Janine Sopp posted in NYC Opt Out
Opt Out meeting in Queens this Wednesday night! Spread the word! There will be a public forum about opting out of the State Tests hosted by a Jackson Heights, Queens neighborhood organization called People for Public Schools.
The meeting will be on April 1 at 7:30pm at the Community United Methodist Church at 81-10 35th Avenue in Jackson Heights. For more information you can email peopleforpublicschools@gmail.com
Written and edited by Norm Scott: EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!! Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Monday, March 30, 2015
Opt Out meeting in Queens this Wednesday night!
Teachers who read this blog must take an active hand in supporting the opt out movement as the only way to counter the total assault. Join NYC Opt Out on facebook. Go to the Queens meeting on Wed. if you can.
Breaking: School funding and teacher evaluations are linked after all, a top official with the state education department said late Monday.
Ask Mulgrew if his "Our hard work has paid
dividends" statement still holds? Oh where oh where are our Unity trolls?
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/03/8565148/state-ed-aid-increase-tied-new-evaluation-plans
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2015/03/8565148/state-ed-aid-increase-tied-new-evaluation-plans
Norm in The Wave: Condemning State Budget Plan as UFT/NYSUT Tries to Put Lipstick on the Pig
Posted to The WAVE for publication April 3, 2015
www.rockawave.com
www.rockawave.com
Condemning State Budget
Plan as UFT/NYSUT Tries to Put Lipstick on the Pig
By Norm Scott
As I hit deadline (Monday afternoon) details of the state
budget agreement pertaining to education have been emerging all day. UFT
President Mulgrew Mulgrew, in a wtf moment for me:
“Our hard work has paid dividends: In a rebuke to the anti-public-school agenda of hedge-fund billionaires, the state Legislature tonight reached agreement on a new budget and a package of education proposals that will immediately increase aid to public schools, ensure that teacher evaluations do not hinge on state test scores and ensure local oversight of struggling schools.”
Let's see:
·
Extending tenure to 4 years – with principal
options to extend it further year after year.
·
Bringing in outside observers to observe
teachers (how would police unions react to that?).
·
State receivership of "failing"
schools – another way to funnel money away from public schools and into private
hands.
·
Expedited teacher firings based on test scores
("ineffective" on the test component and you have to be rated
"ineffective" overall - two straight "ineffectives" and
you're fired.)
·
Turning over all unresolved issues to the
crooked NY State Ed department.
These are dividends? The UFT is parsing at its best. One of
the things Cuomo didn’t get – yet – is raising the charter school cap. That
battle is still to come. I have some solace in that Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder
assured me that while he supports charter schools (shame on him) he doesn’t
support raising the cap – I will be watching for his vote. Unfortunately Phil
also supports the Education Tax Credit giveaway to private/parochial school
interests which would funnel up to $300 million a year to parents who choose to
keep their kids out of public school – they want choice, let them pay for it.
(As I pointed out to Phil – I might like to have a private carting firm pick up
my garbage on more convenient days – can I get a tax credit?)
Jeanette Deutermann, a
parent test opt out leader from Long Island didn’t quite agree with
Mulgrew:
“Our sellout lawmakers just agreed to turn our classrooms into testing factories. They agreed to make our children worth no more than a score. They have put us firmly down the course to dismantling our unions, and have decided that our voices don't matter. All that is left for us is to say is "we refuse". This classroom killing deal can only work if they get our test scores. We will deny them the weapon being used to destroy our schools. WE DO NOT CONSENT!!!!!! … And UFT/Mulgrew declares victory????? Mulgrew it is DEFINITELY time for you to go. City teachers, time to rise up. I rarely get involved w UFT politics, but his praise of this horrendous deal shows how this has happened. I've had enough. NYSUT, we're waiting for a response, and it had better be a strong one.”
Karen Magee, NYSUT (the state-wide union) president, did
respond Monday afternoon:
“We are encouraging parents to opt out… we will be taking further steps to make parents aware of this.”
This was surprising to
some, given Magee is considered a Mulgrew puppet. The Mulgrew led Unity Caucus at
just last week’s (March 25) Delegate Assembly had turned down a strong ant-high
stakes testing/pro opt out resolution proposed by MORE, the caucus I am a
member of (morecaucusnyc.org/2015/03/25/opt-out-resolution-defeated-by-uft-leadership).
The rejected MORE resolution called on the UFT to:
·
declare its opposition to the use of state- or
federal-mandated standardized tests for the purposes of making grade promotion,
graduation, teacher evaluation, or other high-stakes decisions regarding
students or teachers.
·
supports the right of parents and guardians to
choose to opt-out their children from any or all state- or federally-mandated
testing, and supports the right of teachers to discuss freely with parents and
guardians their rights and responsibilities with respect to such testing, all
without any negative consequences from NYC DOE.
·
will fully support and protect members and
others who may suffer any negative consequences as a result of speaking about
their views of such testing or about the rights and obligations of parents and
guardians with respect to such testing.
·
will use its organizational capacity to inform
members in every chapter about the right of parents/guardians to opt-out their
children from state or federal mandated testing.
·
will support and defend members who are
conscientious objectors to administering standardized assessments.
·
will demand an immediate halt to all Common Core
based testing, curriculum and standards, until it has been properly field
tested.
What’s not to like? The UFT has the ability to reach out to
every school in the city to inform and promote the advantages of opting out and
to support parents who are threatened and denied their rights by school administrators.
As the education disaster movie plays out, my guess is that the UFT/Unity
Caucus will start to see some merit in aspects of the MORE resolution relating
to opt out. If the tests are going to be misused, deny them the data.
As I was closing, NYSAPE, a state coalition of parents
headlined: Legislators MUST Vote NO to
Budget bill (www.nysape.org/legislators-must-vote-no-to-budget-bill.html).
Come on Phil, take the pledge.
Norm blogs too often at: ednotesonline.org
Did NYSUT Pres Magee Just Endorse MORE Testing Reso That Unity Rejected?
Going on the offense, NYSUT’s Magee calls for test boycott
“We are encouraging parents to opt out,” Magee said explaining that instructions for an opt-out are on their website. She also said “we will be taking further steps to make parents aware of this.”.... Capitol Confidential
AA (Always Amazing) Lauren Cohen makes reso at DA |
- see reso and commentary at nyceducator: DA Takeaway.
