DWC: Albany Road Trip

Thurs., Dec. 23, 7PM


See NY1 Story here and AP story here.

Just got back from Albany for the Deny Waiver Coalition Cathie Black Waiver law suit. I got up at 4AM so I will old off on the details of the court case and leave it to the video which is being processed tonight. And therein lies a tale.

I was told the other day to fax a request to tape and asked Chris Owens, one of the parent plaintiffs if he could take care of it and he did a great job but as of last night I hadn't received word from the court. Early this morning before I left I had an email from Chris with the letter attached. I printed them out and it turned out to be very lucky I did.

I left at 4:45 to pick up Lisa Donlan on the lower east side. Got there at 5:20. Lisa was loaded down with coffee, carrot cake and truffles. We hit a rest stop at around 7:30 where she treated me to the big meal with hot cakes at McDonalds (over 1300 calories - called my wife to give her the news and tell her to reinforce the floor boards.)

Hit Albany by 9AM, parked and headed to court house. Chris had told me I couldn't bring a camera in and he was right - I had to leave it with security - even my voice recorder.

Got to court room - 3 cases - Eric Snyder - parent, Roger Wareham and Norm Siegel. Siegel wasn't there yet - so I went up to clerk and asked about my faxed request to tape. She said she didn't get it. I gave her my copy - she said she'd go show it to the judge.

Judge Connolly came in with my letter and announced my request would be first on the agenda but he was waiting for Siegel and his partner Herb Tietelbaum. When they came he asked if anyone objected to my taping and of course the people suing didn't.

The reps defending Black - from  State Attorney General and NYC Corp council had differing responses. The former said no objection as long as I had proper press credentials but the Bloomberg rep of course objected because little ole me with my tiny camera shooting from the back would - as Noah Gotbaum tweeted:

They said the videotaping: "doesn't benefit the dignity of the court" (!)  You can't make this stuff up...

Judge Connolly, who seemed very reasonable and fair throughout, asked me to do a short presentation on my credentials. I wasn't exactly prepared but I said I was ed editor of The Wave and was also covering for the Chicago based Substance for print and video. Also that I had been chronicling ed events on video for a possible documentary. He asked how long it would take me to get ready and I said 5 minutes to go down. Mona Davids tweeted:

Bloomberg's lawyers are objecting to Norm Scott videotaping and recording the hearing. AG's office has no objections.

Yes, to democracy!! The judge approved Norm Scott's request despite Bloomberg's attorneys objections!!!!

Go Norm. Yippee!!!!

A woman also asked to tape and even though she didn't ask prior permission he was lenient and we raced down to get our stuff. We were joined by a woman who introduced herself as the NY Times' Sharron Otterman, whose work has been impressive, especially on Cathie Black, so it was a pleasure to meet her.

Here are some pics I took and this afternoon"s press release.

