Seung Ok on Social Promotion

If there is a grey area involving a medical decision, I would hope that  a specialist in that field makes it.  So if a teacher who knows their students and knows the curriculum, makes a decision to pass on a struggling student - devoid of outside pressure - I'm okay with it.--- Seung Ok

 
It was so good to hear from Seung Ok, one of the early members of GEM, who has been busy at his new school. As usual, Seung drills deep - this time on social promotion. And note the comments he inspired, especially from Deb Meier.

When he says, "Have I ever socially promoted a child? Sure I have," I am in agreement, having done the same. The Ed Deformer policy of trying to "automate" such a delicate process - part of the litany of taking basic ed decisions out of the hands of teachers - is idiocy. But it also works both ways for ed deformers. When it comes time to pump the grad rates so they look good politically, they also take the decisions out of the hands of teachers by using gimmicks to socially promote kids.

Seung gets to the heart of it: Who is making the basic decision?  I had a battle with a new principal in 1978, a woman who had taught for 6 months, who took the decisions on promotion out of our hands. She wanted to hold as many kids back as early in the grades as possible so that when they took the tests in future years they would always be a year early (brilliant woman). So it is not just ed deformers. But she was data driven, hoping to use it to move her career, so she interdicted our decisions in order to create a system that manipulated the data. She turned our school into her own high stakes school decades before the ed deformers. I immediately saw the evils personified in our little den (it took another 6 years but this change was what led to my leaving the self-contained classroom - the infantry of teaching). One day I'll share a few stories on how I used to beat her system - I have to check if the statue of limitations has run out.

Like the ed deformers, she didn't really give a rat's ass as to what kids really were learning. She could be the mother of ed deform.

In today's world, if we want to get to the essence of ed deform, whether you talk Cathie Black/Dennis Walcott, the business types at Tweed, Teach for America, it comes down to not trusting professional educators but instead placing blame for past system failures on them.

Posted to NYCEdNews listserve by Seung Ok:

In Frank McCourt's humorous passage, he describes how a group of high school teachers creatively added points to a student's score to help him obtain a 65 on the NY state English exam. He was describing an event that occurred back in the 1970's. This may me think of the key differences between the social promotion that had occurred in the old days compared to the state sanctioned promotion encouraged by education reform ala Mayor Bloomberg and NCLB.  

When I first came into teaching, and during the era of Frank McCourt's career, there was a choice of 2 high school degrees.  A student could  opt for the Regent's diploma ( by passing all the state mandated tests) or the non -regents diploma (which just required passing the classes offered by the school).  Obviously, top colleges looked to the regents diploma for their selection criteria.

Combine this with the fact that in 2002 - when the United States still led all countries in the number of those obtainment of college degrees- the US census reported that only 27 % of all Americans held a bachelor's degree.  Specifically for whites alone, the rate was 37%. 

So, the majority of house owning families in suburban areas like long island lived self supporting and productive lives as small business owners, civil servants, plumbers and whatnot - without a college degree. The myth that college is the only route to success is repeated so often that it is accepted as doctrine.

Have I ever socially promoted a child? Sure I have.  I passed struggling students who have taken the same course multiple times, and obtained a 55 average instead of the 65 minimum standard for proficiency.  However, I can recall many more times that I have  failed a student who performed a 55 average, but had the potential be be an 80 student - but lacked the motivation and work ethic to perform in class.  The key criteria I used in making the decision, was whether that student would be helped by taking the class over again.  

The main difference in the social promotion of old and what is occurring today - is centered on who makes that decision.  If there is a grey area involving a medical decision, I would hope that  a specialist in that field makes it.  So if a teacher who knows their students and knows the curriculum, makes a decision to pass on a struggling student - devoid of outside pressure - I'm okay with it. It is similar to the decisions of a jury of our peers who have to dispense justice- even though it is an imperfect system. 

However, the social promotion policies of today derive not from educators but politicians and corporate ideologues who believe they know more than those specialists working in the schools. It is a one size fits all approach that brings social promotion to a massive and uniform scale with dumbed down tests and punitive pressures for schools with many high needs students.

Frank McCourt's description of teachers helping to artificially boost up a student's scores in a state test was indeed humorous, mainly because the consequences was not high stakes.  In other words, the graduation of that student , the closure of that school, and the livelihood of the teachers were not dependent on the that student passing the state exam. 

And there is a difference when that scale for "helping" students slides down from those that earn a 55 to 50 to 45 to 40 to 35.  It is a lot like comparing the speed limit posted on the highways and the actual speed most of us drive.  The exponential increase in risk in driving 10 miles over the limit than say 20 is stark - and it is society who will take the burden of that risk.

Dangers always arise when simple solutions are offered for complex systems and problems.  The focus on high stakes testing and evaluation is one such example.  We may argue that the particular child in Mr. McCourt's passage may never become a surgeon or engineer, but the institutionalized promotion happening in all the grades today - which are promoted by the likes of Mayor Bloomberg - are destroying the drives of those otherwise destined to become the surgeons and engineers of tomorrow. 

Seung Ok

Comments on Seung's piece

Ed Deform Hypocrisy: Class Size - share with your anti-teacher Seda Relatives, Tchr Eval at Schools they pick for their kids, and Brizzard Resigning Today in Rochester

UPDATE:

Poor Chicago parents, teachers and kids! 

Brizard received a nearly unanimous no-confidence vote among Rochester folks. 

For more on how his policies have been deeply unpopular among Rochester stakeholders, see

http://communityeducationtaskforce.rocus.org/?p=162

Eli Broad and Joel Klein have a lot to answer for!

Rahm Emanuel to name new Chicago schools chief

By KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter / kjanssen@suntimes.com Apr 18, 2011 11:13AM
Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel plans to name Rochester Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard (right) to be the Chicago Public Schools CEO. He'll replace Ron Huberman, who resigned last year.
Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel plans to name the man in charge of schools in Rochester, N.Y., to head Chicago’s public schools, The Associated Press is reporting.
Jean-Claude Brizard — who has headed the 32,000-student Rochester City School District since 2008 — was with Emanuel Monday awaiting the start of a news conference at Kelly High School on the Southwest Side.
Brizard signed a three-year contract there in February paying $235,000 a year but has clashed with the teachers union there.
Previously, he taught and worked as an administrator in New York City’s schools.
Brizard replaces Ron Huberman, who resigned last year. Since then, Terry Mazany has served as interim schools chief.

---------------

Lots of stuff coming in. Leonie has a piece you should share on class size. Then there is the hypocritic oath taken by ed deforms :

I shall not send my own child to a school where teachers are evaluated based on test scores or where there are few senior/experienced teachers, or with high class sizes, or where my child must spend the day doing test prep, or where the school has a KIPP like discipline program.

From Leonie:
The education Deformers like to say that class size does NOT matter, only teacher "quality". That is why we must pay and fire teachers based on test scores. Read below a report from Leonie Haimson of Class size Matters that counters the education "deformers".


