Let ATR Teachers Teach - Petition

More voices from ATR's. First, a petition from Marjorie Stamberg which hopefully people will reproduce and pass around their schools.

Then 2 anonymous ICE blog comments (these comments do more than anything to expose the true state of affairs, so keep 'em coming.) One from Tilden HS, which is slated to close, which exposes the total uselessness of the UFT, which it is increasingly obvious is looking for ways to make this problem go away. Are they or the DOE to be trusted on anything?

This is what Klein wanted from day one and the UFT helped hand it to him. His comment in Principal Weekly this week saying there are plenty of new teachers available (see my other post today) without saying that there is a body of experienced teachers, who through no fault of their own, are available, says it all.

Naturally we don't expect this of Klein, but the gullible, or complicit, press will follow the leader with the line that these people are not employable and look how much it is costing the DOE.

Hell, yes they are not employable when schools are charged for their salaries. But this is the bed Klein and Weingarten made and the press, if honest- ha, ha - should report it that way. Now with economic crisis upon us, watch the pressure build to get rid of ATR's. Remember the cataclysmic mid 70's when we lost 15,000 positions, but at least seniority made this process somewhat orderly. Now it will be a free for all.

Click on the image to enlarge. If you want a better copy, email me and I'll send you a pdf for your school at Normsco@gmail.com.

From Marjorie
The situation of teachers in the ATR pool is urgent. Obviously everyone is affected. With classrooms more overcrowded than ever, it is outrageous that some 1,400 teachers are being prevented from teaching. This is a direct result of the union's sellout of seniority transfers in the 2005 contract.

The union must act. Attached is a petition calling on the UFT to organize a mass citywide rally to demand that the ATRs be given positions before any new teachers are placed. I would like to ask colleagues to take this up in their schools and the various teacher groups that they participate in. Let's try to have a meeting of those interested in working on this, possibly next Friday, Sept. 26. Please get back to me with your feedback and information.

Marjorie


Anonymous on ICE blog
Grieve What! At Tilden they did the same thing last year. The Principal saved thousands and thousands of dollars by making many of us ATRs and then she gave us full schedules in our subject areas. We all went to our chapter leader at Tilden and told him what are you and the union doing about this, we would like to grieve. He told us the principal does not have the money to pay us in her budget. This is the only way she can keep the school running and us in the building. If we grieve it she will be forced to dismantle the classes and assign some of us to different subject areas. It other words she will give a Math teacher 2 math classes one English class one science class and one social studies class. That way there will not be 5 open math class were the teacher can grieve a right of return. Plus any other extra Ats will be moved from the building. So don't rock the boat. Not to mention that she could come in and give you a negative observation. Yea, then you can go grieve that like your going to win. You will lose at the first 2 steps and then when it is suppose to go to arbitration it will be turned by our union because they don't want to lose at that level. We asked him they file a class action grieve on behalf of all of us. He told us that he does not know if he can do this. He'll have to talk to Charles Turner and find out. The Chapter leader never got back to us on it. We are still waiting for an answer a year later. Now that they are going to ship us out after a year of teacher 5 classes in our subject area as Atrs, our chapter leader tells us we can't grieve anything, we are lowlife ATRs and have no rights. We most go where they send us and do what we are told if we want to get a pay check at the end of the week.


Anonymous on ICE blog
I have been an ATR for a year and last year I had a full program. Now everyday that I walk into the building I hear that we will be moved by Sept. 19th. School aides stop me in the hall and tell me that Sept. 19th will be our last day. I feel like I am living the movie "Dead Man Walking" and everyday that I go to work it's like I am walking my last mile. I called the union district office and got a special rep on the phone who makes $127,000 a year and he he couldn't answer any questions for me. Did you ever speak to a dope? He asked me why I didn't speak to my building UFT rep and I told him that I do not like sarcastic and demeaning remarks which he would only make in the building to me. He then said he would tell the district rep about this and he would call me. This was 3 days ago and I have still have not been called. Lets face it I think the union has written off ATR's.

Not Qualified for President? Try Lincoln

With all the talk of Obama's "lack" of qualifications, check out the Lincoln bio. Failed in a number of elections, he did serve only 2 years in the House of Representatives in the late 1840's where he took a very unpopular anti-war stand on Polk's war with Mexico.

He functioned as a lawyer and community organizer. Lincoln, coming from what was then considered the west, was viewed as very different and exotic. In many ways, his and Obama's career paths parallel each other, as do their temperaments. Just a bit of irony here.

Check out The History Place for a complete summary.

Other sources: Dorris Kearns Goodwin's wonderful "A Team of Rivals."

And Harold Holzer's fabulous "Lincoln at Cooper Union," a complete description of Lincoln's first trip east and the background surrounding his famous speech in the great hall there, which I got to see for the first time last Saturday night at Naomi Klein's (The Shock Doctrine) appearance there.

The more you know about Lincoln, the more fascinating he becomes. You can try to make the case that "qualifications" include life experiences in his case. Some might try to use that to make the case for Palin too. But compare the backgrounds of Lincoln, Obama and Palin and draw your own conclusions.

The Human Face of an ATR

UPDATED

This was posted as an amazing comment on the ICE blog and bears more exposure to counter the lies Klein and the NYC ed press help him spread about ATR's not looking for work. Why would this ex-Marine try again? NOTE - see the item below it from Joel Klein's Principal's Week and how if nudges people to choose new teachers without a mention that there is a large pool of ATR's.

I got a call from a highly rated high school. They did not have a position but needed an ATR to fill in for a sick teacher in my subject area. The teacher may be out for a year and if they did not return, I may be invited to interview for the job that I would cover.

I showed up at 7:00 A.M. to interview for a position as an ATR. That was pretty funny. I had on my best suit, a close shave, a buzz cut to hide my grey hair, a letter of recommendation from the former principal of this very high school, a resume, 13 years of teaching experience, copies of observations, etc. I even sucked my gut in the whole time.

I answered all of the usual questions reserved for new teachers. I came off as confident but not over bearing. The AP seemed happy and walked me around the school. He introduced me to the staff who started giving me hugs and asking how I had been in the last ten years. One of them swore that she did not remember me but she was also the one that used to accuse me of "sprinkling while tinkling" in the common bathroom and not cleaning off the toilet seat which I honestly denied doing and explained to her that I was a Marine and that I keep things Marine clean. In this business, I wondered if she would bad mouth me as the "Tinkler" after I departed.

He spoke about getting me keys then told me to go back to my school and wait for the word that I would be transferred to his school. When I got back to my school, security started screaming at me as I walked past them, "Sir! Sir!, where are you going? You need to sign in here!" I told them that it was me under this clean cut look. They all started laughing and calling other agents over to look at me. They were telling me that they never saw me looking so young and handsome. The jokes were flying.

I told them that times were tough so I had to hire a make over show to get me a new job as an ATR in a school that I already worked in ten years ago for one semester as a full time teacher.