Norm Siegel

Eric Snyder

Patricia, Shino, Lisa

Mona and Patricia

DENY WAIVER COALITION . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, December 23, 2010 CONTACT: Norman Siegel (Attorney)          347-907-0867 Herbert Teitelbaum (Attorney)   518-441-9412 Mona Davids                                 917-340-8987 Noah E. Gotbaum                          917-658-3213 Lupé Todd (for Asm. Jeffries)      917-202-0116 Cathleen Black Waiver Hearing Completed In Albany  . Public School Parents Fighting for a Qualified Chancellor See Victory in Court Challenge Against Commissioner Steiner Earlier today, attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum appeared before Judge Gerald Connolly in the Albany County Supreme Court on behalf of 13 parent Petitioners and one teacher to challenge New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner's granting of a waiver to Cathleen Black so she may assume the office of Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.  Ms. Black was nominated by Mayor Bloomberg on November 9, 2010 to succeed outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein.  Commissioner Steiner granted the waiver on November 29. The Petitioners, including New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn / District 57) and members of the Deny Waiver Coalition, have contended that Ms. Black does not have the qualifications necessary under New York State law to oversee the educational system that serves their children and, furthermore, that Commissioner Steiner misinterpreted State law and exceeded his authority in granting the waiver to Ms. Black. The parents, educators, and community members now await the Court's decision, which may come before the end of the next week.  Regardless of the outcome, however, the legal challenges to Steiner's waiver have already confirmed that Black's appointment by Mayor Bloomberg and the granting of the waiver by Commissioner Steiner represent a serious "disconnect" between these policymakers and the citizens they serve.  New Yorkers recognize this problem and have opposed the appointment of Ms. Black by a margin of two-to-one.  Since early November, the Deny Waiver Coalition has worked to make sure that the voices of all New Yorkers are heard.  As parent Petitioner Noah E. Gotbaum stated, "Parents and educators believe that this waiver has broken the law.  We are hopeful that Judge Connolly will hold that Mayoral control stops at the courthouse steps."  Gotbaum is the President of Community Education Council 3 in Manhattan. Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum were joined by attorneys Roger Wareham and Eric Snyder, each representing additional New York City public school parents who are also challenging the Steiner waiver.  Three separate Article 78 petitions challenging the waiver had been filed and were consolidated during the court hearing, which started at 9:30 AM.  The Office of the Attorney General and the Corporation Counsel had each responded to the anti-waiver petitions on behalf of New York State and New York City respectively.  At the hearing, Ms. Kelly Minkowitz represented Attorney General Cuomo acting on behalf of Commissioner Steiner, the New York State Education Department, the New York State Board of Regents, and the University of the State of New York.  Mr. Chlarens Orsland represented the Corporation Counsel's office acting on behalf of Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York.  During the hearing, all sides presented oral arguments and answered questions posed by Judge Connolly. The Judge, who appeared to have reviewed all of the legal submissions thoroughly, did not specify when a decision would be forthcoming.  Observers believe that it could be handed down as early as next week. Prior to today's hearing, on Wednesday, December 22, attorneys Siegel and Teitelbaum filed their Memorandum of Law with the court in response to papers presented by the Attorney General's office and the Corporation Counsel.  The Memorandum reinforced four points that were discussed during the Court hearing. First, Commissioner Steiner could not provide a "substantially equivalent" qualification for Ms. Black that would "provide her with the requisite knowledge, skills and experience" in subject areas that Steiner himself identified as "critical," including educational standards, curriculum, staff development and turning around low-performing schools. The fact that Commissioner Steiner improperly looked beyond Ms. Black's qualifications to the qualifications of potential staff in assessing whether or not she herself possessed the necessary knowledge and experience was the second argument.  Third, nothing in the relevant State law provides for a waiver of the requirement that Ms. Black have earned a Master's degree or higher -- and she does not have one. The fourth argument was the fact that the Petitioners' challenges to the waiver are only asking for appropriate enforcement of standards put in place by the New York State Legislature and the New York State Commissioner of Education, and that the Petitioners are not requesting extraordinary action by the Court.  Siegel and Teitelbaum referenced the fact that, in 1983, Education Commissioner Gordon M. Ambach fulfilled the intent and letter of the law when he refused to grant a similar waiver request on behalf of Robert F. Wagner, Jr., who actually had more extensive education and public policy experience than Ms. Black -- who has none -- but still not enough to meet the appropriate and legislated standard for the position of Chancellor.  As Commissioner Ambach stated in his decision, "The certification requirements are intended to assure that there is proper training and experience for educational leadership.  The determination to be made by the Commissioner in any case where an exception to regular certification is requested is not whether there is potential for or promise of effective service by the candidate, but rather whether the candidate currently possesses 'exceptional training and experience which are the substantial equivalent of the stated requirements and which qualify such person for the duties of a superintendent of schools.' " To the extent that there were no surprises during the Court hearing, attorneys Siegel and Teitelbaum were cautiously optimistic regarding the outcome.  "In our Constitutional democracy, when government officials do not adhere to the rule of law, it is important for the judiciary to uphold the rule of law," said Siegel.  "We are hopeful that the Supreme Court in Albany County will grant our petition in all respects." Parents present in court today were also encouraged by the day's proceedings. Mona Davids, parent Petitioner and President of the New York Charter Parents Association said, "Today marks the beginning of a new era of parent involvement in public education. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired and we will continue to advocate for quality public schools and education leadership in New York City.  We will no longer allow the Bloomberg administration to violate our rights and education law." Patricia Connelly, Petitioner and a parent of a student with special needs in Brooklyn, stated, "I am grateful that we still have the judiciary to turn to for refuge and possible redress, even if we have to travel miles from home during the holidays to seek it." Shino Tanikawa-Oglesby, parent Petitioner, and leader within NYC Kids PAC and Community Education Council 2 (Manhattan) concluded, "Governance by lawsuit is not a good way to run our school system. I hope the Court will see the importance of our petition and recognize the implications of a negative ruling."  "Simply put, parents and educators are no longer going to accept a 'business model' which 'contracts out' our school system to hedge fund managers and other institutional interests, while treating parents and teachers as 'competitors' and excluding us from having any input into our children's educations," said Noah E. Gotbaum. Assemblyman Jeffries (Brooklyn), Ms. Davids (Bronx), Ms. Connelly (Brooklyn), Ms. Tanikawa-Oglesby (Manhattan) and Mr. Gotbaum (Manhattan) were Petitioners who could attend the hearing.  Parent Petitioners who could not attend the hearing included Hon. Chris Owens (Brooklyn), Ms. Khem Irby (Brooklyn), Ms. Lydia Bellahcene (Brooklyn), Ms. Monica Ayuso (Queens), Ms. Mariama Sanoh (Manhattan), Mr. John Battis (Brooklyn), Ms. Latrina Miley (Manhattan), and Ms. Maria Farano-Rodriguez (Staten Island), as well as teacher Petitioner Julie Cavanagh (Brooklyn). Over the objection of the Corporation Counsel's representative, the Court granted a request to videotape the proceedings, which were then recorded. # # #  Visit the Deny Waiver Coalition website:  http://www.denywaiver.com/

