D-Day and More on Woodrow Wilson and Race - Norm in The WAVE

Published June 9, 2017
D-Day and More on Woodrow Wilson and Race
By Norm Scott

June 6, 2017
I am watching all the stories on the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of Normandy. We got married – the invasion of Norman --- on the 27th anniversary, so D-Day has a double meaning.

Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead, according to Wikipedia. One of the myths about D-Day was that it was an American invasion when in fact it was Britain which took the lead, even though the supreme commander was Dwight Eisenhower. But everyone recognizes it was our entrance in the war, dragged kicking and screaming out of an isolationist-minded America, that played the ultimate difference.

Western Europe was pretty much under the control of Germany for four years, from May 1940 through June 6, 1944. That’s a long time in warfare. The allies, theoretically could have put a priority on the invasion earlier but first invaded North Africa and then Italy at Anzio where they had to fight up the boot of Italy. The Anzio invasion is not generally considered well-planned or a success.

The Soviet Union had made a deal with Hitler in August 1939, which secured Hitler’s eastern front and allowed him to conquer the west, until Hitler attacked Russia in June 1941. Stalin turned into our ally, though not trusted by many. The Soviets suffered initial devastation. One week into the German invasion, 150,000 Soviet soldiers were either dead or wounded. By October 1941, two months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which brought us into the war, three million Soviet soldiers were prisoners of war. And then came the winter in Russia, which stopped Napoleon 150 years before. And bogged down the German army.

The turning point of the war is viewed by many historians as not D-Day but the Battle of Stalingrad, which raged from the winter of 1942 through February 1943. Wikipedia: “It is often regarded as one of the single largest (nearly 2.2 million personnel) and bloodiest (1.7–2 million wounded, killed or captured) battles in the history of warfare. German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses.” Then the Soviets began to push the Germans back, which further caused Hitler to weaken the western front. Stalinists often claim that it was the Soviet sacrifices that made Normandy possible. They also argue that the allies on the west should have made the invasion of Europe a higher priority than North Africa or Italy and that would have relieved the pressure on the eastern front and ended the war sooner. There are also claims that some people in the west were perfectly happy to see Stalin and Hitler wipe each other out. Fear of Stalin and his intentions – see the Cold War -- may have played a role in the decision making, but these controversies are what make history so much fun.

Speaking of controversies, Sharon Rutman was back last week with a critique of my comments on the racism of President Woodrow Wilson, excusing it with “America in 1916 was a very different country. Segregation and institutionalized racism were deeply entrenched in every segment of American life long before …Wilson moved into the White House.” I would say that segregation and institutionalized racism are still entrenched. Take a look at the tale of two cities in Rockaway.

In fact in 1912 when Wilson was elected, one major are where segregation had been balanced was in the federal bureaucracy, which in the fifty years since the Civil War had come to be seen as (then) model of integration in this country.

What Sharon misses was the major crime of racism committed by Wilson, who was an avowed racist: ordering the segregation of the federal bureaucracy, destroying the careers of thousands of accomplished black civil servants, a situation which lasted through the Civil Rights era of the 1960s. Wilson sent a signal, similar to our current president, that racism was OK. (The movie “Hidden Figures” shows Wilson’s racist legacy.)

Sharon also doesn’t seem familiar with the full facts surrounding WWI and the role a Wilson initiated PR campaign distorted facts to pull the American public into the war. One of the reasons the Lusitania blew up with such force and sank so quickly was that it was loaded with arms and Germany had warned people that these munitions ships were a legitimate target. I urge Sharon to take a look at the magnificent PBS documentary, The Great War, now streaming at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/great-war.

Sharon also seems hung up on how Wilson couldn’t have been a racist since he appointed a Jew to the Supreme Court. I hate to inform Sharon, but we Jews are not black and the discrimination faced by Jews and Blacks have been a very different experience. Jews have a long history of discrimination in this country, as have so many other ethnic groups – the Irish and Italians, the Asians, etc. But Jews have not been enslaved since Matzoth was discovered.

I believe that once we get into identity politics – my group’s discrimination was worse than yours, we enter a danger zone, which often leads to the dismissal of what others face. The challenge I always issue to people on the race issue is this: You and a black friend walk into a store. Which one of you is more likely to be followed, challenged, etc?

Norm blogs at ednotesonline.org

Exploring UFT Strategy - Janus, ATRs: Happy to See Dissenters Depart?

It looks like the UFT's strategy if there is an adverse Supreme Court ruling might not be to mobilize members to ensure that everyone wants to stay in the union, but rather it could be to kiss the governor's ring while going to the State Legislature to pass some kind of state law that works around the Supreme Court.... James Eterno, ICE blog

So, we joined our blogger crew in reporting on Monday night's (June 5) UFT Executive Board meeting (UFT: Union UnProud, as Ex Bd says NYET to Votes on ATRs), which was so revealing. There were times I laughed out loud at some of the stuff I was hearing. Arthur had a similar reaction:

.....how could so many people get up in public and say so many stupid things?
I sat for much of the evening shaking my head, literally, as I furiously tried to record the statements of the Unity faithful. One in particular shocked me, claiming that he spoke to two ATR teachers who were really excited about the buyout prospect. As someone who regularly speaks to ATR teachers face to face, on social media, via unsolicited email, on the phone and elsewhere, I found that impossible to swallow. It's inherently frustrating to be an ATR, being a teacher yet not a teacher, and I saw little or no understanding of that from Unity.

Who was that one who shocked Arthur? Why none other than Stuart Kaplan, who I used to get mad at but now am happy he gives us some laughable material.

Many of us have tied the ATR story with the upcoming Janus case, which we assume will turn us into a right to work state where people do not have to pay dues to the union.*

I don't have to go into detail on the drama behind the ATR agreement negotiated by the leadership and the DOE. Chaz lays it out at Chaz's School Daze:

Our Disconnected Union Leadership Tries To Justify The New ATR Agreement. -

James Eterno at the ICE (the caucus) blog asks the question of the day in this blog post:  UFT DOES NOT SEEM OVERLY CONCERNED ABOUT LOSING MANDATORY DUES CHECKOFF

Why is the UFT so shamelessly arrogant in the face of possibly losing mandatory dues for members or non members when the Supreme Court will more than likely rule mandatory union dues in the public sector for non-union members are unconstitutional (Janus v AFSCME)? One would think the union leaders would be on their best behavior as thousands of members could vote with their feet to leave the UFT after the Supreme Court makes their decision. That would cost the UFT millions of dollars.

