Video: Choose to Refuse Rap - As Mulgrew Argues for "Better" Tests

• JP Lee Clearly, he is suggesting that the state spend more money on more expensive tests, which will direct money away from the schools and into the pockets of testing and other ed corporations. I don't have the words...

While Mulgrew argues for "better" standardized high stakes tests in his Daily News piece, the resistance continues. But watch out for that punch in the face.

Francesca Gomes via United Federation of Teachers

Mulgrew... Being dragged behind the movement kicking and screaming. Mike, our kids deserve better assessment than standardized tests, not better tests. My union president, ladies and gentlemen!

• Kathy Kingston Wow!!

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• Denis Ian More civil disobedience is the answer. There's no effective response to that.

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• Tim Farley My guess is opt out will be near 100% next year.

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• Valerie Dicaprio His newfound concern for the needs of our children is disingenuous. He's still plugging away for CC.

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• Denis Ian We're just getting started ... and we have the election year energy to rush us along. It seems it's always a good time for usually deaf politicians to prick their ears ... and pay closer attention to those who elect them rather than bribe them.

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• Loy Gross Is this punch-you-in-the-face dude? Can I punch him in the face?

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• Valerie Dicaprio Only if I can push him "in the dirt" when you're done.

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• Denis Ian Yes, ladies ... this is the guy you wanna slap-silly.

  Like · Reply · 5 · 9 hrs
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• Loy Gross And then we'll both stomp on him. Sounds like a plan.

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• Valerie Dicaprio Yes. Lucy, you got it. Love, Ethel

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• Dawn Marie He's an ass period . How the heck did he become president of UFT ??!!I'd love to see him and Weingarten ousted .

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• JP Lee Clearly, he is suggesting that the state spend more money on more expensive tests, which will direct money away from the schools and into the pockets of testing and other ed corporations. I don't have the words...

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• Denis Ian Perhaps the unions think the testing corporations will be their new bed-mates ... as they seem to have been betrayed by the politicians they so lovingly lathered their money on ... to no avail any longer.

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Stacey Kahn He's full of it.

Mark Naison

Teachers union leaders support of national testing is going to force more and more parents to homeschool or organize schools of their own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5_4TwuUbG0&feature=youtu.be

Charter School Hedge Hog Backer of PAVE, Julian Robertson: Hedge Funds Close Doors, Facing Low Returns and Investor Scrutiny

There is joy in Mudville. I love the smell of bad news for hedge funds in the morning. Robertson's son Spencer Robertson heads PAVE Academy, which is the school that invaded the space of Julie Cavanagh's PS 15 in Red Hook. The good thing that came out of it was how it mobilized the community to fight back.

Julian Robertson, founder of Tiger Management. This year, three funds it spun out have closed. Credit Vaughan Leighton Brookfield for The New York Times

For decades, nearly everything that the billionaire Julian Robertson touched turned to gold. Mr. Robertson, founder of the hedge fund Tiger Management, seeded a network of hugely successful “Tiger Cubs” — companies that in turn seeded more talent. It became the closest thing the hedge fund industry had to a dynasty.

Since the start of this year, however, the managers of three firms spun out of that gilded empire have called it quits after volatile performances and sometimes steep losses. They will return money to investors and focus on managing their own wealth.

TigerShark, Tiger Consumer and JAT Capital Management are just three examples among a recent wave of hedge funds that have closed their doors to investors in the face of choppy markets. They are a reminder that the hedge fund industry is not all spectacular returns... NY Times, May 16, 2015

Hedge Funds Close Doors, Facing Low Returns and Investor Scrutiny

New York Times‎ - 1 day ago

 

Rumore wins in Buffalo - Too Bad for Stronger Together and Chaos in Hawaii over 2 opponents --

Phil Rumore supported Revile NYSUT last year. There was hope Buffalo could join the other big cities with reform union leadership. 34 years of Rumore running this operation. Jeez.

