Tired of Homework?

Why don't you go to the free school, where you can examine the heritage of your favorite video game characters in great depth?

Or why not just stay home, and learn about real-world activities from the comfort of your living room?

Get that Contract

The CSA, which represents administrators, has been without a contract for three years, as it thus far refuses to knuckle under to Chancellor Klein's draconian demands. Now it's running a commercial, featuring the voice of a principal, but the one they happen to have chosen has not been active for two years.

That's the difference between the UFT and the CSA. When our union ran a highly inaccuarate piece hyping the worst contract it's ever had, it chose a teacher who waited till the year was out to leave his job. Also, it changed his name so we wouldn't know he was bought and paid for. When called on it, the commenter promised to stay till Karl Rove was indicted, but went and got himself a patronage job instead.

Why does our union have a contract while CSA doesn't? Because when our patronage hacks lie, they go all the way.

The Mayor's View

Mayor Bloomberg just wrote an op-ed in the Queens Courier which is notable mostly for its omissions. It's not as though he's the only one who's forgetful, but as always, the devil is in the details.

The mayor talks about how inspirational his history teacher was. I don't doubt it. However, Mayor Bloomberg has also said the needs of teachers should be put last, and he's done a good job keeping them there.

Perhaps that's one reason the mayor did not see fit to enroll his kids in public schools. My daughter's suburban teachers, for example, are well taken-care-of, and that in no small part accounts for their consistent excellence.

Mayor Bloomberg also points to improvements in the graduation rate, but that was likely to be the case, since he elects not to count dropouts among those who've failed to graduate.

Most notably, though, is this:

As Mayor, I'm pleased to have now negotiated three contracts with the UFT, raising starting teacher salaries by 43 percent during a period when our City has had to overcome both a fiscal crisis and a national recession.

First of all, the city is sitting on a huge surplus, partly resulting from its determination not to share it with working people (The cops and firefighters are big heroes, but we don't want to pay them!). Second, those percentages are not accurate, as these salaries will not be in effect for a few years yet.

But like our union leaders, Mayor Bloomberg consistently neglects to point out that at least 10 percent of that represents additional time, and is, therefore, not a raise at all. The Mayor, like UFT President Randi Weingarten, also fails to acknowledge that perpetual lunch duty represents extra work, that teaching a sixth class represents extra work, or that severely cut prep time necessitates that many teachers finish their work at home.

For new teachers or laypersons unfamiliar with this concept, a raise is when you receive more money for doing the same job. It's very disturbing that UFT leadership shares the mayor's view that our time is worthless. The mayor continues:

That's clear proof of how we're continuing to work hard to put more money into our schools even as the State has failed to fully address its responsibilities identified in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case.

What the mayor forgets here is that Governor George Pataki offered to shoulder 60% of the CFE cost when it would have brought 4.7 billion dollars a year to NYC schools. CFE felt the state should pay 75%. Bloomberg's people refused to negotiate, and said they'd say "No, thank you," to the award if forced to pay a single dime. This resulted in Pataki's appeal, and an award cut to about 2 billion a year. The mayor can blame the state, but were it not for his inflexibility, CFE would have been resolved, and resolved better, years ago.

Governor-elect Spitzer has promised to provide more, but the mayor still insists he will not contribute. It's remarkable politicians are permitted to get away with such logical pyrotechnics. Sadly, they seem par for the course nowadays.

Thanks to Norm

Yes, Virginia...

...there is a Santa Claus (but there's no teacher shortage). Of course there's a Santa--how else do you explain the opportunity to take a six-week paid program that allows you to start working almost immediately as a New York City teacher?

You get all the benefits of a union--salary, health, dental, due process--you even get to come in August to listen to all the speeches and notifications that preclude the extended Labor Day weekend teachers used to have. Nor only that, but if your school gets reorganized, you join the Absent Teacher Reserve and get to sub for full-time pay. But wait--what's this?

Dear Virginia,

If you don't find yourself a job by next Friday, you're fired. Also, we're kicking you out of your college program.

Have a nice day.