Last week, the Center for American Progress released a report by Matthew Chingos, who previously wrote a highly-flawed critique of Florida’s class size reduction program. (See my recent debate with Chingos on CNN.)

CAP has put out a series of crude reports posing as educational research, but this must be one of the least impressive. Despite its title, “The False Promise of Class-Size Reduction,” lowering class size is only one of K-12 four reforms that, according to the Institute of Education Sciences, have been proven to work through rigorous evidence.

In this report, Chingos falsely claims that that the benefits of smaller classes, as shown by the Tennessee STAR studies, faded out over time:

“The bump in test scores after one year would be impressive if it didn’t erode over time despite the continued use of small classes.”

Actually, follow up studies by Jeremy Finn reveal that students who were randomly assigned smaller classes in the early grades had significantly higher graduation and college-going rates. The gains were especially impressive for low-income students:

“For all students combined, 4 years in a small class in K–3 were associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of graduating from high school; the odds of graduating after having attended small classes for 4 years were increased by about 80.0%. Furthermore, the impact of attending a small class was especially noteworthy for students from low-income homes. Three years or more of small classes affected the graduation rates of low- SES students, increasing the odds of graduating by about 67.0% for 3 years and more than doubling the odds for 4 years.”

The report continues:

http://parentsacrossamerica.org/2011/04/more-clap-trap-from-cap-on-class-size-reduction

Combined w/ Winerip story tells a very sad story.

Teacher evaluations at the schools that Obama, Duncan picked for their kids

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teacher-evaluations-at-the-schools-that-obama-duncan-picked-for-their-kids/2011/04/15/AF1S1cwD_story.html

By Valerie Strauss, Sunday, April 17, 10:35 PM

Bill Schechter taught history for 35 years at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, Mass. Now retired from the classroom, he supervises the student-teacher practicums of students earning master’s degrees in teaching at a local university. He is also a volunteer tutor at a Boston public school.

•  

A question occurred to Schechter recently when he was preparing testimony to give before the Massachusetts Board of Education, which will soon hold hearings on whether to base teacher evaluations on students’ standardized test scores — and if so, to what extent.

The question was: How do the schools serving the children of President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan handle this important school reform issue? He decided to find out.

The issue of linking a teacher’s salary and pay to how well students do on a standardized test has come to dominate the national education debate.

With the Obama administration’s support, more states are passing laws to connect teacher pay and test scores, even though experts on assessment say it is a bad idea.

The tests being used today were not designed to evaluate teachers (and they don’t do a good job of assessing students, either).

Furthermore, everybody who has ever taken a test understands that there are numerous factors that can affect how well someone does that have nothing to do with the teacher; kids who go to school hungry or tired or mentally ill or sick or anxious aren’t likely to do well, even if the teacher is to the teaching profession what Einstein was to physics.

Knowing that the Obama administration’s policies support linking teacher pay with test scores, Schechter wondered what Sidwell Friends School, the private Quaker school in Washington where Obama’s two children are enrolled, does regarding teacher pay-for-performance.

Schechter wondered the same about the Arlington County public school system, where Duncan’s children attend school.

This is part of what Schechter wrote to me:

“What did the president and the secretary seek and obtain for their own kids, where the important issue of teacher evaluation was concerned? The answers recently arrived in two e-mails:

“Arlington school district teacher, March 31, 2011: ‘We do not tie teacher evaluations to scores in the Arlington public school system.’

“Sidwell Friends faculty member, April 1, 2011:

“ ‘We don’t tie teacher pay to test scores because we don’t believe them to be a reliable indicator of teacher effectiveness.’ ”

straussv@washpost.com

Is he going elsewhere, say Chicago?  Hope not for their sake.

Jean-Claude Brizard expected to announce resignation today

9:38 AM, Apr. 18, 2011  |  

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110418/NEWS01/110418008/Jean-Claude-Brizard-expected-announce-resignation-today?odyssey=nav|head

Purchase Image

Rochester City School District Superintendant Jean-Claude Brizard talks with the media recently about raising graduation standards. / JAMIE GERMANO staff photographer

Written by

Tiffany Lankes
Staff writer

School board President Malik Evans said this morning that Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard will likely announce his resignation this afternoon.
Evans said the board planned to meet in executive session to discuss its legal options regarding his contract and then hold a press conference.
Evans said he did not know where Brizard is planning to go.
School board members said last week that they had not been able to reach Brizard for several days amid rumors that he may be considering a job in another district.
Check back for more details as they become available.

Washington TU protest at WAPO - LInks to Kaplan Test Prep and Virtual Schools Push as Critical Blog Post is Rejected by WAPO

Updated, Monday, April 18, 10AM- This blog keeps changing every 10 minutes, so check it out again even if you read it.

mport84 Comment

The Post editorial board is not entirely separate and independent of Kaplan. Furthermore, Kaplan Educational Services in involved in something far more troubling than even their higher-education frauds. I will explain.  

In October, at Jay Mathews invitation, I wrote a guest blog for his Washington Post education column, Class Matters. I discussed Kaplan's stealthy expansion of its tax-funded, public K-12 for-profit virtual charter schools. I was concerned that the Kaplan website appeared to be hiding these ventures from the local communities whose education budgets are paying for them. Judge for yourself:  http://www.kaplanonlineschools.com/district/soluti...  

Mathews says his editors refused permission for him to print the blog, saying they would handle the Kaplan matter themselves. Ask him. Is that editorial independence?

I was contacted by teacher/blogger mport84 about the link between the protest at WAPO and their parent company, Kaplan Industries. I'm updating this post with information sent to me by mport84.

(There have been some calls from teachers to protest Murdoch's NY Post but other than Gotham Schools most people don't take the Post too seriously. WAPO is different with more of a NY Times-like rep.)

To be fair: It's not all one-sided at WAPO. They have ed deformer Jay Matthews balanced by the fabulous Valerie Strauss and good reporting from Bill Turque.

The WTU did mention the Washington Post's distorted and pro-ed deform policy to their ownership by testing and test prep giant Kaplan which makes so much profit from ed deform. Kaplan's new push is for virtual schools where the kids will never leave their house - think of it - no messy school building, or teacher salaries - all costs go directly into the hands of corps - see why Joel Klein pushed the idea and then left to join Rupert to get some of that business - reason enough for him to have fulfilled my failed prediction (so far) that one day he would be taken out of Tweed in cuffs. Mport84 also touched base with WTU President Nathan Saunders:

I spoke to Saunders, who said that while there was no direct connection between Kaplan and the DC public schools, Kaplan was part of a “testing culture” that had permeated the public school system, ruining the educational experience for both students and teachers."

Here are a bunch of reports on the protest. The first one is WAPO's own coverage:

Teachers’ union protests Post editorial board

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/teachers-union-protests-post-editorial-board/2011/04/15/AFVFJ2kD_story.html

 

"The D.C. teachers union staged a rally outside The Washington Post on Friday alleging that the paper’s editorial positions are influenced by Kaplan, the for-profit educational services division owned by The Post Co.

