national "poster child" for school reform. Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch gave $5 million. The charter school scam in full flower.

The average class size at Kent boarding school, the school Black sent her own kids to is 12. It is ironic that Bill Gates and other ed deformers attack teacher longevity and credentials and among Black's first statements in public she complains about LIFO - Last in first out for teachers who might be laid off. Yet Kent advertizes: "Many of our faculty have advanced degrees and our average tenure is more than a dozen years."

My pal NYC Educator manages to say in a few words what takes me a book:

Well, Cathie Black's been let out of her cage after a good two weeks of Sarah Palinizing and what insights has she gleaned in the hour or two she spent in public schools?  Looks like she's fixing to fire teachers.  There's no better way, apparently, to help city children than by firing their teachers.  Arne Duncan and Bill Gates have determined larger class sizes are the way to go, and Cathie is gonna help them get their wish....she wants to get rid of last in first out. Since she's already determined to fire people, why not go after the older and higher-paid teachers? That would put a bigger dent in the bottom line. And then she wouldn't have to bother with any of that nasty due process in that inconvenient tenure law. Oh, she wants to get rid of that, too. Perish forbid any American worker should have job security. Cathie Black agrees with everything Joel Klein did.  That's fine with me.  Let her go after teachers for nonsense. There's a reason teachers need tenure, and that's to protect us from demagogues like Cathie Black, who get into education for two weeks and have the audacity to behave as though they're experts. I wouldn't want her teaching my kid.  Fortunately, she isn't licensed to teach, and they aren't yet handing out waivers for that.

I'll leave the Black story for this edition of School Scope but I hope you get a chance to read my "exclusive" interview with Black in the Nov. 19th edition of my blog.

Beach Channel and other schools are on the closing block again

Howie Schwach has been on this story so all I'll add is this Dec. 6 report from parent activist and class size reduction activist Leonie Haimson:

Today, in justifying the eleven school closings, with more to come, Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg made the following statement: “Year after year, even as we provided extra help and support, these schools simply have not gotten the job done for children." Did they ever try systematically reducing class size? No. Most of these students at these schools continue to suffer from overly large classes that far exceed the state average of twenty students per class, as well as the goals in the city’s mandated class size reduction plan. In fact, class sizes have risen sharply in most of the schools slated for closure. For example, check out the increases in class size [INCLUDE GRAPH] at Beach Channel High school, one of the schools on today’s list of closures, which have occurred despite a promise from the DOE to make specific reductions at this school in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in Contract For Excellence funds. As Sternberg said, “…we cannot afford to let schools continue to fail students when we know we can do better.” Most parents and teachers would agree. The Department of Education’s stubborn refusal to follow the law and to allow the students at these schools to have their best chance to succeed is unconscionable, and set up these schools for failure.

Let's remind everyone that the UFT helped sell Beach Channel down the river through its deal with Klein to allow a new school to open and help drain the freshman class.

Survival, Rockaway Style: Debuting in The Odd Couple

I've got an idea for a new reality TV show. Throw 8 people onto an island- or a peninsula  - and they must survive by putting on a performance of Neal Simon's "The Odd Couple." Even better, toss in one 65 year old guy who has never performed before amidst a sea of veteran actors and see how long he can go before you have to call 911. Well, I did survive my acting debut playing Vinnie the card player, the whining, hen-pecked husband – true typecasting other than the part that Vinnie always wins at poker – last Friday night at the Rockaway Theatre Company production of "The Odd Couple". Lucky for me that in this version of Survival an actor doesn't get voted off the island after each performance. "You mean I have to come back tomorrow and do it again," I asked? Well, three performances down and six to go. Would I do it again? Ask me after the closing performance on Dec. 19.

I could do an entire column - and may just do so when the run of the play is over - on this experience, one of the most challenging I have undertaken. "Norm, you were a teacher/performer for so many years and you have spoken in public so often," people tell me. "So what's the big deal?" Appearing on stage and being responsible to the other actors to know your lines and respond on cue is one awesome responsibility. The fact that I have watched in wonder while video taping every show at the RTC over the last 4 years and have seen production after production worthy of Broadway was more than intimidating. I have watched my fellow actors on stage in various roles over the years and despite being a newbie they made me feel right at home. The directors Michael Wotypra (who I've known for years as a fellow teacher activist) and Peggy Page have been fabulous to work with, as have all the other behind the scenes people like the wonderful stage manager Nora Coughlin and her assistant Jodee Timpone ((both NYC teachers in real life). Wasn't it just a few months ago that I saw Jodee do an amazing job as the lead actress in "Cactus Flower?" Now she is serving me coffee back stage. The theater world can certainly turn reality upside down.

When Norm is not being Odd, he blogs at http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com