The DENY WAIVER COALITION ("DWC") is an association of public school parents and educators as well as concerned community leaders opposed to granting a waiver of employment qualifications to Ms. Cathleen Black, the proposed Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.  The DWC also supports improvements to the Chancellor selection process.

UFTer Peter Lamphere's Article on our Union and the Crossroads that we Face

Dear Friends:

I believe this is an excellent article by UFTer, Peter Lamphere. It neatly summarizes and analyzes the state of our "Unity Caucus" led union and provides a clear picture of the "ed deform" movement's desire to bust the UFT. I would add that everyone should also access the proposed NYS draft of standards and performances. If these standards and performances are adopted, regardless of what else may happen to us, it would certainly mean the absolute end of teaching and learning as we know it here in NYC . You can access this draft at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/pdf/DraftofNewYorkStateTeachingStandardsforSurvey2010.pdf (the only thing it doesn't call for is sleeping at our students' houses and giving them money, clothes and food.).

Peace,

John Powers

P.S. There are some UFTers receiving this email because they have Chapter Leaders who do not hold meetings nor distribute any information regarding the union and education policy. Please print this out and distribute it to your colleagues or forward it to them electronically.

Happy Holidays.   

View original article here:

http://socialistworker.org/2010/12/17/will-nyc-teachers-fight

Analysis: Peter Lamphere and Lee Sustar
======== WILL NYC TEACHERS RETREAT OR FIGHT? =================================

New York City teacher *Peter Lamphere* and SocialistWorker.org journalist
*Lee Sustar* ask whether the United Federation of Teachers is able to resist
a wave of new attacks.

December 17, 2010

WILL TEACHERS in New York City swallow the labor-management "cooperation"
that their union is promoting across the U.S.?

Over the past year, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi
Weingarten has intervened in negotiations between local school districts and
AFT locals across the U.S., pushing contracts that undermine--if not
abandon--the traditional core of teacher collective bargaining agreements.

In cities like Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New Haven, Pittsburgh and
elsewhere, Weingarten has advocated deals that undermine tenure, impose
unreliable evaluation systems based on student test scores and divide
teachers with merit pay. And if she makes it happen in New York, she'll make
it happen everywhere.

Yet coming to an agreement that Weingarten can sell to her home local, the
United Federation of Teachers (UFT), isn't so easy.

MORE BELOW THE FOLD

Media Advisory - DWC Challenge to Steiner-Black Waiver To Be Heard By Albany Judge on Thu, 12/23

DENY WAIVER COALITION MEDIA ADVISORY To:  info@denywaiver.com                      Deny Waiver Coalition       . December 22, 2010 Challenge to Steiner-Black Waiver To Be Heard By Albany Judge Parents traveling from New York City on Thursday to witness proceedings What: Attorneys Norman Siegel and Herbert Teitelbaum will appear before Judge Gerald Connolly in the Albany County Supreme Court on behalf of 13 parent Petitioners and one teacher to challenge New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner's granting of a waiver to Cathleen Black so she may assume the office of Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.  Siegel and Teitelbaum will be joined by two other lawyers representing additional New York City public school parents who are also challenging the Steiner waiver. The Petitioners, including New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn / District 57) and members of the Deny Waiver Coalition, have contended that Ms. Black does not have the qualifications necessary under New York State law to oversee the educational system that serves their children and, furthermore, that Commissioner Steiner misinterpreted State law and exceeded his authority in granting the waiver to Ms. Black. Three separate Article 78 petitions challenging the waiver have been filed on behalf of a diverse group of public school parents as well as one teacher, and all three will be heard. When: Thursday, December 23rd, 2010,  9:30 AM   Where: Supreme Court - Albany County, 16 Eagle Street, Albany, NY Enter through back entrance on Lodge Street; front entrance closed due to construction. Park at Crowne Plaza Hotel parking lot on Lodge & State Streets. Contact: Norman Siegel (Attorney)           347-907-0867 Herbert Teitelbaum (Attorney)  518-441-9412 Mona Davids                                   917-340-8987 Noah E. Gotbaum                           917-658-3213 Lupé Todd (for Asm. Jeffries)      917-202-0116 Visit the Deny Waiver Coalition website:  http://www.denywaiver.com/