My response:
good cop, bad cop ---- desperation -- watch uft begin to reverse on opt out -- maybe even common core --- walls closing in.I usually get uft motivation but on reluctance to jump in with both feet on opt out i just don't get. I need to understand why uft resists jumping on the bandwagon - fear of tabloids accusing them of acting like a union?
Really, think about it. An all out assault on the tests in support of opt out by the uft could double or triple the opt out movement and undermine Cuomo's victory lap. Imagine uft staffers actually being used for good? Send reps to every PTA meeting in every school. Do what NJEA did with hard hitting opt out ads. Now that's something even I would contribute to.
MORE Reports on The #ProtectOurSchools Rally
I won't comment at this time on the effectiveness of a rally that the uft helped organize that drew a reported 2000 people - the uft will spin the budget deal as a victory - [satire alert] maybe those 2000 people in front of his office scared Cuomo into giving up --
Perdido sees things like I do ---
For MORE, though, the rally was a win, with some of our key people - Jia Lee, Patrick Walsh and Mindy Rosier - all current or past members of steering - playing roles.
Here is the report (morecaucusnyc
#ProtectOurSchools Rally) from the MORE blog:
Perdido sees things like I do ---
We don't need no stinkin' details to know we were screwed -- if there were no rallies or actions, would the result have been much different? I'll do some details another time.NYSUT, UFT Bring Us Another Disaster
So much for all those rallies, ad and rhetoric from union leaders that they're not going to let Governor Cuomo destroy public schools. The budget agreement was announced last night and in it we got details of the new teacher evaluation system and other education reforms agreed to by Cuomo, the Assembly and the Senate.
Three parts should be particularly galling to you if you're a teacher:
For MORE, though, the rally was a win, with some of our key people - Jia Lee, Patrick Walsh and Mindy Rosier - all current or past members of steering - playing roles.
Here is the report (morecaucusnyc
#ProtectOurSchools Rally) from the MORE blog:
UFT members, parents, and supporters of public schools all around New York State took part in rallies, protests and forums, created wonderful signs, reached out to the press and used social media to spread our love for public schools. These actions culminated in a rally at Governor Cuomo’s Manhattan office with thousands of people demanding that the Governor work with us, not against us.Here's the lone press report on the rally
MORE believes these actions should be the start, not the end, of a mass mobilization of educators and parents to have our voices heard. Too many decisions have been made without our input. This needs to change now!
Our due process tenure rights are under attack as is the very concept of being in a union. We must continue to build actions alongside parents, students, and the communities we serve to show our strength.
MORE was well represented at the Rally To Protect Our Schools on March 28 with Mindy Rosier, Jia Lee, and Patrick Walsh all featured as speakers.
Noah Gotbaum - Parent Advocate
http://youtu.be/tl_j-qQ9va4
Mindy Rosier - Jeremy Dudley - Teachers
http://youtu.be/bhHlmaCD21E
Patrick Walsh - Teacher
http://youtu.be/JwSrN_nT3EA
Jia Lee - Teacher
http://youtu.be/gyFpIuJWxIQ
Thousands joined to #protectourschools in Manhattan today! Speakers included Zephyr Teachout, Robert Jackson, Lisa Rudley, PS 321 principal Liz Phillips, Karen Sprowal, Noah Gotbaum, and more!
Students, parents, and teachers protest New York governor's plan to tie standardized tests to teacher evaluations
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Bloody Budget Sunday
Governor Cuomo, Majority Leader Skelos and Speaker Heastie Announce Agreement on 2015-16 Budget
I'll leave it to wiser heads to analyze what it means. But bloody it may be.
off to sleep, per chance to dream - counting crooked politicians.
I'll leave it to wiser heads to analyze what it means. But bloody it may be.
off to sleep, per chance to dream - counting crooked politicians.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Hand Saga 3: Three nights in Hosp of Joint Diseases - I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else
Puncture wounds are always relentlessly risky. Septic conditions… that is truly frightening. I have 2 contractor friends who have both nearly died from precisely this type of injury. I hope all is well with you, please be careful!... email message
Sending love and healing....From my good pals at Change the Stakes
A get well photo to Norm from 3rd Avei'm at the rally - sort of |
After i got home from the hospital friday i saw mike, the contractor who does work next door, using a Passlode gas powered light nailer and told him my story. He said he had to go to the hospital on 3 separate occasions with similar injuries, once with an entire nail through his hand with the head butting up against his skin - he pried it out with a plier. ugh! Who knew about this stuff?
Let me take you back to Tuesday afternoon, March 24. I was going to pick up the high school newsletter in Flushing at noon but it was delayed until 5. My hand kept getting worse and I called Dr. M. He said I had to go to a hand surgeon who would open it up to drain it and gave me 2 names, both in the same office.
Hand Saga 2: Nail Guns
My wife, not a fan of my blog, has urged me to share my story as a warning to others.
My little accident on March 19 occurred using a framing nail gun I wasn't used to. Normally I use a battery-powered finish nailer for thinner wood. But 2x4s require a 2-3 inch full size nail to hold boards together. In the old days hammers were used - and how often would I mash my thumb - I wasn't very good at hammering either -- nowadays most people use guns -- you can hear the constant thwack on construction jobs.
We have a state of the art gas-powered Passlode (expensive) framing gun. I was building a bench and had to nail two 2x4s together. I used my left hand to steady the wood and shot the nail with my right. I didn't have the gun lined up correctly and the nail passed through the first piece but missed the second by a hair, apparently nicking the tip of the fleshy part of my palm just below the area of where the thumb meets the forefinger. The nail did not embed - there was little pain or blood - just a small indentation.
[Spoiler alert -- later revealed to not be the result of nail but a small piece of wood - a very big splinter - shot into my hand and embedded.]
I thought little of it. I pressed a paper towel - probably not clean - against it and went on to finish nailing the rest of the bench. One thing I realized on the shot that got me - this tool is very powerful and has a kick - so I was pretty careful in using it from then on.
A former doctor was working with me on the bench and urged me to wash the wound and use the first aid kit -- i put some antiseptic and gauze over it and when i got home i put some iodine. I went to the city and by the evening there was pain in my fingers and inflammation beyond the wound. I took advil when i got home and swelling went down and pain went away -- that was my solution -- masking the dangers.
