Hang With MORE and Puerto Rico Teacher Union Leaders After Today's UFT Delegate Assembly

There's a lot of skulduggery around the relationship between the AFT/UFT and the FMPR, which was once the major teacher union in Puerto Rico. The FMPR pulled out of the AFT and then was sued by the AFT, which lost the suit. That's the skinny. I had been working on a comprehensive blog to explain it all but got distracted over the past 10 days, so that will have to wait. But looking forward to hanging out tonight with the leaders of the FMPR.
Norm (I'm starting to sign some of my stuff since some readers think my name is ed notes.)

FMPR Panel for tonight - following DA

Dark Horse Pub

17 Murray St - downtown NYC

Down the block from City Hall

6pm meet and mingle

6:30 discussion

Our Federacion de Maestros de Puerto Rico panel:

Mercedes Martinez the President of FMPR, is a ESL teacher with a bachelor's degree in general arts from the Social Sciences Faculty and a bachelor's in ESL. she has 39 graduate credits in ESL. A teacher in the DOE since 2007 and immediately joined the FMPR. Participated in all the strikes, protests and activities in our union. Mercedes created a bond and organized parents throughout the years in defense of public education, fighting against school closures. She mobilized teachers, against labor injustices committed by the DOE and has prevailed through many struggles.

Edwin Morales, Vice President of FMPR, has a a bachelors degree in Economy from the University of Puerto Rico and is currently finishing his master's degree. He joined the DOE in 2009 as a Math teacher, and the FMPR the same year. He was the representative from our Area II, which includes 7 cities in our country. He has led fights against school closures in San Lorenzo and prevailed. Edwin has been involved in all of our struggles in defense of public education. He led the boycott with other teachers in his school against standardized testing where 65% of the total of the students participated in the opt out movement.

Ana Guzman is the current Secretary-Treasurer of the FMPR. She has a bachelor's degree in sociology, and a master's degree in ESL. She joined the DOE in 2002 and the FMPR in 2004. She has occupied different rank and file positions in our union, as secretary of the Local Union of Carolina. Ana participated actively in all of our strikes, protests, and activities and has led a massive boycott of the standardized tests in her High School, for two years, where the participation of the students in all subjects evaluated has been under 45%. This has been possible due to her work with parents and students, explaining to them why we oppose to such tests.

Moderated by Mike Schirtzer- Social Studies teacher and UFT delegate from Goldstein HS in Brooklyn. He has been in MORE since it's founding, elected to the first steering committee, and organized the struggle to protect our immigrant youth in front of Chancellor Farina. He also led the fight against the last contract ; holding forums, organizing protests, and writing widely circulated articles. Mike helped form the high school committee of MORE which resulted in winning the high school division of the UFT. MORE/New Action now has 7 seats on the UFT Executive Board, with Mike being one of the elected representatives.

NY Post Red Scare Alert: McCarthy-like Attack on MORE Teacher; MORE Responds

Francesca Gomes with best friend

TIME Magazine (who did not write about Francesca) pointed mainly to bankers and financial experts for the meltdown in their complete list of “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis”.... MORE responds to NY Post attack on left, In Defense of Francesca Gomes, Bankers Should Be Slammed!

the Post has at least one reporter at all times on the "embarrassing teacher stories" beat. They regularly call OSI to find out about the latest cases that are under investigation - it's part of their long term campaign to demonize public employees. However, since the election, there definitely has been a shift towards attacking left wing teachers politically--- comment on MORE Listserve

"Leftist teacher’s homework assignment slams bankers" blared the headline in an article written by NY Post reporter Melissa

Klein, who showed up with two NY Post interns at the home of NYC teacher and founding MORE member, Francesca Gomes, on  Saturday morning to engage in a spurious piece of reporting. Francesca Gomes has been politically active on the left for decades and has never hid it.

When asked to leave one of the witch hunters refused to leave the private property. Now I support the rights of reporters, considering myself one, to get a story. But illegitimate and inconsequential stories like this one? Melissa whines:

When confronted at her Brooklyn home, Gomes slammed the door in a reporter’s face.

Really? Francesca, you didn't invite them in for tea? By the way, there were 3 people who came to her home, not one. Like Francesca had to be "confronted" over her "crime".

The story opens with: Blame the bankers!
Wait -- why not go all the way and say it in red:

Blame the bankers!

Melissa Klein adds the pitchfork:

A left-leaning humanities teacher at a Brooklyn middle school handed out a homework assignment this month in which students had to fill in the following sentence:

Wait Melissa, you forgot to add this:

Here is the so-called offending question Francesca asked:

“Banks are often run by ————— people who look for ways to hurt the most financially vulnerable people in the country.”

Oh let me count the ways banks hurt the most financially vulnerable people. In the Post/Trumpian world, that makes them heroes for screwing the little people. My answer would be SHITHEADS? What is yours?

I mean, were bankers responsible for the 2008 crash? Duhhhhh!

The witch hunt continues:

Gomes has been outspoken on lefty causes and is part of the United Federation of Teacher’s Social Justice Caucus. She is also a member of Socialist Alternative, the group that pushed for the election of a socialist candidate to Seattle’s city council in 2013.
Gomes leans further left than even Mayor de Blasio, and blasted him on social media in April for a comment he made at a Staten Island forum when asked about a “gag order” on teachers disparaging state tests.