I have not received word yet and it has been two weeks. No disrespect to the staff if they decided to go for the "younger looking" teacher but that seems to be the way things are going now. Such is life.

This is from this week's Principal Weekly, but not a word about ATR's.

New Teachers Available
All schools

Newly-hired, certified teachers are available for you to consider for instructional vacancies. To find out more about these candidates, most of whom are in shortage subject areas, you can contact the Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality at (718) 935-4080 or contact your HR partner. You can also search and view resumes and essays of these and other qualified candidates using the New Teacher Finder.

Time for a Bailout ... of ATR's

"If the ATRs lose, the union is dead.... it might as well close up shop"

{SEE UPDATE BELOW FROM SOUTH SHORE HS}

It's bailout party time all over the place.

With the Absentee Teacher Reserve issue - as a result of closed schools and high salaried teachers not being hired by principals who can get 2 newbies for the price of one vet - it is time for the Department of Education to guarantee the salaries of these people instead of charging the individual school. Call it a bailout, so in vogue today. And so cheap compared to AIG and Bear Sterns and who knows what else? (WAMU anyone? My mattress is offering me some nice interest rates.)

In addition, every single ATR should have a job before one new teacher is hired.

Since these people are being paid to be subs and do coverages, at least allow schools to use them to create more classes where there is overcrowding. To do any less is insanity. But then again we are talking about Tweed.

The drumbeat is already starting to force these people out of the system with claims that they are not looking hard enough for jobs. In fact many have given up after getting zero responses once their salaries are known.

Rumors of negotiations and buyouts being offered are floating around. We just love the quote in the NY Post yesterday (see refs on the post previous to this) from a Tweedie that they are reluctant to offer a buyout because some people are hanging on who would retire otherwise. The DOE will probably hire Alvarez & Marsal to consult at $15 million for advise on how to turn the screws. Water boards can be installed in all schools with ATR's fairly cheaply.

And then there's the UFT, which signed all the contracts and defends the very system that created this mess in the first place. Will they, can they, pull some kind of deal which will screw ATR's? Probably not on the surface. But look deeply underneath to see the scum of any deal. You can bet there's lots of ugly stuff lurking.

UFT Unity hacks in the schools are claiming teachers will get to vote on any contract change.

Let me tell you how this "vote" will be conducted.

One morning, an emergency Delegate Assembly will be called for that afternoon. Presentations will be made at the meeting (details to follow, of course) and a vote will be rushed through. Will teachers get to vote in schools? Nahhh. This is really not a contract change, you know. Just a slight modification, so it doesn't have to go to the membership. Unity Caucus members who know this is wrong - will make every excuse in their minds to vote with the leadership.

It is my sense that the union is just as anxious as the DOE to get rid of ATR's - in the worst sense since they are the most disaffected and angry at the union. The leadership is placing its bet on the younger teachers who will not stay in the system long enough to see the light. As Under Assault pointed out the other day, check the NY Teacher for all the goodies for new teachers with barely a mention of the ATR situation. All teachers need to understand that entire schools can be turned into ATR's at the whim of the DOE by announcing it is closing.

One of the reasons for closing large high schools,where the UFT was stongest,was the undermining of the union at its root level. Game, set, match to BloomKlein, with Randi Weingarten serving as the handmaiden.

Ed Notes has been saying it for a long time: there's a lot of congruence (and collaboration) in purposes between Tweed and 52 Broadway.

Here is an email posted to ICE-mail by a teacher at Lafayette HS in Brooklyn, an historic school in the process of being closed which has left a pool of teachers without positions.

In light of today's news on the DOE's plans to lay off ATRs, call it whatever you want, some of us feel it should be a all-union issue, and that the principals should have to hire ATRs first, unless they can make a case that they need someone for a position that an existing ATR could not fill. The Unity line coming to us through our chapter reps seems to be, they can't lay off ATRs (who can believe that?!) and if they want to "buy out" ATRs, the union would have to vote on it first, so don't worry. Well, Randi & Co. can get a vote on just about anything they want. This is not a fight about a group of ATRs, but for seniority rights for union members. There will be hundreds of new " ATRs" every year. As one teacher said, if the ATRs lose, the union is dead, it might as well close up shop.

Comment on the ICE blog:

Don't forget South Shore High School. Ten or so of us are ATR's and sit in the Teachers Center (thank heaven we have it -- computers, a/c, good conversation) but the madness doesn't end there. Last week another 10 or so were declared excessed even though they have, and will continue to have programs, some full, some short. My guess is that the principal figured out how to milk the system since ATR salaries come from Central not out of her budget.

We were told that next week we will all (the ones sitting, that is) be shipped out to whatever schools need subs. I am horrified that I have no say in where I am sent, who I work for, etc. Why have I put in all those years, all that training, to have absolutely no say in my future? Even per diem subs have more say when they register with Subcentral.

Ed NOTE: From day one Klein wanted the right to ship teachers out to schools at his whim and despite union cries it would never happen, guess what? It has.

The Real Face of Ed Reform in NYC - Oops! or EEPs!

Want to see the real face of the "reform" movement in NYC? Try reading through some of these pieces without gagging. I'm not sure what's worse. What BloomKlein are doing or the happy face the UFT is putting on things.

The Full Horror of the ATR Situation in NYC
There's probably no issue that illustrates the BloomKlein commitment to pushing their ideology over education than the ATR (Absentee Teacher Reserve) situation. The open market concept, which the UFT has signed onto, has created a chaotic situation with every man and woman and school for themselves. Why hire 4000 new teachers when you have a reserve of over 1000 experienced teachers waiting for work? IDEOLOGY! That the UFT concurs - don't get me started.

Start off by reading Jamaica HS chapter leader James Eterno's account on the ICE blog of the conditions at his school, where there are overcrowded classes while Absentee Teacher Reserves are kept out of classrooms. James reviews the wonderful news the mouthpiece of the UFT, the NY Teacher, is reporting on the opening of the schools.

UFT Once Again Joins Happy Talk on School System

The same story is being played out all over the city where ATR's are kept out of classrooms while colleagues teach overcrowded classes.

At Lafayette high school:
There are 18 atrs at Lafayette HS plus 2 counselors and 3 paras w/o regular assignments.

At Tilden HS:
There are over 20+ ATR's at Tilden HS. All teaching duties have been taken away from us. The classes are crowded and an extra class was given to a health teacher on a per session basis. Our office was taken away and made into a book room just to make us feel uncomfortable and the locks were also changed. They told us we could move into another office which already had four teachers in it and was too small too begin with. We keep hearing that we be out of the school by Friday (9/19 and sent to another school as an ATR and ATR's from another school will take our place. Whose brilliant plan is this? And what is the UFT doing about this? They told me to go on the Mass Market Transfer. Brilliant!

A commenter said: These stories are insane.

Yoav Gonen in the NY Post confirms the dire ATR situation.


I can't locate the story about 38 kindergarten kids in a Staten Island classroom. And how about throwing standardized tests at those 5 year olds? Just collateral damage in the EEP reform movement.