Friday i told my wife and she said i should go to local urgent care. i was too busy. Same on Saturday - but by evening it was clear i had to go. As i chronicled in a previous post i went sunday morning -updated - talk to the hand - Lessons Learned: The quality of a doctor matters more than that of a teacher - you can lose your hand to flesh-eating bacteria the urgent care doc was not alarmed. He should have been. Sunday night we decided i had to go to my doc. And he sounded an alarm - hoping a dose of IV antibiotic would work. Monday eve at Gigi - it seemed to be working. Tues morn it looked to be reversing. Tues afternoon things were getting bad.
Tired from typing with 1 finger. Back next time with next chapter.
My little accident on March 19 occurred using a framing nail gun I wasn't used to. Normally I use a battery-powered finish nailer for thinner wood. But 2x4s require a 2-3 inch full size nail to hold boards together. In the old days hammers were used - and how often would I mash my thumb - I wasn't very good at hammering either -- nowadays most people use guns -- you can hear the constant thwack on construction jobs.
We have a state of the art gas-powered Passlode (expensive) framing gun. I was building a bench and had to nail two 2x4s together. I used my left hand to steady the wood and shot the nail with my right. I didn't have the gun lined up correctly and the nail passed through the first piece but missed the second by a hair, apparently nicking the tip of the fleshy part of my palm just below the area of where the thumb meets the forefinger. The nail did not embed - there was little pain or blood - just a small indentation.
[Spoiler alert -- later revealed to not be the result of nail but a small piece of wood - a very big splinter - shot into my hand and embedded.]
I thought little of it. I pressed a paper towel - probably not clean - against it and went on to finish nailing the rest of the bench. One thing I realized on the shot that got me - this tool is very powerful and has a kick - so I was pretty careful in using it from then on.
A former doctor was working with me on the bench and urged me to wash the wound and use the first aid kit -- i put some antiseptic and gauze over it and when i got home i put some iodine. I went to the city and by the evening there was pain in my fingers and inflammation beyond the wound. I took advil when i got home and swelling went down and pain went away -- that was my solution -- masking the dangers.
Friday i told my wife and she said i should go to local urgent care. i was too busy. Same on Saturday - but by evening it was clear i had to go. As i chronicled in a previous post i went sunday morning -updated - talk to the hand - Lessons Learned: The quality of a doctor matters more than that of a teacher - you can lose your hand to flesh-eating bacteria the urgent care doc was not alarmed. He should have been. Sunday night we decided i had to go to my doc. And he sounded an alarm - hoping a dose of IV antibiotic would work. Monday eve at Gigi - it seemed to be working. Tues morn it looked to be reversing. Tues afternoon things were getting bad.
Tired from typing with 1 finger. Back next time with next chapter.
Opt Out: CORE CAUCUS (CHICAGO) does what Unity caucus won't
What a shame that tiny grassroots groups like Change the Stakes has to strain its resources to reach out to parents when the uft has the infrastructure to reach every school in the city -- just watch them when there's a lousy contract to pass or a uft election. I helped Mike Schirtzer write this plank in the MORE testing reso turned down at the DA.
CTS has the kind of resources you can use on its site.
CORE which runs the 2nd largest teacher union in the nation has a different approach:
http://www.coreteachers.org/ provides resources to teachers and parents. Here are a few.
CTS has the kind of resources you can use on its site.
NEW!!! Opting Out of the State ELA & Math Tests in NYC: Frequently Asked Questions
Share with your colleagues and parents -- opt out is our only defense against the onslaught and the uft is missing in action.CORE which runs the 2nd largest teacher union in the nation has a different approach:
http://www.coreteachers.org/ provides resources to teachers and parents. Here are a few.
PARCC for Parents
Know Your Rights!!PARCC for Teachers
Know Your Rights!!!More Than A Score: Chicago
PARCC Opt Out ToolboxRaise Your Hand Illinois
Right to Refuse ToolsCTU: PARCC Opt-Out Guidelines
Get InformedNuestras Escuelas Podrian Perder $$$?
La respuesta es, NO!CPS STUDENTS: REFUSE THE PARCC – IT’S YOUR RIGHT!
Download and ShareIs NY Times Incompetent Ed Coverage Intentional?
Do reporters at the New York Times know that cheating occurs? We’re fairly sure they do! Just last Tuesday, a news report in the Times ran beneath this headline:“Closing Arguments Begin in Test Cheating Trial of 12 Atlanta Educators”. In the past few years, cheating scandals have been so huge that even our most famous newspapers have managed to report them. But by force of habit and dint of culture, reporters still fail to connect the dots when it comes to a topic like this.One of my fave topics is the biased, but mostly no-nothing reporting on education - and probably most other issues. The tabloids have long-time ed beat writers who get to know the local ed scene but often distort their reporting to reflect editorial. The Times has a different tactic - inexperience - sort of a tfa for ed reporting. People who really know the beat, like Mike Winerip or Anna Philips, are pushed out for new blood that doesn't have a clue. Why? Because the more experience, the more the ed deform scam becomes clear and if honest, a good reporter can't really distort the issues in favor of the deformers.
Has Governor Cuomo thought about this? We don’t have the slightest idea! Our mightiest paper, the New York Times, seems disinclined to ask.... Daily Howler
Leonie has a good piece on her blog: NYC Public School Parents:
Is the tug of war on education policy between liberal "reform proponents" and the unions, as the NY Times argues, or the 1% and nearly everyone else?
in the process of writing about this ideological battle, the reporter, Maggie Haberman, characterizes Democrats for Education Reform, one of the principle hedge fund-backed lobby groups as a “left of center group,” which is absurd. For some reason, DFER has managed to persuade reporters that it has any liberal credentials, despite the fact that as Diane Ravitch pointed out, the California Democratic Party has repudiated it.And the Howler takes the Times to task on reporting on the evaluation issue where he raises the purposeful ignoring of cheating as a factor -- go test some of Eva's charter kids at random in June - or September.
Parents Across America wrote an open letter to the NPR ombudsman in 2011, objecting to the fact that Claudio Sanchez, the NPR reporter, had called DFER a “liberal” organization, while quoting their criticism of the progressive participants in the anti-corporate reform Save Our Schools march in DC.