And from the oft-anti- union Educational Intelligence Agency (EIA) comes this news on the election in Hawaii where the losers are fusing to leave. As Glenn Tepper emailed: This is deja vu all over again, circa UFT 1980's…

Glenn is referring to the 1985 UFT election where the opposition won the high school VP officer position for the only time in history and Unity protested the election for that position - an brazen abuse of democracy, since the UFT under Unity had been in charge of the election. A decade later they changed the constitution to make sure this could never happen again by removing the elections of divisional VPS from the divisions and allowing everyone in the union to vote for them (at-large voting).

If the opposition ever begins to get close in the UFT, they will just keep changing the rules to keep themselves in power - how about every retiree gets to vote twice - or have their votes weighted by years of service?

No Aloha After Union Election

Posted: 18 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT

Hawaii State Teachers Association president Wil Okabe was term-limited out this year, leading his vice president, Joan Lewis, to seek the post. She was challenged by Corey Rosenlee, a member of the union’s board of directors. Rosenlee ran on a slate from the Hawaii Teachers for Change caucus, who want to transform HSTA “from a business model union to an organizing union.”
There was a long delay in announcing the outcome of the election until finally HSTA told members there would be a runoff for the office of vice president. But the union didn’t disclose the actual vote counts, nor did it certify the results for president or secretary-treasurer.
The runoff was held, but in a marathon session on Saturday the union’s board of directors voted not to certify the results of either the first election or the runoff, citing unnamed irregularities.
This caused a firestorm of protest, particularly after secretary-treasurer candidate Osa Tui revealed he had lost the initial vote to Teachers for Change candidate Amy Perruso. Tui then withdrew from the race.
Angry activists are peppering the union’s Facebook page with demands for transparency, while conspiracy theories begin to float around. A Change.org petition has been posted calling for all details of the votes and the board meeting to be made public.
It’s still too early to call this type of thing a trend, but the days of simply anointing new union presidents do seem to be gradually coming to an end. 

Back to Buffalo, where we hear our blogging pal Sean Crowley won election to the exec bd. He should only make Rumore's life miserable.

707 for Rumore, 344 for Foster and 299 for Bruno. They are within not too many votes to force a runoff.

All three say they're disappointed with turnout -- a little more than 1,300 of the union's 3,400 hundred members voted.
But Foster says his and Bruno's combined 643 votes to Rumore's 707 shows there's a place for new leadership and ideas in the union.

Interesting how many unions have provisions for a runoff - natch - the UFT doesn't.

Phil Rumore Re-Elected President of Buffalo Teachers Federation

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/buffalo/top-stories/2015/05/16/rumore-re-elected-btf-president.html

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- BTF President Philip Rumore says it's an honor to be re-elected to the position he's held for 34 years, but he knows the next two years will come with their share of challenges.
"We've got negotiations, we've got the APPR," said Rumore. "I look forward to working with all of them -- Marc Bruno, Pat Foster, and all the campaigns.  We've got a lot of work to do, so we've got to pull together."
Both challengers say they plan to stand behind Rumore, but they expressed concerns with the election process.
"One concern we had was in past elections, there was a two-step process:  the outside envelope was opened and the ballots were separated on the first floor...and then in the basement, another step was taken that was behind closed doors, with a window.  That was improved this time, that everything was done on the first floor," said candidate Patrick Foster, who received 344 votes.
Candidate Marc Bruno, who received 299 votes, says there's a chance he may contest the results.  He says some of the union's bylaws and election procedures are vague and outdated, and questions he posed to the election committee weren't answered.  He also believes parts of the federal law that regulates union elections were violated and has concerns about how ballots are counted.
"You have a bunch of counting teams reading off numbers, and there is potential for human error.  Our observers had different numbers than the counters came up with, so that's a problem," said Bruno.
All three say they're disappointed with turnout -- a little more than 1,300 of the union's 3,400 hundred members voted.
But Foster says his and Bruno's combined 643 votes to Rumore's 707 shows there's a place for new leadership and ideas in the union.
"We also feel that there's other teachers that've been in the trenches, in the classrooms currently, and are seeing how these regulations have manifested themselves and how they impact the teacher who's in the classroom right now," Foster said.
All say a main priority will be negotiating a new contract for teachers, who've been without one for the past 11 years.
"We're going to start, within the next week or so, picketing board members' houses, turn up the heat on them.  They've gotta come around and say, 'Look -- these are our employees.  We need to treat them right," said Rumore.  
Ultimately, each candidate says it will be important for the union to band together to face these issues.
"Solidarity, you know, you hear that all the time," said Bruno. "So, whoever the winner is, you want to support them and move forward and do what's best for students and teachers."