Love,

Santa

Well, that can't be good. It's odd, because even as they send such notes, New York City is running costly ads soliciting new teachers. I recently clicked an ad on the NY Times site that brought me here, offering me, among other things, a chance to join the very program Virginia's being kicked out of.

Is it wise to solicit candidates for a costly program, and then dump them like so much trash? And why, if there's no shortage, are we running these ads?

Well, it's all about your criteria. According to Mayor Mike and Uncle Joel, if we find one single candidate for each job, we don't have a shortage. Also, it doesn't make any difference which teachers we get rid of, as long as they don't stay around for those costly pensions.

Good teachers are good, because they help us to show we're doing a good job. And bad teachers are good too, because we can blame everything that goes wrong on them.

Don't even bother mentioning those schools in nearby Nassau County, where they get hundreds of applications for each opening, ensuring kids there get very good teachers. That's not cost-effective. So what if we lose good teachers? We can replace them with other good teachers. Or we can replace them with bad ones.

In New York City, it makes no difference whatsoever. It's made no difference for thirty years.

And that's why Mayor Michael Bloomberg, despite all the hoopla, will make no difference either.

Go Figure

Tweed's graduation rates appear artificially inflated. Apparently, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein don't count dropouts as not having graduated.

The state, on the other hand, counts them unless it can establish they've enrolled in other schools. Personally, I'm shocked and stunned. Does this mean we can't trust the figures coming out of city hall?

When are they gonna stop this blatant prevarication and get back to blaming the teachers?

Reasons to be Thankful

Mayor Bloomberg should be a happy guy today. Though NYC schoolchildren have lost almost 3 billion dollars a year in the CFE verdict, the court has re-asserted his right to do whatever the hell he likes with the remaining 2 billion a year. That's a good thing for several reasons.

First of all, his recent collaboration with UFT President Randi Weingarten has freed the mayor from even having to pretend he's using the money to attract or retain quality teachers. Once those pesky teachers accept yet another contract that fails to meet cost of living, their goose is cooked, and there'll be no seconds, thank you very much.

Second, City Hall's precious tradition of no-bid contracts remains protected. Just as it's vital to our national security that Medicare have no right to negotiate drug prices, the most efficient way for the city to award contracts is that of Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein doing whatever the hell they feel like, whenever the hell they feel like doing it. After all, their educational programs have repeatedly stressed the importance of kids being able to do whatever the hell they like whenever the hell they want to, and it behooves good role models to be consistent (except when dealing with teachers, of course, who need to be told what to do every damn minute).

Finally, their vision and insight is vindicated by the 15.8 million contract they signed with Alvarez and Marshall. While critics complain that 10 other firms competed for that job in St. Louis, they never point to the fine work A and M did reforming the exemplary New Orleans school system. And what the hell do people from Missouri know anyway? Show me? Yeah, we'll show you right here, pal.

So it's vitally important that we continue to allow Mayor Bloomberg to do whatever the hell he wants with NYC money. After all, that's why we gave him absolute power to control city schools with no checks or balances whatsoever, and from everything I read, he's doing a heckuva job.

Don't Miss

...the Thanksgiving edition of the Carnival of Education which you can find right here at the Education Wonks' place.

Watch Where You Point that Thing

It's very tough to be a gym teacher, particularly in Brazil. Nearby military police are suing the local gym teacher, because his students keep landing soccer balls around their base.

It appears to be a crime to be a bad football player in Brazil. I'm glad I don't live there (though when it gets a little colder, I may reconsider).

Tough Talk

Jon Swift says it's time to stop fooling around. Tell the Prez not to pardon the Thanksgiving turkey this year, but execute him immediately.

That'll show those terrorists we mean business.

CFE Lawsuit Cut

NYC will receive less than half of the aid promised by the 13-year-old CFE lawsuit. This is thanks to the legal maneuverings of Governor George Pataki, whom the UFT endorsed, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whom it declined to oppose. Fortunately, as UFT President Randi Weingarten has settled a sub-cost-of-living contract, none of those funds will be frittered away on teacher salaries.