We also pointed out that DFER’s founder, hedge fund operator Whitney Tilson, admitted that the only reason he put “Democrats” in the organization’s title and focused on convincing Democrats to adopt their pro-privatization agenda was that GOP leaders were already in agreement with most of their positions.
Friday, March 27, 2015
updated - talk to the hand - Lessons Learned: The quality of a doctor matters more than that of a teacher - you can lose your hand to flesh-eating bacteria
Friday - March 27, 10:30 pm -
The assault on teachers is so outlandish - and seemingly accepted by so much of our society and the press - that the lack of similar calls for other professions is stark.
Let's look at doctors -- I had a very personal experience with over the past few days that illustrates an important point -- there is a qualitative difference between physicians --- and it is not something that can be quantified.
This is a lesson to anyone who thinks they might have a minor, self-treating injury.
A tale of 2 treatments
Last Thursday, I was building a bench for a project and using a gas-powered framing nail gun, a tool I had not used before, I shot the first nail and it went in on an angle and the tip caught a bit of the fleshy part of my left palm -- it looked like maybe an eighth of an inch. There was no pain and little blood -- I wrapped it in a paper towel. One of the guys is an ex-physician and urged me to wash it out with water -- the best thing you can use he said. "It's nothing," I said but did use the first aid kit about a half hour later to dab it with some antiseptic and put some gauze on it. When I got home I put some iodine and a bandaid and went off to the city to see a movie and meet a friend for dinner.
It began to hurt like a bitch while I was on the subway -- my fingers were bothering me and there was some swelling. When I got home I took some advil and it felt better. The Advil seemed to control the swelling and inflammation and the pain.
Friday I worked at the theater building sets and it wasn't really bothering me but the area was inflamed. Friday afternoon I went off to the city - in the snowstorm - to check out the NYCORE rehearsal for the next day, then on to the downtown MORE meeting and finally off to the gala Rockaway Theatre Company party at El Caribe in Mill Basin - I didn't get home 'till midnight - took some Advil and again felt better.
Up early Saturday morning for the all-day NYCORE conference. By the afternoon my hand was looking real ugly -- I took the band-aid off to show Janice who was working with me at the MORE table and she winced. Gloria and Lisa thought I should head home and skip the after party -- so I headed home at 6PM -- my wife took one look and said I should go to a local urgent care clinic Sunday morning -- which I did.
The doctor said it was infected, put me in antibiotics, gave me a topical salve and gave me a tetanus shot. He said give it 2 or 3 days and come back if it wasn't getting better. Then I was off to my acting class at the theater.
By Sunday night every part of my hand was inflamed. How could it be from such a little nick? We were going into the city on Monday so I called my doctor whose office is on 38th street and got an appointment at 3PM.
He took one look and shook his head at the remedies the urgent care doc had given me. The anti-biotic was not really a very good one and the salve was useless. I needed an anti-biotic IV, which he gave me for about a half hour and prescribed a new anti-biotic. The IV was essential, something the urgent care doctor didn't seem to recognize.
My doc told me I was in real danger if I had neglected this- necritis - hand injuries are very dangerous due to confined space. That this was a tiny entry wound that closed up and didn't bleed much in essence trapped the infection. It would have been better if the nail had gone straight through.
Then we were off to dinner and a show - a preview of Gigi. He told me to come back Thursday for another IV if the swelling doesn't go down. I still feel like I'm in danger as there is still ugly discoloration -- I'd show you a pic but don't want you to lose your appetite.
So, coming back to the beginning issue: The urgent care doc was not as astute as my personal doc in understanding the situation - which is why you get 2nd opinions.
Clearly, the reason I shlep into the city to see my doctor is because he is so good.
I don't see Cuomo very worried about rating health care workers. I don't advocate doing that to them - or to teachers - or any profession.
There will always be degrees of competence in any profession and that will never be fixed.
It is only when it comes to teachers that the world has seemingly gone crazy.
march 24, 12pm
[update - this was one of my last blog posts -- originally posted Tues march 24, 2015 but reverted to draft as new info on my hand came in -- back from 3 nights in joint diseases hospital today [friday] after operation on hand - yes very scary stuff -- when i wrote this tues morn i was optimistic - by late afternoon i figured i was being attacked by flesheating bacteria - not true - i hope -- excuse one hand typing -- will give details in follow-up tomorrow with perspectives on health care and a surprise about what they found in my hand --- and you wont be seeing me at tomorrow's or any rallies or events for a while. thanks to those who sent best wishes.]
The assault on teachers is so outlandish - and seemingly accepted by so much of our society and the press - that the lack of similar calls for other professions is stark.
Let's look at doctors -- I had a very personal experience with over the past few days that illustrates an important point -- there is a qualitative difference between physicians --- and it is not something that can be quantified.
This is a lesson to anyone who thinks they might have a minor, self-treating injury.
A tale of 2 treatments
Last Thursday, I was building a bench for a project and using a gas-powered framing nail gun, a tool I had not used before, I shot the first nail and it went in on an angle and the tip caught a bit of the fleshy part of my left palm -- it looked like maybe an eighth of an inch. There was no pain and little blood -- I wrapped it in a paper towel. One of the guys is an ex-physician and urged me to wash it out with water -- the best thing you can use he said. "It's nothing," I said but did use the first aid kit about a half hour later to dab it with some antiseptic and put some gauze on it. When I got home I put some iodine and a bandaid and went off to the city to see a movie and meet a friend for dinner.
It began to hurt like a bitch while I was on the subway -- my fingers were bothering me and there was some swelling. When I got home I took some advil and it felt better. The Advil seemed to control the swelling and inflammation and the pain.
Friday I worked at the theater building sets and it wasn't really bothering me but the area was inflamed. Friday afternoon I went off to the city - in the snowstorm - to check out the NYCORE rehearsal for the next day, then on to the downtown MORE meeting and finally off to the gala Rockaway Theatre Company party at El Caribe in Mill Basin - I didn't get home 'till midnight - took some Advil and again felt better.
Up early Saturday morning for the all-day NYCORE conference. By the afternoon my hand was looking real ugly -- I took the band-aid off to show Janice who was working with me at the MORE table and she winced. Gloria and Lisa thought I should head home and skip the after party -- so I headed home at 6PM -- my wife took one look and said I should go to a local urgent care clinic Sunday morning -- which I did.
