By Georges! The Truth about Teaching and the UFT

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A Tale of Two Unions

For twenty years in New York City, cops have gotten a free ride. In that time, we have had two Republican mayors--Giuliani served eight of those years and Bloomberg the last twelve. And for those twenty years, the right leaning PBA has been sitting pretty, while the UFT has been systematically attacked and disenfranchised. Cops are seen as heroes, which teachers are seen as incompetent bunglers who probably aren't qualified to be in the classroom.

How did this happen?

There is no doubt that our respective unions played a role. Randi Weingarten and Michael Mulgrew have had a single strategy--to get a "seat at the table" in order to--unsucessfully--get a say in how teachers are treated. Pat Lynch, president of the PBA, isn't interested in a seat at the table. If he doesn't get what he wants, he upsets the table and throws things into chaos regardless of who he hurts.

The cops loved Giuliani (most of the time). Rudy was seen as a law-and-order guy, and an ardent defender of the cops. He was so ardent, in fact, that he supported the police when they tortured Abner Louima by sodomizing Louima with a nightstick. As in the Eric Garner case, Louima was accused of resisting arrest, so as far as Giuliani was concerned, he got what was coming to him. Guiliani continued his support of the police throughout the Amadou Diallo case, in which Diallo, an unarmed black man, was shot at 41 times and struck with 19 bullets. Although four police officers were charged with second degree murder, they were all acquitted. Giuliani presided over this mess, and empowered police who were so inclined to act with reckless abandon, a tradition that still exists today.

Giuliani claims that he made the streets safer by harassing small time criminals, but the truth is that crime dropped more dramatically under David Dinkins than it ever did under Giuliani, and crime dropped nationwide during his tenure due to factors that had nothing to do with Rudy's policies.

I saw Rudy this morning on TV, boasting that the city needs to return to a mayor (presumably like himself) who knows about security. Does anyone besides me remember that he became mayor immediately after the first World Trade Center attack in 1993, and was in office when the second attack hit? Or that he decided to place the Office of Emergency Management headquarters in World Trade 7, despite it being an obvious target for a terrorist attack? With mayors like him, we all need flak jackets.

Bloomberg was no better. He continued the "Broken windows" policies of his predecessor. Furthermore, he championed the Stop and Frisk policy that was so incredibly racist and divisive that a court ruled it was "indirect racial profiling". This policy, along with "broken widows" before it, made the police feel that slapping a chokehold on unarmed black men like Eric Garner was not only permissible, but their duty.

For the last twenty years, the police have had a mayor who has had their backs no matter what they did. Is it any wonder that they now revolt because we have a mayor who respects the rights of all people of this city, including the poor and minorities? Is it any wonder the police feel compelled to literally turn their backs on a mayor who dares to speak the obvious truth that young black men need to be wary when stopped by the police, because young black men are shot by police at a rate 21 times that of young white men?

Speaking of which, police officers are paid or offered time off to attend funerals of slain officers, and I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with them publicly turning their backs on de Blasio while technically on the clock. I despised Joel Klein, but had he visited my classroom, I would never have turned my back on him and refused to teach. I would have done my job as a professional. Turning my back on him would have led to charges of insubordination and my removal from the classroom.

Why is it OK for cops to make political statements during funerals? Why on earth would they want to turn the wake of one of their own into a media frenzy? What kind of disrespect does it show to the family of Officer Ramos that his funeral was transformed into a political event?

So, to turn back to the main topic here, how did our union, and teachers generally, fare during the 20 year period that cops had carte blanche in this city?

Not so well. Giuliani began the current trend toward privatization of our schools and supported a voucher system. Bloomberg was even worse, taking control of the schools and destroying community school boards. He instituted, or at least tried to institute, virtually every one of the "reforms" that his rich hedge fund buddies supported, and pushed especially hard to promote charters and remove teachers from classrooms on trumped up charges.

So basically, for the past 20 years, we have had a city which used a blunt force system of government. Let the schools be damned, as long as we are locking up people for minor offenses. Why educate children when you can wait a few years and lock them up?

Now, we have a mayor who has the opposite approach. He wants the police to do their jobs, but nothing more. He wants them to respect the rights of the citizens of this city and not treat people of color like criminals through stop and frisk. One of his first acts as mayor--and one of his major campaign promises--was to offer universal pre-K so that all kids would have an opportunity to succeed in school and we could perhaps slow down the dropout-to-prison pipeline that plagues our poor communities.

What prompted me to write this was a perusal of my own Facebook feed, which is made up, unsurprisingly, mostly of teachers. I can't tell you how many have changed their profile pictures to a thin blue line in support of the police and who are blasting de Blasio. Really, fellow teachers? Is it really that hard for you to stand up for a man who has supported our union and treated teachers with respect? Is it that hard for you stand up for a man who has made educating our children--ALL our children--his number one priority?

After twenty years of Giuliani and Bloomberg, it's easy to see why the PBA is upset. It's not justifiable, but it is understandable.

And after those same twenty years of being beaten down by those same two men, it's hard to see why teachers aren't rallying around our current mayor.

You know what I want to see? I want to see Mulgrew hug de Blasio around the neck in a show of support. Hell, I wouldn't object if he kissed him on the lips.

To be clear, I support unions, including the PBA, But I believe that the police are a necessary evil that we must keep in check in a civilized society, while I see public education as a necessary good that should be embraced by all.

Why Teachers Need Guns

It's time to arm teachers.


But not for the reasons you might think. Allow me to explain.


 
Here's what has NOT happened in the wake of the Eric Garner case in NYC:

• Governor Cuomo has NOT made it a major policy issue to break the PBA, which he clearly does not consider a monopoly like the UFT.
• He has NOT demanded a new evaluation system of any sort that would help weed out the "bad" cops.
• Eva Moskowitz has NOT called for the opening of a series of "Police Success Academies" to study best practices for police officers.
• Wendy Kopp has NOT opened a "Kopps for America" boot camp to train tightly selected individuals to patrol the city's most dangerous streets after six weeks of training.
• Campbell Brown has NOT called the unrest in minority neighborhoods (ignited by incidents like the Garner case and the cop who twice punched a subdued teenaged boy) the "civil rights issue of our time". 
• Campbell has likewise NOT called for an end to seniority rights nor job protections of police officers, nor has she filed a lawsuit to end those rights.
• The New York Post has NOT written stories on a daily basis vilifying police officers.

No, all those things were directed at teachers.

Let me make sure I'm not misunderstood here. I believe the vast majority of cops, like the vast majority of teachers, truly want to serve the citizens of NYC and make it a better place. And I believe when a cop or a teacher violates the trust the public places in them, they should be removed from that position of trust after a fair hearing.

Yet despite both being part of powerful unions, teachers and police are treated very differently by politicians and the media. Why is that?

When Michael Mulgrew threatens to punch people in the face if they mess with his Common Core, I don't think anyone quakes in their boots. But when Pat Lynch, president of the PBA, essentially blames the deaths of two police officers on Mayor de Blasio (while ignoring the culpability of Officer Pantaleo), everyone takes notice. Why?

It has to be the guns. Can you envision Campbell Brown telling an auditorium filled with armed police that they are the reason why minorities can't get a fair shake in this city? Me neither. I wonder if she'd have the guts to say it to a room of armed teachers.

So we must lay down the chalk and pick up the Glock. It's time to kick ass and tell kids to spit out their bubblegum.

It's worth a shot.

Edwize or EdFoolish?

First of all, happy new year to all of you. Sorry for my extended absence, but I needed a period of calm, away from ruminations about the DOE and UFT and A4E and all the other acrimonious acronyms out there.

To show you how Zen-like I was becoming, I hopped over to Edwize a week or so ago and noticed something I hadn't before.  On their blogroll of NYC Teachers, I was conspicuously absent. That didn't bother me much, as this blog has been no friend of the Unity Caucus that runs the UFT with an iron fist. What did bother me, however, is who they did include. Listed there, plain as day, is the blog Is Our Children Learning?, which is written by none other that Asshats4Education's erstwhile Blog Monkey (TM) and Defender of the Faith, Ruben Brosbe. Yet, so Zen was I, that I decided not to blog about this slight. Until today.

You see, I received an email this morning, as many of you may have (if you haven't received it, I copied it in its entirety below this post). It's being sent through chapter leaders at the direction of Leo Casey--yes, the same Leo who pontificates on Edwize. It appears that Asshats4Education has somehow gotten hold of the DOE email addresses of the teachers who work at the 33 so-called "transformation" schools--the ones who would lose funding should the talks for a new evaluation system continue to stall--and asked them to sign a petition to force the UFT to come to terms with the DOE. In other words, the Asshats have used the DOE email system to solicit support for their union busting activities.

This bugs me because Leo Casey is the guy who actually gave legitimacy to A4E by being on a panel with them during the recent LIFO discussions. Michael Mulgrew likewise met with these clowns, giving them street cred amongst younger teachers who don't know who A4E is (and often, don't know who Mulgrew is).

If the UFT is so shocked and angered by this attempt to sway its members, then they're out to lunch. Not only have Leo and Michael met with them, but Randi Weingarten invited Bill Gates to be the keynote speaker at the AFT convention a while back--the very same Bill Gates who helps fund A4E. Hey UFT honchos--if you lie down with dogs, you're going to get fleas.

You can read for yourself below how outraged Leo is that the A4E crowd would do such a thing, yet they continue to lend legitimacy to that organization by meeting with them and by actually promoting the blog of their moronic mouthpiece, Ruben Brosbe.

Leo, if you want us to believe that you are not in league with A4E, first stop meeting with them. Then, get up off your ass and remove Ruben Brosbe's blog from your blogroll. You're spitting in the face of all the dedicated UFT members like me by giving a platform to someone who would destroy all the things the UFT has worked for.




A number of Chapter Leaders, Delegates and Master Teachers in the 33 Transformation and Restart Schools have contacted us concerning a solicitation from Brian Erickson, who identifies himself as the Outreach Director of Educators for Excellence (E4E). The solicitation comes in the form of an email headed “URGENT: Funding Cuts to [Your School].” It states that “the School Improvement Grant funding from the state is in jeopardy,” and says this is “because the DOE and UFT cannot agree on teacher evaluations.” The solicitation goes on to say that unnamed teachers in the 33 Transformation and Restart Schools “have written an open letter to Chancellor Walcott and President Mulgrew to urge them to come to an agreement and allow the SIG funding to be restored” and that E4E is “helping them to get the word out.” It concludes by asking the recipient to sign an e-mail petition supporting this letter.

This solicitation is deliberately misleading.

You should know that Educators for Excellence was one of the prominent signatories on a recent public letter to Governor Cuomo sponsored by Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), the organization created by Wall Street hedge fund managers to pursue their anti-public education and anti-union policy agenda.  That letter asked the Governor to sponsor legislation along the lines sought by Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Walcott to impose their version of a teacher evaluation system on your schools. Among the other signers was Students First, the organization created and run by former Washington DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.

Far from being a disinterested bystander concerned only about funding cuts to schools, E4E has constantly been on the side of Mayor Bloomberg and the DoE in educational matters.  Last year E4E supported legislation that would have eroded seniority protections and encouraged the Mayor to proceed with thousands of teacher layoffs. It was only the UFT’s successful campaign to preserve seniority rights that prevented Bloomberg from acting on his plans, as he himself publicly conceded.

Rather than relying on its membership, E4Es funding comes primarily from corporate foundations, particularly the Gates Foundation, which supports Bloomberg’s and the DoE’s policy agenda.

And this solicitation is being sent – quite improperly – to DoE e-mail addresses. How did E4E obtain those e-mail addresses?

We think that it is important for you to be in possession of all the facts surrounding this solicitation. It is particularly important that you understand why Bloomberg, Walcott, DFER and E4E are intent upon forcing their system of teacher evaluation upon us. When the DoE officials walked out of negotiations with the UFT on December 30th, they gave as their reason an unwillingness to agree with the UFT’s proposal to have an independent hearing officer decide the appeals of Ineffective ratings – the equivalent of Unsatisfactory ratings in the current system. The DoE has insisted upon maintaining the current Unsatisfactory rating appeals system, where hearing officers are DoE employees and appeals are automatically denied at a rate of 99.5%. For the UFT, that is a charade of an appeals system and a mockery of due process and fairness.

After the DoE walked out of negotiations, UFT President Mulgrew offered to submit the issue of appeals to binding arbitration. Chancellor Walcott refused that offer and said publicly that the DoE had no intention of returning to negotiations. It is now clear that Bloomberg’s and Walcott’s never intended to enter into good faith negotiations with the UFT, but to seek legislation that would allow them to impose on the teachers in your schools their version of a teacher evaluation system. The solicitation from E4E is designed to support that Bloomberg-Walcott effort.

Leo Casey
Vice President, Academic High Schools
United Federation of Teachers
52 Broadway, 14th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-598-6869

Today's Lesson in Irony

Too bad we're at the tail end of the school year, because I wish I could use some of the stories I've run across today to teach irony (yes, I typed that with a straight face and an ironic grin). Here are some of the news items that caught my eye:

• A woman who was mistakenly thought dead woke up at her own funeral and dropped dead from fright.
• The woman with the world's largest natural breasts is named "Stitz".
• Mayor Bloomberg today claimed that most of the $600 million in cost increases in the CityTime project were legitimate, even as prosecutors claimed almost all of the money was fraudulently obtained.

I'd review those three situations with my students, and then give them a quiz to assess their understanding. Students would then be required to read about today's failed negotiations to avert teacher layoffs, and choose a statement to support in paragraph form:

Talks to avert teacher layoffs in NYC broke down today. Which statement about this situation is most ironic?

1. The city already has a 3.2 billion dollar surplus and there is no need for layoffs in the first place.
2. The city cut off negotiations because the unions wanted to use 110 million of the same health care fund that the city was stealing from to actually help their members get health care.
3. The city wants more money from the fund than is actually required to avert layoffs.
4. The UFT has not yet learned that any agreement with the city would be almost immediately violated.

Readers, you may wish to discuss this among yourselves.

And don't even pretend you didn't click on the link about the big breasts.

No Pain, All Gain

For politicians, taking a stand has always been painful. If you're a pro-life politician, you can count on the democrats to endorse your opponent. If you want to raise taxes to pay for just about anything, the republicans will roast you. Every decision will alienate someone, so politicians have to really think about what positions they take, lest they pay a price at the polls.

Except when it comes to education.

Taking a stand on education is pain free, no matter how stupid that stand may be. Take NY, for example. Mayor Bloomberg spent 8 years villifying teachers and trying to take down public education, and not only did the UFT fail to oppose mayoral control of schools, we stayed neutral in the mayoral election. The city was ripe for a change; Bill Thompson was, at least, a friend of teachers and far less likely to try to dismantle public education in favor of charters and the education reform idea du jour. Nevertheless, Unity failed to act, afraid of alienating the rich and powerful mayor. As a result, we have four more years of BloomKlein to look forward to with dread.

Now we have Barack Obama, ostensibly a friend of teachers. His first boneheaded act was the Race to the Top fiasco, which pits state against state to see who is most willing to bring public education to its knees for the sake of some eduation dollars. In this particular race, it matters not whether you throw teachers or students down the stairs in order to make it to the top--the money is too tempting to pass up.

In recent days, Obama has endorsed the mass firing of 93 teachers and school workers in Central Falls, RI. This is not only a slap in the face to the teacher unions who endorsed Obama, but it sets the stage for more such actions now that scapegoating teachers has the official imprimatur of the presidential seal. And the price that Obama will pay for this flagrant backstabbing? Zero.

What should happen is that Randi Weingarten (who appeared only slightly miffed at Obama), NEA president Dennis Van Roekel, Michael Mulgrew, and every other teacher union leader should band together and officially withdraw their support from the Obama administration. They should then demand that every senator and house member up for re-election publicly declare their position on Central Falls and RttT. Then, the NEA and the AFT should publicly and loudly support the ouster of any politician who takes an anti-teacher stance, regardless of their political affiliation.

We have to make politicians like Bloomberg and Obama pay a severe political price for supporting the education deform movement. The only thing they fear is losing the next election. Right now, supporting deform is no pain and all gain. We need to put the fear of 4 million union members into their hearts. Only then do we stand a chance of preserving public education as we know it.

Michael Mulgrew vs. Mark Sanchez

I'm a long time Jets fan. Today, my team plays the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the playoffs. Jets fans know the drill. We approach the game with both hope and apprehension, knowing that the Jets have found creative ways to blow big games for the last 40 years. Despite the fact that we gave the Bengals a drubbing just six days ago, the Jets are 3 point underdogs. No one believes they can end their run of bad plays and stupid decisions.

To win today, all the Jets have to do is follow the game plan. Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez needs to hand the ball off about 75% of the time, and execute a few short passes to keep the Bengals' defense off balance. Sanchez has to control his emotions and keep from getting rattled, which leads to mistakes. I think he can be a great quarterback if he learns to, in sports parlance, "stay within himself".

Rookie UFT President Michael Mulgrew faces the same challenge. He's faced with an expired contract and a mayor who wants to drive him face first into the turf. Mulgrew's first challenge is to avoid mistakes. Randi Weingarten, his predecessor, fumbled the ball on seniority, ATRs, the rubber room, extended day, the open market, and a bunch of other issues. She turned to ball over so often you had to wonder which team she was playing for.

So far, I like Mulgrew. He has the potential to be the quarterback the UFT needs. He's pleaded his case in a calm but forceful manner with the public. He's shown no sense of urgency to sign a contract at any cost. He's stood firm for ATRs and the rubber room teachers, and has kept tenure off the table.

Mulgrew also seems to realize that you can't win with just a good defense alone. He's gone on the offensive on a number of issues, including actively fighting the proposed lifting of the charter school cap and suing the city for failing to use the CFE funds to reduce class size.

Both Mulgrew and Sanchez have shown the guts and poise needed to be good leaders. Whether they can hang on to that in the face of high pressure situations remains to be seen. The Jets face their test at 4:30 this afternoon. Mulgrew's challenge is ongoing.

I hope both are up to the task. Let's go Jets! And the UFT!

Man in the Mirror

Who does Michael Mulgrew see when he looks in the mirror? Does he see the newly minted president of a once powerful labor organization, or does he see....Randi Weingarten?

The question isn't a frivolous one. Whenever anyone takes over the helm of a huge operation--from Barack Obama on down--they must ask themselves whether they intend to steer the ship in their own direction or passively allow it to float along the same course. In Mulgrew's case, doing the latter would place the UFT on the same metaphorical path as the Titanic. Because Randi stood on the bow and said, "Iceberg? What iceberg?", we need Mulgrew to say, "Let's right this ship."

In my view, Randi went off course when she decided that she could please everyone and be conciliatory. The press and politicians heaped praise on her and she ate it up, gobbling up as much power and influence as she could along the way. She always had her sights on bigger goals, such as the AFT presidency she now holds. She even came close to being a senator and the Ed Secretary, all because she saw compromise as the path to her own personal triumph.

To get back on course, Mulgrew must--starting with this contract--redefine the role of UFT president. He must realize and act upon the idea that he is working for teachers--not the city, and not the children of New York. His one and only resposibilty is to strengthen the union by making sure teachers have respect, decent pay, security, and a reasonable work environment. If we really want to benefit children, the best way to do so is to make sure that we have a dedicated pool of qualified teachers who are happy to come in and do their jobs each and every day.

Now is the time, Mr. Mulgrew. To wait is to go further off course and make the turn around much more difficult. Remember who you work for, Mr. Mulgrew, and remember who it is you want to see in the mirror every morning.

Mulgrew Enters the Danger Zone

I just got word that Michael Mulgrew, our new and seemingly affable UFT prez, is coming to my school one day next week. He'll only be there for a short while, but as luck would have it, I will be off the period he'll be there. I should be able to get a word in edgewise.

So, I'm leaving it up to all of you. I should be able to get in one question to Mulgrew, so what should it be? Submit your questions, and I'll select the most interesting or obnoxious to ask. Fire away.

UFT Robs City Blind!

Yes, my friends, THIS is why we pay the UFT 1000 clams each per year. The UFT has pulled off the heist of the century, according to an article in the New York Post. While Bloomberg and the rest of the city were sleeping, the cat burglars at the UFT somehow managed to wrangle a "fat raise" of 8% over two years. The article details for six paragraphs how we have somehow gotten this huge increase before negotiations have even begun! Only in paragraph 7 does it mention that this is the pattern amount that the Post and others have insisted we get every single year since the flood, and that the city always budgets the pattern amount in anticipation of new contract signings.

Of course, the Post gives very good reasons why teachers should not get the pattern amount. For example, the city isn't doing as well as it had been. Steven Malanga, who may or may not have been dropped on his head as a baby, said that "Inflation in New York is at zero or below." Apparently, he has not noticed that the only thing that has gone down in NY is the difficulty of the state exams.

In another brilliant piece of reasoning, Steven told the Post that the national unemployment rate in the private sector is 9.5 percent -- but in the public sector, it's 2.3 percent. I guess Steven believes this can be solved by stiffing NY teachers. If things get any worse, Steven may suggest that NYC teachers be taken out and shot. That'll teach us!

Steven seems to have no problem with people like Andrew Hall of Citibank receiving a $100 million dollar bonus despite the fact that taxpayers spent 45 billion bailing out Citi in the first place.

No contracts have been signed as yet, of course. The UFT negotiating committee is still busy dealing with all of your Contract Surveys. You see, it's very hard for the union to figure out what the rank and file want because many of them have not set foot in a classroom in decades. They're still haven't agreed on whether teachers want more money and respect, or less money with zero job security. The surveys may help.

This is the Stip-End

You're psyched because you just landed that dream job at Bloomberg, LLC--the one you spent all your college years hoping to snag. You're given a corner office and put directly in charge of 35 employees. Life is good. Your first assignment is to get your employees to work on a report on Widget, Inc. You figure it's a snap. You plan out exactly what you want each employee to do, and you set them to work. They do a great job. Your planning is paying off.

Mr. Bloomberg stops by himself to see how you're doing. "How's the report coming?" he asks.

"Great!" you reply. I'll have it on your desk tomorrow morning."

"I knew I could count on you," says Mike. "By the way, I'll need a copy of what each employee has done. Put their work in file folders, collated and stapled.

"Yes, sir. Where is the copy machine?"

"Right there, down the hall."

You collect your employees' work, and trot down the hall. The copier is out of paper. You laugh at the silliness of it all. This would have to happen on the first day.

"Mr. Bloomberg, sir, where can I get copy paper? The machine is out."

"We don't give copy paper. We have Employee's Choice. EC for short."

You don't remember hearing about this in grad school. "EC?"

"An innovation of mine. All our executives get $150 a year to buy supplies."

"$150? I guess I can buy some paper with that," you reply.

"Good man," says Bloomberg, even if you're a woman. "And don't forget, each report needs to be in a folder."

"Where are the folders?"

"They come out of your EC money," said Bloomy. "And don't forget to collate and staple them."

"Where do I get the staples?" you ask, noticing that your 1930s stapler is empty.

"At Staples," snaps Bloomy.

Of course, this scenario has never happened, at least at Bloomberg, LLC. Mayor Mike knows that to run a business effectively, you need to give your employees the tools to get the job done. Unless those employees are teachers. Then you're on your own, except for the paltry $150 Teacher's Choice stipend you get each year. Except it looks like you're not going to get it anymore. TC is not in the city's budget.

TC was always a stupid program. Who ever heard of employees having to buy their own supplies? But that's been the agreement between the UFT and the city for about 20 years. And the union brags about it.

The stipend used to be $250. When it got cut to zero and then restored to $150, the union claimed a major victory. Perhaps this time they'll fight for us again, guaranteeing us a box of chalk and some Crayolas. What a victory that would be!

The UFT Has Your Back

Whenever I need a good chuckle, I head over to Edwize. One recent post got me really laughing. A certain Ms. Teach4life blogs about how miserable her existence was before she came to NY and joined the UFT. She claims to have taught in the South where there are no teacher unions (hmm...the South is a pretty big place to have NO unions at all). She never mentions where.

Among her complaints about this unnamed place?

Teachers were expected to be at school by 7:45 a.m. — even though school did not start until 8:30. We had to perform a number of morning duties: greeting students at the doors, directing traffic in the drop-off circle, supervising breakfast in the cafeteria, and monitoring the hallways.

Teachers in NY do all those things, too. We don't have to show up before school starts, but since her school apparently ends their day at 2:30, it seems to actually be about 15 minutes shorter than my day.

Classes began at 8:30. Our schedule was arranged into core classes of teaching blocks that lasted 90 minutes each. I taught from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with no breaks.

Double periods in NYC now allow 4 periods in a row, which isn't quite as long, but we teach again after those blocks, as well. And I find it hard to believe that even this backwoods school doesn't allow potty breaks for teachers.

Teachers were expected to accompany the students through the lunch line, sit with them at their tables, and supervise student behavior. At the end of our lunch period, we had to make sure that our area was clean (table, floor) before exiting the cafeteria. We did this every day of the week.

Thanks to the wonderful 2005 contract brought to you by the sponsors of Edwize, you too relive the glory of the south by doing cafeteria duty as well! Thanks, UFT!

On Mondays, we had grade-level meetings, Tuesdays were team meetings, Wednesdays were PLT (Professional Learning Teams) meetings, Thursdays were curriculum meetings, and finally, on Fridays, we were given a true planning period — if there weren’t conferences booked during this block of time.

Sounds like these meetings were held during the school day. Not like our monthly staff meetings, weekly subject meetings, etc.

After our “planning” period, the students returned to us for a 20-minute enrichment block where we were supposed to teach a reading or math lesson. At the end of the day, the kids were not focused on enrichment, as you can imagine, and the teachers were completely wiped out!

So now that you're in NYC, you can look forward to not 20, but 37.5 minute enrichment blocks! What an improvement!

I look back on those nine years of my career and wonder how in the world did I make it through each day? I left work everyday exhausted, with stacks of papers to grade and tons of planning to do. I was tired and run down and frustrated, and sadly, there was nothing that could be done about the situation.

Ah...and now, you get to go home and jump in the jacuzzi, I suppose? NYC teachers, as teacher4life well knows, don't have to grade papers at home, or plan lessons, or anything. We are never tired, or frustrated, and when things go wrong, the UFT is always there to do something about the situation!

Yes, the UFT has our back at all times, and we should be grateful. Edwize says so, and teacher4life says so. With the UFT behind us, we have little to worry about, other than the occasional knife in the back.

Frankly, it amazes me that blogger after blogger on Edwize has nothing but good things to say about the UFT and Randi! What are the odds?

From Goat to Golden

I read a lot of blogs by people who have been targeted by their principals and APs, and believe me, I drip with sympathy. When I write about people with targets on their backs, I know whereof I speak; I was one of the dead teachers walking. My admins did a number on me and several others in my old school on a monumental scale. That was when my eyes were opened about the UFT, because they utterly failed to protect me or anyone else at that school. They kept telling us that we had to band together and fight back. The truth was that those being targeted were fighting a more powerful foe as best we could, while those who felt safe had no desire to step into the fray. I made the near fatal mistake of believing that the union would be our big older brother and vanquish the bully. In effect, they did nothing. Less than nothing, really, because by stepping back they made the hatchet job being done on us that much easier. A number of people I worked with had their careers destroyed. I was one of the lucky ones who managed to escape.

The irony is that now I am in a school where I am actually respected as a professional and my experience is (gasp!) seen as a plus. Yes, Virginia, such a school does exist. However, now that I have gilt edges I've noticed that some teachers at my school are not so lucky. So, how to respond? I'm in a truly strange place. I am happy where I am and grateful for the treatment I get, and yet I know others at the same school aren't as lucky. A part of me wants to speak up, but a greater part of me wants to get my years in and retire in peace.

If I had a union behind me--a REAL union--one that I knew would stand up when I did, I would be the first one on my feet. But knowing what I know about our useless union, I'm sitting out for now. I truly envy Pissed Off Teacher, who has 30 years in and can say what's on her mind. When I am closer to retirement I'll follow in her footsteps.

A Letter to Randi

I've been getting a lot of mail from Randi Weingarten lately. Much of it started with the presidential campaign, when Randi urged me to vote for Hillary. She even spelled my name in all caps, as in Dear MR. A. TALK, to show me how special I am to her. Soon after she asked me to support Barack Obama. Today, I received another highly personalized message from Randi, urging me to fax my representatives to show my support for the stimulus package.

I certainly will do so. After all, the stimulus package will be a boon to education and teachers, containing as it does...wait, I have a copy here somewhere...I know it helps teachers somehow. I beg your indulgence as I peruse the document...let's see...it helps bankers, and retailers, and Wall Street brokers, and.... Oops, my bad. It doesn't help teachers at all.

I guess I am just an optimist. I keep waiting for that letter from Randi that will urge me to walk a picket line on behalf of ATRs, fax the mayor demanding the abolition of rubber rooms, or informing me that the UFT intends to sue the state and city for utterly failing to implement the CFE funds to reduce class size.

Last time I checked, the UFT was taking more than a thousand dollars a year from me for union dues. That works out to more than 80 million annually in the UFT's coffers. Excuse me for asking, but at what point will some--ANY--of that money be put towards supporting the members instead of Arne Duncan? Will a dime be spent toward opposing the mayoral control of schools that has been such a disaster for teachers, parents, and students alike?

Has our union totally lost its purpose? It is supposed to work for us. Call me harsh if you like, but I don't want even one more letter from Randi asking me to help the victims of Katrina until I get a letter telling me how the UFT is going to help the teachers who are victims of an out of control educational oligarchy.

So, here's my letter to Randi:

Dear MS. RANDI WEINGARTEN:

Do your job!

Love, MR. TALK

A Shoe-In for the Mayor

No, I don't mean he's a shoo-in for a third term. In fact, if we can start a trend, he may end his tenure at two terms. It began the other day, when Pro-Palestinians threw shoes at a photo of Mayor Bloomberg to protest his support of Israel (one of the few things I agree with him on). I suggested that teachers hold a Shoe-In to protest his educational policies, with 80,000 of us slinging shoes at a picture of Hizzoner on the steps of City Hall.

Over at Ed Notes Online, Norm suggested that we begin faculty conferences with an anti-Bloomy Shoe-In. While I like that idea, I'd rather do it at union meetings (assuming your school still has union meetings). It would be like an Orwellian Two-Minute's Hate, with the mayor's mug projected on a screen while we all shout obscenities at him and throw shoes. Think of it! Real action at a union meeting! According to Orwell, one way to get people motivated is to unite them against a common enemy. And if any union needs to get its people motivated, it's the UFT.

I know what you're thinking. Why Bloomy? Why not Keds for Klein? Not a spare sandal for Randi? Not a boot for Bush? I don't know about you, but I just don't have enough shoes to spare for all the people who've screwed up this system.