 

Dozens of teachers clad in red chanted “Down with The Post lies” during the midday protest. Union activists parked a giant inflatable rat near the entrance to The Post’s headquarters at 15th and L streets in Northwest Washington.

 

“Absent Kaplan, The Post would be out of business,” Washington Teachers’ Union President Nathan Saunders said. Saunders said The Post’s editorial board stakes out positions that are in keeping with the general business aims of Kaplan, which offers a range of services, including degree programs and standardized test preparation. Saunders pointed to a Post editorial supporting IMPACT, the D.C. teacher evaluation system, which is partly based on students’ performance on standardized tests. Kris Coratti, The Post’s communications director, said Kaplan is not involved in The Post’s editorial decision-making."

 Now one from Politico:  On Media: Teachers union protests Washington

http://www.politico.com/blogs/onmedia/0411/Teachers_union_protests_Washington_Post.html

 

"But the greater oddity is connecting Kaplan to the kinds of editorials that the teachers union was upset about – in this case, supporting the controversial teacher evaluation system that was former DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s signature initiative. The former is primarily about higher education, the latter about K-12. Kaplan does also run a test-prep business that might mingle with the interest of DC public schools, but not in any fundamental way that is worth waging a policy battle about.

Blogger mport84 left the comment that leads this piece. Here are reports from themail which includes WTU VP Candi Peterson's report of the rally.

The Washington Teachers Union held a protest against the editorial board of The Washington Post on Friday, and the protest was much larger than either of the DC statehood protests that got much more publicity. So, if you haven't heard about it, read Candi Peterson's article below.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############

WTU Protests the Washington Post
Candi Peterson, saveourcounselors@gmail.com
Approximately three hundred teachers, school personnel, city workers, union and community members protested outside The Washington Post building on Friday, April 15. This day was selected because it coincided with a day-off furlough for DC Public Schools employees and DC government workers. The protest was organized by the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) against the Post due to their biased reporting that consistently vilifies DC public school teachers and fails to include more balanced reporting of the obstacles teachers face in a mostly urban school district. According to WTU President, Nathan Saunders: "You've got to understand that the Washington Post has been vicious against, not just teachers unions, but the Washington Teachers' Union in particular, for the last three or four years," he said. "And everything that the former chancellor, Michelle Rhee, has done in the district, they have embraced wholeheartedly at the expense of working teachers.

In the words of Reflective Educator blogger, a former DC teacher: "Why is the Washington Post such an awful place for citizens to get information about what's really going on with education in the District?" We have to ponder why did it take USA Today newspaper's investigative journalists, Jack Gillum and Marisol Bello to cover the story, "When Standardized Test Scores Soared in DC, Were The Gains Real?" Another reason for Friday's protest was to call attention to the Washington Post's relationship with Kaplan Testing Company, which accounts for the majority of their revenue. It is the Washington Teachers' Union position that the Post fails to adequately cover education reform from all vantage points, fails to print letters to the editor from education stakeholders, colors their editorial viewpoint, and heaped undeserved praise on former Chancellor Michelle Rhee during her term in DCPS, despite her many transgressions.

At the protest, teachers carried signs that read: "Cancel your Washington Post subscription today" and "We'll stop buying until you stop lying" while singing chants, as a big inflatable union rat loomed large in front of the Post. Speakers included other union leaders, including Jos Williams, President of Washington, DC Metro Labor Council; Bill Simon, Former WTU President; AFSCME representative, Caneisha Mills; AFGE representative, Johnny Walker; Vincent Orange, At-Large City Council candidate; Robert Brannum, President of the DC Federation of Civic Associations; Jerome Brocks, a now-retired activist teacher; and Sheila Gill, a wrongfully terminated school counselor; and a host of others, with closing remarks given by Reverend Grayland Hagler, who encouraged protesters to march in solidarity around the K street corridor. All in all, it was a beautiful day and just the start of actions planned by the Washington Teachers Union which will seek to build momentum and convince our government and the mayor of the need to provide adequate funding for public education.

MPort84 also sent this info along:

Here are some quotes from Kaplan website extolling virtual schools:

“IMAGINE REACHING EVERY CHILD, EVEN IF SHE NEVER WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR....PROGRAM SOLUTION: DISTRICT-LABEL VIRTUAL SCHOOL”

Kaplan created public school programs to address the needs of districts seeking a partner....Districts can also open an intact virtual school that has the look and feel of the district and not that of Kaplan.

Districts can accommodate students who cannot be served by a traditional brick and mortar school, thus keeping them in-district and capturing per-pupil funding. Plus, a dedicated Account Manager will work as a district partner to deliver results.”

http://www.kaplanonlineschools.com/district/solutions

There is a great need to discuss the actual educational consequences of the profit-driven drive to curtail brick-and-mortar and flesh-and-blood education in favor of virtual products.  

 

Others have voiced genuine reservations, especially considering the horrific record of the for-profit online college mills.  Here is a respected columnist from Forbes, E.D. Kain:  “The Next Step in Scott Walker’s Corporate Education Reform Agenda: Diploma Mills”

 

“But a virtual school does not fully replicate an actual classroom, and even if it did, we should be deeply troubled by the funneling of public education dollars into the coffers of for-profit businesses with very dubious transparency and even more dubious results.”

http://blogs.forbes.com/erikkain/2011/03/23/the-next-step-in-scott-walkers-corporate-education-reform-agenda-diploma-mills/

A Day of Immersion in Bloomberg Bureaucracy: Roll Out the Barrel

Any elementary school teacher could have better managed this.

This was my comment to the people from the EPA running the rain barrel giveaway at Marine Park yesterday on a cold and nasty day. What should have taken about a half hour of my time ended up using up most of the day. Okay, I know. I could have bought one for about $30. But I wouldn't have. You know the motto in the Scott family: free is better than good - or actually - free is better than anything.

photo from EPA website

The offer of a free 50 gallon rain storage unit along with the converter kit was too much for me to resist. I have 3 spots I could make use of it in my garden. So when I accidentally came across the announcement on Friday that barrels would be given away on Saturday from 9-2, I made plans to be there early before the crowd and get home in time to get to the gym by 10. So, I how did I feel when I came straggling home with my barrel after 3 trips back and forth, hacking and coughing from the cold wet day at around 3:30PM? *&*&%&%%.

I got to Ave U around 8:45 and the traffic was backed up for blocks and a massive line was formed in the parking lot. People were already walking away with barrels. Apparently most of Brooklyn have the same motto as the Scotts. But on the good side, it was nice to see how many people are interested in gardening and conservation. Or maybe since we are quickly slipping into banana republic territory in this country it was simply a case like they use to have in Russia - if you see any line join it.