South Bronx School: BREAKING NEWS!! My 3020-a Decision Arrived

I attended most of Peter's 3020a hearings. The principal, Allison Coviello, tried to come off as super competent but often came across as a zealot who put enormous time and effort into taking away the livelihood of a former colleague, who she clearly had targeted for removal even before she became principal.

Going after a cluster teacher who sees 300 kids a week for not differentiating instruction in his 45 minutes with the kids once or twice a week, for instance. NYSUT attorney Jennifer Hogan was on the case, pointing out that other clusters were not treated the same way and that he was being compared to push-in teachers who spend hours a day with the kids.

Coviello, who tried to maintain a calm exterior, struck me as a cold-hearted automaton. And I think the hearing officer must have agreed to some extent as her decision not to terminate Peter demonstrates. Still, to keep her job, she split the baby and suspended Peter for 4 months, in essence a massive fine. We never expected him not to be fined, but this is excessive.

He will not be returned to his school, which would be Coviello's worst nightmare. He is suing and from my information, the DOE is very nervous about suits and is looking to settle with people who do sue. Peter has a court date for his suit on Weds. Do you think the decision coming down less than 48 hours before the court date is a coincidence after months of waiting for a decision?

By not taking Peter's job, they are hoping to take away the guts of his court case. They won't. Courts don't owe anything to DOE legal.

Check his blog for updates.

BREAKING NEWS!! My 3020-a Decision Arrived

The decision is in!

I kept my job.

I have a 4 month suspension.

I have yet to read the decision. Will read it by tomorrow.

Details to follow.

Court date in Manhattan Supreme Court this Wednesday morning.

Thank you to all those that have supported me throughout this long and arduous process.

Another Debunking of Ed Deform, Race to the Top - Unconstrained faith in education's economic power lacks evidentiary base, review finds

The reviewers conclude, "Claiming that the primary solution to a wide array of economic problems is to improve ‘human capital,' the report perpetuates a problematic myth that undervalues alternative ways to address poverty and economic insecurity."

I love these Great Lakes Center reports that often expose the ed deform myth, of which one of the keys is that the key to economic growth is education -- and since the same deformers claim the key to education is "effective teachers" -- in other words, if the economy is faltering, blame the teachers -- the basis of Obama/Duncan, deform ed ideology. But we know the real reason - these are shells for hide the privatization cover for doing ed on the cheap -- since teacher salaries are the biggest component of ed spending-- let's cheapen teachers and undermine their unions to the point where charters don't have to offer competitive salaries and we can create a lower base, especially in the urban areas.

One interesting sidelight, which I will get into another time, is that most cities are AFT and Randi full well knows that this is coming and is as good an explanation as any for playing on both sides of the fence as a way to make deals with deformers to preserve her power structure, even if reduced.

Contact:
Marvin Lazerson, +498022662345 (Germany), marvinlazerson@t-online.de
Daniel Quinn, (517) 203-2940, dquinn@greatlakescenter.org

Unconstrained faith in education's economic power lacks evidentiary base, review finds

EAST LANSING, Mich. (May 18, 2015) – A recent report from the Hamilton Project sought to study how public investment in education will further long-term prosperity, economic growth, and individual economic security.  The inquiry focused on whether or not a bachelor's degree or higher education would increase economic prosperity and reduce economic inequality.  A review of the report released today finds that it oversimplifies the importance of college degrees in boosting the economy, while rejecting the widely held view that education can substantially reduce economic inequality.

Marvin Lazerson, professor of higher education policy at Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ryan Pfleger, a doctoral student in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder, reviewed Increasing Education: What it Will and Will Not Do for Earnings and Earnings Inequality for the Think Twice think tank review project of the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

The report examines three possible components of education's economic power: (1) education is the critical factor in creating sustainable economic prosperity; (2) college and advanced degrees increase earnings power for individuals; and (3) a broad base of increased educational attainment will narrow income inequality.