The doctor said it was infected, put me in antibiotics, gave me a topical salve and gave me a tetanus shot. He said give it 2 or 3 days and come back if it wasn't getting better. Then I was off to my acting class at the theater.
By Sunday night every part of my hand was inflamed. How could it be from such a little nick? We were going into the city on Monday so I called my doctor whose office is on 38th street and got an appointment at 3PM.
He took one look and shook his head at the remedies the urgent care doc had given me. The anti-biotic was not really a very good one and the salve was useless. I needed an anti-biotic IV, which he gave me for about a half hour and prescribed a new anti-biotic. The IV was essential, something the urgent care doctor didn't seem to recognize.
My doc told me I was in real danger if I had neglected this- necritis - hand injuries are very dangerous due to confined space. That this was a tiny entry wound that closed up and didn't bleed much in essence trapped the infection. It would have been better if the nail had gone straight through.
Then we were off to dinner and a show - a preview of Gigi. He told me to come back Thursday for another IV if the swelling doesn't go down. I still feel like I'm in danger as there is still ugly discoloration -- I'd show you a pic but don't want you to lose your appetite.
So, coming back to the beginning issue: The urgent care doc was not as astute as my personal doc in understanding the situation - which is why you get 2nd opinions.
Clearly, the reason I shlep into the city to see my doctor is because he is so good.
I don't see Cuomo very worried about rating health care workers. I don't advocate doing that to them - or to teachers - or any profession.
There will always be degrees of competence in any profession and that will never be fixed.
It is only when it comes to teachers that the world has seemingly gone crazy.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Fred Smith Exposed NY State Ed/Pearson Test Tamper Scams
“They produced a defective product, and don’t want you to know about it,” said Fred Smith, a former city test analyst who discovered the missing items... The alterations suggest serious flaws in the high-stakes tests, which Gov. Cuomo wants to rely on more heavily to rate students, teachers and schools, said Smith, who published his findings last week in City Limits magazine... NY Posthttp://nypost.com/2015/03/22/
Fred, a stalwart Change the Stakes core member followed up with this:
We must use SED's dishonesty to support the following:NY Post piece below.
Fred
- An independent investigation of the NYS Testing Program and the SED/Pearson relationship.
- A sufficient reason for parents to opt their children out of the April exams and for teachers to actively encourage them. And leverage for MORE to use against the UFT's double games.
- The implementation of better assessment alternatives as a replacement for the current useless year-to-year abominations.
- The ouster of Ken Wagner, SED's chief stonewaller, and the above-it-all Chancellor Tisch.
- A demand for transparency and revision of the NYS Truth-in-Testing Law.
- Pressure on the Regents and politicians to do what's necessary and in their self-interest by supporting this agenda. Better late than never.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Opt Out in the black community: Meeting With a Brooklyn Elementary School PTA
Others talked about how their children loved school - until they hit a testing wall - and started not liking school in the 3rd grade. The very same stories I hear coming from white parents.... My Report from a PTA meeting.There is a common assumption that opting out of tests in urban areas is for the gentrified white middle class - the Arne Duncan line - but also something I hear from my friends on the left.
And gentrified areas are certainly where opt out started here in NYC, with the hot beds being Washington Heights and Park Slope.
We all recognized that from Day 1 but I eschewed the supposed reasons - that the black community wanted tests and the idea they viewed the opt out movement with suspicion would turn out to be overblown as the negatives of the tests were impacted their own children. After all, just look at the outcomes of the one-test judgement in the specialty schools like Stuy and Bronx High? Not a lot of their kids make it to those schools, though at Brooklyn Tech there always was a higher level of black students (including a bunch I taught in the 70s). I think even that level has dropped in recent years.
Change the Stakes made a conscious effort to start reaching out to the communities of color -- by sending reps to speak at district monthly Community Education Council (CEC) meetings - even if they are poorly attended. Newly posted-
Slowly, CTS has been making headway and when a Brooklyn elementary school PTA President asked Change the Stakes to send a representative to speak about opting out to parents at a PTA meeting last week, no parent was available that morning and I was asked to represent the group.
Two parent activists from Brooklyn New School (PS 146) also signed on to join me. BNS PAC web page materials: http://www.bns146.org/content/
About 15-20 parents showed up to the meeting and almost all of them were black. I knew the school and had assumed it was more of a racially mixed school. It is a Title 1 school. My guess is that there is a strong middle class component amongst the black parents at this particular meeting - a key group in extending the opt out movement. I'm guessing we will see opt out hit black schools in eastern Queens and possibly Canarsie before places like Brownsville and East NY.
As for the charter schools inundating the city, choice is no choice when it comes to opting out. A parent opting out in an Eva school will be opted right out of the school.
I shared some of my personal experiences with the impact of high stakes tests in my own school with a principal who pushed testing above all else. Stories came flooding back to me of how students were impacted and how my teaching was affected. The BNS parents answered questions about opting out.
It was a lively discussion. One parent talked about how her child was impacted and suffered anxiety and depression. Another said her daughter would do fine and didn't have a problem. The BNS parents said their kids would also do fine but for them there were bigger issues. They didn't expect everyone to see it that way but they were there to make sure people knew their options to opt out. Others talked about how their children loved school - until they hit a testing wall - and started not liking school in the 3rd grade. The very same stories I hear coming from white parents.
I was very impressed with the PTA president - for her leadership and her ability to articulate issues. The school is very lucky to have her and her crew.
The principal was there for part of the meeting and sent her AP over to cover the rest. Both seemed like decent people -- but who really knows. After the meeting, she asked me to take a quick tour of the school with her to demonstrate they did not do constant test prep -- she felt my presentation about my principal might have given the parents the wrong impression.
My instinct was that this a school where the PTA is not controlled by the administration. A very good thing. The PTA president asked me to drop off a dvd of our film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, which I hope she shows at a future meeting. We became facebook friends and I am hoping she brings her talents to CTS and helps extend the outreach of the anti-high stakes testing and opt out movement.
She said she would see us at this Saturday's demo at Cuomo's office - and she was bringing her 3rd grade daughter.