I won't get into the details of how poorly this was managed. But a few quick hits. One guy has number 13 at 7:30 and was told he could leave and come back at 9 since no barrels would be given away before them. So how did he end up at the back of a long line with people like me with number 355? Of course they started giving away barrels at 8 and by 9 there were none left.

The prefect manager for rain barrel giveaway

They were giving out numbers - to cars coming in and to people on the line - total chaos. Lines forming all over the place. "Another truck is coming," they told us. So we line up to wait. In the cold (I didn't dress as warmly as I should have - just pick up the barrel and put it in the car - I figured.) An hour goes by. Where's the truck? Jersey Turnpike was one answer. Williamsburg was another.

But we all start to bond while waiting. A great slice of Brooklyn diversity. People who might never talk to each other if they were not on a line on a nasty Saturday morning waiting for a rain barrel. The guys from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations tell us how they use gravity feed systems all the time on the Islands. The guy with number 13 who got screwed is in remarkable good humor. He asks why is rain water better than tap water? The nitrogen. Much of it gets lost through filtration in tap water. Thus watering plants with rain water gives them more nutragens.

Finally they tell us to leave and come back in an hour. Everyone with a number (cars and people were still pulling in and were told it was too late.) My number was one of the last given out.

So I go shopping for my 93 year old dad who as a true Scott wants me to chase all over Brooklyn to different stores so I could save a dollar. I get the goodies up to his apartment, am questioned intently as to why I paid $4 for a tin of raisins when I could have gotten them for $2 at CVS, head over and get gas and then back to Marine Park.

No truck. But at least I have a spot in the lot. So I listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Finally at around 12pm the truck arrives. Ensuing chaos - they can't figure out an orderly system to give out the barrels but they say they are doing it by numbers. I stay back since I have 355. They aren't really doing it by numbers. They run out before I get to the front of the line. The truck leaves to go back to Williamsburg to get more barrels. It won't be back for at least 2-3 hours. There are about 50 of us left.

The dispatcher is a nice guy. "I'm from Wisconsin," he says. "You can trust me." Ha, I say. "I'm from Madison," he answers. "OK," I say. "You pass." He says everyone with a number will get a barrel. He's from Madison. I believe him.

I'm not giving up on this quest. I go back home, take cough medicine, eat lunch and head back at 2:30. Sit in the car for about 15 minutes and finally the truck comes. Even with this smaller crowd there is no clue on how to manage it. Sort of like the newbie teacher who tells an entire class to get their coats at the same time. I figure that every single teacher in the school system with minimal management skills could have done this better. It is raining but I wrestle the barrel into the car. (Can't wait to get home and rip open the conversion kit. I knew I shoulda been a plumber.)

Maybe it was not the fault of the poor EPA workers who have been there since 6AM. They are not trained in crowd management. But no one seemed to be in charge – the benefits of Bloomberg-style management. What was needed for this even was a top-level manager. Someone with vast experience in managing large organizations. Someone who would be available on a Saturday morning. A perfect job for Cathie Black.


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Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

Cathie Black to Head Ed Notes Expansion to Russia

Published in The Wave Friday, April 15 - www.rockawave.com

Phee-Asko
by Norm Scott

If you don't know what the title of this column refers to you have not been a regular reader. Just consider it your phonics lesson of the day. But all is not lost for Cathie Black. I have decided to hire Black as the publisher of my blog Education Notes, thus giving her an opportunity to combine her vast experience in publishing with all she learned in her three months in the world of education. Cathie and I have a lot in common – we're both 66. She asked, “If I were a guy, would I have had the pounding that I did?” I assured her she would be treated just like a guy. And when she complained about all those unflattering shots of her that appeared in the press, I was careful to tell her she could pick any photos she wanted to use. When she compared the experience as Chancellor to trying to learn Russian in a weekend, I jumped at the opportunity and put Black in charge of translating Ed Notes for the Russian market.

The same people who praised Bloomberg for appointing Black are giving him credit for acting quickly once he realized he made a teeny-weeny mistake by dropping an atom bomb on over one million school children – Bloomie, our own Dr. Strangelove. Want to see a list of people who jumped on board? Check out this link on my blog: http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-oppose-walcott-waiverlist-in.html. We haven't heard from Opra or Whoopie since Black left.

A Teacher Has Second Thoughts on Weingarten

by Robert C. Rendo
English Language Arts Teacher, Westchester County


In 2006, when I had written  an article in the NY Teacher Paper about Randi Weingarten, I extolled her leadership virtues by examining her role in actualizing parity to bring city teacher salaries in line with those of the gentrified suburbs. She also compromised tremendously in that “victory” by helping Michael Bloomberg secure mayoral control of the New York City public schools and then extending the working day for teachers, amounting to 15 more days a year. The “leveling” didn’t exactly produce a flat terrain, and pay for city teachers, while increased, still lagged behind about $7,000 on average for top capped salaries.

With regard to Ms. Weingarten, I’ve since then had a reversal of observatory fortune and am getting in touch with my inner Diane Ravitch. Like Ms. Ravitch’s “one-eighty” on NCLB, I’m now seeing Weingarten in a high wattage spotlight, as opposed to the rose colored light I once shed on her in my article. Ms. Weingarten was at the “We are One Rally” on April 9th in Times Square. I saw that the only transparency she exuded was the two way mirrored window pane plucked straight from a stage set. She was cheering us protestors with her shiny high pitched, fast talking, inflection filled speech. Yet, her rhetoric remained acutely incongruent to her past and present actions. Randi Weingarten is, within her own drama queen-to-centrist spectrum,  a substantial obstructionist to true educational reform.

I want to remind everyone at that rally that Weingarten, a teacher for 9 months in her whole 20 year career, paved the path for Bloomberg to control and damage the NYC public schools by demoralizing teachers with a test-obsessed, mostly data driven, and castigative professional culture. Not to mention, Bloomberg now runs an opaque process where no one gets to see too much of what goes on behind the scenes; whatever democratic components he has in place, like the Panel for Education, are little more than cosmetic democracy. His hiring of Cathy Black was a swift smack in the head to teachers, administrators, cognitive scientists, students, and parents. When I saw Weingarten up at that speaking post at the rally, I was reminded that this was the very same figurehead who was completely behind mayoral control and instrumental to getting Bloomberg this post.

 Bloomberg’s appointment as a education leader is a dot that can be directly connected to other dots of non-teaching occupations and unions. He’s a prominent powerbroker for the rich and an indifferent plutocrat whose policies weaken the middle and working classes.The contradiction of Ms. Weingarten, president of the AFT, and Mr. Bloomberg, president of the rich, stick out like a sore, open, liquidy infected blister.