The DENY WAIVER COALITION ("DWC") is an association of public school parents and educators as well as concerned community leaders opposed to granting a waiver of employment qualifications to Ms. Cathleen Black, the proposed Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education.  The DWC also supports improvements to the Chancellor selection process.

Microsoft Failures - do they need a value-added approach?

Last Update: Weds, Dec. 22, 1PM

Maybe Bill Gates ought to spend more time in his own backyard.

INFORMATION WEEK REPORTS

Windows Phone 7 Released

Microsoft in October entered the smartphone fray when it debuted the much-ballyhooed Windows Phone 7 operating system, designed to compete with Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. Like rival Apple, Microsoft partnered with AT&T in an exclusive agreement, and touted the OS's ease-of-use, speed, and user-friendly interface as differentiators. Hardware vendor partners include HTC, LG, Samsung, and Dell. Microsoft has not disclosed figures, but some reports show the software giant's foray is off to a disappointing start. U.K. retailer MobilesPlease told Electronista that only 3% of its sales are coming from WP7, and Android devices are out-selling WP7 devices 15 to 1. Symbian devices are also out-selling WP7 devices, though at a 3 to 1 ratio.

Windows Phone 7's failure will knock Microsoft out of consumer computing

Comment by CIO Dec 21, 2010, 04:22 AM EST

It's really the tech story of the decade.
Windows Phone 7 has flopped. This will in turn cause Microsoft to lose the tablet market. Because it has no viable mobile OS, Microsoft is forced to use its desktop OS in touchscreen slates, which doesn't work.
The end result is that Microsoft will lose its central position in consumer computing. There will be more people using portable ARM-based computing devices, rather than the dinosaur PC of yesteryear.

WANT TO READ MORE ON HOW WINDOWS LEAVES YOU SCREWED WHILE THE MAC PROTECTS YOU? CLICK BELOW THE FOLD

Global Military Spending: Why There's No Money to Reduce Class Size

Some Parents (and a few teachers) Debate UFT - Do They "Get" What NYC Teachers Don't?

"This is what teachers pay the UFT good money in union dues for.  Given the size of the opposition to the UFT's current leadership, it would appear that they find this situation satisfactory.  The UFT has been complicit from Day One in terms of everything Bloomberg/Klein have pulled off to date and as the teachers' collective bargaining agent, remains fully culpable."
- Dee Alpert, A parent on the NYCEdNews listserve

A few weeks ago a parent leader approached me and asked almost pleadingly, "Norm, why can't you come up with a candidate in the UFT that would actually represent the interests of teachers?" The parent was disgusted at the UFT's inadequate response to the Cathie Black appointment, amongst other issues. "I meet so many teachers who are unhappy at the UFT," he said. "Where are they," I asked? "It does them no good to gripe. They need to get active in the UFT and with organized groups to make a difference." He had no answer. And neither do I.

I won't get into my attempt to explain the Unity Caucus machine in 30 seconds.

Here are excerpts from a debate that took place on the UFT within a mostly parent listserve.

The debate began over a CEC 6 (upper Manhattan) reso (see below the fold) supporting the ed deformers and calling an end to LIFO (last in first out) if the expected layoffs come, an effective end to tenure. Legendary master teacher Deb Meier - who goes one on one with Diane Ravitch on their Building Bridges blog - is someone whose career I have admired and followed since my early years of teaching. The lead in quote was in response to this comment from Deb.