While I believe the UFT leadership will do what James said they will, I also never had any doubt the UFT leadership would refuse to modify its behavior by catering to the members and is in fact perfectly happy to let what they consider "the losers, dissidents, gripers, etc" leave the union, as their being gone would solidify their control even further.

I can see some of the Unity slime slither, seething at even our little sliver of holding 7 Ex Bd seats (out of 100) where a portion of the membership (the high schools), by a slim margin, for the first time since 2004, rejected their leadership and voted opposition -- and this year we saw the impact even a small group can make. You know, if we weren't there, they could start the meeting at 6PM and end it at 6:15 and go home.

If the expected 20-30% leave the union, assume they might have been anti-Unity. They would rather run a smaller union than risk any chance of diluting their power.

Some of my own colleagues in the opposition, despite their level of political sophistication, actually seemed to believe there might be a change in leadership behavior. They argue we have to approach things with the idea of the union we would like to see but that can leave the Unity leadership off the hook.

James made his comment after reading about Mulgrew's revealing statement at the EB meeting as revealed by NYC Educator's reporting (Excecutive Board Takeaway--Being Unity Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry)

Mulgrew said something very interesting Monday night.. He seemed to suggest that there was some workaround to the Janus decision that would come around next year being negotiated statewide. That might explain why there's all the cozying up to Cuomo and a potential endorsement. But then he said both the country and state would be right to work next year, so it was kind of a mixed message.

The anti-union Mike Antonucci (what would he do if he and crew accomplish their goals and teacher unions disappear?), at Intercepts (not the left version) talked about the coming post-Janus war:
Is Janus the End of the Battle or the Start of a Guerrilla War?

What is the most fun for me is to watch Unity Caucus apparatchiks in operation try to justify every act of the leadership. Sometimes I have to laugh out loud. I'll let Arthur, who has learned a lot in his year on the EB, summarize the reactions when MORE puts up a reso:

LeRoy Barr gets up to speak against it, and everyone in Unity understands they are to vote against it. Schoor knew we would debate it because that's what they planned. They somehow put out the bat signal, texting or emailing a bunch of people to get up and oppose our motion.

What continually shocked me was the sheer volume of people who had nothing to say but got up and said it anyway. Though they got up one after the other and defended the agreement, we hadn't even criticized it. All we asked was that rank and file, or at least Exec. Board and DA, get a vote on this. We pointed out that ATRs had no say in this. Oddly, almost every Unity speaker ignored our argument altogether. They got up in rapid succession and claimed this argument was made in good faith. Yet no one had claimed otherwise. They said this gave ATR teachers an option. Yet no one had said it didn't. When you argue against something your opponent did not actually say, that's known as a strawman. It's a logical fallacy. 

A mind focused on defending the status quo at any cost is less than productive, and I have met many such people who are employed full time by the UF of T. Instead of looking forward for members, they focus on glorifying leadership. I'm surprised there aren't ten-foot statues of Michael Mulgrew in front of Queens UFT. 

* Who Ya Gonna Call?
On paying dues, remember that retirees do not have to remain in the union but most choose to do so. But many feel they are getting some service -- free courses, etc -- and the UFT does cater to retirees - of course.

Also -- a lot less people will leave than some people who hate Unity assume. While the UFT may not offer some people the service they think they should be getting, some will view it as a form of insurance - just in case. In theory, the UFT is supposed to supply the same service but if you are not paying for a special rep, well, you might just not get that call back.

UFT: Union UnProud, as Ex Bd says NYET to Votes on ATRs

It could have been so simple for the leadership to support the MORE resolution - see below - or even parts of it ---- but NOOOOOO! As Mike Schirtzer said in his excellent motivating speech, if we had a reso saying the sky was blue, Unity would vote against it and say the sky is green. (Stuart Kaplan would ask for an explanation on what is a sky. --- semi-inside joke.)

Arthur Goldstein began the festivities with this question, as reported on his blog:

Arthur Goldstein--MORE--Given the near certainty of impending US Supreme Court decisions it seems a good idea for our union to expand, rather than abridge fundamental democracy.
In 2011, there was an ATR agreement voted on by the Executive Board and the DA. In 2014, there was an ATR agreement that was part of the UFT Contract, and of course we voted on that too. This year, we have an ATR agreement that was not voted on by the DA, or any rank and file, let alone ATRs. Clearly there is precedent for us to vote on ATR agreements. Why was that precedent not followed this year?

Howie Schoor sang the no-bla-di, no-bla-day song in response:
Schoor—No obligation for us to have a vote on ATR agreements. I see there is a resolution and we can debate that.

And so they did debate.

MORE's Schirtzer gave them every chance on the ATR agreement (THE ATR AGREEMENT NEGOTIATED IN SECRET) to make it appear the UFT has even a sliver of democracy in a passionate speech on a reso calling for the UFT leadership to hold votes in the Ex Bd and the Delegate Assembly.

All they had to do was say "Yes" to a vote at the EB and at next week's DA, both dominated by Unity Caucus -- and they would have the veneer of democracy. But not even that,

Keep in mind this quote from Mulgrew, who spent 8 minutes at the meeting:

By next year we will be right to work state and nation. 

He should have added -- but we won't do anything to make our members feel there is a reasonable process for people to particpate.

Mike pleaded the case, not on the merits or demerits of the ATR agreement, but on the issue of how a union, under the gun of Janus and a soon to exodus thousands of members, should operate to try show these people there are reasons to save the union. Go consult the ATRs and respond to inquiries before heading into what could be a stressful summer, at borough meetings.

Arthur took some good notes on Mike's speech:

Unions are under attack Public schools under attack. We have to involve members. As a union and exec. board we have responsibility to follow democratic process. We the UFT need to consult with people whose lives will be affected. 

Amy Arundel, who I usually respect, came up with a la-di-da -- "we hold borough info sessions in September" -- a nice "screw you" to people who have anxiety over the coming agreement. She announced that UFT offices would be available for individual ATRs to come in. The leadership seems to fear holding any gathering where ATRS might congregate and start trashing the UFT leaders.