I am also reminded of Weingarten’s successful move to feature Bill gates as a key note speaker at the AFT convention this year. How can that NOT send the wrong message to us teachers, yet also, reveal Weingarten’s true “reformer-deformer” orientation? Gates is among the most anti-teacher and anti-teacher union plutocrat in the United States; not to mention he is emotionally disconnected from the student-teacher bond and has no background in education. He has preached his cavalier and politicized acceptance of several self-dogmatized, bizzare precepts: 1) class size doesn’t matter; 2) the length of time it takes teachers to become adept and experienced is only 3 years); 3) there is a non-necessity of having a masters degree or higher to become a teacher; 4) there is a non-necessity of factoring in student poverty to teacher evaluation; 5) there is an innocuous need to replace, in part, real teachers and the human bond part with virtual learning. How much more counterproductive to children’s intellectual development can Mr. Gate’s Aspberger-ish and disconnected notions be?

Yet  again, we turn to Ms. Weingarten, who cherry picked at one of the most visible and symbolic forums this year at the AFT convention.

Finally, there is the UFT debacle wherein Weingarten, and then later on, Michael Mulgrew, suppressed information regarding Iris Blige, the Medusa-inspired principal who was found guilty and fined by the DOE of giving directives to her assistant principals to issue “U” ratings to teachers without actually having them observed. The UFT deliberately chose not to pursue this case when one of the affected teachers was sent to a rubber room. The virtual absence of coverage, press conferences, rhetoric, and plain truthful advocacy is key to revealing Ms. Weingarten’s corruption and incompetence. And now we all get to relish those same branded hallmark qualities in her at the national level.

It is my succinct hope that the more people are keenly aware of Weingarten’s “all-about-eve” style representation of teachers nationwide, the more there will be a movement to seriously and perhaps aggressively unseat her. It remains a critical goal to replace her with someone who will militantly stand for those who educate rather than for ideological, philosophical movements that are dressed up to imitate advocacy for teachers. But then again, Weingarten is a master at self-promotion. I can see her sparkling up her public image a little by dancing with the stars or showing up on a revival of “What’s My Line?” Yet, the real Randi Weingarten couldn’t possibly ever stand up due to her own self serving denial and paralysis. A strong but peaceful grass movement to form and mobilize a national teacher union where the president is directly elected by teachers - as opposed to being elected by a cronied tier of upper delegate management, is a start in the right direction to restoring health to a union that is diseased by its leadership.

Teacher Expose: Inside a South Bronx Charter School

Thanks to Queens Teacher for this link.


Mary Ann Reilly at Between the By-Road and the Main Road posts a former student's harrowing account of teaching in a South Bronx Charter School.

View this as a companion piece to our post the other day: An Ex-KIPP Bronx Parent Speaks Out

Note, these two stories are not necessarily from the same schools, but the stories are indicative of the harsh environment for children and teachers at so many charters. (Some have compared them to pre-civil war plantations.)

Guest Blog: Miss C Recounts Teaching at a South Bronx Charter School

Guest Blog: This blog post was written by Miss C a former graduate student of mine who spent a year working as a first grade teacher at a charter school in the South Bronx (NYC). Miss C completed a Masters of Professional Studies in Literacy, a graduate program that ironically privileged the arts and situated the study of "literacies" within a sociocultural framework. The charter world that Miss C describes represents a fundamentally different understanding of teaching, learning, children, and developmentally appropriate practices than what she knew and learned at college.  

I warn you, I cried reading this narrative--not for Miss C, a talented artist and teacher now working in a public school, but for her 22 first graders still at the charter school.

                                                Welcome to Boot Camp

“Miss C, when you were gone, I was so scared, I thought I was in boot camp!” -one of my first graders, after I returned from a meeting.

            This piece serves as a glimpse inside a South Bronx charter school, told from the perspective of a classroom teacher. With the overblown acclaim of charter schools as a means of education “reform” in recent months, I jumped at the chance to tell my story.  I realize that mine is just one story and there are infinite stories and viewpoints held for any given situation;  someone else in my shoes might offer a completely different account. My hope is that my story will spark a conversation, offer new perspectives, and raise a few questions. Teacher's voices can be powerful when they are allowed to be heard.

            Charter schools are public schools, and can be started by and run by anyone. It is not uncommon for them to be operated by people who have no background in education.  They are funded by a mixture of government money, private donations, and grants, and are often situated in areas of high poverty, where applicants are chosen by lottery. Charter schools offer longer school days, smaller class sizes, and "rigorous, standards-based instruction". They also offer a militaristic and strangely corporate environment that emphasizes the importance of order, obedience, and product above all else. Everything has a set protocol and predetermined vision of result, usually dreamt up by administration.  I spent ten months feeling like a chess piece, robot, crusader, warden, inmate, and performer, sometimes all at once. It was a very long year.

Lights, Camera, Action: Battling the Script

“It defies both logic and experience to believe that the learning of all will be enhanced by a curriculum that meets the individual needs of few, if any." --P. David Pearson 

NYCORE Conference: Whose Schools? Our Schools! Bill Ayers' Keynote

Taped on March 26, 2011



Watch directly on vimeo if video plays slowly here:

NYCORE Conference: Whose Schools? Our Schools! Bill Ayers' Keynote from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

Also check out:

FMPR & UPR NYC Forum of Mar 18 youtubes

Posted by: "Angel Gonzalez" gee.lee21@verizon.net   gee.lee21

Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:49 am (PDT)

For Youtube Videos on:
The FMPR and UPR Forum at Resurrection Church, South Bronx of March 16, 2011

part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAP-fv87RBU&feature=player_embedded
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAP-fv87RBU&feature=player_embedded
part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8NsTY1YDk&feature=player_embedded

Angel F Gonzalez

Puerto Rico - Solidarity Network
http://prsolidarity.blogspot.com/

For PR & NYC School Struggles -
Go to my Youtube Account: Pitirrefili

Jamaica HS Play and Discussion- Declassified: Struggle for Existence (We Used to Eat Lunch Together)

Revised June 8, 2011

From Rethinking Schools

Getting two schools co-located in one school building, especially when one school is being closed replaced while the other is viewed as being favored is not an easy thing to do. But when it happens it can be a beautiful thing to watch. Well, it happened at a Queensborough Community College Prep class with students from both schools based at Jamaica HS where teacher/facilitator Brian Pickett taught a theater class of students. A student-written play dealing with the subject matter of closing and co-located schools and the impact on the students was the result. (See Brian's article in Rethinking Schools.)

Here is the original April 10 blog:
I've been waiting to get this organized since I taped it on February 22. I had to wait to make sure it was OK with the people involved. I taped this performance at an off-Broadway theater. The follow-up Q&A with the students has as much impact as the play itself. They talk about being told they couldn't perform and the follow-up. The entire video is over an hour - I did no editing but just tried to let the camera capture it. It is scrollable so you can watch it in segments if you don't have time for one sitting. The students are so damned articulate from both schools.

Note the interesting question from a Wingate HS campus student at around the 48th minute about why not phase out certain schools - and the response.