Now Mayor Bloomberg will have more money with which to pretend he's reducing class size.

I have fond hopes that our 250%-capacity school will not rise beyond 300% under his stewardship.

On the brighter side, Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer promises to fund schools beyond minimum requirements. We'll see.

Bloomberg made it clear, however, that he will fight any calls from Spitzer to demand the city pony up more.

It's refreshing to see Mayor Bloomberg reiterating his principled stand to fund schools as long as the money doesn't come out of his budget.

Update: Leonie at Class Size Matters comments:

Perhaps the most infuriating response to yesterday’s court decision on CFE was from the Mayor, who didn’t seem much to care that the courts had just shafted our kids out of at least $2.7 billion a year, as long as the judges did not require any more accountability:

"The courts ruled as we had asked that there be no further oversight. If you remember, the state and the plaintiffs had wanted another level of oversight. I think we're doing a spectacular job with the school system right now, and the last thing we need is more bureaucracy," he said. http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=64475

Unity Visits our School

Yesterday, a Unity hack came to our lunchroom. My Unity CC felt it was necessary, since I got up and spoke for five minutes at a union meeting, to present the other side. He did this by sending a Unity employee to our lunchroom for three or four hours. Also, he forgot to tell me the guy was coming.

The Unity hack had set up a table, distributed handouts, and was talking very fast. I asked him why we couldn't get cost of living. He said we were bound by the pattern. I asked why we needed the union if we were bound by the pattern, and he then claimed we beat the pattern (the one we were bound by) set by DC37. I said our contract was four months longer than theirs, and that was why our raise was higher.

He immediately started discussing the transit workers, and how they had had to go on strike and eventually go to arbitration. I told him we'd done neither, and that our situation was not like theirs at all. He said he didn't want to talk about the transit workers. I asked him why he brought them up then.

At this point, he stopped responding to my questions, refusing to see my hand go up. After trying three times to get a word in, I interrupted him with a question, a supervisor stood up, saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," or something, I concluded I was wasting my time and started walking out.

As I was doing so, I heard another teacher screaming at the supervisor, "You're not UFT and you've got no business here."

It did my heart good to hear such a comment, particularly since she was absolutely right and the thought hadn't occurred to me.

On Manliness

Lots of people ask me, "Gee, NYC Educator, what's it like to be a real man?"

I tell them, "It's hard work."

After a hard day being a real man, I really need to unwind. Sometimes, I do this by reading School Me, the LA Times education blog. They found a story that says we teacher men are outnumbered by teacher women three to one.

Now here's the thing--I would never ask to be paid more simply because of sex--that would be discriminatory. Consider, though, that many of the male teachers that constitute the 25% of the teaching force may not be real men. Do they have their credentials?

Tough to say. That could explain why there's no pay differential thus far for real men in the new UFT contract. But this morning, I must confess, despite being a real man, I'm racked with self-doubt. After having worked very late last night, I'm leaving for work again in a few minutes. Not only that, but I'm working again tonight.

Why the doubts? Well now, a little voice in my head keeps saying, "A real man would stay home." So the question now becomes, "Do real men listen to the voices in their heads?"

There are just too many things those teacher classes don't cover.

This Jar of Money Can Be Yours (Just Sign Here)

Each day I learn our contract is more complicated than I thought.

Readers of this blog know that Chancellor Klein hires hundreds of new teachers even as he relegates working teachers to the "Absent Teacher Reserve." Under the proposed new contract, he'll be able to offer them a severance package, even though none of them, to my knowledge, have been established as bad teachers.

But here's something you won't read in NY Teacher---those teachers who are part of the city's Teaching Fellows program are not receiving this offer. They're being threatened with termination, and expulsion from college coursework. As I can't provide a link, I'll share the letter one of the Fellows received:

Dear .....,

According to our records, at this time you are still in the Teacher Reserve without a regular, full-time assignment. I am writing to remind you that as per the Fellow Commitment Form that you signed, if you do not find a regular school-level teaching position outside of the Teacher Reserve by December 1 you will no longer remain in the Teaching Fellows program. As a result, you will no longer be licensed and you will be terminated from employment for failure to meet qualifications. Furthermore, you will not be able to continue university coursework after that date.