James Eterno, blogging from home as Mike sent him reports, had the instant ICE report on the essence of Mike's speech practically before he gave it.

This may be a good deal and it isn't really about the deal, it is about having something that impacts ATR's being voted on by the people impacted. ATRs need to be consulted.Democratic process is crucial to saving our union.

My feeling is that in the future, Leroy Barr or anyone in Unity, should speak against any MORE reso before they see it.

As I saw Stuart Kaplan and other Unities head to the mics to oppose the MORE reso, I whispered to Arthur -- you are about to get a gold mine of dumb and dumber comments to fill your blog. Arthur's notes has the essence of what they all said, but let's give Kaplan, sometimes known as the village idiot -- TVI -- some space:

Stuart Kaplan—Spoke to two ATRs today. Were excited about opportunity to decide. Is an opportunity. We deserve to give ATRs that opportunity. No one would deny ATR the decision. Many demonized in media. We don’t negotiate for some. We negotiate for all.

I leave it to you to try to make sense of it.

New Action's Jonathan Halabi, who didn't support the reso, gave some praise to the leadership's intentions:

Jonathan Halabi—New Action—Wants to recognize positive comments. I know that we as union stay in contact with ATRs. There is no assumption of anything but good faith. I believe agreement is good, but I haven’t seen it.

I don't give them credit for good intentions. Mulgrew pretty much said it -- the UFT and the DOE want the ATR issue to go away -- and the only way is to go back to a time where if you are excessed you get placed into an available slot, even if someone has to get bumped. The UFT was a partner in creating ATRs in the 2005 contract - and they should be reminded of that at every opportunity.

And Priscilla Castro—had her proud Unity moment as she spoke for the first time this year: calls question.

Gregg Lundahl, who is a designated and dedicated Unity "call the question" geek, seemed crushed as the meeting adjourned. But the UFT needs to diversify the crew that calls the question. Think of the many creative ways to say "call the question" to cut off debate.             
Arthur has last night's UFT Executive Board funny pages in full:

NYC Educator  

• UFT Executive Board June 5th--Homophobes Yes, ATRs No

James Eterno's report:

• EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT

The RESO:

Whereas the UFT Constitution states in ARTICLE V EXECUTIVE BOARD-SECTION 6.  that "The Executive Board shall direct the affairs of this organization"

Whereas ARTICE VII DELEGATE ASSEMBLY- SECTION 6 states "The Delegate Assembly shall have the power to legislate all matters"  and has repeatedly been referred to as "the highest decision making body of our union" by President Michael Mulgrew

Whereas UFT members under the title "ATR" do not have a chapter of their own, nor a chapter leader or delegate 

Whereas an agreement regarding  the status of ATRs was bargained and signed by representatives from the UFT and City of New York without the formation of a committee to do so, nor a vote by this executive board or the DA

Resolved that there will be meetings in the five  boroughs for ATRS to discuss and vote on any agreement regarding their status

Be it further resolved that the UFT DA and Executive Board will discuss and vote on any agreement in accordance with the UFT Constitution  and consistent with our union's democratic process 

Parents and Educators Reject NY State Education Department’s Flawed ESSA Proposal & Process in Advance of Brooklyn Hearing

For immediate release

CONTACT: Kemala Karmen | kemala@nycpublic.org

Parents and Educators Reject NY State Education Department’s Flawed ESSA Proposal & Process in Advance of Brooklyn Hearing

WHEN: Tuesday, June 6, 5:30 PM

WHERE: In front of the Prospect Heights Educational Campus, 883 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225. (2/3 trains to Eastern Parkway station, near Brooklyn Museum)

WHAT: The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the successor legislation to the Bush-era No Child Left Behind (NCLB) bill. Because ESSA gives states more latitude in defining their school accountability systems than did NCLB, New York’s families and educators were looking forward to the state creating an accountability system that incentivized schools to provide children with a high quality, well-rounded education. Instead, the New York State Education Department, under Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, is proposing that the Board of Regents adopt a system that doubles down on testing, counts opt out students as having failed the exams for the purpose of school accountability, and guarantees the continuation of narrowed test-prep curriculum that has spurred the nation’s largest test refusal movement.

WHY: To let the public and Board of Regents know that parents and educators reject NYSED’s proposal and the flawed process which led to it, including a “think tank” composed of working groups where NYSED controlled the discussion and pre-ordained the damaging outcome.   

WHO: Speakers to include public school parents Lisa Rudley, Executive Director and founding member of New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE); Jeanette Deutermann, founder of Long Island Opt Out and NYSAPE; Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters; Kemala Karmen, NYC Opt Out.  Both Haimson and Karmen were members of the NYSED ESSA Think Tank working groups.

VISUALS: Parents and educators, signs, banners, giant keys

NYSAPE is a grassroots coalition with over 50 parent and educator groups across the state.

Class Size Matters is a non-profit organization that advocates for smaller classes in NYC’s public schools and the nation as a whole.

 

 

Do we have to overthrow capitalism to really save the planet?

Why do so many of the smartest people I know identify themselves as socialist/Marxists? And sprinkle their conversations with comments blaming capitalism for all the ills of society?

I tend to place the blame on the species homo sapiens, ultimately the greatest destructive force in natural history, which one day will leave devastation behind that no form of government can save us from. It's human nature, which many Marxists seem the disparage -- man can be shaped, etc. How has that worked out in the so-called socialist/communist countries over the past century?

So I put forth this rambling rant on the weekend of the Left Forum, which so many of my MORE friends have been attending - (I am not) - there is a MORE session on Save the Union today.

I saw the title quote in a post by someone I have a lot of respect for -- and it triggered my usual thoughts when I see comments linked to the idea that only ending capitalism will save humanity. Various versions of socialism have not done all that well either.

At another time I will ruminate on how the ideas of many socialists as applied to a small caucus in the UFT at times leaves me mildly amused.

Many socialist parties/orgs - and Unity Caucus - operate under the idea of democratic centralism -- the group decides, supposedly democratically, and then everyone must go along even if they disagree --- but we often find there's a hell of a lot more centralism than democracy.

Mike Schirtzer recently commented: Democratic centralism and social justice unionism- a losing formula -- why? Because SJ unionism is supposed to be highly democratic - and often isn't due to the central committee mentality of some.