Here is a note from Brian Pickett, the teacher who worked with the students:

On February 22, 2011 students from Queens Collegiate and Jamaica High Schools performed an encore performance of "Declassified: Struggle for Existence (We Used to Eat Lunch Together" at the off-Broadway Abingdon Theater. The play, an adaptation of the ancient Greek tragedy "Antigone", was written by the students in a class at Queensborough Community College.


It had been initially banned by the students' principals for fear it was too critical of the Department of Education's decision to close Jamaica High school. The performance is followed by a discussion with the audience.
----Brian Pickett

Here is the direct vimeo link


Jamaica HS- Declassified: Struggle for Existence (We Used to Eat Lunch Together) from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

Washington Teachers Furlough Rally at Washington Post Today

People are putting 2+2 together and figuring out that favorable press coverage for ed deform at WAPO has a profit motive - the connection to one of the big money makers out of ed deform test prep mania - Kaplan. The more testing the bigger the profit – Race to the Top of the profit heap.

By the way, interesting that there are furlough days to keep away from layoffs- certainly not on the table here in NYC - and it shouldn't be given that there is no need for cuts.

This is from WTU VP Candi Peterson's Washington Teacher Blog.

WTU Call To Action: Furlough Protest Rally on Friday, April 15

WARAGE EQPROFITS" DETAILS WHAT: WTU Furlough Day Rally WHEN: April 15, 2011, 10:30 am WHERE: Washington Post Building, 1150 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC WHY: The Washington Post has buried the truth about education reform in DC! The Washington Post endorses IMPACT (test score centered teacher evaluation) at any cost! The Washington Post's ownership of Kaplan Higher Education, the U.S. premiere education profiteers, creates a conflict of interest on education policies. BACKGROUND: The Washington Post has consistently discounted the credentials, abilities and performance of hard working DC public school teachers. Kaplan's revenues, which are generated primarily by federal student loans, fuel their Editorial Board. The education stories have been uniquely biased against traditional public education creating a worse situation. Their national agenda has been about profit, not the people of Washington, DC or their children. CALL TO ACTION: The WTU is asking for all those who care about public education in the District to: Join forces to let the Washington Post know that we will not stand by while they continue with unfair and biased reporting. Boycott the Washington Post newspaper until they stop lying! Support community newspapers that report fairly and care about teachers, students and real education reform in the District. Click here to view the detailed flyer.

Video a Microcosm of Rhee DC Legacy

 The video below is a microcosm of one of the goals of ed deformers - to drive a wedge between teachers and parents by any means necessary. You will continue to see this story repeated over and over - even the same words will be used in just about every city under the attack of the ed deformers.

But guess what? It just ain't working. Check out Sue Peters at HufPo: From the Fall of Cathie Black to the Mirages of Michelle Rhee: A Bad Month for Corporate Ed Reform. And last night was a rough one for Harlem Success Academy in District 14. The lies no longer are working. I will report on that event later.

The 6 minute video has it all: an imposed decision from the top, a young ed deform principal put in charge of a middle school who came from an elementary school and had not been a principal before. She was "Rhee-like with an outright disdain for the teachers and the other adults who worked at the school." On the first back to school night with parents and teachers and some students - the new principal comes in: Parents and students: "I'm the hip-hop principal. I want to let you know it's parents and us against the adults in this school, including the teachers."

From Rhee First: The Sad Legacy Under Rhee

This gripping video shows community members tell the tragic story of how Rhee failed to heed the warnings of teachers, parents, police, and community members, and the chaos that followed in their school.  The Hart school story underscores the kind of non-collaborative model of education reform that Rhee believes in, despite her rhetoric to the contrary.  Yet she continues to spin her tales of illusory successes. In an article today in the Huffington Post, Rhee said:
“I know some of my decisions were unpopular and generated what some might call bad press…….. but making real change requires decisive action. Let’s examine my decision to close 23 schools where enrollment numbers were low, as was academic performance levels. In the end, the kids got to go to better schools that were still in their neighborhoods”.

This video tells an opposite story–one among many such stories that deserve to be heard.

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Check out Norms Notes for a variety of articles of interest: http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/. And make sure to check out the side panel on right for news bits.

An Ex-KIPP Bronx Parent Speaks Out

I would like to share this with the world. People have to know. I feel charter schools could be an excellent alternative to private school for the poor. But not the way they're doing it. They have to change with the times.

After reading an article about the entry tests that KIPP Baltimore was giving to incoming students, I became angry and I needed to share my story. I feel every child deserves a chance at KIPP with the proper treatment, help, and chance. It's not fair what they are doing.

As a parent of a former KIPP student, which I fought tooth and nail to keep my child at the NYC, Bronx area school because of the structure and academics, I must share with you that the school does many unethical things of which the outside world is not aware of. Students that are accepted and who have IEP's do not get the correct services and or help so that they can be successful. The school would rather make it difficult for both parent and child, leaving the parent frustrated and helpless forcing the parent to remove the child.

I was KIPPs worst nightmare and made sure that my daughter got the help and services so that she can have an excellent chance at being successful in her academics. Boy it wasn't easy. I have kept a log showing the hell the school put me through and the unethical behavior demonstrated towards my child and myself by the school for 4 years. For the amount of funding that the school gets, my child had no up-to-date science or math books during her 4 years. Everything was copies of book pages, or premath worksheets from long, long ago with problems out of a book. And sometimes, incorrect math work. But no books.

The activity that the school did that bothered me the most was the corporal punishment, having students write repeatedly 100 times what they should do right, and pulled students out of the classroom forcing them to stand outside of the classroom on the black line on the floor with their notebooks open to complete classwork for the entire period. I always showed up unexpectedly which gave me the opportunity to see many things that were not so nice. I would question them and remind them that that was against to law and everyone would ignore me.

The 4 years that my daughter was at the school I venture to say, were KIPP's worst years because there were many students that had academic challenges. I certainly did not let the school know that my daughter had an IEP because I knew they would find a way of not accepting her. I wanted them to see the academic potential in my child and I knew them knowing she had an IEP she would not have had to chance to attend KIPP. I can see where the testing [to weed out some kids] is now being used. They want perfect students. What do I mean by this perfect student? Well students who will not question the school's unethical behavior towards them. Who will not be discouraged when they are not given a chance to show their true character, when they are not allowed to vindicate themselves when the school is favoring a "good" student over them - a "bad" student. I can go on, and on.

Just to give you a picture of how students see KIPP, the true meaning of KIPP, as per the students is "Kids In Prison Program". I truly believe they have developed the testing to keep students who are somewhat academically challenged out of KIPP. But knowing them, they will find a way to show that is not the case.

Ed Notes in Bid Against Bill Gates for Educators 4 Excellence's Sydney Morris

Last update: Friday, April 15, 12:30PM

I had a lovely chat with Sydney Morris the other night at the post TFA sponsored gathering in a bar. I was duly impressed. I've become a believer in what Sydney has to say. She is all about putting children first and ahead of those nasty adults.