Fired tenured teachers can, but if there is no "tenure".  no grounds for dismissal required etc....then what?  In fact, it's wisest for principals to say very little if they don't want to keep an untenured teacher, to avoid any possibility of appeal on the basis of race, gender, union activity etc.    Tenure requires that there must be a fair process for dismissal.  The teachers in the so-called "rubber room" were there because while a principal can remove a teacher from the classroom arbitrarily, they must bring charges then  to kick in an appeals process.  The union provides a lawyer--so-to speak--to represent them in such a hearing/trial.   Generally there is an equally arbitrary deadline for such charges to be made, and the defendant then has x number of days to respond, etc.  But if no charge are ever made, and no evidence ever collected?   Then perhaps "they" hope the defendant will resign, disappear, etc.  The primary basis for being able to remove a teacher (or, incidentally any school employee including a principal) before charges and evidence are presented is given an accusation, claim, complaint that their continued presence in a class would endanger children or the school.  Is there a better way?  Of course, and the union might be to blame for the fact that it has allowed such an indefensible process to continue year after year.  The union has been insufficiently careful in guarding the human rights of its member, not too zealous!

Having had friends and colleagues who have been victims of this system and, as a result, so have their students and their families, I hope that better means are found.   Fortunately some have had sufficient clout to get heard and whose appeals have reversed charges that were frivolous or invented by an angry colleague, student, parent, or principal.  Unfortunately some have had their lives and services destroyed without any evidence of having done anything wrong.

Deb

Well said, Dee; I couldn't agree more.

At this point, I find it extremely difficult to muster any sympathy (and even less respect) for the UFT's past and current leadership.

As a teacher, I was never much of a union person, but I respected their (idealized) role in the overall city/school relationship. Now I find myself only feeling actively pro-union when a situation appears harmful to the children and their educations, but not for the sake of the union itself. Whatever they suffer now, they have no business complaining. They made their own bed; now they can lay in it. I do feel sorry for the teachers and other members who have fought unsuccessfully against the Weingarten/Mulgrew regimes, though.

Steve Koss

________
How can 80,000 teachers just go along with bad policy?

How can so many paid professionals just allow their principals and union to profit from these reforms that harm kids, communities and ultimately the teaching profession?

Is it because, like parents, teachers are generally overburdened with work/family/economic strain and can only afford to fight the fight when it is personal, and pragmatic to fight back-- attacks on their school, their ratings, their jobs, their kids, etc?

How many teachers are engaged in NYCORE/GEM/CPE/Teachers Unite/ and other organizing efforts?

Where are the tens of thousands of teachers who fight these battles every day in their classrooms and schools?

Without an organized push back from labor how can we hope that sanity and good pedagogy will prevail?

Lisa Donlan
____

Lisa is right. I am not one to go hard at Mulgrew and the uft, but in this case I believe it is important. Lisa asks, "how can 80000 teachers go along w bad policy." The answer is our union lies to them, misleads them, and does not fully educate them. Our union right now should be educating, organizing and mobilizing, but instead they hold half-hearted, unpublicized rallies for school closures for which they have no cohesive message except that they will hold the DOE to the legal process. NYCORE, GEM, and other groups do not have the reach into schools that the uft has- it is immoral that Mulgrew and the uft are not doing more; they should be offering a vision and a clear message that our schools and our children are not for sale, that we should be fixing schools- not closing them, and that teacher rights, good working conditions, and teacher voice help and benefit our children. Sadly, we are left to fight on our own. Hopefully some of you can join us at cuny tomorrow @ 5 for an ad hoc committee meeting to plan the fight backs that must happen in the coming months... In the absence of true leadership from the uft, educators and parents must stand up, on our own, and hope that Mulgrew et al will follow.

Julie Cavanagh (teacher)
_______
When we spend less time attacking our imperfect potential allies we might find more--but we see to find satisfaction in "I was proved right",, rather than thinking about how else they might respond? Are you for a strike? Let's discuss the details not just pound away at the enemies of our enemies.

But that doesn't mean that I don't find the activism of the folks on this list-serve courageous and important, but I also suspect we are not always representative of those we "represent".... Political education is not so different than school education---people learn best when they feel comfortable exposing their ideas, don[t feel put in a corner as the "enemy" quickly, and are assumed to be well-meaning eve f mistaken. This may sound preachy and I often break my own rules! But let's try.

Deb
_______

The UFT has been something other than an "imperfect ally" in the class size and testing issue in NYC (and NYS). It has been complicit from Day One with the folks making these decisions to start with. I would ROTFL if someone told me that the UFT only realized this year that there was something wrong with NYSED's tests and be most surprised to find documentation regarding its exposure of this pervasive scam prior to this year.

In the women's movement in the '70's, before it allowed itself to become co-opted, the principle "only join one-issue, short-term coalitions" ruled. This was extremely effective ... but nobody made the mistake of assuming that any group with which we coalesced on a single issue was actually our friend. That's self-delusion.

Dee Alpert

__________
Dee: I agree w/ Debbie that this shrill one note, repeated criticisms are not helpful, especially when they are not accompanied by any information or facts.

