TDRs To Be Released Friday

EDIT: TDRs will be released Friday, not today, as previously reported.

The only question about today's release of Teacher Data Reports for 12,500 teachers is: Who will get the data out first? While the teacher-bashing Post would seem a good bet, New York Times Schoolbook seems to be straining at the leash, with up-to-the-minute coverage and even a place where teachers can add comments to their numbers.

I'm sending kudos out to GothamSchools, which, as far as I can tell, is the only news outlet refusing to release the data. That's merely a gesture, of course, because the data will be plastered everywhere. Nevertheless, I thank them for their journalistic integrity in this matter for refusing to join the teacher shaming parade.

In a real twist, even Bill Gates came out in favor of teachers today, with an op-ed in the Times calling for the city to use whatever data they have to help teachers rather than publicly humiliate us in the papers. How bad have things gotten when Bill Gates is the person defending teachers?

I've already discussed my numbers and the reasons I believe they are garbage, so I won't go into that here. But I would like to send a word out to my colleagues:

Don't get obsessed with your numbers. You know how hard you work. And only you know the challenges that your particular population of students presented to you. If you know that you're doing your best for your kids, that's what should matter. Don't let the bullies at Tweed define you. Teaching is an incredibly challenging and complex profession, and most of us in this city are doing wonders every day under far less than ideal circumstances with minimal support. Bloomberg wouldn't last a day in your classroom, nor would most of those people who bash us on a regular basis.

Be proud. Your reward is in the faces of your students when they comprehend something for the first time. Nothing in your TDR can offset that.

Mr. Talk Scoops GothamSchools

Yep, it's official. Ruben Brosbe is leaving his lackluster career as a classroom teacher, as I speculated earlier today. You read the news here hours before it appeared in Gotham Schools, as Ruben couldn't help but leave a comment to me before departing. I'm sure GS is thrilled that their blog monkey (TM SoBronxSchool) allowed another blog to get the scoop!

The problem is, he is now going to Harvard (Muffy will be delighted) to study education policy. How can a failed classroom teacher even hope to be a leader? Here's the comment I made at GS.

Burning bridges, eh, Ruben? Blaming your admins for your failures as a teacher is really pretty lame, and you can bet that you won't be welcomed into many schools after what you said in this post. What happened to all that talk of "no excuses"? You've blamed your poor performance on the kids, the admins, the parents, the union--everyone but YOURSELF. Maybe teaching isn't as easy as you supposed it would be--those of us who have dedicated our lives to the classroom resent your know-it-all attitude. While I really don't wish ill on people, I have to say I am glad you failed as a classroom teacher.

What shocks me is that you seem eager to bypass the challenge of being a successful classroom teacher in order to try to pursue a career in education policy. One assumes that your privileged background has opened the doors to Harvard, and will probably lead to a career as an ed deformer in the mold of your idols, Evan and Sydney. It's a shame, because you may end up dictating policies that you yourself could never manage in a classroom.

I guess those who can't teach, go into education policy.

 

Something tells me we haven't heard the last of Ruben.

Ruben Brosbe Uses Occam's Razor To Cut Himself Some Slack

OK. It official. Ruben Brosbe, award winning blogger, darling of Gotham Schools, and hero in his own mind, was denied tenure, for the second time. He will now embark on his 5th year in the NYC Public Schools.

Ruben wasn't the only one denied tenure, of course. A bunch of other E4E people, like the teachers at Aspirations HS, also had their tenure decisions extended. There's talk that E4E will be officially renamed "Extensions4Educators".

The irony, of course, is that these E4E folks are the very ones who advocated for stricter tenure requirements. Well done, E4E folks! Congratulations!