And she is for merit pay. She was obviously a top-notch teacher in her three years in the system before leaving with her partner Evan Stone to organize Educators 4 Excellence (she is supposedly working part-time F-status), where she gets to pontificate on the most important issue facing education and educators today: changing seniority rules.

One million school children and their parents just dream of the day when Sydney and her merry crew of hired staff at E4E win this victory so the sun can shine again and all women will be strong – Sydney clearly wears the pants in E4E – all the men will be good looking and all the children will have the achievement gap closed and be above average.

Sydney was a fabulous teacher totally dedicated to her children but also a firm believe in merit pay. I asked her how much harder she would have worked and how much more she would have closed the achievement gap had she been paid say, $10,000 more? $20,000? $50,000? Wow! Imagine, how the scores would rise exponentially as the piles of cash grew. And since E4E never even mentions class size, we could could pay her that extra money by firing the worst teacher in her school – most likely a senior teacher making a hundred grand despite spending the entire day reading a newspaper or being absent all the time. Just give her all those kids that were being denied an excellent teacher.

Sixty in a class? No problem. Sydney can handle it. As a matter of fact, when I asked why E4E never mentions class size, Sydney did admit class size can make a difference – if we could lower it to 15. "I taught 34 children", she said. "Since we might only be able to lower class sizes at best to 28 the extra 6 children wouldn't make that much of a difference." Now there's a real teacher for you. Sees no difference between 34 and 28 children in a class. I told you the woman was strong.

Well, Sydney wasn't giving me an answer to the contradiction between favoring merit pay and how her performance would have been affected by being offered merit pay.

She switched tactics - said it was all about incentives. Like luring someone from going to work for Goldman-Saks into teaching high school math instead. What a great idea. I hear many people at Goldman are already lining up to teach high school math in the Bronx. And imagine the math scores the GS guys who pulled those credit default swaps will bring in for an extra 10 Grand!

So, I tried another tactic: Getting into a bidding war with Bill Gates for Sydney's services.

"Sydney, how much do I have to pay you to lure you back into to teaching those poor kids you abandoned?"

I'm still waiting for her answer but she smiled at that, so there is hope.

Now you all know that even though I am a Tier 1 retiree, I may not be able to compete with Bill, Eli, DFER and who knows who else funnels money to E4E (check out their fancy new offices at 333 W. 39th Street). But I don't want to leave those poor kids abandoned by a great teacher like Sydney Morris.

So I am pleading for your help. Join the Ed Notes in a gala fundraiser at a time and location to be announced in the interests of children first:

SSBT: Send Sydney Back to Teaching


AfterBurn
Be sure to read my previous blog posts on the TFA/LIFO event  over the past few days.

TFA LIFO Afterthoughts -Part 1- and Response to Gotham Report

 I got pretty hot (angry) reading this Gotham School piece on the TFA LIFO panel (see my live blogs At TFA LIFO Panel Part 1, TFA LIFO Panel Part 2).

I left this comment. Go leave your own.

Can you ask Willoughby if by "those teachers who are not working with students" he means coaches and all the people assigned to DOE headquarters or networks? I bet if you search schools you will find people acting as assitants to the principals who do little or no teaching. How about all those bloated networks? And Tweed bureaucrats?

And what does this mean: "While some do work in classrooms teaching students, others are marginally employed doing administrative tasks, and all of them remain on salary."

Based on what facts? Using the words "some" and "others" is more than ambiguous. And dangerously misleading.

And why not make the point that Leonie made that 90% of the ATRs are teaching full-time programs (not "some" and "others") and the rest are doing day-to-day sub work in the schools (which is why so many schools don't have to call subs every day)? Do you think people are just sitting around? The DOE and E4E attempt to create a link in people's minds between the rubber room and ATRs is intentional.

And by the way, a sidelight of this is that one of the more difficult things to do in the system is cover different classes every day but doing it in the same school makes that process work better. (I did it for a year and a half). As a matter of fact reformers in years gone by (me) used to call for each school to have an ATR to do just subbing work and do necessary admin work when no one was absent. Yes it costs more but no one seems to be subtracting the costs of the subs saved.

Administratative work? How much paperwork has been dumped on schools that just can't get done. The DOE is not giving schools people to do it and it's getting dumped on teachers who teach regular programs or they are relieved from full-loads to do that (how much does that cost?) In fact school secretaries are so overloaded. How much does loads of paperwork dumped on teachers impact on learning conditions for kids? (How well would an actor do in a play if he had to run off the stage and rewrite the play?)

Making full use of ATRs helps the system, not hurts it.

So while I know this is not an article about ATRs but the fact that a major focus of the E4E asault on LIFO is based on the ATRs the lack of nuanced reporting - and I also blame the moderator Lyndsey Christ for not delving into these issues - and also the UFT's Leo Casey who touched on the issue but did not really nail it.

And yes, why not touch on at least some of the issues raised by Julie Cavanagh in a 2000 word defense of LIFO which I handed out at the meeting - which I know Christ had printed but never raised even one point?

You can find Julie's defense at ed notes: http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/julie-cavanagh-defends-lifo-in-response.html

 See Chaz' School Daze: My Response To Principal, Matt Willoughby's So Called Compromise On "First In, Last Out" (LIFO) To Terminate The ATRs.

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This post below was supposed to get posted yesterday but I raced out without hitting the send button.

Wed., Apr. 13

Now that I have some time to talk about last night - make sure to read my 2 live blogging reports - I will have a lot more to report, especially on my discussions with Sydney and  Patrick from E4E, discussions that went long into the night - until we were surrounded by TFA and E4E staffers who wanted to go home. I left my staff at home. We parted with Sydney asking if I were going to be nicer to E4E. I said I would always be nice in person but don't count on the blog. But more on that conversation later tonight.

I actually went up and congratulated Leo Casey last night as he won the day with the mostly TFA audience. He did a good job presenting the UFT position in a rational way. He was calm and fairly charming - I know, I know, but not the often shrill Leo.

I thought he still seemed to resist (as predicted) any out and out defense of LIFO until the end when NY1's Lindsey Christ (also a TFA alum by the way) pushed him and he said - somewhat sheepishly?- that it was still currently the only objective way. But he was very strong in essence defending LIFO by bringing up abusive principals, discrimination against gay and lesbians and sexual harassment - smart move with this audience which was mostly women.

I still think Julie would have been stronger - she would have really connected with that audience in age, gender and fact that she is in the classroom - but in fact would have liked to have seen them both on the panel. Look at the lineup - E4E and Michelle Rhee get 2 slots. Julie and Leo would have made a good tandem.

The Rhee slug was useless and Sydney was contradicting herself and tossing off inaccurate info.

The emergency replacement for Noguera (TFA staffers claimed they were told it was a family emegency but 2 ladies coming in told me they just saw him at AERO conf in New Orleans and there was no way he would have been there- Question: What did TFA know and when did they know it?)

Well, off to the city  - I might stop by the delegate assembly later and the Teachers Unite bar mixer afterwards. Maybe try some live blogging again - need to practice using thumbs.