The UFT is far from perfect, but the current leadership has been dealt an extremely bad hand and has been critical in terms of launching lawsuits against the DOE on class size, school closings and a bunch of other issues, when the city refuses to obey the law.

Leonie Haimson

________
Can we say the UFT was dealt a bad hand when they were asked to cut the deck before the cards were dealt, accepted the offer and stepped on everyone in the union who tried to object?

Norm
_______

I don't think it's helpful to maintain illusions about who one is dealing with and why they're there. UFT pretty much does what other unions do. Sometimes that's good for kids, sometimes it's not. Unions, typically, do what's going to make their more senior members happy and will let those with least seniority be laid off ... the latter being the folks who vote less often in union elections. But in terms of its members, one can't begin to count the individual cases in which teachers have been screwed by their school administration and their building UFT leaders have done squat about it. I've just met too many of them. There's the neighbor upstairs. And the other neighbor further upstairs. And ... I'm certainly not confining my views re UFT to the "current leadership."

For how many years did the UFT fail to push class size grievances fully, aggressively and completely ... all the way up? If the UFT had wanted to enforce that part of its contract vigorously, it could have. Didn't. And while Bloomberg's announced massive teacher layoffs, when has the UFT publicly done a snit about the NYCDOE hiring all these sub-qualified IT people and other "staff" (rather than "line") ultimately non-productive but well paid staff, vastly increasing administrative overhead ... and leaving so many line teachers vulnerable to being pushed out the schoolhouse door?

Dee
_______

A slavish adherence to “process” just gets you to a bad result more slowly.

The law is bad and it is difficult to believe the UFT just couldn't have foreseen the consequences when they acquiesced to this version of mayoral control. All you have to do is read the law without rose-colored glasses.

PdK
_________

Here is the original post from Leonie that initiated the discussion:

Krugman and Carr Columns in NY Times: Did Zombies Eat Waiting for Superman Director Guggenheim's Brain?

“I think so many people are seeing business and how it is conducted in the abstract that they have no idea about how these decisions play out.” - From David Carr's column, NY Times

This quote could also be applied to the abstract concepts being pushed by the ed deformers - I must have heard the word "choice" a hundred times at last week's PEP (I'm still working on the video) over  PS 20K being undermined by allowing Arts and Letters to expand from a middle school to K-8, thus competing for the same kids PS 20 serves in the very same building. So what if PS 20 kids have to eat lunch at 10:30?

My favorite NY Times columnist Paul Krugman (When Zombies Win) and business columnist David Carr in (A Lesson on Wall Street Failure) have two interesting and intersecting articles in the NY Times today that touch on many of our core issues.

First Krugman:

When historians look back at 2008-10, what will puzzle them most, I believe, is the strange triumph of failed ideas. Free-market fundamentalists have been wrong about everything — yet they now dominate the political scene more thoroughly than ever.

Krugman is talking economics, not education. Wouldn't we love for him to take a hard look at the free-market fundamentalist ed deformers. The zombies with their vast propaganda machine lined up against teachers certainly seem to be winning (though once we have our film "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" out the tide will turn- I'm always the optimist.)

Carr touches on one of the Zombies in chief, Davis Guggenheim who made the propaganda film we are responding too.

It’s awards season again, and critics and the academy members are deciding on their top film picks of the year. But in many corners of the business community, the issue is already settled: “Waiting for ‘Superman’ ” is the year’s must-see film.
On Wall Street and on Silicon Valley office campuses, in hedge fund boardrooms and at year-end Christmas parties, it seems you can’t have a conversation without someone talking about the movie that finally lays bare America’s public education crisis. [Sure David Carr - don't let the Zombies eat your brain by believing the manufactured chrisis.]
“Waiting for ‘Superman’ ” is one thing that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg agree on, Rupert Murdoch talks about to anyone who will listen, David Koch of Koch Industries promotes, and Paul Tudor Jones and many of his hedge fund brethren work to support. 

More Krugman extracts (with my notations linking to ed deform)

people who should have been trying to slay zombie ideas have tried to compromise with them instead. And this is especially, though not only, true of the president.  [Obama has gone way beyond zombie ideas on ed deform.]

...President Obama, by contrast, has consistently tried to reach across the aisle by lending cover to right-wing myths. [CHECK]

...And how effectively can he oppose these demands, when he himself has embraced the rhetoric of belt-tightening? [Ed Deform is all about belt tightening - go after teacher salaries and disparge class size as a factor.]
Yes, politics is the art of the possible. We all understand the need to deal with one’s political enemies. But it’s one thing to make deals to advance your goals; it’s another to open the door to zombie ideas. When you do that, the zombies end up eating your brain — and quite possibly your economy too.  [And eating your public education school system too.]