It is almost impossible to keep up with the enormous body of work the prolific Leonie Haimson produces. One day, when someone writes the history of the BloomKlein stewardship of the NYC school system, if they don't shrink away in horror, will find some of this stuff incredibly useful. I'm including excerpts from each piece but make sure to click on the links for the full stories at Norm's Notes to get all the gory details.

BRONX SCHOOL CHILDREN 'LOST' IN THE SYSTEM

Congrats to Bronx BP Carrion for speaking the truth. Despite the widespread attempt to make it seem like there were few problems this year, the problems of overcrowding, lack of placements, and poor transportation appear rampant. According to his new report,

“...we have seen that there is a systemic problem in the way that the Department of Education approaches, and plans for the new school year. A systemic problem that has not gone away despite all the changes the Department has undertaken; a problem that if allowed to persist,will continue to leave countless New York families out in the cold, waiting for their children to receive the quality education they have been promised, and deserve."

Regents and State Ed demand real accountability from NYC DOE on Class Size!

Today, the State Education Department and the Regents announced that despite being provided with millions of dollars in additional state aid last year, dollars that should have been used to reduce class size, in nearly 54% of NYC schools, class sizes and/or student-teacher ratio increased. In seventy NYC schools that received $100,000 or more to specifically reduce class size, both class size and student-teacher ratio increased. Those seventy schools alone account for nearly $20 million in wasted funds.

Leonie Haimson Questions Jim Dwyer on F Grade at PS 8

Does this school report card have important information about the school, or is it merely an artifact of an absurd evaluation system?

The latter. In addition to all the other statistical problems – basing 85% of the grade on the results of two high stakes exams, with the gains/losses up to 80% random -- the tests themselves are not “equated” or aligned to make the sort of cross year comparisons that Liebman uses them for.

Check out eduwonkette – actually today’s EdWeek commentator is Aaron Pallas, prof. of sociology at Columbia Univ, named Skoolboy: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/eduwonkette/2008/09/let_the_spin_begin

Did I See Geoffrey Canada Endorse Excuses?

I'm watching the PBS program on education - slightly tainted by the funding sources at PBS - you know, Broad and the rest of the brood.

So the Harlem Children's Zone's Geoffrey Canada comes on and says he has a dental clinic on the premises. "How do we expect a child to learn if he has a toothache," Canada says? And if a family is falling apart an 8 year old is sure to be affected.

Duhhhhhhhh!

Exactly what the Broader, Bolder people have been saying in counter to the EEP's "No excuses." Before you know it, Canada will start talking about the positive impact of low class size.

Now where can I get ahold of about a thousand dental clinics? I wonder what we can get for Aris on Ebay?

DEEEEE- REGULATION!

Bloggers (Daily Howl, Chancellors New Clothes) have compared Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee, BloomKlein, Sharpton, all the EEPs and other education reform flim flam men and women with "The Music Man's" Harold Hill.

But they all pale in comparison to the man who eagerly signed on to their phony ed reform: Republican presidential candidate and likely next co-president of the United States, John McCain.

You see, according to McCain, the major problem in this country is too much regulation and he promises to DEEEEEEE-REGULATE. The poor financial institutions have been so limited by all that regulation, that they have not been able to make even worse loans. The American and world financial world is in meltdown because they don't have enough freedom.

Remember the good old days of the 1920's when they could do anything they wanted. When investment companies and banks intermingled and all sorts of abuses led to the dreaded D word. And I don't mean DEEEEEEE-REGULATION!

Now I was a history major and we actually studied the D-word. We learned there would never be another D-word because the banking industry was now REGULATED. Remember Glass-Steagall?

Established 1933- a very good year - and repealed 1999. Remmber the president who signed that repeal? He wasn't named Bush.

The poor dears in the banking industry joined the oil and other corporate powers and bought both parties. But McCain feels they still need more DEEEEEEEEEEE-REGULATION!

So today, we salute the American political world with a few words from Harold Hill with a few minor changes.

It starts with a capital D
And that rhymes with P
And that stands for "POOR"

Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a Palin in your community.

Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in D.C. City.

And it starts with T
And that rhymes with P
And that stands for PALIN

Oh, we've got trouble.
We're in terrible, terrible trouble.

Original lyrics here.

ICE-Mail Debate on McCain/Obama/Biden/Palin

Worth checking out some of the angst on the left. Comparisons to Germany in the early 30's are not crazy. I've been reading Alan Furst 1930's spy novels and Hilter was still considered a joke by many as late as 1938. Remember, he came to power due to economic dislocation. So don't laugh too hard at Bush followed by Palin. It can only get worse. I asked my mattress today how much interest it pays.

Posted at Norm's Notes.

Klein (Naomi) and Klein (Joel)

I finally got a glimpse of Naomi Klein, author of "The Shock Doctrine" at a panel discussion on the presidential election at Cooper Union Saturday night, where many NYC area activists, progressives, radicals, and those do-nothing community organizers gathered. Bet there were just a few coppers at Cooper lurking. I tried to smile often in case they wanted a clear picture.

The left is going crazy over Obama - and not positive crazy. People are extremely unhappy over his policies and especially his rightward drift over the past few months. How long before he starts to wear pant suits? However, where else can they go in this election? The answer is that some of the leading lights, while they will probably vote Obama because he is better than the alternative, do not view these elections as the end all and be all. Rather they look at things from the view of the level of activism and how that can force change outside the election process.

My immediate reaction is to say, "Good luck and good night" – in that order. But, darn, there's always that slight tug of optimism. Or why else would I even bother to stay involved in education? You see, I agree with the idea of creating an activist movement. But my small mammalian brain can only seem to narrow cast on the ed wavelength. And narrow cast even narrower on the union without getting too distracted.

But the UFT gets so boring so easily. Not facing the daily outrages that used to drive my anger and activism has an impact. Thank goodness for people like Under Assault, who today takes another shot at the UFT, this time focusing on the official propaganda tool, the NY Teacher.

Which brings me to Klein (Naomi), who is quickly becoming a legend for her clear thinking and analysis. And reporting too. Saturday night she was not too user friendly to Barack, stressing that he was more likely to continue Bush policies than McCain.

Huh?

Well, it seems Klein(Naomi) thinks that McCain is the real agent of change and after listing the Obama policies that line up with Bush, she pointed to the McCain claim that in the first 90 days they would remake government - mostly by eliminating it. Basically, we can see the irony being played out in front of us of the 90 days of The New Deal being dismantled 75 years later - in 90 days. That is the promise of the McCain campaign. Better eat your meat and get yer puddin' while you can because once they get rid of the FDA, FTA, etc. we will be "ptomaine nation."

That the forces backing Palin are in control of McCain and the Republican Party is increasingly clear, as he has become a total puppet so he can be president - with his strings being pulled. Not exactly a Manchurian candidate, but a puppet with the forces backing Palin pulling the strings.