At this time, you should continue to seek a school-level teaching position. While our preference is for you to remain in your assigned region, you are permitted to seek interview opportunities and obtain a position anywhere in the city. The Placement Support office remains available to assist you with interviewing tips and can provide you feedback through a mock interview. If you would like assistance please contact Placement Support at 718.935.4586.

We must be in receipt of a signed School Commitment Form by 5:00 p.m. on December 1 in order for you to remain in the Fellowship and on payroll. If you have already secured a position, please fax the signed School Commitment Form as soon as possible to 718.935.4185.

I hope you will be successful in securing a position so that you can remain in the Fellowship.

Sincerely,

Vicki Bernstein

Director of Alternative Certification

According to my source, the Fellows program guarantees its participants teaching positions if they complete the summer program. This is not the first time Klein's DoE has attempted to weasel out of a contract by simply ignoring its provisions. Can anyone help these teachers?

Can the Unity wonks still stand up and claim the new ATR program is better than the old UFT transfer plan?

Correction

James Eterno informs me I screwed up about the bonus. The contributions may not come directly from members. So I apologize to all who misunderstood as a result of my apparent misunderstanding.

I'll tell you where those contributions come from, and what "internal funding" means when and if I find out.

Adios, 750 Buck Bonus

A few less-publicized gems Norm Scott uncovered in the contract:

In order to address specific needs, the UFT generated internal funding to provide the following benefits:

· Effective October 13, 2007, the annual contribution to the welfare fund will be increased by $100 per member;

· Effective May 1, 2008, a lump sum payment to the welfare fund in the amount of $166.67 per member

Looks like those wacky Unity hacks are fooling us again.

Improving Our Schools

Sometimes, the small schools the mayor builds don't work, because everyone knows the crappy schools are still crappy schools. When that happens, the city just sends more kids to my school, which, at a mere 250% capacity, always has room for a few hundred more.

Sometimes, though, these schools seem to work. Their reputations improve, and people actually like them. In cases like that, the city may pour millions of dollars into such buildings before demolishing them.

That's the way we do things here in NYC. We don't fret over things like special schools for autistic children. After all, City Hall is confident kids like that thrive just about anywhere. According to Juan Gonzalez, though, there are a few naysayers:

"The whole thing with a child with autism is consistency and repetition," said Donadelle, whose 12-year-old son Christopher Jones also attends the school. "All the children know, all the teachers know, we don't change things on them."

Thanks to the inclusion program, the school of largely black and Hispanic children has become an accepted part of the wealthy neighborhood that surrounds it...

"These people don't know what they're talking about," Donadelle said. "It would take years for our school to establish the same kind of community ties in some other neighborhood."

...If this demolition and relocation were absolutely necessary, the parents and teachers would perhaps understand. But no one bothered to ask them what they wanted.

To them, this smells like land grab of a wonderful public school that happens to be sitting on upper East Side land that someone else wants.

They must be mistaken. We would never do a thing like that here in New York City. We value parent input, and that's why we treat involved parents so well.

Thanks to Schoolgal

A Press Conference

Why are the schools overcrowded? Well, uh, it's uh....ya know I'm workin' on it...it's, like, ya see...the schools are...they're...uhhh...they're very good, yeah, that's the ticket....and, well....they're so good that people are sayin', ya know, like, let's go there.

So, like, no one wants to stay home anymore, and I've done what I can, ya know, but it's like, hard, ya know, so like, we've done such a good job, that like, everyone wants ta come.

So, like I wanna close PS 109, because it's, like, uhhh... a problem, ya see, so now those kids want ta go ta good schools, and they're like kinda crowded, ya know, so we thought about using Livingston Street, but we needed condos, so like, that didn't work, but we really hope ta get more money, so we can, like make the schools good, ya see, I mean they're good already, but, like, then more people will come ta the schools, and...uhhh....