Most of my political comrades in the UFT over the years would identify themselves as socialists --- I refine the term to mean the anti-capitalist version of socialist --- Marxists and in some cases Lenonists (the idea of the communist party being the major instrument of control) --  as opposed to the Bernie Sanders social democratic version - that capitalism can be reformed and managed--- like Scandinavia or the FDR New Deal, which so fueled American prosperity - until neo-liberalism began to chip away in the late 70s and escalated with Reagan, Bush 1 and 2, Clinton, and Obama.

I believe that reform horse has left the barn in this country, only holding out hope that the bigger the Trump catastrophe, the more likely we can see a counter movement ---- yet as long as the Dems are in the control of the centrists there is not much hope on that end. Government has been bought lock stock and barrel.

In Russia, these were the Menshevik factions that advocated a democratic approach to socialism - Kerensky, was a leader of the provisional government after the overthrow of the Czar before being overthrown by the Bolsheviks led by Lenin.

I identify myself with the SD wing, which right now is the left of the Democratic Party. And by the way, social democrats are often mocked as mere "reformers" and "band-aide stickers".

But let me focus on my Marxist friends. Not having read very much of Marx or studied the theories, which to many people make certain things look inevitable -- like the collapse of capitalism and the rise of a socialist society -- I know I am missing a lot of the logic and analysis that goes into their position on capitalism.

My Marxist friends start at that point. Their ultimate long-term answer to every major issue is "when capitalism is overthrown" -- which is sort of like Jews who say "next year in Jerusalem" which we are supposed to say at the end of the sedar - but in my house we say "let's eat" instead.

But what of what comes to replace capitalism? They act like there are no models for when capitalism falls  - and when you bring up those models - Soviet Union, China, Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, Yugoslavia, the entire block of eastern Europe -- they all have theories to explain the failures, along the lines of "Ha, that really wasn't socialism."

The Trotskyists (do they close their meetings with "next year in Mexico City", where Trotsky was assassinated by an agent sent by Stalin?) argue that his theories would have led to different societies - and maybe if he had won the internal battle with Stalin that might have been so. At this point there has never been a socialist nation ruled by the ideas of Trotsky - so it is all about theory.

There aren't a lot of Stalinists around who defend the Soviet Union and its spawn, but there are some.

And how about that China socialism?

Now I would argue that these nations were in catastrophic mode before the communists took over and without their type of system, they would still be undemocratic banana-like republics.

Take Cuba --- and compare it to the rest of comparable small, poverty stricken nations in Central America and the islands -- Haiti, etc. I would argue that compared to most of them, at least Cuba has a decent medical and education system -- and yes there is no democracy with the party in control -- but there is no real democracy in the other nations. (How funny that Trump brings up human rights in Cuba after having just praised Saudi Arabia - the hypocrisy of most American politicians - not only Trump -- is to focus more on human rights issues in communist countries than in right wing dictatorships). Could Cuba or any of the communist nations, evolved though social democracy? I think not.

The problem with Cuba and communism in general is the top-down nature of the control - the very inability of people to have a say, often because in every one of these nations there is a strongman with the ultimate say.

I wonder sometimes what my friends are thinking, especially those who lament the future for their children. Do they think of what an overthrow of capitalism would entail - no one gives up power without a struggle and the battle in this country would be a royal one.

But why worry? Are there enough leftists who want to overthrow capitalism to fill the ranks? I can see the expectations that the Trump catastrophe will drive people left enough to demand radical change.

My expectations are for Armageddon.

June 3 2017 District 4 Alexandra Estrella, Rumored to being Bumped Upstairs, Hosts Inappropriate Drag Show at School Talent Show

Some parents get banned and some get flashed.        Some parents get letters of limited of access and some parents get unlimited act of lewdness.... parent activist

Estrella's ability to effectively lead is highly questionable. She makes one bad judgement call after another and children suffer as a result.... CPE1 Parent

Boxes were being carried out of Estrella's office the other day... rumor is she is getting promoted (kicked upstairs?)..... Anon source

After the CPE1 debacle where teachers were exonerated based on phony charges supported by, if not instigated, by her, we knew the handwriting was on the wall for District 4 Alexandra Estrella of CPE1 fame.

Did she pull another rock, and is getting a promotion to boot? As reported in the Daily News, she emceed a school show that featured the PTA president performing a drag show - which in itself could be a valid lesson to kids -- if it wasn't somewhat lewd  - and getting a promotion to boot?

WCBS also reported the story: PTA President’s ‘Drag’ Performance Stuns Parents At School Talent Show

I want to be clear -- I am not against having a man perform in drag, even at a school talent show, especially since he is the PTA president and lessons on gender are not a bad idea in a culture that can be rigid on ideas of gender. (I had a great experience being  part of La Cage Aux Folles last year, with some outstanding drag performances by an amazing cast -- and the makeup guy is like a professional drag performer who was amazing.)

The issue was the appropriateness of doing an Iris Chacón piece for elementary school children. Some parents were horrified, some thought it was wonderful.

The question is Dist 4 Supt Alexandra Estrella's judgement, which we saw was so faulty in her stewardship not only of CPE1 but of other schools in District 4 where she installed her political buddies as principals. No worries, there will always be a position for her in the bureaucracy at the DOE, while class sizes rise --- and how about the UFT making some points about the size of the bureaucracy where Estrella, if the rumor is true, can join Garg and Jahoda and Taveras in pushing pencils.

Farina's record is not good. Current District 19 has Thomas Mcbryde Jr., who as Deputy in D. 4 put Monika Garg, who he mentored in the TFA dominated New Leaders "Principal Academy" type program. And then there is District 12 Supt Rafaela Espinal-Pacheco, who put my former school through 5 years of hell when she was principal, one of the most hated, cold-blooded people I've ever heard of -- just mention her to anyone - all races and ages -- who worked there and watch their eyes roll back int their heads.

Yes, Farina said she had the best Superintendents at the April PEP meeting. Following up on the recent report Farina: I have the best Superintendents - April ... ""Lenon Murray, 56, the community superintendent for District 29 in Queens, was arrested for forcible touching and sexual abuse."