Klein (Naomi) used her favorite word - "shock" to describe the tactic Palin/McCain will use.
I finally bought her book the other day and in the first few pages of reading about the 35 year war on progressives and liberals through the use of the shock doctrine, I was reminded of how Klein (Joel) and Bloomberg (Mike) used exactly that same philosophy to dismantle the NYC school system. There's more to it than I want to go into here, but those who have lived through multiple reorganizations and incompetence couldn't understand why a system in need of change would face the BloomKlein lunacy that has so shocked the system that my words to Klein (Joel) back in 2004 still echo in my mind - that the school systems of Kabul and Baghdad will recover sooner than the NYC school system. (I was later branded by Carmen Farina as having accused Klein of being worse than the Taliban. Hmmm!)

I really want to write more about the shock doctrine as I get further into the books. Today I was reminded by Under Assault about a piece done on that blog on this very idea back in January '08. So I'm going to shut up while you go over and read it.

http://underassault.blogspot.com/2008/01/shock-comparisons.html

Alaskan Women Reject Palin in Largest Protest in Alaskan History

Read the story of how threats and intimidation could not stop this protest of women in Alaska, along with pics at Daily Kos.

And do not miss the chilling, and not because it comes from Alaska, front page story on Palin in the Sunday NY Times.

We've said this before. Be scared. Be very scared.

But don't dare criticize her or be branded a "hater."

NYCDOE Office of Accountability Grows...and Grows...

....AND GROWS (Updated 10:30 AM)

Is Tweed a kudzu mutant?
What the face of EEP ed "reform" really looks like

What's another million that could have gone to the classroom? The "No Excusers" always find excuses not to cut class size. I echo Leonie. Gee, they're going to train 25 teachers to differentiate instruction - WITH 30 KIDS? And of course, teachers who somehow can't manage this will be vilified. Put any private school teacher where people pay $30 grand a year into this situation and check the results. (Talk to some of them and they roll their eyes.)

Want to beat the odds? Try JUST A FEW SCHOOLS with drastically lower class size. That so many apologists for EEP teacher bashing keep raising red herrings is a clear sign that they know we will that is the most effective way to reduce all kinds of gaps – well, maybe not the Grand Canyon, which will be closed before the Tweed credibility gap.

Tweed sure is reducing bureaucracy
Oh, and if you want to apply for a job in the Accountability Office, see the jobs available below. Wouldn't you just love to be a "Summative Assessments Product Manager"?


From Leonie Haimson to NYC EDNEWS Listserve:

Just as we’re struggling with overcrowded classes with insufficient resources, and a large number of District family advocates laid off, the Accountability office is continues to grow like a cancer that won’t stop.

Remember how there was supposedly a hiring freeze at Tweed to save money?

Newest finding: there’s a new ten person team at DOE, costing a million dollars, headed by a “director of knowledge management” in the Accountability office. Meanwhile, Jim Liebman is still heading the office while ostensibly full time teaching at Columbia. Wonder if he’s getting paid twice.

One of the projects they’re in charge of will supposedly “show teachers at 25 middle schools how to tailor their lessons for each student.”

How about beginning by cutting their class sizes? With classes of 30 or more, and a teaching load of up to 150 students, it’s a bit difficult to individualize instruction for every student.

Of course, that’s advice they refuse to listen to even though it doesn’t cost them a penny.

$1M SCHOOL 'THINK' LINK
By YOAV GONEN, Education Reporter, NY Post
September 11, 2008

The Department of Education is assembling a million-dollar team charged with getting schools to learn from one another how best to educate their students, The Post has learned.

The 10-person team will have a budget of more than $1 million and will be headed by a "director of knowledge management." The initiative will create a computerized "warehouse" that will allow schools to share ideas about organization, scheduling and other aspects of educating kids.

"It's just spreading out knowledge or learning or innovation horizontally from almost 1,500 schools to almost 1,500 other schools," said Jim Liebman, the DOE's chief of accountability. While much of the information-sharing will be done online, schools struggling with similar problems will also form real-life networks.

Education officials are planning to link poorly performing schools with a "beat-the-odds" school that has overcome similar hurdles, and they've started two related two-year pilot programs this year. One will help about 20 schools learn how to pinpoint concepts students are struggling with, and the other will show teachers at 25 middle schools how to tailor their lessons for each student.

Need a job?

Chancellor's Accountability Initiative

Analyst; Research and Policy Support (5182) $46,004 +
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 04/25/2008

Community District Assistant (4821) : $29,804+
New York, NY, US. - 11/05/2007

Community Superintendent (5344) Up to $170,000 Salary
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 06/09/2008

Data Analyst-Consultant (4504) $250.00 - $300.00 per day
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 09/14/2007
__

Deputy Director; Knowledge Management (5412) Salary: $95,000+
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 07/18/2008

Director of School Quality (5373) up to $170,000 Salary Commensurate with Experience
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 07/28/2008

Director; Knowledge Management (5389) ; Salary: $111,000 - $170,000
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 07/09/2008

Implementation Manager, KM Initiatives (5552) $65,120+
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 08/29/2008

Instructional Design Manager, KM Educator Support (5553) $65,120 +
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KM Domain Leader for Leadership & Organizational Management (5507) $111,000 - $170,000
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KM Domain Leader for Literacy; English Language Arts; & Social Studies (5508) $111,000 - $170,000
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 08/11/2008

KM Domain Leader for Mathematics & Science (5506) $111,000 - $170,000
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 08/08/2008

Senior Achievement Facilitator (2880) Up to $170,000
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 06/19/2008

Senior Analyst; Assessment (5346) $63,301+
NEW YORK, NY, US. - 06/11/2008

Summative Assessments Product Manager (5232) $81,000


UPDATE from Leonie:

More evidence of the unreliability of the school grades in the NY Times today.
Remember IS 89, that as one of the best schools in the country-- the only NYC middle school to do so-- and yet received an "D" ?
Or the "F" given to PS 35 in Staten Island, PS 35 - where more than 95% of students met standards in math and ELA?
Well, PS 8, most visited school in Brooklyn by top DOE officials -- who have repeatedly lauded it as one of the most improved schools in the entire city -- got an "F" in this year's report cards.
Experts say that year to year changes in average test scores at the school level are 34 to 80 percent random. And yet school grades are based 85% on these test scores.
I wrote an oped for the Daily News on this issue last year -- posted here:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/11/07/2007-11-07_why_parents__teachers_should_reject_new_.html

The school grades were devised by Jim Liebman, a man with no expertise in education, testing or statistics, and who is still running the doE Accountability office full time despite also being full time Columbia law prof. He is spending hundreds of millions a year, and the office is still growing in leaps and bounds, despite budget cuts to other areas, including school supplies, special ed transportation, and many District family advocates who have been laid off. Instead, it is the entire Accountability office that deserves an "F" and should be cut, and Liebman and his other top staff should be sent back to school where they belong -- to take a basic course in statistics.

In Brooklyn, Low Grade for a School of Successes

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/education/12school.html?hp

NYCoRE Announcement--Plan book campaign in final stages!