ADD-ON:
Brownsville DID have a school with a big opt out last year! Parents from PS 446, Riverdale Community School joined with parents from BNS and Arts & Letters (Brooklyn's D13) for a joint press conference. Here is a link to video of a 446 parent at that event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Dewey Principal Kathleen Elvin's Credit Recovery Graduation Scam -- DUHHHH!
The NY Post has a story today about John Dewey HS that has been all over Ed Notes for 9 months. Double DUHHHH! And I love how good old anti-teacher and union reporter Carl Campanile threads the needle:
Teaching kids takes so much effort, staffers at John Dewey HS in Brooklyn have found a quicker way to fix persistent failure rates...
Schmuck. Principal Elvin and her APs set up a fear factory and set policy and force people to adhere to it, especially the untenured - which Carl and his paper are so opposed to. Double schmuck.
Oh, la di da -- some "staffers" decided they didn't want to put effort into teaching children and out of the blue came up with a scheme. Triple schmuck.
When the DOE, which has been informed about these schemes for over a year or more -- but only when contacted by the press - and the Post is not the only one doing a story on this -- did they act like it was news to them.
Here are just a few Ed Notes posts on the Dewey and Elvin story -- in case Carl Campanile and the rest of the press want to really know what's going on.
Teaching kids takes so much effort, staffers at John Dewey HS in Brooklyn have found a quicker way to fix persistent failure rates...
Schmuck. Principal Elvin and her APs set up a fear factory and set policy and force people to adhere to it, especially the untenured - which Carl and his paper are so opposed to. Double schmuck.
Oh, la di da -- some "staffers" decided they didn't want to put effort into teaching children and out of the blue came up with a scheme. Triple schmuck.
When the DOE, which has been informed about these schemes for over a year or more -- but only when contacted by the press - and the Post is not the only one doing a story on this -- did they act like it was news to them.
Here are just a few Ed Notes posts on the Dewey and Elvin story -- in case Carl Campanile and the rest of the press want to really know what's going on.
Mar 07, 2015Dewey has one of the highest number of ineffective rated teachers by Elvin while at the same time she claims enormous success due to fraudulent credit recovery schemes. Red flag anyone? Here are the latest comments:Dec 25, 2014Based on the comments, a major issue is a phony credit recovery scheme and some ridiculous work rules imposed by the Elvin administrators, some of whom seem to be so awful. Hearing about how these slugs continue to ...Dec 10, 2014Gerard Papa, 61, who runs Flames, a basketball tournament and mentoring program for 700 kids ages 8 to 19, says Kathleen Elvin, the principal of John Dewey High School, closed off the school's secondary gym last ...Sep 26, 2014Are Elvin and Creveling the local version of ISIS, using this teacher as a hostage in retaliation for actions taken by the union - beheading the teacher, economically, by taking her job. The actions of Principal Elvin, along with ...
The Post story below the break.Sep 25, 2014“We're sorry you won't have health insurance for your child and thank you for serving your country. You're fired!” • Single Mother • Iraq War Veteran • Teaching for Only Four Months This is who Elvin and the AP of English ...Jun 26, 2014Kathleen Elvin was sent into John Dewey HS as a closer a few years ago - to make sure to drive the final nail in Dewey's coffin and remove many of the teachers, mostly senior. But the UFT lawsuit stopped that process over ...Dec 17, 2014Mrs Elvin, who was behind the non-stop attack on this teacher all last year and this year, was suddenly eulogizing her over the loudspeaker, and making sure everyone knew she was so deeply, deeply saddened by the loss of ...
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Watching a great teacher work: What I learned in acting class on Sunday
Since I've gotten involved in many back and front stage aspects of the theater out here in Rockaway, I've learned to appreciate live theater in so many ways - from set design, lighting, sound and the essentials of acting.
There are reasons to go see revivals because different actors - and more important, directors, bring a wide variety of prespectives to the play and the various roles.
Thus my recent visit (I'm a Mad Man About Peggy) to The Heidi Chronicles with Mad Men's Elizabeth Moss' unique interpretation was just one slice of how that play could have been presented. (The Times gave it a top-level review).
I've been taking a Sunday morning acting class at the Rockaway Theatre Company (RTC) with 28-year old Frank Ciaiti, a guidance counselor in the DOE, my 3rd or 4th class with Frank in the past 6 years. Frank was trying full-time acting when I met him and is now bringing his wide-ranging talents to his middle school in Brooklyn.
He was recruited to RTC over a decade ago as a student at Leon Goldstein HS in Brooklyn by some of his teachers there who are mainstays at RTC.
So in this class people are teamed to rehearse and perform a scene. My partner is a young NYC Queens middle school theater teacher. She chose a scene for us to do from "On Golden Pond" - where I play the Henry Fonda "dad" role - and my name is Norman, so that solves one memory issue. She plays the Jane Fonda daughter part. This is the famous reconciliation scene on the dock, with dad in the row boat and daughter on the dock. They never got a along. With great difficulty, she makes the first move. After we did a run through Frank jumped in with pointers. Since we are both static we needed a way to avoid each other so Frank told me not to look at her and to be fishing so I had something to occupy myself. I also played it with some sarcastic responses which he felt was not the way to do it -- but dad does say somethings that hurt daughter. So we do the scene and when I say these words, she starts to cry-- really cry. She tapped into something that made her emotional. Holy shit! Acting 101. She had to pull herself together. I have seen that on stage and always took if for granted. But to play an active role in it makes me appreciate acting for all it's worth. J is a wonderful actress - I've seen her in a few roles, notably as one of the stewardesses in Boeing Boeing and as one of the strippers in Gypsy. What a treat to be working with her -- and to have Frank to guide us.
There were other scenes performed today where Frank jumped in to guide people. In The Graduate, an older Mrs. Robinson had to seduce young Benjamin. The actress, a woman probably around 60 - a retired DOE teacher I believe - was working with a 23 year old - and seemed uncomfortable in going far enough to make the scene effective. Frank yelled -- "you want to screw him - every single line - even innocuous ones - must have that behind it. Stop being a Jewish grandmother." Then he tells her to touch him. She grazes his shoulder. Frank laughs. "Grab his inner thigh," he orders. I won't go on -- but this is amazing teaching.
And here is one more. Arthur Miller's "View From the Bridge" a Brooklyn waterfront drama. The 2010 revival with Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber, got good reviews.