What struck me most about his "Occam's Razor" post is that Ruben decided the simplest solution to his denial of tenure is just that he isn't good enough yet. Actually, I could respect that kind of stance--if it were genuine. But Ruben leads up to this realization by giving us many, many excuses, such as:

• The superintendent is making it tougher to get tenure (which is what E4E wanted).
• It's difficult to earn tenure in a new school.
• His TDR was flagged because he scored so low (again, something that E4E wanted).
• The principal's decision was beyond her control (which assumes she wanted to grant Ruben tenure, but did not. There is no evidence presented to support this).
• Fifteen of his students started as level 1, and many were ELLs (welcome to NY, Ruben!).
• Four of his students required special education services (welcome to NY, Ruben!).
• He didn't take criticism from the principal well.
• He might have poisoned his relationship with the principal.
• Something on his blog might have upset his superiors.
• His previous principal would have given him tenure (but how could this be when we know these decisions are based on data and supervisors are always fair?).

That's a lot of excuses to give his readers before he comes to the conclusion that the fault lies not in his stars, but in himself.

I think the most telling part of his piece, however, was this: My principal told me she saw a “disconnect” between what I understood and how I put it into practice in the classroom. Swallowing my pride for a second, I could see it was true. A critical step between the planning of my lessons and their instruction was missing, and as a result, lessons sometimes lost their way.

I don't believe that Ruben understand what a harsh criticism this really is. Ruben has had four years to learn how to execute lessons effectively, but has not. What his principal actually is saying is, "You seem to understand the nuts and bolts of lesson planning, but you aren't a very good teacher." That's why he was denied tenure.

Just how bad is Ruben? Honestly, I don't know. Let me put it to you this way, though. He carries water for the DOE and Joel Klein. He published his own crappy Teacher Data Report score in the New York Post to help them advance their agenda of publishing all teacher scores. He helped write the white paper that would have effectively ended seniority, which was Mayor4Life's wet dream. He stabbed his colleagues in the back at every conceivable turn and wrote about it for GS. And with all this major sucking up, he was still denied tenure.

Twice.

Let's not forget that in Ruben's little white paper, he and his E4E cronies wanted to give the city the ability to lay off any teacher who had gotten a U rating in the last five years. Meanwhile, Ruben has had four years to prove he deserves his job, and has failed to do so.

One of the tenets of E4E, as adroitly pointed out by NYC Educator, is that teachers don't improve after the third year. While I don't believe that for a moment, I can tell you one thing: I have never seen a mediocre teacher improve dramatically after the third year. From all indications, Ruben is, at best, a mediocre teacher and it is highly unlikely that his FIFTH year will make him into a teaching superstar--you know, the kind of excellent teacher that E4E says everyone deserves.

So why is Ruben still teaching? How many years should the grotesque science experiment that is his teaching career be allowed to go on before his principal pulls the plug? How many students have to be subjected to his mediocrity before someone stops him?

And GothamSchools should be asking itself why they are giving such a broad forum to someone who has proven, year after year, that he really isn't a very good teacher.

So do us all a favor, Ruben. Instead of using Occam's Razor to cut yourself some slack, use it to cut your ties with the teaching profession.

Gotham Schools Is My Crappy Girlfriend

Almost everyone passes through a phase where they are attracted to someone who is no good for them. You know what I mean--that cute person who you'd love to get a date with, but when you do, the flaws begin to surface. You start to notice their whining voice. Their opinions, which once seemed charmingly fresh, now make you wince. After a while, everything they do starts to annoy you, to the point where you either must break up or make plans on how to dispose of the body.

That's how I feel about Gotham Schools. Once, I loved them. I could find all the news I wanted with a single click. And the interface??? A thing of beauty. So complete and organized! And then....a few flaws started coming out. Was it me, or were they covering charters a little too much? Did I detect a little anti-teacher bias? And what about moderating the comments--was GS starting to become a control freak? Finally, the last straw--Ruben Brosbe. That was when I knew: Gotham Schools had become my crappy girlfriend.

I wanted to know whether this was just a normal relationship phase, so I went to the Rise and Shine section this morning, and it confirmed my worst fears. The anti-teacher bias made me feel like I'd just caught GS in bed with Geoffrey Canada AND Bill Gates.

Here's some of their stories and how they could have been written if GS really, really cared about me, which obviously they DON'T. (Revised headline in italics):

The city could lose $44 million for needy schools if it can’t make a teacher eval deal.