Wait, that's not what I wanna say, ya see, like we sometimes gotta save space fur my buds, and sometimes we change plans, and it's like, kinda, ya know, complicated....

But the problem is, ya know, we did such a good job, ya know, and now the schools are. like, too good.

So that's what the story is. Yeah, that's it.

Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200

Go straight to the rubber room. Apparently that's the first stop for teachers who report their principals. So think twice before you report those sixth period orgies, or particularly if you think an educational assistant is doing the work of a certified teacher.

That didn't work out well for Hipolito Colon, who's been sitting in the rubber room. While you sit there, you can't do much till you're formally notified of your charges, and apparently that can take a long time. Read his full story.

And note this as well:

A teacher who reports wrongdoing by the school Principal is almost always the person investigated. Once a teacher speaks out, if there are no uncles, fathers or relatives who work for the BOE to make “a call”, he or she is immediately harassed, given a U-rating, or forced to resign. SCI and the Office of Special Investigations are two organizations that laugh at innocence. The “detectives” are, for the most part, retired cops who have been able to obtain positions through personal contacts with those who do the hiring, or by connection to an important relative in the Education ‘Family’.

Once a teacher whisleblows anything, the BOE immediately takes action. Interestingly, the teacher's Union, UFT, almost always does nothing substantive to assist the teacher remain in the job or to stop the harassment, once a teacher is targetted. (We have met some excellent UFT chapter leaders, however, who we will highlight in a later article - Editor). An example of this is the case of Ronald, a teacher thrown out of his school on false charges of corporal punishment that did not happen, then coerced into signing a stipulation that he would be 'punished' for his 'crime' by losing two months of his salary. He was taken to Arbitration by the BOE, and his UFT representative Neil Dudich and Claude Hersh took him into a separate room to force him to sign away his rights. They told him, "Losing two months of your salary is GOOD, and you should take it." Ron contacted Randi Weingarten, UFT President, in March and in August, 2006. He has not been told that she has done anything to help him.

Perhaps she was preoccupied negotiating the contract. I'm actually surprised by this, as I'd previously thought the UFT was good, at least, for situations like this. Apparently I was mistaken.

Thanks to Patrick

Hu's on First

Hu is a quiet young man, and though he isn't my best student, he isn't my worst either. One day I was walking by Hu's desk and caught him copying his math homework. He laughed, and I told him that wasn't why he was here. He said he would never copy English homework. Of course not. Still, I told him the next time I caught him I'd tear up the paper and toss it in the trash.

The second time I caught Hu copying math homework, I took the paper he was copying and didn't give it back. He swore up and down he wouldn't copy, and that he needed the paper, and I tore it up and handed it to him. He put it in his bag.

Two weeks ago, I caught Hu copying math homework again. I tore up the paper and tossed it in the trash. Hu was very angry. He said he wasn't copying, but simply holding the homework for his friend. He sat with his arms folded and did no work whatsoever. To further punish me, he didn't come to class for three days.

"Hu's not here," the kids said.

I'll spare you what I did with that.

Now, Hu comes to class every day and makes a point of doing no work whatsoever. He talked contemptuously to his friend for a few days to let me know he wasn't going to put up with my nonsense anymore. I moved his friend to the other side of the room, and now he sits and sulks by himself, making scornful noises once or twice per class.

He's determined to teach me a lesson. I tried talking to him, but he insists he didn't copy, though I watched him do it three times. Now he's not messing around anymore. He's going to show me who's boss by deliberately failing my class.

What Well-Behaved Youngsters

Here's an interesting practice from Tony Soprano's stomping ground of New Jersey--school districts that don't have any students. That's certainly a more effective way to stifle incident reporting than the one we have here in NYC. You know, the chancellor publicly demands all incidents be reported, then he grades schools based on the number of incidents, possibly resulting in 20,000 bucks merit pay right out of the principal's pocket.

Another advantage is that if you have no students, you don't actually need any schools, or cafeterias, or custodians. You do need a school board, though. After all, what's the point of having a school district if you can't pay administrators?

That's what it's all about, isn't it?