With the new school year just beginning, we wanted to take a moment to update you on our campaign to promote Planning to Change the World, the social justice teacher’s plan book. We have sold more than 1,700 books nationwide, and orders are continuing to come in. We also received another great review on tolerance.org (http://www.tolerance.org/teach/current/event.jsp?ar=956).

Our campaign is winding down, so if you haven’t purchased your planner yet, please do so soon on http://www.lulu.com/content/2980186.

Please help us make one final push by spreading the word to your friends and colleagues. You can download a flier here (http://www.justiceplanbook.com/justiceplanbook/planning-to-change-the-world-flier) or you can email your colleagues and direct them to the plan book website, www.justiceplanbook.com.

A huge thank you to all those who participated in this campaign. You have helped put a wonderful resource in the hands of educators across the country and bring critical funds to both the New York Collective of Radical Educators and the Education for Liberation Network, supporting our efforts to achieve education justice.

Bree, NYCoRE and Tara, Education for Liberation Network

The Achievement Gap and Civil Rights

Is a dropping percentage of African-American teachers in urban areas contributing to THE DREADED ACHIEVEMENT GAP?

An article in the Philadelphia Daily News (posted at Norms Notes) states:

The percentage of African-American teachers is declining, and now stands at its lowest point in decades.

And students are suffering as a result, a growing body of research shows. One national organization found that increasing the percentage of black teachers is directly related to closing the so-called achievement gap - students of color lagging behind white peers.

Now, I'm always suspicious when I see the words "a growing body of research" without citing the actual study, as is the want for so many ideologues who talk about "studies" that debunk the benefits of low class size or how teacher quality is the most factor (without defining what the words "teacher quality" mean) or the 45 teachers used in a "major" study that claiming that Teach For America teachers outperform other teachers.

However, this throws an intriguing element on the table when the EEP Klein/Sharpton acolytes talk about the AG being "the civil rights issue of our time." Sure. Let's have a civil rights movement in education, but leave African-American teachers behind. Hmmm. Do we need a federal No African-American Teacher Left Behind? Let's see: NAATLB. Not bad. Just trying saying it 10 times real fast.


Teachers in NYC, led by my Independent Community of Educators colleague Sean Ahern, have been harping on this issue for years. Sean talks about the "whitening of the teacher staff." In NYC where numerous Teach for America recruits have entered the school system, it was pointed out to me the other day that TFA does not recruit at the City University of New York, where they might actually tap into a source of many students of color.

In fact, due to Sean and some other ICE'ers, ICE will be discussing the issue at this Friday's meeting (see the ICE blog for details if you want to come down and jump in.) Ed Notes has reported on the dramatic drop in the percentage of new hires of African-Americans (from 28% to 15%) in the BloomKlein years (here, here and the black educator blog.)

I support the concept of diversified teaching staffs. All kids should be exposed to teachers of different backgrounds. White kids should have enough black teachers so they don't come to see the world in a narrow framework. African-American kids should not see only white teachers. But does such exposure make a major difference academically?

I have never bought into the idea that having teachers of the same race has an enormous impact. My school had many African-American teachers and there did not seem to be much of a difference in terms of student performance, behavior, etc. Some were great teachers. Some not so great. About the same ratios as Hispanic and white teachers. But that was a very small sample.

There were entire districts (16 for instance in Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn) that under community control from 1968-2002 hired enormous numbers of Black teachers, to the extent that there were whispers that white teachers were not welcome in some schools. While there are many factors involved, the performance of students in District 16 was generally abysmal. And friends who taught in District 16 reported the same kinds of impact I saw in my school.

On a larger stage, while I don't have any figures, the Washington DC school system supposedly has a majority of black teachers and has been lambasted for poor performance. That adds an interesting (and surprisingly unreported) backdrop to the current attack on DC teachers and their union by Michelle Rhee and Mayor Fenty, who is black. Is there an undercurrent of an attack on civil rights going on - for teachers?

I'm open to hearing all points of view on this issue. Expect a spirited debate at the ICE meeting tomorrow. I think I'll wear a helmet.

Throwing BB’s at EEPs – With a Dollop of Common Sense

The following column will appear in The Wave on Sept. 19, a reworking of some of the material on this blog.

Note: Thanks to Tom Hoffman's comment for the heads up on misplacing the word "bigger" for "broader." An added redundant adjective ended up replacing the intended word. A good lesson for using spell/grammer check without proof reading. Can I get away with blaming a rushed deadline?



What lies between the Joel Klein/Al Sharpton Education Equality Project vision of education reform and the Broader, Bolder approach signed onto by many other education reform advocates?

EEP believes the solution to the buzz word of the century – read in a loud stentorian voice - THE DREADED ACHIEVEMENT GAP - is in a competitive, market based, narrow outcome oriented based on standardized tests system that punishes schools, teachers and kids or rewards them with incentives like merit pay. Create competition by turning whole chunks of school systems over to charter schools run by semi-public and private operations supported by money from outside the school system. EEP says bringing up other factors like class size, home life, behavior, and socio-economic status are just excuses and calls for a “no excuses” approach to education reform.

This is the reform model that is sweeping the urban landscape, in most cases led by a mayor who has been given dictatorial control over the school system. Klein and Sharpton led their troops to the Democratic and Republican conventions to attempt to influence both parties. John McCain signed up immediately.

This summer a counter group called the Broader, Bolder approach to ed reform counters with the idea that schools can't do it alone without significant investment in support services.

Broader, Bolder does not claim schools cannot be improved at all and also seems to sign on to some of the accountability themes of EEP, while calling for an expansion beyond narrow test scores of how schools are held accountable. Broader, Bolder's main themes are:

* Continue to pursue school improvement efforts (with a big component being reducing class size.)
* Increase investment in developmentally appropriate and high-quality early childhood, pre-school, and kindergarten education.

Common Sense, Rational Education Reform

This week, a 3rd group organized by two parent activists, has come on the scene. Calling itself "Common Sense Educational Reforms," it is led by New York based Leonie Haimson of “Class Size Matters” and Julie Woestehoff of the Chicago-based "Parents United for Responsible Education" (PURE). They wrote a letter to both presidential candidates outlining their vision for what could be called a rational approach to Ed reform based on common sense instead of ideological prescriptions upon which both EEP and BB seem to operate. Like, how much research is necessary to prove that lower class sizes, enjoyed by the wealthy, would have a positive impact on children, while also improving teacher quality?

The EEPs constantly downplay class size, arguing that there are not enough quality teachers to make a difference. CSER argues that teacher quality deteriorates in large classes no matter what the level of the teacher and lower class sizes would also serve to dam the attrition rate of teachers who often run off to the better working conditions of suburban schools.

CSER certainly comes down closer to the BB’s, calling for:
–Safe and uncrowded schools with more counselors.
–Smaller classes.
–Adequate resources and teacher support to assure that all students receive a rich, well-rounded curriculum including the arts, physical education and project-based learning in a curriculum connected to their own lives and culture, with progress evaluated by high-quality, appropriate assessment tools that are primarily classroom-based.
–More parental involvement. A high level of involved parents at the school level leads to better outcomes for students.

They enter the fray as major critics of the Klein/Sharpton EEP approach, claiming “the top- down, corporate approach to school governance currently used in cities throughout the country such as Chicago and New York has consistently and systematically worked to eliminate the ability of parents to have a real voice in decision-making and thus to be true partners at the school and district level.” I find it interesting that poorer urban parents are being denied the right to elect school boards and control school funding, a right enjoyed by the overwhelming majority of parents in this nation.

The NY Sun’s Elizabeth Green wrote about CSER this week:

They dismiss Mr. Klein's as offering only a beefed-up version of President Bush's unpopular No Child Left Behind law. Mr. Klein's prescriptions are "NCLB on steroids." They also reject charter schools, which are embraced by Mr. Klein and his supporters as a means of giving opportunities to poor children. The Common Sense group says charter schools actually further exacerbate income disparities by admitting only children who can do well at their schools and leaving the rest to flounder. Admission at charter schools is regulated by strict lotteries in New York, but the parents argue that only the savvy students apply to them, and they say that the schools encourage more troubled students to leave.

CSER has a new blog at: http://commonsensereforms.blogspot.com/


Separate and Unequal: When Parents Hire the Teachers

When I taught in Williamsburg, the PTA raised money, mostly through candy sales. They used the money to buy books for the library and reading programs. But the idea of buying extra teacher services? Why that would take a hell of a lot of money. This week, we read about the enormous amounts of money PTA’s in wealthy areas raise to buy all kinds of services that are beyond the realm of schools in poor areas. Major differences in spending per pupil in charter vs. public schools have also emerged, allowing charters to offer lower class sizes and other services.
What all this means is perpetuating a system of "separate and unequal” for the kids most in need.

Has "Liberal: Become a Dirty Word?

While liberalism in the sense of the New Deal is in retreat - witness the Democratic move to the center/right - most people are not aware of the intense criticism of liberals that comes from the left. In fact, liberalism - the Ameican version as opposed to the European model of Adam Smith - seems to be dead. When the NY Times is accused of being liberal or left, radicals have a good laugh. Arjun raises some interesting points.

Arjun Janah, a former NYC teacher, on liberalism

In this country, the term "liberal" has, since Reagan's time, been a pejorative. The right has achieved this by associating liberalism with real or perceived "liberal excess" -- with a permissive attitude of moral relativism that coddles criminals and errant children, ignores the rights of crime victims, parents and teachers, undermines legitimate authority, and refuses to accept responsibility. It has also successfully linked liberalism with "tax and spend" policies, bloated and oppressive big government, and with an affluent "liberal elite" associated with Washington, the big cities on the coasts, and Hollywood, that supports legislation that adversely affects working class Americans while drinking lattes, owning multiple homes and sending their own children to private, elite schools and colleges.

The distancing of much of the left in this country from its working class origins may have contributed to this, as also the peculiar increasing insularity of much of that working class as it grew more affluent. But one cannot discount the power of the propaganda campaign carried out by big business, its animus against unions and its success in brainwashing the public into pathological fears about "socialism" as a foreign evil, closely associated with the bogey of Communism, and threatening to the "American way of life". The size and geographical isolation of this country, and the strength of its economy, have also led to an indifference or ignorance about the affairs of even neighboring states, such as Mexico and Canada. This has fed this insularity in a vicious cycle.

The individualism, and the healthy skepticism about authority and government, that may have been part of this country's culture from the start, have thus been twisted into what may be a pathological fear of collective spirit and effort beyond the confines of one's church -- and of the legitimate uses of government for purposes other than defense.

This pathology has increased to the extent that most of the perceived "leftists" that remain among this country's legislators, government executives and media are mainly concentrated in a few cities and states, and would, by most other country's standards, be considered "center right". Indeed, that much-vilified bastion of liberalism, the New York Times, has yet, in my experience, to publish anything substantive in support of its own home city's union workers. And it has often been in the forefront, both editorially and in reportage, at the start of foreign wars, arguing the government's case. Iraq was no exception.

Nevertheless, in the Times, one still finds those who occasionally have the courage to defend traditional liberalism. In the article below, Bob Herbert rises to the defense of liberals, citing some of their notable achievements, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and the advance of basic civil rights for minorities and women.

Arjun Janah

Read Herbert's column at Norms Notes right below Arjun.

Separate and Unequal: When Parents Hire the Teachers

Recent articles (NY Post) have pointed to the enormous disparity in the amount of money raised between Parent Associations in wealthy and poor areas of NYC. Read Leonie's full comments at the NYC PSP blog.

I talked to the Post reporter at length who was researching this practice, and pointed out to her that it was DOE's failure to provide reasonable class sizes that put NYC parents in this impossible situation- having to decide whether to raise money to hire assistant teachers, or move to the suburbs or transfer their kids to private schools, in an effort to ensure that their children do not suffer in substandard conditions of classes of 25, 30 or more.

Unfortunately, the editors cut my quote from the final article.

Manhattan PEP rep Patrick Sullivan wrote a blog pointing to how much higher per pupil spending was at charter schools. On the first day of school Leonie pointed to these differences in spending.

So what does it all amount to for those sterling advocates of the civil rights issue of our time (see John McCain say same in a major education policy speech today)?

SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL FOR THE KIDS MOST IN NEED



A NYC parent activist responded on the parent listserve:

...so much for the "Fair Student Funding formula" which we all know is anything but.

If these guys cared about equitable funding then the hard fought for CFE funds would be used to improve the conditions and resources of the schools with the historically most disadvantaged kids.

Instead the politically arrived at (by special interests) budget formula is aimed at union busting and punishing schools for hiring ands retaining experienced teachers.

PTA's in the wealthiest zip codes fund raise to supplant school staffing budgets because this administration only thinks charter schools should get to cap class size at reasonable numbers, leaving budget decisions (such as spending on art, music, phys ed and after school) totally up to individual principals.

This emperor has no clothes- only rhetoric.
Catchy buzz words and tons of PR do not accountability or transparency make.

Where is the data driving these decisions?
Where is the evidence that any of this never ending re-tooling and experimentation is effective?
Are graduation rates and college readiness, or any other meaningful measure of learning, actually improving?

How has mayoral control removed corruption, cronyism, political agendas or special interests?

It has only magnified the power of a very narrow ideological force by removing all mechanisms for dissent or even dialogue.

Essential public services like education are too important to be left in the hands of technocrats and lawyers.

We can not afford a winners and losers free market based approach to public education.

Use your vote today, if your are a registered Democrat, to support any candidate that is opposed to continuing mayoral control and the neo-liberal ideology that has driven " education reform" for our one million children for the past 7 years.

Lisa Donlan
CEC One ( LES/ East Village)

---

Green Dot Charter and UFT Update

In case you missed it, Yoav Gonen in the NY Post wrote a piece on Green Dot and the UFT. I posted it at Norms Notes.

Some excerpts:

He's a former Democratic fund-raiser who said he founded the organization in 1999 not to advocate charter schools, but to reform public schools.

The United Federation of Teachers, which had long resisted privately operated charter schools, eventually opened two of its own. As its own boss, the union gave the teachers the same seniority rights and tenure they got from the city.

But instructors at Green Dot New York are giving up both in exchange for salaries 10 percent above what the city pays and more say in how to run the school.

They're also working longer hours and may eventually give up overtime pay.

Several national education groups gave UFT President Randi Weingarten high marks.

"The pathway to irrelevance for the unions is to continue to say, 'No,' " said Andrew Rotherham, co-founder of the think tank Education Sector.

"The way to thrive is to start embracing some of these ideas and getting in the game, and that's what she's doing."

But some rank-and-file members say Weingarten sold out.

"I think Randi is taking the path of least resistance," said Arthur Goldstein, a teacher in Francis Lewis HS in Fresh Meadows, Queens. "I don't think her priorities are to help teachers."

Ed Notes and NYC Educator did a bunch of articles on the UFT and Green Dot over the past year. Search the blogs with the "Green Dot" tag if interested in reading more.

Common Sense, Rational Education Reform

REVISED & UPDATED

What lies between the Joel Klein/Al Sharpton Education Equality Project (market based, narrow outcome oriented, punish schools and teachers) and the Bigger Bolder approach (schools can't do it alone without significant investment in support services)?

Does "Common Sense Educational Reforms" led by New York based Class Size Matters' Leonie Haimson and Julie Woestehoff's Chicago-based "Parents United for Responsible Education" (PURE) offer a 3rd way? (See the Common Sense blog.)

(Read Leonie Haimson's post at NYC Public School Parents, which fine tunes the CS position.)

Elizabeth Green of the NY Sun reports:

The parents criticize both groups. They dismiss Mr. Klein's as offering only a beefed-up version of President Bush's unpopular No Child Left Behind law. Mr. Klein's prescriptions are "NCLB on steroids," the parents' letter says.

They also reject charter schools, which are embraced by Mr. Klein and his supporters as a means of giving opportunities to poor children. The Common Sense group says charter schools actually further exacerbate income disparities by admitting only children who can do well at their schools and leaving the rest to flounder.

Admission at charter schools is regulated by strict lotteries in New York, but the parents argue that only the savvy students apply to them, and they say that the schools encourage more troubled students to leave.

The parents' statement also criticizes the Broader, Bolder Agenda's argument that schools alone cannot end the achievement gap.

"We cannot and we should not give up on schools being able to make a really transformational differencee in kids' lives," Ms. Haimson said.

Read Green's full story here. See the letter CSER has written to Obama and McCain here (after Green's piece.)


Will CSER become the third person between EEP and BB? (Okay, it's a stretch - Orson Welles forgive me.)

Is this part of a movement for rational educational reform that will unite parents with progressive teachers who have seen their union drift into limbo between competing reform movements? (NYC Educator promoted it as did Ed Notes - I think I signed it.)

The UFT will jump on board - why not? It won't cost them anything but in terms of actually doing something about reform, don't expect much. After all, in addition to the BB, they also signed on to many of the aspects of the EEP - longer days, evaluations of schools based on narrow agendas, various merit pay schemes, charter schools and whatever crap is thrown against the wall and shows signs of sticking. Most of these concepts are criticized by CSER.

Bigger, Bolder does not claim schools cannot be improved at all and also seems to sign on to some of the accountability themes of EEP, though calling for an expansion beyond narrow test scores of how schools are held accountable. Bigger, Bolder's main themes are:

• Continue to pursue school improvement efforts (with a big component being reducing class size.
• Increase investment in developmentally appropriate and high-quality early childhood, pre-school, and kindergarten education.

So it is not clear exactly how different Common Sense is from Bigger, Bolder?

Philissa and Kelly at Gotham Schools called the school wars between EEP and BB a "false choice." Kelly raised the common sense concept:

As a policymaker evaluating schools, it makes no sense to ignore context. Set a high bar for everyone, of course - but recognize that it will take a lot more resources for some schools to achieve that than for others. If you don’t provide those resources - I’m talking small classes, rigorous, proven curriculum, recruitment, development, and retention of the best teachers, and it’s all going to take money - then you’re just setting up schools to fail.

And as a society, it makes no sense to put the whole burden on schools. I will know that our nation really wants to leave no child behind when I see a complete package of funded legislation that takes on health care (physical and mental), housing, environmental justice, early childhood education, and a host of other issues that affect the development and opportunities of our kids. “Our schools are failing,” is nothing but an excuse when the rest is left unaddressed.

To me, it looks like common sense: no excuses schools in a no excuses society.

I believe that most teachers who see the full consequences of how education in urban areas is given short shrift compared to places they send their own children to school do not take an approach to their jobs that things are hopeless. Teachers see real progress in many kids every day and put out their best. The real accountability they feel is to their students.

What they do see is the shame of what could be. What could be if only they didn't have 5 classes with over 30 kids in each, etc. (You know the drill.) There are kids who just don't make progress and they don't know what to do about it in the context of the resources they have at hand. Frustration, yes. But give up? No. The job becomes just too much heavy lifting when you do that. But when you add this market based competitive accountability thing to the equation then a job that was manageable to live with can become oppressive as the years go by.

What many, if not most, teachers who don't leave end up doing is finding ways to get out of doing a full schedule (comp time, dean, etc) or a gig that is less intensive teaching wise - there are a hell of a lot of non-classroom or part-time stuff that could be used to reduce class size. (We'll get into this aspect another time.) Finding teachers who do the blood and guts full schedule teaching for a very long time will be an increasingly rare thing.

My problem with one way accountability - hold teachers, schools, kids responsible while the people who hold the keys to the money escape - is that the fight for proper allocation of resources to close the equality gap between wealthy and poor schools gets lost in distraction over issues like teacher quality and accountability. Spend a fortune on monitoring, weeding out (isn't it cheaper to just find other useful things for people to do if there's a feeling they are not the best teachers), etc. instead of funneling all money into the classroom.

More from Kelly

How could two-way accountability actually work? If a school fails, but other services aren’t in place, schools are underfunded, and so forth, should the school still be held accountable? How could parents and educators in that school hold the government accountable for doing its part?

Let’s move beyond the “false choice” and explore what two-way accountability could look like in practice. Anyone?

I've been wrestling with Kelly's challenge and cannot see how 2-way accountability can work without a mass movement. Such a mass movement can never get moving with a progressive teachers union that bridges the gap between various elements and organizes and mobilizes its membership. That is why I have put a lot of my energies over the past 40 years into trying to spark a movement for progressive change in the UFT (with little success, I might add.) The UFT has bought into one way accountability and only pays lip service to holding political forces accountable - just look at their endorsement list (Pataki and worse.)

Class size is the bell weather issue that defines the separation of quality schools and the work Leonie has done for the past decade has been a focal point in the call for 2 way accountability. She has become one of the most vocal parent leaders in the city and beyond while attracting a lot of support from progressive teachers (as opposed to the UFT which also supports her - but you know the view from the anti-union right wing- they are only interested in class size so they can add members and dues.)

Parents organizations are difficult to sustain as they are mostly in the struggle for the years their kids spend in schools. Can create a movement without allying very strongly with teachers, who unless they are the new "peace corps" temporary teachers, are in it for decades and even if looked at from narrow self-interest, still have enormous incentives to see schools work well? That is why class size is such a unifying issue for all.

Gary Stager in his article in Good Magazine "School Wars" says, "Politicians, billionaires, and mavericks all want to fix public schools. They won’t. Parents will." Okay, I don't agree that parents will - alone. But these points focuses on the lack of accountability when it comes to the funders of the EEP approach are worth closing with:

Traditionally, corporate philanthropy in education consisted of a speaker on career day or sponsorship of a softball team. I’m all for generosity, but I’m also for accountability. And I wonder, to whom are the Gateses and the Broads of the world accountable? They were not elected or even appointed, but their money is changing the ways public schools operate. They may do this for altruistic reasons, but what is a citizen’s recourse if their ideology harms children? And, worse, what happens if a billionaire finally throws up his or her hands and publicly exclaims, “Even I can’t fix the public schools”? Our schools may not be able to survive the sudden cash withdrawal—or the backlash.

One way to navigate this new era of “giving” is by asking a simple question: Would these folks send their own children or grandchildren to their “reinvented” schools? Is a steady diet of memorization, work sheets, and testing the sort of education the children they love receive? Of course not. If affluent children enjoy beautiful campuses, arts programs, interesting literature, modern technology, field trips, carefree recess, and teachers who know them, I suggest that we create such schools for all children. What’s good for the sons and daughters of the billionaires should be good enough the rest of the children, too.

Bailing Out the Fannies & Freddies

Well what can you say about today's bailouts? Didn't McCain say the other day there is TOO MUCH REGULATION? Which planet is he living on? My generation had to read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" in high school, a book about abuses in the meat industry that one shouldn't read before lunch, especially a school lunch. With the corporate de-reg agenda pushed by Republican/business we are heading to the point where I would boil all my meat for 24 hours - which means we will all be eating flanken which my mother used to cook for 2 weeks. Even Ebola was afraid to go near it.

My usual rant on class size
How many times to we have to be told that reducing class size is not cost effective? Skoolboy at 'Wonkette's place raised the issue recently and we hear a few things repeated when class size comes up:

• quality teachers
• what the research shows

and the dreaded

• COST

Matthew Tabor left a comment that included these points:

As a parent who pays the taxes to fund the class size reduction I'm as skeptical as the next person about CSR becoming a full employment act for the UFT. At the same time I know that Tweed has its own agenda, and isn’t always interested in acknowledging the grains of truth that may be contained in its opponents’ claims.

and

...the truth probably lies in the middle. Yet none of the actors in the debate seem interested in finding that middle. Just scoring points against each other, once again leaving parents in the middle.

So hear, hear for real research, like the City appears to be undertaking with the ED Hirsch curriculum in ten schools starting this fall. Let’s stop shouting at each other, get some facts on the table and then have a real debate about the cost implications. [Read his entire comment here.]

I guess I get ticked off how class size costs are always put on the table as employment for the UFT while ignoring the larger issue of how much money is wasted in this society in the corporate welfare system. Hey, then try it in a right to work state if you are all so hot and bothered by the union.

Let's try some research, not that I think we need it but we want to make people comfortable.
So let's say we hire scads of teachers - I mean take the 10 most failing schools and literally double the staffs. Inundate the schools with services no matter what the cost. Just throw cash at them. Hey, rename the schools "Fannie and Freddie" if that will make you feel better.
Say you get some teacher clunkers in the batch. So what? Find something useful they can do in the school if their strongest suit is not teaching.

What can it cost to do this with 10 schools? I even suggested this to Chris Cerf at a Manhattan Institute meeting to try it with one school when he said it's been proven throwing cash at the problem doesn't solve it. I said, "You NEVER throw cash. Why not try it with Tilden HS in Brooklyn instead of closing it"?

Skoolboy in his post threw down the gauntlet challenging the DOE to do an experiment on reducing class size. I left this comment:

I'm glad to see you revisit the class size issue but I'm afraid your gauntlet will lie in the gutter untouched by the hands of a Tweed official.

The NYC DOE had many opportunities over the last 6 years to do a study of class size. For instance, instead of closing so many large schools, why didn't they try to reduce class size in one or two schools as a control and compare the impact to other schools?

The answer is class size reduction is not part of the fabric of the ed reform movement. It is much easier - and cheaper - to blame ed failures on lack of quality teaching.

When there's a need for more police, firemen, soldiers, doctors - is the quality issue raised? We know that "qualifications" in the medical field are never related to performance and hospitals in need scrounge for doctors where they can get them as long as they are certified. In these fields people actually die if mistakes are made.

The quality teacher before class size issue is a red herring to support an ideological, not an educational solution, that accomplishes the political goals of privatizing many elements of the public schools while diminishing the impact teacher unions might have. (I say might because of the role the AFT/UFT plays in supporting so much of this ideology.)

Sarah Palin: Thank God for Jesus so she didn't have to be Jewish (spoof)

....and dinosaurs were around 4000 years ago.


She didn't actually say these things which were made up by Bob. These "quotes" have circulated the internet with many people believing them. Which just goes to show what 8 years of W can do to our brains. But it also shows how close to the edge some people are about Palin's supposed views (time to hold off till we hear from the horse's mouth, though I doubt there will be all that much opportunity - can she be worse than Agnew and Quale?)

In Her Own Words
Actual quotes by Governor Palin during a series of interviews by the Anchorage Daily News in 2006 when she was running for Governor...

On Creationism:

The simple yet elegantly awkward moose proves God's creation and not evolution is the source of all life. How could something as oddly shaped and silly looking as a moose evolve through so-called "natural selection?" Is evolution a committee? There is nothing natural about a dorky moose! Only God could have made a moose and given it huge
antlers to fight off his predatory enemies. God has a well known sense of humor, I mean He made the platypus too.

On oil exploration and drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve:

God made dinosaurs 4,000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures, lizards of Satan really, so when they died and became petroleum products we, made in his perfect image, could use them in our pickup trucks, snow machines and fishing boats.

Now, as to the ANWR, Todd and I often enjoying caribou hunting and one year we shot up a herd big time, I mean I personally slaughtered around 40 of them with my new, at the time, custom Austrian hunting rifle. And guess what? That caribou herd is still around and even bigger than ever. Caribou herds actually need culling, be it by rifles or wolves, or Exxon-Mobil oil rigs, they do just great!

On Alaskans serving overseas in Iraq:

Well, God bless them, and I mean God and Jesus because without Jesus we'd be Muslims too or Jewish, which would be a little better because of the superior Israeli Air Force.


Bob blogs at http://unbearablebobness.typepad.com