The city is blackmailing teachers over the eval deal by claiming they'll lose money for schools they fully intend to close anyway.

The city has fined 10 teachers for inappropriate comments about gender and race.

The city has not had to fine 79,990 teachers who act appropriately all the time.

Two charter high schools run by New Visions are among those that might not open.

A few charter folks will be unhappy if the UFT manages to save schools slated for Bloomberg's guillotine.

Two months into his chancellorship, Dennis Walcott is keeping a blistering pace.

Two months into his chancellorship, Dennis Walcott has managed not to do a single thing differently than Cathie Black or Joel Klein.

Students who were shut out of city high schools at first found out last week where they’ll go.

Bloomberg fucked up high school admissions again.

Don't you see, Gotham? We've grown apart. No, no--it's too late to say you'll change, or that you're really not biased. I'm sure you'll meet some other teacher--one who's more in tune with the way you think. We'll both be happier.

Is that a knife???

Mr. Talk Shoots for the Big Time

I don't know if you've heard, but GothamSchools is hiring! This is huge news for a small time blogger like me--my chance to make the big time! I hope you, my faithful readers, won't mind if I audition right here?

I know the three of you are skeptical. I can hear you thinking: "Mr. Talk writing for Gotham? Why, he's pro-union, anti-Unity, and borderline socialist!" Never fear. I'm willing to be employed by a hedge fund manager for a price, which is one of the main qualifications for this gig.

Let's start with my version of the Remainders, in which GS does the daily roundup of news.

REMAINDERS

• A new study says that teachers suck. (WSJ)
• No, really. (Post)
• An education expert from TFA with nearly three weeks of teaching experience speculates that value-added is the way to go. (The Illinois Right Leaning Testicle)
• Tenure or global warming: Which will cause civilization to collapse quicker? (The Obvious Intelligencer)
  
• A teacher somewhere in the known world made inappropriate remarks to a student. (World Weekly News)
• We mean teachers really suck! (Post)
• Mayor Bloomberg, Bill Gates, Eli Broad, and Whitney Tilson announced a new initiative to ensure that every child knows that they are really, really rich. (Forbes)
• Eva Moskowitz defended her decision to take over a public school at gunpoint and convert it to a charter by saying it's "for the children!" (Jejune Journal)
• Rupert Murdock stated that "heads will roll" after it was discovered that today's edition of the Post contained only two editorials blasting LIFO. (Post)
• We mean they bite the big one! (DN)

Of course, there's more to GS than aggregating news. There's also the community section, and I'm sure candidates for staff writer will be expected to contribute to that, as well. For my audition piece, I decided I could follow no wiser course than to emulate my hero and award winning blogger, Ruben Brosbe.

GS COMMUNITY

Blame It All on Me
By Mr. Talk

I got my teacher data report today, and boy, was I disappointed! For all the good I did, they may as well have put a tree stump at my desk! Until today, I assumed that all teacher data reports must contain positive integers. Was I ever wrong!

I wanted to reflect on my abject failure, so I added an extra thirty minutes to my self-flagellation routine this morning in hopes of finding an answer, but to no avail. So I went to visit my assistant principal to see if she had any insights. She said I was an abhorrent worm and a stain on the face of humanity, and of course I agreed. But wasn't there more to it than that? I must be doing something wrong!

I analyzed my workday and got a real surprise. It turns out that I am not using my time to best advantage. For example, I usually go pee twice a day during school hours. That's a full four minutes that I am not spending with my deserving children! I knew I needed to pee faster, and I discovered that if I scrunched up my face and visualized senior teachers floating in the urinal, I could cut 45 seconds off my time. Still, it wasn't enough, so I self-inserted a catheter and attached the other end to an empty hot water bottle that I duct taped to my leg.

Some of my colleagues tell me not to be so hard on myself. They point to the troubled home lives of some of my students, such as the boy who set my trousers on fire last week. But those are just excuses. If I hadn't been wearing flammable pants, it would never have happened! Please leave encouraging comments below that fully express your pity for me as I confront my ineptitude. In the meantime, I will be working tirelessly to get you fired.