In the review, the authors find that the report and its assertions are straightforward and use an empirically-based simulation for future projections.  However, the report has several limitations.
Specifically, Lazerson and Pfleger find the following insufficiencies:

1. there is little direct evidence in the report to show that increasing educational attainment is the most "efficient and effective," as the report describes, way to improve prosperity;
2. the data are drawn are only from males, with no attention paid to gender, race, field of study, labor-market conditions, or institutional reputation; and
3. no data were analyzed to evaluate other ways to address economic problems.

The reviewers note that the findings of the report are illuminating, "because more schooling increases, on average, the income of individuals in comparison to those not receiving advanced schooling." However, the reviewers contend that more direct actions are necessary, and the use of schools as a lever to improve economic conditions is an indirect method.
The reviewers conclude, "Claiming that the primary solution to a wide array of economic problems is to improve ‘human capital,' the report perpetuates a problematic myth that undervalues alternative ways to address poverty and economic insecurity."

Read his full review at:
http://www.greatlakescenter.org
Find Increasing Education: What it Will and Will Not Do for Earnings and Earnings Inequality on the web: http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/increasing_education_what_it_will_and_will_not_do_for_earnings_inequal/
Think Twice, a project of the National Education Policy Center, provides the public, policymakers and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.

The review can also be found on the NEPC website:
http://nepc.colorado.edu

Memo From The RTC: Lost in Yonkers Played to Packed Houses

I've become so involved in working with the Rockaway Theatre Company, my political activities have been affected. Increasingly, given a choice, I'd rather be at the theater than at some meeting. And how great that I am less than a 10-minute drive away?

Last night we rehearsed the crap shooting dance of Guys and Dolls where I am an on-looker, not a dancer. I play Liver-Lips Louie and get to toss some dice - and lose. I also play a Texas tourist in the opening scene and get to chase a 22 year old around the stage after he steals my wallet. I asked them to have a defibrillator handy.

Here is my final report on the play just completed.

Lost in Yonkers Played to Packed Houses

Memo from the RTC- Published May 8, 2015 at: http://www.rockawave.com/news/2015-05-08/Community/Lost_in_Yonkers_Played_to_Packed_Houses.html

By Norm Scott 

 

 
Andrew Feldman and Steven Wagner.

In a show of spectacular performances by every actor, it was the awesome performance of the four kids alternating playing the roles of brothers Jay and Arty in the Rockaway Theatre Company production of Lost in Yonkers that blew people away.

How can a small theater based in Fort Tilden on the outskirts of the city, manage to attract such young talent? How could first-time director David Risley put the fate of a play that hinged on top level performances from teenagers in their hands?

So I went back four times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. With Raimondo Graziano (17 and in the 11th grade) and Steven Wagner (13 and in the seventh grade), both students at Scholars’ Academy here in Rockaway – alternating in playing the older Jay, not a beat was lost in handling this demanding role. Thirteen year old Park Slope resident Aidan Lawrence, who attends Bay Ridge Prep, shared the role of Arty with Andrew Feldman. Arty had the funniest lines, which had to be delivered with perfection to get laughs. And the boys didn’t miss a beat.

 
Raimondo Graziano, Lynda Browning and Andrew Feldman.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to an RTC play where the audience laughed so consistently and loudly at every single one of the six performances. What was interesting was how all four boys brought their own interpretation to the roles.

And I loved how David mixed and matched them so that they all had the chance to play with different partners. I had to do some math to figure this out; Raimondo with Andrew and Aidan, as well as Steven with Andrew and Aidan. Do you know how hard that is? Getting the timing and the relationship down with different actors? Before I saw this in front of my eyes I thought David was nuts.

 
Lynda Browning, Steven Wagner, Aidan Lawrence, Kim Simek, Steve Ryan and Susan Corning.

Last week, I wrote about the adults – the powerhouse performances of Lynda Browning as Bella, Susan Corning as Grandma Kurnitz and Stephen Ryan as Louie. They delivered in every single performance, though sometimes they would say “I’m glad you taped tonight, I killed it.” I thought they always killed it.