Here is the DN report:

Guest Blog by Mike Schirtzer: On School Discipline

Mike Schirtzer wants me to leave the ed notes blog to him in my will so he can retire and live off the income. In the meantime I offered him co-blogging rights when he has something to say, which is all the time. Mike, who became a fan of restorative justice, puts things in perspective in the context of directives from the DOE. On Friday, Arthur also did a piece on RJ: Restorative Justice? Maybe Sometimes, but Not Always

On School Discipline
By Mike Schirtzer
UFT Executive Board HS Division

I’m here to restore faith in Restorative Justice. So let me start with putting blame where it always belongs, with the bureaucrats who have spent little, if any time in the class-room.

The DOE passed another mandate telling schools to bring down suspensions by implementing restorative justice or Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS)practices. Like Common Core, ESL reform, special education reform, and everything else, it is yet another unfunded mandate.

There are zero professional developments for staff, administrators or deans. They were handed a new code of discipline and told “here ya go, good luck!” and sent on their way. Along the way many of our union sisters and brothers decided it was tree hugging, sitting in circles crap. Maybe they are correct in some cases because how poorly this has been implemented.

Some schools made a half-hearted attempt at social justice. Some
principals, having no real understanding or interest in providing needed support, just tossed it at the staff and turned their backs, guaranteeing failure and often mockery by the teachers. When it didn't work they threw it away.

Most schools didn’t even try, applying the traditional formulas: Deans know how to suspend. It’s what they do. It’s what they’ve always done. Teachers, paras, counselors, administrators, hell, even the secretaries know the drill; if a kid does something wrong, call the dean, have him (mostly boys) removed and suspended. That’s the way it’s always been and that’s how it should be. And it has always worked…...

But wait has it?

Statistics overwhelmingly show that the children being suspended are predominantly African-American and Latino. Schools that were closed or still considered “bad” schools have been suspending children for years, as long as I’ve been going to school here.

It has not worked. Those students ended up in prison or on the streets, and the schools were closed down. Suspension has not worked in 40 plus years. So let’s keep doing what hasn't worked? Don't forget. Einstein's supposed quote that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

That makes no sense. Maybe it is time to try something new, something different. No, we don’t have to sit with marshmallows over a fire singing Kumbaya, but we can think of different ways to deal with the “bad” kids. It’s 2017 after-all. We’ve changed the way we teach, learn, communicate, get our information,  and now is the time to change the way we discipline kids.

My friend who teaches at a rather large high school had an incident where a kid came in to the school’s auditorium talking on his cell phone while a bunch of students were completing their ESL test. He also referred to that group of kids in a nasty manner, called my friend a “moron", refused to give up the phone, nor identify himself and walked past him and other teachers until the dean caught up with him.

Yes, he was suspended. My friend says he deserved to be because he interrupted the exams that the his students were taking and that’s not fair to them. My friend is a great teacher who cares deeply about his students and would never allow another student or any person to do anything to harm them. Obviously, this is the type of teacher we want all our children to have. But he said he is open to better ideas than suspensions. So allow me to explain the alternative.

Suspending this boy is supposed to show him and others that this type of behavior is unacceptable. It is also supposed to deter others from doing the same. I wonder, will this stop this “bad” kid from doing something else like this, or will he become a repeat offender? Will the child be able to make up for the lost class-time? Is it possible this child needs every bit of time he can get in class, instead we showed him the door. He made fun of students that do not speak English as a first language.

I have a feeling this suspension will not make him change his views or make him treat other kids better. I’m sure he will never treat my friend any better and this suspension may backfire and make him hate teachers even more. Maybe this kid figures out staying home is a whole lot easier than all that school work. Maybe this kid never shows up to school again, maybe he comes back and treats all teachers even worse, or maybe he ends up being an angel and the suspension was a total success, though I really doubt that.

Here could have been the alternative or what we call “restorative justice”. The dean would have pulled him into his/her office. There would have been some cooling off time. Sometimes that’s an hour, sometimes it’s a day. The adults can decide based on the individual circumstance. A counselor or social worker would interview the boy and make sure everything at home is OK. Who was the kid on the phone with anyhow? Sometimes when kids act up at school it’s because they are having issues at home. Sometimes anger at an adult at school is really about anger at an adult at home. Next, the counselor would check what’s happening at school. Was there a test the student didn’t feel ready for? Are there academic issues? What is this student's academic and behavioral history and has anything been done to address it? All of this could have been followed with a restorative justice circle and/or peer mediation. The child could have met with the my friend and a neutral third party (students that are trained or a fellow teacher trained in RJ practices) where they will discuss what happened and why it was wrong. A consequence, such as an apology letter to the teachers and students that boy offended would be one “punishment”. Another could have been peer mediation where that boy has to meet with one or several of the students taking the test. The students could have explained to him why they need silence when taking the test and why it’s not funny to make fun of those that speak English as a second language. They could have shared their challenges in school and in life, finding out they have more similarities than differences.

Maybe this “troubled” student would come to see the world differently by talking to the teacher and students that were harmed by his actions. Maybe the boy would come to understand how his actions affect others. Maybe the boy would even go on to become friends with some of those he made fun of and wave hello to the teacher in the hallway. To take this to the extreme maybe the kid won’t miss class-time, drop-out, or end up prison. Maybe I’m wrong and the kid will end up doing the same crap all over again, but it seems like after years if kids being suspended, schools being closed and the ever expanding school to prison pipeline, now is a great time to give this a try.

But first a caveat: We would have to actually fund these programs, with training, RJ coordinators, more counselors and social workers. The deans have to be retrained to de-escalate and work with RJ practices. This would have to be done the right way with time and money invested it into it, not just another policy from above.

Since I’m a social studies teacher I always like evidence based arguments. Well I dare anyone to check out the statistics or talk to staff at Roy H. Mann Junior High school, Bronx Academy of Letters High School or Brooklyn Expeditionary Learning High School. I have been to them all and looked at the stats: suspensions are down, graduations rates are up, teachers and parents feel the schools are safer, and it is a better atmosphere.

Leonie Haimson Skinny Awards - June 20, 2017 - A Must Event

I've attended every one and intend to go back again this year, where the CPE1 parents will be among the recipients, along with the Townsend Harris students, both instances of revolts that led to the removal of abusive principals. And people who fight the charter industry and also battle Cuomo budget cuts. An all-star lineup.