----------
Coming soon: Part 4 - Conversations with E4E at the post event bar mixer (where I got free food courtesy of TFA - Thanks Wendy Kopp).

TFA LIFO Panel Part 2

[forgot to mention - lots of E4E people with green tee-shirts. They look like soylent green. Also - TFAer officials there - they look clearly to be in parnership - but many E4Es recruited from TFA.]
No signal here so can't post till later.

Sydney brags LIFO law in Albany was teacher voice. Uses "we" as if she is still a classroom teacher. Give us a break Sydney. False advertising.
She says Albany law strengthens union. HA.
Leo slamming law and by nature Sydney for being proud of it. Not something teachers would be proud of. Says research by E4E faulty that seniority layoffs affect schools with high poverty rates.
Lindsey says research can swing both ways.
Rhee slug is back. Can't listen to this guy spout nonsense.
Principal Willoughby speaking. We talk too much about atrs and u ratings. Should talk more about supporting teachers. Eval system not in place yet. His school would not be affected by lifo. Wouldn't trust some principals to be fair - first murmur from audience. Looks like a bunch of TFA people agree. Gets applause about looking for better eval system.
Lindsay talks long term.
Sydney - in absence of more perfect system lifo should be overrided. Claims 80 percent of teachers who would go in layoffs under lifo are better than those who would remain. Lindsay asks how she knows. She says research says but can't cite it now - slight guffaw from audience. I'm impressed by reactions of this TFA dominated crowd.
In other words Sydney doesn't care if innocent people who are u rated get screwed since most are probably guilty (think death row).
Rhee slug agrees with Sydney. Talks about subjectiing children blah blah blah.  Says these things don't have to be collectively bargained. You can get teacher input without coll barg. Right. Like you did in DC with Rhee. You sure listened to teachers. Says union defends bad teachers.
Leo - not job of union to defend incomp teachers but assure due process. Leo brags about eval system in Albany pushed by uft.
Talks about stand test deforming ed - cites wash dc cheating scandal- Gets some applause from some.
Basically looks like Leo winning the day. More applause from classroom teachers.
I'm not capturing essence of what he's presenting.
Lindsey asks princ if hard to give u rating. He says yes but also says has strong staff. So of course it is hard to give u ratings. (If you have a strong staff then U ratings aren't on table - unless there's a quota.)
Ed deformers use stats - like how can 95% be Ok if results poor? Jack Welch idea- fire 10% every year.
Leo says cut few hundred jobs at Tweed to pay for jobs. Gets laugh. Says teacher bashing will prevent people from entering profession.
Leo talks about bias agst women, gays, race. Says if you're a white billionaire you'd be safe.
Sydney says teachers need protection but pulls "adults" vs "children" card. Funny coming from someone who abandoned her children to spend her life fighting LIFO.
Great question from TFA alum. Says she was unprepared as first year tchr but survived thru help of senior tchrs. What would happen if lifo goes and salary is issue? Gets applauded.
Principal Matt says too much attention paid by Bloomberg to getting rid of teachers. Should focus on supporting teachers. Willoughby seems genuine.
Leo says we lose 50 percent of new teachers in 6 yrs. Problem is not getting rid of tchrs but attracting and keeping them.
Tchr question - nearly given u rating for being gay and left wing. Only union protected me.
Sydney now calls for administrator accountability - gee, a new wrinkle. Boy does her voice squeek. Worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.
Leo again brings up gay and sexual harassment. Lindsey asks if employment law doesn't protect. He says any half smart admin knows how to get around it.
She asks does that mean he favors lifo. Lindsay has been pushing this to try to get Leo to take a stand.
Then he nails it with - reluctantly it seems - only objective measure. FINALLY.
Sydney again talks about absenteeism. Christ asks about medical reasons.
Sydney says if medical ok
Leo- why not use current expedited procedure? Why create new proceed?
Lindsey - what about crime procedure? Proposed Law says tchr charged. What about DWI? Should teacher drinking an driving on a SAt nite be fired?
 Leo says DWI not best example - what about getting caught with small amount of marijuana (people laugh -there's a crowd winner -- should that disqualify you from teaching for rest of career?
Lindsey - brings up atr pool.
Leo - pool created by negot -
Look at what people are doing - doe created disincentive to hire. Princ get free tchr.
Most teaching full time.
Gives example of dist 79 tchr. Ph.d at stuy with full load.school won't hire him officially.
Sydney disputes Leo saying doe gave incentive to hire atrs. No time limit. Attacking atrs. Says lots don't go looking for jobs or respond.
Leo disputes her. Most atrs came out of closing schools. Union offered to negot where every atr pool tchr would be placed and doe refused.
Lindsey says sydney said what doe would since no deputy from tweed there. Of course she would echo doe/
Leo says only 4 deputies are left. Lots of Laughter.
Meeting over - chat in back and then head to bar/social mixer where there will be food - yummy.
phone failing.
report on bar scene later.

Cheers
Norm Scott

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com
Grassroots Education Movement

Education Editor, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

At TFA LIFO Panel Part 1

I gave out about a hundred copies of Julie's statement with a rap about how her position on lifo is stronger than uft presentation.
Lindsay Christ already printed a copy from the blog.
Evan came over to introduce himself. Claims he was supposed to be on panel in wash hts but dis-invited.

False advertising. Pedro Noguera is not here. A woman told me it was clear he wouldn't be here because she just saw him in New Orleans. But did the call Julie? Noooooo. They replaced him with an "emergency" replacement - Matt Willoughby - who is a TFA alum and principal of the Urban Assembly School of Design. He said teachers not working with kids - specifically ATRs and teachers up on charges should go first.
Now E4E - elevate discussion for classroom teachers - which of course she no longer is after 3 years. Laying out E4E line. Excessive absences should go - claims several hundred. Then U ratings. Then target ATRs - over 6 months.
Teachers who turn down jobs should go.
Leo- Bloomberg is stealth Wisconsin - Bloom manufactured crisis. Numbers at Tweed has gone up.
Bloomberg sees oppty to create at will employees (like Green Dot, Leo?). Now good point - turns layoffs into firing so have no right of return.
Due process - don't want dp. Absenses. U ratings. Raises Bx princ who sexually harrassed. Filed 3020a charges agst tchrs who testified against him. Gog help us if we give up protections.
He says only way is Lifo rigjt now.
Lindsey - is that good for students?
Leo- only good thing for students is no layoffs. System lost 5000 teachers over last few years. Class sizes high.
Leo actually did a decent job though I think he didn't lay things out as well as Julie would have.
Michelle Rhee slug is throwing out the anti Lifo line.
Lindsay says she will get back to principals behavior.
TFA guy just said Noguera had family emergency and they only found out a few hours ago. They still could have called Julie.

Part 2 coming next.

Cheers
Norm Scott

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com
Grassroots Education Movement

Education Editor, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry