Sunday, February 26, 2012

David Padarathski--Backstabber of the Year

In a school system as big as NYC's, it is a daunting task to figure out who is the biggest douche, especially now that Cathie Black is gone. Bloomberg, of course, remains a perennial favorite, and his pet chancellor, Dennis Walcott, is right behind. A number of the Asshats4Education, including Evan Stone, Sydney Morris, and Ruben Brosbe rank right up there, as well. What these folks have in common, however, is that they all have either left or never participated in education, and have chosen instead to use their public platforms to denigrate the teaching profession.

More heinous than these douches, IMO, is the backstabber. This is the teacher who is actively engaged in teaching and yet publicly skewers his peers. Ruben was the biggest backstabber until he fled teaching when he realized it was hard and he would once again be denied tenure. But Ruben is small potatoes compared to the new champion turncoat, David Padarathski.

In today's Daily News, Mr. Padarathski thrusts his dagger into already distressed teachers and twists. You see, this turncoat extraordinaire scored high on the TDRs that were recently released, and decided to talk with the Daily News about it. Instead of being humble, or pointing out that the ratings have a margin of error as high as 87 points, or crediting all the teachers who came before him with helping bring his students along, Padarathski seized the opportunity to besmirch his fellow teachers:

“I teach with passion and I love my kids,” said Padarathski, who has taught in city schools for 24 years. “Those who are skeptical [of the ratings\] — maybe they have something to hide,” he added. “I think they are not working to their fullest potential.

You see, if you don't get scores like Mr. Padarathski, you obviously don't teach with passion, and you hate your kids.You also aren't working very hard.

I hope Mr. Padarathski's peers at PS 289 shun this pariah for his self-serving, loathsome behavior. I doubt a person like him has many friends, but if he does, I hope they spit on his shoes tomorrow. On second thought, perhaps not, as he would probably just shine them and admire his flawless reflection.

On a bright note, another teacher who scored high, one Rebecca Victoros of PS 122 chose a different path. When asked about the TDRs, she said:


“There is so much involved in the job that I can’t see one measure deciding whether you are a good teacher,” said Victoros. “Someone could get a zero and still be a fantastic teacher. I’m sad for those teachers.”

Thank you, Ms. Victoros, for showing class and respect for your colleagues. David Padarathski could learn a lot from you.


 

4 comments:

Pogue said...

David Padarathski is the Giselle Bundchen of teachers.

reality-based educator said...

I never thought Cathie Black was the biggest douche.  I always thought she had the biggest drug and alcohol problem of anybody in city gov't.  I think this was pretty well documented.  She even bragged about taking the "wrong pills" one time when she was still working at Hearst, passing out right during an important meeting and having to be carried back to her hotel room. What a party animal!  See you in rehab, girl!

But the biggest douche battle, to me, was always between Klein and Bloomberg.  I can't decide which one is the biggest douche, so let's say they share the Douchebag of the Decade award.

That said, this publication of the TDR's which Klein pushed and Bloomberg did nothing to stop may come back to bite these douchebags.  Other than a few assholes like the jerk you wrote about above, most teachers know they could be on the WORST TEACHERS list next year, along with the accompanying NY Post article with glossy, DOE-provided photo.  I have a feeling this outrage is going to make teachers a lot less complacent about giving in to reforms now that they see where it eventually goes.

At least that's my hope.  That, along with the light that has been shed on the bullshit that is VAM, may bring about a change that neither Klein nor Bloomberg thought would happen - people turning against using test scores to evaluate teachers.  The TDR publication won't do this alone.  But this is the baseline evidence for how bad this shit is.  After a year or two of the Cuomo eval plan based upon test scores, we will have more evidence and perhaps then people will clamor for change.

Or not.  They might be smoking and drinking the same shit Cathie Black is.

mwhitehouse1 said...

Have you heard about the group of 99thers repudiating the data?  (No this is not the beginning to a joke.)  If you know others who feel as we do, ask them to sign our statement.
-------













We, the undersigned, were
ranked in the 99th percentile on the recently released New York City
Teacher Data Reports. 

 

We believe these data are
out-dated, invalid and inaccurate with unacceptable margins of error.

 

We believe reliable evidence
of authentic teaching and learning cannot be derived from standardized test
results.

 

We believe the publishing of
these data will, in the long run, result in less classroom creativity and more
shallow, test-focused instruction incapable of developing citizens who can
think critically.

 

We believe the publishing of
these data has proven demoralizing and humiliating and that media stories which
portray some teachers as “the best” and others as “the worst” are incendiary,
invidious and irresponsible.

 

We believe neither student
nor teacher excellence can be achieved or maintained in an atmosphere of fear
and degradation.

 

We believe teaching is a
complex profession, at least as much art as science, requiring intricate
multi-faceted assessments for development.

 

 

Name                                                           

1)            Maribeth
Whitehouse

2)            Barry
Price

3)            Christina
Ann Varghese

4)            Patricia
Cea

5)            Annamma
Joseph

6)            Winsome
Vernon

7)            Esther
Boakye-dattey

8)            Valerie
Green-Thomas

9)            Mary
Williams
















To
add your name to this statement, send an email to:  maribethw@gmail.com with
your full name and school (only your name will appear on the petition).

DeeDee said...

Mr Padarathski is the best teacher you can ever have! He was my favorite teacher. All the kids begged him to move up with us. Who ever says he's a douche is probably a douche them selves. Don't hate, appreciate.