Show you support for the amazing work Leonie has been doing - well - it seems forever. You never know who you will run into there. click here

Oh, and why are they called Skinny Awards? Why to counter the deformer Broad Awards.

Dear friends,
It's that time of year again! Our 2017 Annual Skinny Award Dinner will be held Tuesday, June 20 at 6:30 PM at Il Bastardo/Bocca di Bacco, 191 Seventh Ave., in Manhattan.
We will be serving a three course dinner with wine, and will honor those individuals who gave us the real "skinny" on NYC schools, including :

• The Parents of Save CPE1, who through persistent protests and organizing saved their progressive school from a principal who tried to undermine it;

• Mehrose Ahmad and Sumaita Hasan, the student-editors of Townsend Harris HS newspaper The Classic, and their faculty adviser Brian Sweeney, who by telling the truth unseated their abusive principal;

• Laura Barbieri and Arthur Schwartz of Advocates for Justice, who have persistently fought the co-location of charter schools, and this year were victorious in court by ensuring that School Leadership Team meetings would be open to the public;

• Wendy Lecker and David Sciarra of Education Law Center, who won funds for struggling schools when Gov. Cuomo tried to withhold this aid.

Just click here to reserve your seat. Please join us to partake of good food and great company, to celebrate these victories and gain inspiration for the battles to come! If you cannot attend, you can also make a contribution to Class Size Matters to honor these intrepid individuals and support our work.

Hope to see you at the Skinny awards!

More soon, Leonie



Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

Memo from the RTC: There Are Rumors…

My Rockaway Theatre Company column in this week's WAVE - last  performances tonight and Sunday afternoon. I'm going to both.

Published May 26

http://m.rockawave.com/news/2017-05-26/Columnists/There_Are_Rumors.html#.WSevVxkpDqA

Cast of Rumors

Memo from the RTC:  There Are Rumors…

By Norm Scott

Farce:  a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations. Synonyms: slapstick comedy, slapstick, burlesque, vaudeville, buffoonery.

I honestly didn’t expect to love the currently running Rockaway Theatre Company production of Neil Simon’s “Rumors” despite a great cast. Another Neil Simon play, I thought? And one that is not well-known? And a farce, the only one Simon wrote, to boot? Having seen a few, I knew that it takes perfect timing to be really funny and without that things can go downhill real fast. Could even this great cast of ten performers pull it off?

All I can say is that they did so flawlessly and I laughed as much at this show as at an in recent memory. As the videographer I had to shield the mic at times to cover for my laughing out loud.

Having been part of master builder Tony Homsey’s set construction crew, as per any production co-director Peggy Page has been involved in, along with Michael Wotypka, there were a lot of doors. And they open and close numerous times. Always in perfect timing.

Every member of the cast deserves a write-up which I will try to do next week after going back Saturday night and Sunday afternoon to get my full fill of the show. Everyone can use a few laughs in today’s world, so I urge you to get down to the Post Theater this weekend to check it out: Friday and Saturday nights at 8PM and Sunday matinee at 2PM.

 By the way, my former teaching colleague who retired many years before me, is a theater critic calling himself The People's Critic. He sent me a link to his review of Rumors at a theater he covers from a year ago.

https://thepeoplescritic.com/2016/04/19/rumors-leaves-farce-fans-laughing-at-crighton/

 

Judge Orders Charter School DOE Tried to Close to Remain Open Despite Poor Test Results - Why Didn't UFT Sue on JHS 145x?

The city tried to close grades six through eight of the Harlem school due to failure rates on state tests 

The WSJ has a report under a pay wall. It seems when charters sue to remain open they get their way in the courts.

In Feb I asked: UFT Leadership Shocked: Will They Make a Stand in Opposing Closing of JHS 145 as Giveway to Eva/Success Academy?

In January I asked this:

Is Attempt to Close JHS 145, a Political Giveaway to Eva Moskowitz?

When there was a move to get the UFT to sue over the closing of schools recently, they said they were studying it. We know closing the school without giving them the extra year promised was related to Success Academy needing more space -- in essence the lack of UFT aggression is a sop to Eva.

At the next Ex Bd meeting our people should ask them to splain themselves.

Some more Ed Notes coverage on JHS 145, where many of the teachers with a lot of vets will be thrown into an ATR pool -- unless there is an agreement with the DOE.

• Letitia James on Board: Big Boost to the Save JHS 145 Campaign

• Videos JHS 145 Hearing: Farina Closing 145 and handing it to Eva echos DeVos/Trump Ed Policy

• Eva Vs. The People: Battle to Keep JHS 145X Open - Hearing Tonight - 5:30

Farina: I have the best Superintendents - April 2017, at PEP

"Lenon Murray, 56, the community superintendent for District 29 in Queens, was arrested for forcible touching and sexual abuse."

Keep appointing slugs, Carmen

Queens school superintendent fired after arrested on charges of fondling employee

One down and many more to come, hopefully.

More coverage: CBS New York, NBC New York

UFT Ex Bd May 22 Notes - CPE1 Kumbaya, on Puerto Rico Teachers - NOT

Howie Schoor Tries on CPE1 Tee

Catlin Preston—CPE 1—Thanks UFT leadership, especially Howie and Ellen Procida. He is exonerated. Was long 14 months. Was reassigned as CPE 1 fight happened. Speaks of teachers languishing in reassignment, a twilight zone with no clear path forward, no guidance. Can be dispiriting, especially when you don’t know what you’re accused of. I am proof administrative abuse takes place, and that there are real consequences.

My exoneration indicates that charges were not substantial to begin with. Extremely grateful for due process rights, for salary, pension but dignity, professionalism were assaulted. Thought about quitting. I was found not guilty. I also have feeling of wanting more from UFT, ground level support, my mind stays with those teachers, They were dedicated professionals. We shouldn’t apologize for abusive admin. We need to balance investigatory power of admin.  ....

NYC Educator

UFT Executive Board May 22, 2017
The theme of this year's Ex Bd meeting has been the abusive principal - and Superintendent, as MORE/New Action constantly raised this issue at every meeting.

Last night, CPE1 parents and teachers came bearing gifts (tees) and thanks to the UFT for helping them get rid of a principal and their teachers back. I know, I know --- I should be joining in this kumbaya moment.

I do believe Mulgrew got involved -- how could he not? And yes I will give him credit for doing so. He did get an extra large tee and I hope to see him wearing it one day.

I, as usual, am skeptical on exactly what moved the DOE - the parent pressure on de Blasio, the sit-ins, the boycotts, the petitions, the going to the PEP for 14 straight meetings, the banners, the signs, the relentless pressure -- and yes the pressure on the UFT by showing up at Ex Bd meeting after meeting - and yes, also the support MORE gave from day one.

Now we hear some officials in the UFT had warned some parents and teachers to stay away from MORE -- that they were using them in their own interests -- but that didn't stop them from tapping into whatever support we could give them -- and believe me I am not giving MORE credit for doing anything but provide support and advice -- we have no power to move much --- but we, through our elected reps on the board, do have power to pressure the UFT/Unity leadership. And so we did and continue to do on the abusive principal issue, which we have from the first EB meeting of the year in September when we used the 10 minute pre-meeting speaking time to do just that, followed by our reps asking question after question.

I have two issues to raise: The reso on Puerto Rico which I will do in a separate blog and the comments last night by Catlin Preston who was totally exonerated after 14 months in the rubber room and a 3020a trial and is being returned to the school and classroom today.

I tried to take notes on Catlin's wonderful statement but am inept at doing so and will use Arthur's notes instead which I posted above.
Catlin got to the heart of the complaints about the UFT -- the attitude that as long as you are getting paid it is not a problem with them even if OSI is crooked and DOE Legal are criminals, as proven in his case. The UFT must take a more proactive role from day one -- all too often they begin with assuming the teacher is guilty - and they are so afraid to be too proactive in case the teacher is guilty. There has to be more support for people through the process, not just when the hearings start. The hands off policy must end and in fact the UFT must issue warnings as to what to look for when a new principal arrives who has the leadership academy agenda of mayhem and "creative" destruction.

For now, groups like MORE are trying to fill in when the union leadership is absent, almost an impossible task -- Catlin came to some of our colleagues for assistance in terms of psychological support, something we can do.

You can read full reports on the meeting from Arthur and James, who was getting reports from Schirtzer.

NYC Educator

UFT Executive Board May 22, 2017--Good News at CPE 1 y Problemas en Puerto Rico -  

ICEUFT Blog

EXEC BD NEWS ON ATRS AND HIGH SCHOOL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATIONS

Shino Tanikawa Video: NYC Community Education Council, CEC 2 Conversations on Integrating Our Schools May 9, 2017

Creating Diverse Learning Environments to Benefit All Our Students

I taped the 2nd annual CEC2 integrating the schools event led by Shino Tanikawa. I posted about similar efforts in District 1- Controlled Choice: Community Education Council (CEC) District 1. Is there disappointment in the de Blasio/Farina admin? Hell yes.

Shino put together a great panel:
9th Grader Sen Oglesby - Shino's daughter who told of her experiences in diverse classrooms - not only based on race but on factors related to academic performance - the pros and the cons.
Prof Amy Stuart Wells of Teachers College at Columbia whose research points to the benefits all children receive from integration.
NYC Principal Kelly McGuire of Lower Manhattan Community School.
MS Social Studies Teacher Lindsay Oakes who was Sen's middle school teacher.

Now we know this is district 2 -- the highest performing district with probably the wealthiest parent body in the city -- and with many high-powered achievement -meaning test scores - and competitive -- and Shino's slides show about one third Asian and over one third white. Actually, the ideal balance for creating diverse schools - except that these are not distributed equally.

There's a lot of meat in this video as a basis for further debate -- which is Shino's intention. Definitely worth checking out if you have time.

https://vimeo.com/217590199

Shino Tanikawa: Controlled Choice: Community Education Council (CEC) District 1

In pre-Bloomberg/Klein years, the k-8 lower east side schools run by the old local school board, had a very progressive record of trying to balance the schools. BloomKlein killed that with their support of free-market "choice" and the influx of charters. The much less powerful Community Education Council (CEC) that replaced the local boards in District 1, often under the leadership of Lisa Donlan, fought to the best of its ability but the powers aligned against them by mayoral control were immense.

There was some hope of change under DeB/ Farina but as the recent posting from CEC1 indicates there is much to be done.

Later I'll post the video from a similar movement in CEC 2 (the rest of Manhattan below 59th on west side and below 96th on east side).

Community
Education Council
For District One

Advocacy for students and families in CSD1.

What We Want to See in D1

What We Talked About at the Independent Community of Educators (ICE) Meeting Yesterday

Some people may be asking what exactly is the status of ICE - the caucus not the anti-immigrant feds -- at this point. It is not a caucus in the sense of running in UFT elections. There are no real rules in ICE in terms of taking action. ICE is out there mostly as the  ICEUFT Blog run by James Eterno.

Almost every ICE person is part of MORE, of which ICE was a founding organization. ICE was also the founder of GEM which morphed into MORE, so I'm pretty proud of the history of ICE. As poitned out at yesterday's ICE gathering, we were the most social justicy group when we were founded in late 2003 and proud of it.

Today, ICE doesn't really do much of anything but blog -- 3  blogs read by many in the UFT are from ICEers -- James, Arthur Goldstein and myself.

We also talk - endlessly about anything - and freely. Every so often there is a feeling that we have things to talk about and so we put out an open invitation to join us at a diner where everyone gets to hash out issues of concern, something that doesn't happen at MORE meetings, which often get divided into smaller discussion groups, something that most ICEers are not comfortable with.  Since our numbers are small we can do that more easily than MORE.

ICE met yesterday, the day before MORE is holding a meeting/conference today regarding its Save the Union Campaign,

The Demise of Unions?

A bottom-up vision for reviving the labor movement

CUNY Graduate Center (5th and 34th) Room 5414 (Bring ID) Date: Saturday, May 20 Time: 3:30 to 6:00, with socializing to follow.

 

MORE's position is to get teachers in the school to sign pledge cards saying they will remain in the UFT.

 

The major subject on the agenda was a discussion about the position MORE seems to be taking -- that after a negative decision on agency shops, we urge everyone to pay dues and stay in the union. There was some push back among ICEers, me included, on this issue - a feeling that alternative views were not given sufficient airing within MORE -- or people were not just paying attention. I did raise alternatives at one MORE meeting -- which as usual had broken into smaller groups - so my points were heard and I guess they passed into the ether.