Oh Melissa, don't you know that the Socialist Alternative candidate was actually elected to the city council and led the way to the $15 minimum wage that started the trend around the nation?
I mean, people actually voted for and elected a member of Francesca's leftist group. Is that what scares the hell out of the NY Post?

Shades of the red scare witch hunts of the 50s when teachers were fired for their political views. And by the way, UFT founder Al Shanker said it was right to fire those teachers.

I wonder how Melissa Klein would feel if I showed up with my Ed Notes press credentials at her door, alone with a photographer, to ask her  questions about how this story came about? Feel free to slam the door in my face Melissa. Or invite me in for tea.

Gomes leans further left than even Mayor de Blasio, and blasted him on social media in April for a comment he made at a Staten Island forum when asked about a “gag order” on teachers disparaging state tests. The mayor said, “Think of what it would lead to if teachers openly criticized every education policy they disagreed with,” the Staten Island Advance reported.

OMG: Fracnesca is to the left of the hated de Blasio, Can that be possible? And imagine the NY Post slamming Francesca for standing up to her nominal boss who tried to suppress free speech, the same guy the Post slams on every issue they can find. The Post apparently supports the de Blasio gag orders on teachers --

Maybe if Melissa had the same guts as Francesca she would stand up to her idiot bosses at the Post instead of becoming a hit woman for their biased politics.

Here is the link to the NY Post story.

James Eterno has some commentary:

MORE DEFENDS FRANCESCA GOMES

And here is the MORE fabulous defense of Francesca, written by a MORE member who is an experienced social studies high school teacher in NYC who points out that the question Francesca asked is the same one asked by many of our leading politicians and editorial writers and even many reporters.
 

morecaucusnyc

In Defense of Francesca Gomes, Bankers Should Be Slammed! - Were banks to blame for the Great Recession? Should middle school students be required to identify words like nefarious or reprehensible? 

MORE’s Francesca Gomes seems to think so and, last week, the New York Post noticed.
 

Francesca assigned students a handout with a word bank (a technique, by the way,  that is just good teaching practice). One portion read “Banks are often run by ————— people who look for ways to hurt the most financially vulnerable people in the country.” It seem like the choices remaining were “nefarious” and “reprehensible”.

We suppose that would lead students to conclude that the banks’’ actions were “nefarious” and “reprehensible”. But we also suppose that the banks’ actions in 2008 were, well nefarious and even reprehensible.

Senator Bernie Sanders seem to think the same thing saying once that “greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street”. Former US attorney Preet Bharara agrees. In 2015, the Post reported Bharara’s position that criminal activity on Wall Street caused 2008 meltdown. (They did so in an article they published entitled “Criminal activity’ on Wall Street caused 2008 meltdown: Preet”).

It’s probably important to note that the Post themselves never once blamed Wall Street for the financial meltdown that cost millions of people their jobs and their homes and kicked millions more out of America’s middle class forever. That alone may explain part of the reason for not feeling comfortable with a teacher assignment that associated the banks with nefarious acts.

But TIME Magazine (who did not write about Francesca) pointed mainly to bankers and financial experts for the meltdown in their complete list of “25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis”. We here love the Post, but we’ll take Time’s economic evaluations over the Post, most days of the week.

Other folks who blamed banks for the meltdown include John McCain and Barack Obama, the latter saying in 2009 that Americans had been “tricked into signing these subprime loans by lenders who were trying to make a quick profit. And the reason these loans were so readily available was that Wall Street saw big profits to be made.”, while the former declaring in 2008 that, “In my administration, we’re going to hold people on Wall Street responsible. And we’re going to enact and enforce reforms to make sure that these outrages never happen in the first place.”

Here’s what the bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) had to say on the matter:

“There was an explosion in risky subprime lending and securitization, an unsustainable rise in housing prices, widespread reports of egregious and predatory lending practices, dramatic increases in household mortgage debt, and exponential growth in financial firms’ trading activities, unregulated derivatives, and short-term “repo” lending markets, among many other red flags.”

So, yeah. We’re pretty sure that blaming the banks isn’t anything controversial.

But let’s face facts for a moment ok? Francesca wasn’t featured for having her students provide answers along a premise that everyone in America (besides the Post) seems to accept. She was featured because her political opinions are to the left of what the NY Post has deemed acceptable. She’s a leftist. A lefty. An alternative social something or other and, well, just left. For that reason, and that reason only, the Post decided to attack her.   

Now we’re proud to know that Francesca accepts all students in her classroom and we’re grateful to learn that she challenges those students with rigorous vocabulary. But we don’t much care about her political points of view outside of the work place and we don’t think you should either.

Why? Well, because as long as the law is being followed, the things a teacher does outside the school door is private. Teachers, especially ethical teachers like Francesca who challenge their students on a daily basis, deserves that privacy when they leave the schoolhouse.