Back to Carr

“Waiting for ‘Superman’ ” follows five children and their parents as they run a gantlet to gain access to high-performing charter schools because the alternative — the public system — is a complete disaster. The film has caught the imagination of the business community because it represents a reckoning for public education and its chronic failures, making the very businesslike case that large school systems and the unions that go with them must be replaced by a customized, semi-privatized education in the form of charter schools. 

 Carr echoes Krugman when he says:

Which is odd when you think about it. If you are looking for an American institution that failed the public, made resources disappear without returning value and lacked accountability for its manifest sins, the Education Department would be in line well behind Wall Street.

By now, the notion that business is a place built on accountability and performance should be as outdated as the one-room schoolhouse. Ask yourself, what would happen if American public schools were offered hundreds of billions in bailout money? [HMMM- maybe lower class size to match private schools?] One outcome is not in the cards: its leaders would not end up back at the trough so quickly, sucking up tens of millions in bonuses as Wall Street has.
If the captains of American business are looking for a holiday movie, I have another suggestion for them. I’m not talking about “Inside Job,” which is a scabrous take on the well-documented story of how the American economy was nearly tipped over by business greed and incompetence [We must try to get the director, Charles Ferguson, to look at the ed deformers].

Nah, I’d buy them a bucket of popcorn and sit them in front of “The Company Men,” a moody and elegiac feature film starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper as businessmen who have a moment of clarity about how American business lost its soul.

As executives at GTX, a fictitious multinational corporation involved in the transportation business, among other endeavors, they watch as many of their colleagues are laid off to meet inflated earnings targets and as numbers get ginned up to keep the stock price growing and potential acquirers at bay. And then their turn comes.

At that point, “The Company Men” becomes a film about the loss of privilege: Porsches are sold and driven away, access to the private golf club is denied and suburban mansions go on the market. But the movie delivers, over and over, a message that far from being a center of American know-how and ingenuity, much of modern business is now preoccupied with goosing the share price and tricking up the year-end bonus — about getting over by getting by. 

all the energy and resources go into the kind of financial engineering that creates quarterly numbers that Wall Street buys into.

“They are responding to the needs of the market, to the institutional investors — the large mutual funds, the money market funds,” he said. “And when you think about it, that implicates all of us because we are all investing in the market one way or another.” 

 And the takeaway is:

“I think so many people are seeing business and how it is conducted in the abstract that they have no idea about how these decisions play out.”

 But Carr doesn't make a strong connection between the bullshit of WfS with the rest of the on-target stuff he is talking about.

Both Krugman and Carr articles are at Norms Notes: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/

Acting and Teaching - Commentary from Loretta Prisco

Below is a comment from Loretta making analogies between teaching and acting and my response.

Loretta and I met around 1971 in a group called Another View in District 14 - as elementary school teachers who became politically active due to our classroom experiences - not because of some ideology of activism. I felt we brought a certain point of view to the movement that was often high school/contract driven. We were educators first and activists second - to us the kids were the thing. I still feel that way and when teachers rail against the kids as the cause of the problems it is a turnoff - and I feel the propaganda machine lined up against us uses that as fuel. As I meet younger activists today, the ones I most connect up with are those who come out of classroom activism vs those who came into teaching with activism in mind. I'll get into it in more detail another time, but one of the reasons Loretta and I and a bunch of others helped form ICE in late 2003 as opposed to jumping onto  Teachers for a Just Contract was that we were not interested in focusing on just a contract but on teaching and learning conditions too - testing was such a basic plank for for the elementary school teachers in ICE. At that time, high school teachers, which was the bulk of the opposition in the UFT, were not affected by testing mania.


Norm,

I don't know if you meant to make a comparison between acting and teaching but it is there.
(What I Am Learning From Acting 101)

You mentioned the behind the scenes work in acting. Non-teachers do not know of the backstage work in teaching. The researching and planning, the assessing and grading, the contacts with service providers and parents. And yet, this is seen as a 9-3 job.

In acting, the memorizing of lines - teachers spent lots of time committing lessons to memory or they are reading out of a plan book! But with an experienced actor, as with an experienced teacher, it all looks so natural. But the DOE doesn't value experience. They want teachers reading from a script.