This scene is between the wife and husband - he has a thing for the Johansson 17-year old house guest and is covering it up with anger at the young guy who is pursuing her - his wife gets what is going on. Now these are 2 veteran RTC actors - he played the Joe Hardy role in Damn Yankees and she had done many roles. So it was fascinating to see how Frank broke down the spots where each of them needed to ratchet things up or down. This was like going to a literary class studying the play. Much better of course. The emotion that emerged in different ways and how Frank adjusted things to get the emotion out at different times - and how skillfully the actors responded on a dime was like opening a window into so much I have always taken for granted regarding live theater.
Tomorrow we go to see Gigi -- and I think with some insights I might not have had before today.
Add on
So I also help build the sets. Last Wednesday I was using a gas powered framing nail gun and had my hand too close when I shot the nail on an angle and the tip of the nail clipped a bit of my palm. There was little blood and I put a bandage on it and some peroxide and took some Advil. But it's been bothering me and by Saturday's end of the NYCORE conference, even though some of my favorite people were going to the after-party at 6PM I felt I had to go home and take care of it. This morning I went to a local urgent care clinic and it is infected and I got some anti-biotics and some cream. It's burning like a bitch but here's hoping flesh-eating bacteria is staying away.
Lesson learned: Keep my free hand far away from certain tools. And go to the doctor sooner rather than later --I'd take a photo of my hand but you don't want to see that.
There are reasons to go see revivals because different actors - and more important, directors, bring a wide variety of prespectives to the play and the various roles.
Thus my recent visit (I'm a Mad Man About Peggy) to The Heidi Chronicles with Mad Men's Elizabeth Moss' unique interpretation was just one slice of how that play could have been presented. (The Times gave it a top-level review).
I've been taking a Sunday morning acting class at the Rockaway Theatre Company (RTC) with 28-year old Frank Ciaiti, a guidance counselor in the DOE, my 3rd or 4th class with Frank in the past 6 years. Frank was trying full-time acting when I met him and is now bringing his wide-ranging talents to his middle school in Brooklyn.
He was recruited to RTC over a decade ago as a student at Leon Goldstein HS in Brooklyn by some of his teachers there who are mainstays at RTC.
So in this class people are teamed to rehearse and perform a scene. My partner is a young NYC Queens middle school theater teacher. She chose a scene for us to do from "On Golden Pond" - where I play the Henry Fonda "dad" role - and my name is Norman, so that solves one memory issue. She plays the Jane Fonda daughter part. This is the famous reconciliation scene on the dock, with dad in the row boat and daughter on the dock. They never got a along. With great difficulty, she makes the first move. After we did a run through Frank jumped in with pointers. Since we are both static we needed a way to avoid each other so Frank told me not to look at her and to be fishing so I had something to occupy myself. I also played it with some sarcastic responses which he felt was not the way to do it -- but dad does say somethings that hurt daughter. So we do the scene and when I say these words, she starts to cry-- really cry. She tapped into something that made her emotional. Holy shit! Acting 101. She had to pull herself together. I have seen that on stage and always took if for granted. But to play an active role in it makes me appreciate acting for all it's worth. J is a wonderful actress - I've seen her in a few roles, notably as one of the stewardesses in Boeing Boeing and as one of the strippers in Gypsy. What a treat to be working with her -- and to have Frank to guide us.
There were other scenes performed today where Frank jumped in to guide people. In The Graduate, an older Mrs. Robinson had to seduce young Benjamin. The actress, a woman probably around 60 - a retired DOE teacher I believe - was working with a 23 year old - and seemed uncomfortable in going far enough to make the scene effective. Frank yelled -- "you want to screw him - every single line - even innocuous ones - must have that behind it. Stop being a Jewish grandmother." Then he tells her to touch him. She grazes his shoulder. Frank laughs. "Grab his inner thigh," he orders. I won't go on -- but this is amazing teaching.
And here is one more. Arthur Miller's "View From the Bridge" a Brooklyn waterfront drama. The 2010 revival with Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber, got good reviews.
This scene is between the wife and husband - he has a thing for the Johansson 17-year old house guest and is covering it up with anger at the young guy who is pursuing her - his wife gets what is going on. Now these are 2 veteran RTC actors - he played the Joe Hardy role in Damn Yankees and she had done many roles. So it was fascinating to see how Frank broke down the spots where each of them needed to ratchet things up or down. This was like going to a literary class studying the play. Much better of course. The emotion that emerged in different ways and how Frank adjusted things to get the emotion out at different times - and how skillfully the actors responded on a dime was like opening a window into so much I have always taken for granted regarding live theater.
Tomorrow we go to see Gigi -- and I think with some insights I might not have had before today.
Add on
So I also help build the sets. Last Wednesday I was using a gas powered framing nail gun and had my hand too close when I shot the nail on an angle and the tip of the nail clipped a bit of my palm. There was little blood and I put a bandage on it and some peroxide and took some Advil. But it's been bothering me and by Saturday's end of the NYCORE conference, even though some of my favorite people were going to the after-party at 6PM I felt I had to go home and take care of it. This morning I went to a local urgent care clinic and it is infected and I got some anti-biotics and some cream. It's burning like a bitch but here's hoping flesh-eating bacteria is staying away.
Lesson learned: Keep my free hand far away from certain tools. And go to the doctor sooner rather than later --I'd take a photo of my hand but you don't want to see that.
Videos: NYCORE 2015 Justice Not Just Tests Conference Keynotes - Strong Stories and dance of The Resistance
I spent all day Saturday at the NYCORE conference at James Baldwin HS. I had some great conversations with all kinds of people.
Strong Stories and dance of The Resistance
Jose Vilson
Dao Tran
Jamila Lyiscott
Erica Doyle
Lady and Crystal
Rosie Frascella
NYCORE 2015 Loco-Motion Dance, Lola, Una
Strong Stories and dance of The Resistance
Jose Vilson
Dao Tran
Jamila Lyiscott
Erica Doyle
Lady and Crystal
Rosie Frascella
NYCORE 2015 Loco-Motion Dance, Lola, Una
Marcella Sills Replacement at PS 106 in Rockaway uses same tactics
It is clear that the Farina/deBlasio administration has
followed in the path of its predecessor BloomKleinites in protecting
lousy, insane principals.