I didn’t get to talk much about the other key supporting roles – Eddie, the boys’ dad and Gert, the aunt with breathing problems. RTC newcomer, but veteran actor Bob Alpert was top notch in the crucial role of the damaged dad whose wife had just died and deep in debt to loan sharks, which sets up the premise of the play – that he had to go on the road to make money and was forced to leave the boys with the tyrannical grandma.

Veteran RTC actors Kim Simek and Jessica Mintzes shared the role of the equally damaged Gert, whose every slip of dialogue had to finish with a breathing problem. Watching them both navigate that was a marvel.

Let me not stop without congratulating the wonderful Suzanne Riggs for her stage managing, which included dressing the set with so many of her personal family belongings evoking the early ‘40s. Is there anyone who does not love Suzanne for her giving personality and support for everyone involved in the theater? She was assisted by another remarkable teenager, Mia Melchiorri as assistant stage manager, who with her crew managed to open and close the sleep away couch time and again between scenes without a hitch,

On Monday, I joined the Tony Homsey crew in taking down the set – always a sad occasion. But we are beginning to build the Guys and Dolls set for its late June opening. I have a bit part in that play, as does pretty much everyone in Rockaway – and beyond. I can’t wait to try to fit into the dressing room. What thrills me is that so many kids are involved in that show and the interactions backstage will be as much fun as what happens on stage. I’ll write more about these remarkable theater kids in future columns.

Norm in The Wave: On Rockaway Branch Lines and Ferries: Poor, Neglected A Train

Published Friday May 15, 2015 at http://www.rockawave.com/node/208762?pk_campaign=Newsletter

On Rockaway Branch Lines and Ferries

School Scope

By Norm Scott

NORMAN SCOTT

Taking a break from education issues, I wanted to get something off my chest regarding reporting on transportation issues by the Rockaway press and also the politicians.

In my last conversation with Phil Goldfeder, I harangued him for talking about ferries and branch lines but ignoring discussion on improving the A train. He promised he would. I may have missed it but so far haven’t noticed.

Constant talk about getting the MTA to put millions of dollars it claims it does not have into a dream of a project to rebuild a portion of rail so people in Rockaway can get into Manhattan in 45 minutes (tops) instead of an hour (or more). The same goes for the late, lamented ferry. With the stop in Brooklyn the trip to Wall Street took 50 minutes and sometimes longer. To 34th Street, even longer. And if you wanted to go after rush hour, it was a no go. Same with late at night. Don’t get me wrong. It was a nice option and it would be good to have a ferry that runs all day and into the late evening, but without heavy subsidies from a city that looks at Rockaway as if it were in Outer Mongolia, I don’t expect much.

Howie Schwach reported with this story on his web site (www.onrockaway.com): “The A train remains the major commuter mode of travel from Rockaway to Manhattan. A recent study said that Rockaway residents have second longest travel commute in the city.” Howie points out that the average time for a Rockaway commute – 46.9 minutes – is far off the reality. More like an hour or more and if you are coming from Mott Avenue or Rockaway Park and using the shuttle (a few direct A trains run to and fro during rush hour) it could take much longer if you add waiting time. The last time I took a midday subway from Rockaway Park, I waited at Broad Channel for almost a half hour for an A to come. And then there was that long slog through Brooklyn. Another mid-day trip was a bit better – the shuttle left within a few minutes and the A came within 7 minutes. Still. (I remember when Anthony Weiner was running for mayor he put an idea of a third track on the table.)

The shuttle is a real issue for people in Rockaway Park. Personally, we drive to Newkirk Plaza in Brooklyn and take the Q or B. Some people drive to Broad Channel or Howard Beach to skip the shuttle.

Last summer we took the 9:30 a.m. ferry – the last one in the morning – to 34th Street for a matinee. On the way back we decided to take an A from 42nd Street downtown to Wall Street to get the ferry. But lo and behold, after a very short wait, a rare A to Rockaway Park showed up and we decided to take it all the way back to 108th to pick up our car at the ferry dock. It took an hour. I tried to think about ways to cut some time off this trip. I was looking at the map as we headed into the area where the A splits off from Lefferts Boulevard and noticed how easy it would be for them to get the shuttle instead of us. There are only three stops between Rockaway Boulevard and Lefferts and the same three stops between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park. Given the much longer commute, why shouldn’t Rockaway Park (149th to the 80s) and include Breezy Point too – get a direct A train? To me a simple fix costing little or nothing.