As a good teacher, Francesca knows that it’s only ethical for her to avoid speaking about those viewpoints when she’s at work and in front of her students. We should probably remind you that she has not been accused of acting in an unethical manner in any way. The question on the assignment is clearly based on facts, not politics. 

We think teachers should teach facts. We also think they should enjoy their privacy after work.

Shino Tanikawa: Mayor's Diversity Plan is Meek

Shino, who we featured in a video I shot of her District 2 Diversity Committee meeting last month - here are our 2 posts on it

• Shino Tanikawa Video: NYC Community Education Coun...
• Shino Tanikawa: Controlled Choice: Community Educa...

the direct link to the video is: https://vimeo.com/217590199

- is back in Sunday's Daily News with an article about the de Blasio diversity plan

We’re ready for real diversity: Given the depths of school segregation and the value of mixing, de Blasio's plan is too timid

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ready-real-diversity-article-1.3235329

Mayor de Blasio has released a new plan that would ever so cautiously nudge our city’s schools, which today are heavily segregated by race and class, toward more diversity. It’s far too meek a strategy for my taste. Here’s why.

Ever since my daughters, now 22 and 14, were toddlers, I told them it was more important to be nice than smart. First and foremost, my husband and I wanted our girls to be compassionate citizens with empathy for people, particularly those who are not like them.

I recognized my own affluence and its potential impact on my children’s upbringing. I wanted to do my best not to raise them into entitled Manhattanites, but to become clear-eyed about their own privilege.

I also wanted my daughters, who are mixed race, to recognize and embrace their Japanese heritage, and not be ashamed of it as I was in my 20s (a rather stereotypical Asian response to a white-dominant society). For this to happen, I knew they needed to be in a racially diverse environment where they were not the only ones who are “different.”

I knew that public schools are where my children could meet and befriend people who are not like them; there aren’t many other places like that, even in a city known as a melting pot. So I sought out schools with diverse student bodies, and that’s what I got — though in this city, where kids tend to cluster by background, it wasn’t easy to find.

Mixing works. Both my daughters learned a great deal from attending elementary schools where classes had two grades or students with and without disabilities learning together.
What they learned does not show up in their test scores. Rather, they have the ability to see strengths in all people, particularly the ones society might label “difficult.” And they have humility about their status in this society.

By the time my younger daughter started the middle school application process in 2012, I was consciously looking for schools with racial diversity.

My spreadsheet of schools (yes, I am one of those moms) had columns for racial demographics. She was offered a seat at a middle school with a student body that is representative of the whole district racially and socioeconomically, as well as in proportions of English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities.

The school also had a diverse faculty. Her eighth-grade academic teachers were all women of color (a magical year that was!). Being a parent in this middle school deepened my awareness and understanding of racial issues as well as my own racial identity as a woman of color.

I am enormously proud and grateful that both my daughters are now deeply compassionate people; sometimes it is a little too much. While my husband and I take some credit because of our dinner-table conversations, I must give bigger credit to the public schools they have attended. I was fortunate to have found schools that had many different types of students in a system that has been labeled one of the most segregated in the nation.

I know not everyone wants what I want. We, as a family, are privileged to live in Manhattan’s District 2. We have enough money to afford us the luxury of not worrying about standardized test scores and whether their children will go to college. Other parents, understandably, struggle with these concerns daily.

But this is all the more reason I have to make sure our daughters understand their responsibilities as citizens in a democratic society. We want them to become agents of change in whatever form that might take. After all, what can be more important than to nurture a future generation that can begin to heal our nation that is so deeply divided?

Many parents I know are distraught by escalating tensions and animosity in our country, including overt racism that is surging. We feel angry, sad, frightened and powerless.

There is something we can all do to help, and that is to have our children come to know one another from early on so that they grow up embracing and respecting people of all backgrounds. Giving our children opportunities to learn together in the same classrooms, taught by diverse teachers and with culturally relevant curriculum, is the best way to dismantle racism.

All that explains why, to me, the city’s “Equity and Excellence for All: Diversity in New York City Public Schools” plan, released last week, left me lukewarm. While it is a welcome acknowledgment that diversity is important, the plan will not lead to structural changes or produce many more genuinely integrated schools. It will only scratch the surface.

The time is ripe for a larger, bolder first step. Many of us parents are ready.

Tanikawa is a public school parent and Chair of the Diversity Committee of the Community Education Council District 2.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Norm blogs at ednotesonline.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And so they did debate.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arthur took some good notes on Mike's speech:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NYC Educator  

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

James Eterno's report:

• EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT

The RESO:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For immediate release

CONTACT: Kemala Karmen | kemala@nycpublic.org

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

WHEN: Tuesday, June 6, 5:30 PM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And how about that China socialism?

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

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

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

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

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

My expectations are for Armageddon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the DN report:

Guest Blog by Mike Schirtzer: On School Discipline

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

On School Discipline
By Mike Schirtzer
UFT Executive Board HS Division

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

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

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

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

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

But wait has it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope to see you at the Skinny awards!

More soon, Leonie



Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters

Memo from the RTC: There Are Rumors…

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

Published May 26

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

Cast of Rumors

Memo from the RTC:  There Are Rumors…

By Norm Scott

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

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

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

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

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

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

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