Now we find her successor and apparent friend has been put in place to wipe out the anti-Sills whistle blowers. [Sills by the way came into power under the Kathy Cashin administration in Region 5 - Dist. 27 and 19].
Ed Notes had gads of stories in Sills and PS 106. Supt and Sills protector Lloyd-Bey was forced into retirement but I do not believe it was because of that but due to her not being on the Farina team. Here are a few ed notes recent posts -- use the search box to see years of them.
Post story below the break.
[PS 106Q Principal] Legions is married to the brother of a PS 106 dad who was friendly with Sills. The staff fears she is bent on retaliating against Sills’ detractors... NY PostSometimes the Post does some good things. It was only when they exposed Marcella Sills - for all the wrong reasons - that she was removed from the school and is still probably on the payroll in some cushy DOE version of supervisor rubber rooms - though would anyone be shocked to find she was still being used in some nefarious fashion? My beef with the Post was that the years of Sills' onslaught on teachers was left out of the story -- it was teacher whistle blowing that led to the story being told -- and believe me, there were years of ignored whistle blowing by the DOE and most of the press -- except Howie Schwach and I in The Wave.
Now we find her successor and apparent friend has been put in place to wipe out the anti-Sills whistle blowers. [Sills by the way came into power under the Kathy Cashin administration in Region 5 - Dist. 27 and 19].
Ed Notes had gads of stories in Sills and PS 106. Supt and Sills protector Lloyd-Bey was forced into retirement but I do not believe it was because of that but due to her not being on the Farina team. Here are a few ed notes recent posts -- use the search box to see years of them.
Feb 23, 2014I read the misconduct report and could not believe the lies Ms. Sills put forth. I am a former teacher at this school and I was actually glad when she wouldn't arrive. I would have time to teach to the students needs. When she ...Jan 13, 2014Ms. Sills has not really cared about students well being or academic progress. She has a political hierarchy she has developed to intimidate teachers and parents. Meetings were held by parents to address the over-priced ...Jan 17, 2014I am one of the teachers who was unfortunately disrespected, abused and suffered greatly under the incompetent leadership of Principal Marcella Sills at PS 106Q. As a matter of fact, at this writing I am still involved in a ...Jan 13, 2014And a teacher just called saying she actually met with Kathy Cashin about this school when Cashin led Region 5 and in essence hired Sills - though we think Lloyd-Bay was the mover. She said Lloyd-Bey sent over district ...
New ‘School of No’ principal drawing ire of teachers
http://nypost.com/2015/03/22/new-school-of-no-principal-drawing-fire-from-teachers/Post story below the break.
The Opt Out movement is a bomb set off at ground zero of ed deform
Opt out nukes ed deform |
And we also are seeing the stages of a major reaction against charters - the more they push down people's throats the more scandals. Eva who pushes choice doesn't give her parents a choice to opt out.
Even PBS reported on the opt out movement - yesterday at the NYCORE conference I challenged some Chalkbeat people to cover that movement in a serious, in depth manner.
I'm going to follow up with my report of my meeting with a PTA in a Title I school but for now let me repost a Ravitch blog that had the Fair Test report:
FairTest: Test Resistance Goes Viral
The Opt Out movement is spreading like wildfire. It is led by parents, not unions, though some union locals have voted to honor the wishes of parents. Parents understand that the tests are designed to fail most children. They understand that test prep and testing are stealing time from instruction. They aren’t commanded by anyone. They are listening to their children
This message was written by Bob Schaeffer of FairTest:
Normally, FairTest sends out these news clips summaries once a week, early each Tuesday afternoon. With school standardized exam season now in full gear, however, the flow of stories about testing resistance and reform actions is accelerating rapidly. This special edition — with updates from more than half the 50 states over just three days — reports on the first, too-modest steps by policy makers across the U.S. to respond to the growing grassroots pressure for assessment reform.
As more students opt out, parents demonstrate, school board members pass resolutions and polls show strong public opposition to test misuse and overuse, we are confident that there will be many more updates by next Tuesday and in the coming weeks.
This message was written by Bob Schaeffer of FairTest:
Normally, FairTest sends out these news clips summaries once a week, early each Tuesday afternoon. With school standardized exam season now in full gear, however, the flow of stories about testing resistance and reform actions is accelerating rapidly. This special edition — with updates from more than half the 50 states over just three days — reports on the first, too-modest steps by policy makers across the U.S. to respond to the growing grassroots pressure for assessment reform.
As more students opt out, parents demonstrate, school board members pass resolutions and polls show strong public opposition to test misuse and overuse, we are confident that there will be many more updates by next Tuesday and in the coming weeks.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Exposing the New Orleans privatization sham where "Choice" turns into no choice
Our stories can help stop this madness! As other cities plan to copy the New Orleans model, it's very important that the voices of parents who are finding that their children are seen as acceptable collateral damage in a market based education system. Please share these parent voices widely and often. ... Karen Harper Royal from the belly in the beast, Parent Voices from New Orleans: http://bit.ly/In the topsy turvy world of ed deform, destructive hurricanes are a good thing - if they wipe out public school systems. Karen started out as seeing charter schools as an option. She found out real fast what they were all about.
Here is a post from today dealing with the consequences of charter school failure.
Here is a video of Karen I did at the Parents Across America debut event in New York with Leonie introducing Karen 4 years ago.Punishing Children for Charter School Failure in New Orleans
I've found myself in the unenviable position of having to say "don't close this charter school." Here is an article and my recent blog piece that explains my predicament.
Article:
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2015/03/why_is_an_ activist_who_has_fou.html# incart_most_shared-opinions
My recent Blog post: http://bit.ly/FixNOLA
NOLAChoice2
If you meet parents who extol charters, send them to Karen.
MORE's Mindy mocks Cuomo at Crooks and Liars blog
What is it with these MORE's, writing, speaking, organizing, leading - all over the place.
As a long-time special education teacher, I have been
disheartened by Governor Cuomo. Back in January, he laid out his plans
to reform public education which included an overhaul of how we are
evaluated.
To get to know people like Mindy.
t
Gov. Cuomo Declares War On Special Education
By Mindy Rosier
http://crooksandliars.com/2015/03/new-yorks-governor-cuomos-war-special
Hey, Norm, why do you keep doing this stuff when you can put your feet up and rest?
To get to know people like Mindy.
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