Looking at the map, you can see what almost looks like a detour at Euclid Avenue as it makes a wide loop that includes six stops before looping back to Howard Beach. Draw a direct line from Euclid to Howard Beach – imagine a connection between them cutting out that loop. How much time would that save? Of course the very idea of adding a short cut between those stations looks like lunacy. But any more lunacy than the unicorn-like search for the Rockaway Branch Line?

For people at the other end of Rockaway – Mott Avenue, the commute includes six Rockaway stops, three more than those in Rockaway Park. All told, there are 23 additional stops between Broad Channel before hitting Fulton Street in Manhattan (if you’re going to Washington Heights at the other end of the A, better leave the day before). Are there ways to speed up this trip without building entire branch lines? I bet there are. That is the question I would ask our politicians and the Rockaway press to answer rather than chasing after unicorns.

Norm still avoids the shuttle but doesn’t avoid blogging at ednotesonline.org.

Message to Ed Notes Readers: Why Join MORE? Do You Really Have A Choice? - Updated

Please join us now
http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us -- MORE Caucus 

Really, with some warts and all, MORE is the only option if you oppose the UFT leadership and object to its partner, New Action's role as a stalking horse for Mulgrew and Unity. If the high school votes of MORE (1335) and New Action (whose 440 votes went to Unity (1590) in 2013 were combined, Unity would have lost those 7 seats.

(If New Action ever wants to come back into the legitimate opposition, its leaders should contact MORE, whose reps told them they will be welcome once they give up their deal with Unity.)

While I'm not in total agreement with Mike Schirtzer's call for MORE to run in the UFT 2016 elections Why MORE Will Run In The 2016 UFT Elections  if you do agree with Mike, then what option do you have than to join MORE? Oh, you think all you have to do is vote for MORE and not have to give anything back to the org doing all the election organizing and work? Do you want a name on a ballot or an actual campaign that costs money? Unity will have its chapter leaders and district reps stuff every mailbox in every school with numerous campaign lit. New Action will have its large core of retirees hit most of the schools with leaflets. Most MORE people are classroom teachers and need people in the school to become organizers and distributors.

See the disinterest not only from people who don't vote (I can understand that from them -- they are boycotting a meaningless election). But what about the 4500 people who did vote for MORE last time? Where are they? What about the 20,000 people who voted against the contract? It is time to stand up.

Where are all those people who are outraged at Randi's sellouts? Do you know that in the UFT elections, 750 Unity hacks are elected to go to NYSUT RA and AFT conventions to stamp out attempts to get the national and state unions to take a strong stand against ed deform and defend you as teachers from the onslaught? The UFT elections are the basis of Randi's control of the national union and Mulgrew/Randi attempt to continue control of the state union from the Stronger Together Caucus. The 2016 elections will continue that control (not that it is possible to stop them from electing these 750 slugs again.)

One of my thoughts in calling for a boycott of the election is this: Maybe those of you opposed to the Unity machine but sit on the sidelines don't deserve to have the right to vote against Mulgrew. 

Join MORE and also sign up to distribute info on MORE to your colleagues. If MORE doesn't listen to me and actually runs in 2016, they will need someone in every school to counter the Unity propaganda machine.

Keep Mike laughing - join MORE

I think it's 25 bucks a year to join MORE, a mere fraction of what you pay the Unity/UFT machine. If you want a campaign against Unity, put some skin in the game.  http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us
I'll be looking for you

PS: And have some pity on poor Schirtzer - he wants to challenge Unity so badly and with a real campaign. Keep his hope alive!!!

MORE’s central priority will be the development of a UFT caucus. Our aim is to reach UFT members with our message of a more active and democratic union that can effectively fight back against what we have called the “ed deform” agenda and for the basic union rights of our members. We seek to reach members “where they are.” Different subsets of the membership experience the attacks on our profession and on our rights differently. For some, the testing frenzy has already transformed our work lives dramatically. For others, the new evaluation process and life under a terrible contract occupy center stage. Many of our members work under horrific and abusive administrators and that reality overshadows everything else.

