Getting to the Crux - or Crud - in Ed Deform

As Jonathan Kozol observed in an article in Harper's:

Some years ago, a friend who works on Wall Street handed me a stock-market prospectus in which a group of analysts at an investment-banking firm known as Montgomery Securities~described the financial benefits to be derived from privatizing our public schools. "The education industry", according to these analysts, "represents, in our opinion, the final frontier of a number of sectors once under public control" that "have either voluntarily opened" or, they note in pointed terms, have "been forced" to open up to private enterprise. Indeed, they write, "the education industry represents the largest market opportunity" since health-care services were privatized during the 1970s. Referring to private education companies as "EMOs" ("Education Management Organizations"), they note that college education also offers some "attractive investment returns" for corporations, but then come back to what they see as the much greater profits to be gained by moving into public elementary and secondary schools. "The larger developing opportunity is in the K-12 EMO market, led by private elementary school providers", which, they emphasize, "are well positioned to exploit potential political reforms such as school vouchers". From the point of view of private profit, one of these analysts enthusiastically observes, "the K-12 market is the Big Enchilada".

(http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/page/0011)

And as a companion piece:

Five Educational Myths (used to fuel ed deform)

  1)  It all happens in the classroom.

      Learning requires reinforcement through homework and studying, otherwise, whatever is taught in the classroom will not be retained. This is one of the reasons for poor test results.

 

  2) The teacher is the most important factor in learning.

     Student attitudes, motivation and effort are the most important factors in learning. If these factors are lacking, no teacher will be successful. Test scores are primarily a reflection of these factors.

 

  3)  More money will improve education.

     Education budgets have been continually rising for many years will little results. NYC has an education budget of approximately 20 billion. Federal money has been increasing to schools. Student attitudes, motivation and effort are the factors which money can not buy.

 

  4) Smaller Learning Communities (including smaller schools) will improve education.

    Smaller Learning Communities have been around since the 1980's with little results. It is a cosmetic fix as class sizes are generally no different than other schools. Smaller Schools (last ten years) only get better results when student populations are changed. In ten years, smaller schools will combine and the large comprehensive high school will return due to poor results and cost effectiveness.

 

 5) All children must be prepared for college.

   Many students have no desire to go to college and due to their own choices, lack the skills necessary. We see evidence of this in the extremely low CUNY 2 year and 4 year graduation rates. High schools must focus on the needs of these students by primarily preparing them for the workforce.

 

James Calantjis

Educator

Deny Waiver Hearing Videos

Last Update:Sunday, Dec. 26, 8:45pm

I'm putting up unedited videos of sections of the hearings as they process. If I have time I'll pull extracts.

Here is the 28 minute Norman Siegel presentation - he went third but since I am working with and documenting the Deny the Waiver Coalition, I am giving it priority.
http://vimeo.com/18152230

One thing - I felt that there was an acceptance of sorts that Black's experience in managing large corps was a real asset - it was never pointed out that the largest number of employees she managed was arounf 2000 as opposed to the 130,000+ NYCDOE. Not even close.

Here's the State Attorney General and City Corp Council defense of Black - so you can see just how lame it is. http://vimeo.com/18154003

Roger Wareham presentation: http://vimeo.com/18162396

Eric Snyder presentation: http://vimeo.com/18169037

Rebuttals from all sides: http://vimeo.com/18169854

Banned in Jamaica (HS)

Jamaica HS, long on the target list of the DOE for closing, has a story to tell. And here the students tell it in a play exposing educational apartheid in the building. Ironic given yesterday's PBS Newshour report on how Joel Klein has chopped the large schools. The report partially told the other side about how kids not accepted to the small schools went on to the nearest large one but left out the story of how small and large co-exist in the same building with one school clearly favored over the other.

What's interesting is that the students from both ends of the stick wrote this play and were stopped from performing it. I hope we can get people to sponsor performances around the city - maybe as one person suggested, on the steps of Tweed or in front of City Hall.

The ICE blog where Jamaica HS chapter leader James Eterno often blogs about the situation at the school (STUDENT PLAY BANNED) and Valerie Strauss at WAPO had details.

A student play blasting N.Y. school reform is banned

By Valerie Strauss

Fourteen students from two New York City schools -- Jamaica High and Queens Collegiate -- wrote an impressive play about school reform under Chancellor Joel Klein and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, based on the classic play “Antigone.” They were rehearsing to perform the play -- complete with music, visual projections and lights -- when they were told that their principals had decided not to allow them stage it. The play, titled “Declassified: Struggle for Existence (We Used to Eat Lunch Together,” was banned.
According to a teacher who was working on the project with the students, the principals sent word that they were uncomfortable with criticism of Klein and Bloomberg, and they would not allow the Dec. 17 scheduled performance to go on in the Jamaica High auditorium.
It's hard to even fathom the thinking that went into the decision to stop the kids from performing a clever work that they created and that expresses their opinion of school reform that has affected their lives.
Eight years of business-driven reform under Klein were centered around standardized tests used to grade schools, and many of the troubled ones were either broken up into smaller schools or closed. Klein repeatedly pointed to rising test scores as evidence of his achievement, but recent revelations that the scores rose because the tests got increasingly easy to pass burst that success bubble.
The decision to ban the play shows a fear of upsetting authority -- not exactly the civics lesson you'd want kids to learn in an American school.
The students were inspired to write the play in part by a blog post by Jamaica High School teacher Marc Epstein, called "The Triumph of Academic Apartheid." It details how Jamaica High, a storied school, was slated to be closed (along with dozens of other schools) based on what Epstein explains were faulty data and assumptions.
For those interested in reading the work the kids wrote, here it is. It's not too long, and worth reading.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/school-turnaroundsreform/a-student-play-criticizing-sch.html#more

The Teacher's Side of the Banned Play

Huffington Post has printed Brian Pickett's account of the banned play at Jamaica High School. He is the teacher of the after school drama course that included students from both Queens Collegiate and Jamaica HS.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-pickett/student-play-censored-for_b_801032.html

DWC: Albany Road Trip

Thurs., Dec. 23, 7PM


See NY1 Story here and AP story here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go Norm. Yippee!!!!

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

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

Norm Siegel

Eric Snyder

Patricia, Shino, Lisa

Mona and Patricia

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

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

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

Dear Friends:

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

Peace,

John Powers

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

Happy Holidays.   

View original article here:

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

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

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

December 17, 2010

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

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

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

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

MORE BELOW THE FOLD

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

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

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

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

Last Update: Weds, Dec. 22, 1PM

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

INFORMATION WEEK REPORTS

Windows Phone 7 Released

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deb

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

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

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

Steve Koss

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lisa Donlan
____

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

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

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

Deb
_______

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

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

Dee Alpert

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

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

Leonie Haimson

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

Norm
_______

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

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

Dee
_______

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

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

PdK
_________

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

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

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

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

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

First Krugman:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back to Carr

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

 Carr echoes Krugman when he says:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 And the takeaway is:

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

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

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

Acting and Teaching - Commentary from Loretta Prisco

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

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


Norm,

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

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

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

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

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

Loretta Prisco

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Afterburn

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

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

Diane Ravitch Wins Moynihan Prize

Leonie Haimson Reports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cathie Black Plan to Raise Revenue from Teacher Fines

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

New York City Expects Revenue Windfall from New Teacher Evaluation System

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Education reform, anyone?

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

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

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

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

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

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