So what are the alternatives to telling people to stay in the UFT, an undemocratic and  locked hierarchy that offers little prospect for change? There are alternatives, like forming an organization to ask people who won't pay dues to instead put the money in an escrow account to be used to organize and possibly recruit another bargaining agent - not something I support at this time but certainly an idea that should be vetted.

Other ideas have been to separate the high school teachers -- which vote opposition -- from the rest of the union into a separate bargaining agent -- there might be legal ways to accomplish that -- by getting a certain % of high school teachers to call for a bargaining election. After all, it was pointed out that James Eterno is the de facto HS VP since he got the most HS votes, but due to Unity's changing the constitution in 1994 to make the divisional VP at-large - where elementary teachers and retirees vote.

I'm not for that either at this point.

But I'm also not for giving Unity unqualified support without conditions. Imagine going around your school asking people to sign the pledge to stay. "Why are you in an opposition group and what do you oppose," someone might ask? "Well, they don't really offer a defense of the members, etc, etc, etc" - and your prospective signee says - "And you want me to keep paying dues to that?" and you have to say the truth -- it is still better than no union. But of course they can counter -- the union will still be there in some form.

Well, all of this was on the table, in addition to lots of food, as 8 of us met for I think about 4 hours.

We also talked about the issues below and about MORE in general and how some issues don't get aired - the sense that one can't be critical about things that don't work without being charged with being negative - which I have been charged with -- so I basically don't bother -- a form of subtle suppression of sorts which in an organization that is critical of the UFT leadership on democracy, is ironic. (Some feel that at times MORE feels like a manipulated democracy.)

We talked about the things we don't talk about in MORE. What is not working and what can be done about it. What is working and why -- right now the great work being done by the Ex Bd people in pushing the UFT/Unity to do more.

We didn't get to everything on the agenda below -- and I never did get my rice pudding -- I only had a 3-course meal.

Janus and the UFT. Are there alternatives to urging people to stay in the union?
Dissecting the Central park east story in depth -- what do we learn and can it be applied to other schools or is this an outlier?
Chicago and social justice unionism -- we see a dearth of info on Chicago after years of "lessons we can learn". Are the CTU and CORE morphing into the UFT and Unity? Tales of democracy and not democracy -- is the SJ model people are using failing or are there other considerations?
LA confidential -- the loss to charters in school board elections -- is that a good model as an alt to mayoral control? Union leadership in LA -- Alex' grand plan and was it disrupted by the election?

MORE, Featuring Marilyn Martinez, Meets Saturday, ICE, Featuring Rice Pudding, Meets Friday

Just heading out of Rockaway to attend the 4PM ICE meeting at the diner where I can gobble some rice pudding -- well it is hot out and what a way to cool off than at an ICE meeting. If anything worth reporting I will do so tonight or tomorrow. Not sure if I can make it back to city for MORE meeting as I have a lot of yard/gardening work to do but with Marilyn Martinez there it should be quite an event.

The CPE people are having a celebration with Catlin Prestin at 5 this afternoon uptown -

An open agenda at the ICE meeting - some topics so far:

Ed Notes/ICE summer series -- possibly study group, discussions, etc.

Janus and the UFT. Are there alternatives to urging people to stay in the union?
Dissecting the Central park east story in depth -- what do we learn and can it be applied to other schools or is this an outlier?
Chicago and social justice unionism -- we see a dearth of info on Chicago after years of "lessons we can learn". Are the CTU and CORE morphing into the UFT and Unity? Tales of democracy and not democracy -- is the SJ model people are using failing or are there other considerations?
LA confidential -- the loss to charters in school board elections -- is that a good model as an alt to mayoral control? Union leadership in LA -- Alex' grand plan and was it disrupted by the election?

TheMORE meeting/conference on Saturday

Victory at CPE1! Hear exonerated Chapter Leader at MORE forum this weekend…

May 17, 2017 — 1 Comment

Abusive administrator Monika Garg has been removed as Principal of progressive Harlem elementary school CPE1 and UFT Chapter Leader Marylin Martinez and Delegate Caitlin Preston have both been fully exonerated of the retaliatory charges that Garg initiated to remove them to the school!
This victory is the product of an eighteen-month struggle led by parents who occupied the school, took their children out of school in a family strike, and hounded Mayor DiBlasio at events. CPE1 teachers, supported by MORE representatives, repeatedly pressed the leadership at the UFT executive board for action.

Read coverage in on the blog of MORE Executive Board representative Arthur Goldstein, the New York Times, and EducationNotes Online.

Chapter Leader Marilyn Martinez will be speaking at MORE’s forum this Saturday at 3:30 PM – See details below… Please print this flyer to distribute to your staff today!

The Demise of Unions?

A bottom-up vision for reviving the labor movement

Location: CUNY Graduate Center (5th and 34th) Room 5414 (Bring ID)

Date: Saturday, May 20

Time: 3:30 to 6:00, with socializing to follow.

President Trump, Congress, and the US Supreme Court are prepared to continue and escalate the attacks on the American labor movement, and national “right-to-work” laws will severely weaken public sector unions.

How can workers organize in this environment, which is a result not just of recent events, but also of decades of anti-labor policy in the United States? How can public sector workers defend their unions from outside threats, but also hold them accountable and force them to stand up to Trump?

Join MORE (the Movement of Rank & File Educators) at our forum on the future of public sector unionism; hear grassroots organizers from groups across the city share stories of their organizing work and their thoughts on how to prepare for the challenges of the future.

SPEAKERS*:

 

Mary Fitzgerald, RN: Montefiore Hospital, NYSNA organizer

[Mary Fitzgerald is head of the bargaining unit at Montefiore Hospital for the New York State Nurses Association. She helped to organize the dissociation of NYSNA from the American Nurses Association and has been instrumental in advocating for safe staffing in New York hospitals.]

Marilyn Martinez: UFT Chapter Leader at Central Park East 1

[As the United Federation of Teachers Chapter Leader at CPE 1, Marilyn Martinez has worked with families and other teachers to protect the school’s tradition of progressive education. A veteran kindergarten/first-grade teacher, she has been a leader in the school community in the fight against abusive administration.]

*Speakers’ affiliations listed for identification purposes only.