You talk about being good one day and not so good the next - or even screwing up. And so it is with teachers. We are on one day, and on the next, a lesson falls entirely flat. But teachers are expected, in this climate, to always be perfect. We are not allowed to makes mistakes - ever. Yet, we all know that we learn from mistakes. Teachers must take risks to improve their practice, or we become static.

But you didn't mention the audience factor and its effect on a performance. I have heard actors say that a vibe comes from the audience that makes their performances better. I don't have to tell you the effect that our audiences have on our teaching. Yet there is no understanding of the issues that our students face and the support and resources that they need.

Loretta Prisco

Loretta
I certainly agree about audience effect on teaching and was told that the audience could affect performances in acting. Though I didn't find that as much since I was trying so hard to focus on my lines. I did notice what got laughs and didn't get laughs in various performances - was it due to the way we said our lines or was it due to the audience? Vets tell me each audience is different.

When I used to teach computers or other clusters and did the same lesson a bunch of times I found it jelled best by the 3rd time - think of the first 2 as dress rehearsals or previews. I was able to refine things based on how kids reacted. So think of observations - most teachers are doing them for the first time.

When I was with my first class in the spring of 1969 the AP was a tough kind of guy who many teachers were afraid of - and he did not view me favorably and tried to block my getting the class - once he saw I was serious he totally changed his attitude and supported me all the way. I trusted him enough to tell him I was having trouble teaching a concept and he came in to observe - the way it should be done - not to U rate me but to see where I was missing. He then told me he would follow up by teaching the concept so I could see how it could be done. Dr. Norman Jehrenberg was his name. Unfortunately he was passed over for principal in favor of a political appointment and he left after that term and I feel I lost an important mentor. Though Elaine Troll who you very well know, was a full-time teacher trainer and acting AP - and she remained a mentor through the next year.

A third mentor at PS 16 was Joe Purviance, the guidance counsellor who often took the kids' side (Joe was Black - very  unusual in those years - and that gave me insight into looking at a situation from the child's point of view which was always useful in helping me defuse situations. Joe also was marginalized as was Troll when the new admins came in from the district UFT machine a few years later - but I was gone to a new school by the fall of 1970 - and found the atmosphere there not as open.

I feel having those voices in my ear helped make me as a teacher and I think if I had continued to have mentors over the next two decades+ I would have been a better teacher overall - I needed trusted sounding boards and instead was basically on my own the rest of my career - making both good and bad decisions.

Sometimes with all that's going on with the teaching profession today, we should also take a look within.

There's still a week left for Joel Klein to be taken out of Tweed with his coat over his head

At my farewell to Joel speech at the PEP meeting I was going to mention my 6-year old prediction but didn't feel like being that mean. Klein's deal with Rupert Murdoch whereas Klein will be profiting from policies he set as chancellor smells bad enough but in the "government is there to serve the corporation, real estate interests and the wealthy in general" political world we live in my prediction looks like it will go down in flames. I was sent this little tidbit about Pearson's "benevolent" foundation by a teacher:

I'm noticing that Pearson are the new darling publishers in the schools. I've been trying to figure out why and came across this:

http://www.pearsoned.com/press/2010/01/06/pearson-foundation-invests-3-million-to-expand-new-leaders-for-new-schools-efforts-to-transform-urban-schools.htm

 “New Leaders for New Schools has been a vital partner in helping New York City address the challenges of secondary school reform, and we look forward to continuing to work together successfully,” said Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. “New Leaders’ approach in recruiting, training, and supporting principals has helped move us closer to our goal of having a highly-effective leader in every school.”

 Oh, well, Pearson will make enormous profits by using its foundation to promote policies that will ensure they get a big piece of the pie. But we have been saying all along that the ed deform movement is all about wresting control of the stupendous money spent on education out of the hands of the public - a key piece is centralizing control of the schools into as few hands as possible - mayoral control is a prime example. Imagine if companies like Pearson had to deal with 32 separate school districts.

And then I always wonder about the relationship between Klein and Bill Gates. I haven't been around schools much but I was a tech guy since the mid-80's and from what I see, there are a lot less Macs than PC's - my district was all Mac but now seems much less so. It would be interesting to hear what other tech people have to say - any pressure out there over the years to get PCs over Macs?

And don't forget the $80 million (and more I bet) ARIS boondoggle. Can't we link the Citytime scandal to that? (See the stuff RBE at Perdido Street has been doing- How The CityTime Scam Worked)

Remember, there are only a few shopping days left to get those cuffs on Uncle Joel.

Afterburn

As scandal erupts and arrests are made, warning signs for CityTime fraud were there all along

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

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.