Our hope is to reach rank and file members and help them become more actively involved in our efforts to turn things around. This will include helping members build stronger and more effective union chapters in their schools, connecting members with others around the city who are combating the impacts of standardized testing on our working conditions and our students learning conditions, encouraging members to join us in various efforts to challenge the UFT leadership and turn the union into one that can lead the fight on all of these fronts.

Please join us now
http://more.nationbuilder.com/join_us

A Newark Teacher on an AFT Visitation

Ed Notes Newark teacher/reporter with a report on a visit from a rep from the AFT.

My school was privileged this afternoon to have a visit from Ryan Williams, AFT NJ liaison for Newark aka a local in crisis.

Unfortunately, Ryan had not done his homework and was unaware that Camden Street is completing its third year of renew status and he gave us his spiel for the eight schools slated to be turnarounds this fall. The issue at Camden, as elsewhere, is whether faculty should sign Election to Work Agreements (EWA), which feature two weeks of Summer Institute, four Saturdays and an extended day all for a measly $3,000 stipend. Ryan couched the majority of his responses to questions with the expression, "technically speaking," which I interpreted to mean best case scenario.

For instance, he claimed that non-tenured faculty who do not sign EWAs do not have to worry. He bandied about the figure that 20% of renew faculties have not signed EWAs in the past. I countered that claim that to the best of my knowledge only one faculty member at our school refused to sign and I was not contradicted.

Ryan downplayed the possible ramifications for tenured faculty who do not sign EWAs. I argued that they will most likely become Employees Without Placement Site. He emphasized that the AFT is recommending that nobody sign EWAs. Ryan was unable to answer the question as to why the AFT had not made this recommendation in the past three years. The most alarming aspect of Ryan's presentation was his mention of APNET, a system purportedly used for video taping classroom instruction without the teacher's knowledge. I left shortly afterward so I will await further clarification from our "highly effective" union.

Abigail Shure

Mike Schirtzer: Why MORE Will Run In The 2016 UFT Elections

Mike Schirtzer responds to ed notes (The Great Scott-Schirtzer Debate: Boycott UFT Elections or Not) and nyceducator (The Great Debate--Just How Rigged is the UFT Election?) blogs on the upcoming 2016 UFT election.

Mike Schirtzer (Left) makes a point in election debate with the elderly guy to his right

by Mike Schirtzer

• UFT Delegate Leon M. Goldstein HS
• Vice-Presidential Candidate 2013 UFT Elections- MORE Caucus
• Vice-Chair NYC Region ST Caucus-NYSU

1. UFT members pay attention
Running in 2016 would give us the chance to build on the lessons learned. One of the important lessons came when we held local election happy hours in Staten Island and Bay Ridge Brooklyn. These are not typical activist areas, but in each case we had over 50 people, most who had no idea there was a such thing as union election or caucuses. It exposed MORE, the UFT elections, and our positive alternative message to people we would never reach other wise. Many of the contacts we are still in touch with today, support us, distributed our literature and joined us again when we hosted contract information sessions.

2.  Fundraiser
People are more likely to give you money and time when they know there is something you are striving for. I would not donate to an "uncaucus" cause, but would donate and volunteer If I believe I can make a difference.

3. Expose the lack of democracy
The only way to understand something is to be in it. Kinesthetic, hands on learning is what works best. If you want someone to understand the UFT leadership structure they actually have to be involved in it. Explaining adcom, executive board, the fact that all VPs are at large, delegates are not proportional, slate voting, the NAC corrupt bargain, and the unmatched, unprecedented power of retirees, can not be understood unless your actually running in the elections. Sitting on the sidelines and asking people to boycott, without an intricate understanding of that what we're supposed to be boycotting is counter-productive. No one will bother to look into the corrupt structure unless they are invested in it.

4. You have to stand for something
But you also have to stand for someone- opt out, contract, social justice  - you have to have a constituency to represent and members to be involved. We can not call ourselves a movement of rank and file educators and only speak for ourselves. The only reason we can claim to speak for thousands of UFT members is by looking at post election results. Why would any media outlet or grassroots organization have anything to do with us if we can't prove we represent anyone? You can represent ideas, but there needs to be a movement behind those ideas or else who will take you seriously? It is very impressive to say over 5,000 active UFT members voted for us. It shows we have a following. We won 40% of the high school vote, yet have no representation in UFT, If we don't run and that lose the right to claim supporters

 5. Goals
We must give the people something to fight for- if you're not running then what are we fighting for?  We are not GEM, I'm glad there is Change The Stakes, NYSAPE, but that's not what we are. There needs to be a group of public school educators that actively advocates for teacher's working conditions which are inherently connected to student's learning conditions. We formed as a union opposition caucus. MORE's formation came out of groups agreeing to come together and challenge Unity/New Action. People want something to strive for. Even if it's something that may seem impossible to reach. There is no reason to keep on going if we don't give people a reason to get involved. Our many campaigns are great, but do not resonate with all UFT members. Defeating Unity and offering a better vision is something that can and will unite us a all, no matter your race, gender, borough, level, title. UFT elections is the the great equalizer.

6. Indicator of our campaigns
We have invested so much into fighting opt out, the terrible contract, test based evaluations, fighting for the schools all our children deserve- let's see how effective we have truly been. We have hosted forums, conferences, meetings, happy hours, petitions. We need to measure how effective they were or see if we need to change things up. MORE, has been a lot more active than our predecessors. This election will be a measuring stick of where we are at.

7. Identity
We have solidified ourselves on social media, NY Times, WNYC, Chalkbeat, NYSUT magazine, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, NY Post, our association with ST Caucus - we are more known than ever before. I feel MORE has become a name that people associate with positively. They know we fight union leadership, but they also know we fight for the rights of teachers, students and parents.

8. Officer slate
We have a few people who have worked tirelessly since the last election. They have not taken anytime off and worked hard to keep the organization going even when some decided to sit it out. We have worked hard to organize and mobilize others and what's wrong with tasting the fruit of our labor? We have dedicated our full lives to the caucus since the last election. We feel we can stand with the likes James Eterno, Kit Wainer, and Julie Cavanagh. We will bring name recognition, respectability, and a real fighting spirit to our candidacies. We are respected teachers, union leaders, and have gained the trust of those in our building and beyond. Many of us have spoken in public and are not afraid of the media. We deserve to have a stage to stand on and a platform to speak truth to the power. We are confident people will rally around us

9. Petitioning/Distributing
This is the chance for our members to go around their chapters and nearby schools to open up conversations around what the rank and file want for their union leadership. As Karen Lewis has said "Social Justice Unionism is member driven, member driven, member driven". This is a key moment for the leading members of opposition to bring literature around, gain contact information, but most importantly listen to our members. This will make us better leaders and ultimately a better caucus.

10. Beacon of hope
Bran Stevenson, the great civil rights attorney, who fights for justice for the wrongly convicted, has said when there is is no hope, times are rough, it is important that someone is there to give hope. Hope is what get people through the day. There are many who have come to us and said I can't be active, but I'm happy you exist. The election gives people the opportunity to have hope. There have been many dark times in our history, what seemed to be insurmountable odds. One only needs to look at Dr. King and the civil rights movement. After the dogs, hoses, bombings, lynch mobs, the terror of the Jim Crow south- the movement continued to fight day after day for equality, voting rights, and justice. There were people that said over and over again- stop, sit this one put, and yet the movement persevered. Even when their allies said it's an impossible fight, the numbers are against you, they kept on and they won. I am not trying to make a false analogy to the civil rights movement, obviously our causes are far different, but I, like many others, look to the movement to draw inspiration and lessons. The lesson has to be, never give up, fight everyday, every minute for what you believe in!

I can not and do not officially speak for our democratic organization, but firmly believe this represents the will of our members. At a meeting in the summer of 2013 it was democratically voted on that MORE will indeed be an electoral caucus in the 2016 UFT elections. 
Mike Schirtzer