So, that's my audition. Philissa Cramer, I'm waiting on your call!

.

GothamSchools Takes Sides, Ever So Innocently

If you had any doubt about whether Gotham Schools, the allegedly down-the-middle school news site, has an agenda, your doubts should be over. Take a look at this morning's Rise and Shine links.
In them, you will find four--count 'em--FOUR links to articles and opinion pieces in the New York Post alone that condemn teacher seniority. If that wasn't enough, they link to Daily News and Wall Street Journal articles that are basically the same trash, although not as blatant as the teacher-bashing Post.

Before you say "Oh, that's just a coincidence" take a look at what GS omitted. There was a piece in the NY Times yesterday that connected all the dots and $$$ between the anti-seniority players. It showed the ties between the Mayor4life, the Asshats4Education, "Chancellor" Black, DFER, and ERN. See also Reality Based Educator's excellent analysis of the piece.

So why didn't Gotham Schools consider that Times piece newsworthy, but found space for SIX anti-seniority, anti-teacher pieces from the billionaire-run tabloids?

You can connect the dots and $$$ on that one.

The Other Side of the ATR Coin

Our favorite Gotham Schools contributor, Arthur Goldstein, weighs in on the ATR situation. Unlike much of what we've been reading lately, Mr. Goldstein speaks from knowledge of the system and of the DOE. Give it a read.

Open Letter to Ariel Sacks

If you aren't following the Ariel Sacks saga, you should be. She is (to me) a newbie teacher who has seen fit to disrespect ATRs and veteran teachers alike by claiming how incompetent they are on Gotham Schools. Read it for yourself.

I was one of the first to comment on Ms. Sack's unfortunate post, and I blogged about it here as well. Then Gotham Schools blogged about me blogging about it. It has taken on Balloon Boy proportions in the local education blogosphere, as I pointed out in a comment to this post. Ms. Sacks herself responded, which was quite kind of her, so I thought the least I could do was write a personal response. So here it is:

Dear Ms. Sacks,

Thank you for taking the time to post on my humble blog. First, I'd like to correct a few aspersions you have cast on it. You called this blog a ..."safe space where you have a group that is on the same page about enough things that you don't have to explain yourselves to each other." In truth, I've posted on many blogs where I have meticulously explained my views. Blogs tend to be places where like minded people gather anyway. Far from your implication that I am somehow cowardly for posting here, I would remind you that I was one of the first to call you out on your post on Gotham Schools. Furthermore, I have posted at least ten times about the ATR situation--all of them long before your post to Gotham. Everyone has the opportunity to refute my views on this blog--including you. I don't delete opposing viewpoints.

Now, please allow me to address some other issues. In your comment, you tell me: "You're (sic) "scathing," or perhaps just rude, remarks make this into a personal not professional debate, which weaken your arguments." If that makes my arguments weak, yours must have positively atrophied by now. In your Gotham post, you call 37 ATRs unqualified to teach at your school (what your qualifications are that exceed theirs remains unclear). You smear these veteran teachers by presenting an ad hominem and a false choice argument in one (quite an accomplisment, BTW): "Are these teachers really the dregs of the profession? Or is it that they’ve become all too comfortable being ATRs with no teaching position and do not want to go back to the classroom?" Can you enlighten me, Ms. Sacks, on how calling veteran teachers the "dregs of the profession" elevates the level of discourse? You proceeded to say that ATRs are not welcome at your school, and that they "behave like incompetent substitutes". Would you not consider that scathing and rude? You say they are like "refugees" in the teachers' room. How should they feel, given your attitude towards them?

You wonder why you get negative reaction when, in addition to the above slurs, you appear complicit, or at least in total agreement, with the decisions of your administration to skirt the terms of the hiring freeze and education regulations. Your school passed on 37 candidates and numerous subs for a math class while "...we attempted to wait the hiring freeze out." (emphasis mine). How long did you plan to violate the terms of the hiring freeze? How long did you intend to allow a math class to be without a regular teacher because of your distaste for ATRs? You seem in full agreement of your principal's decision to pull a special ed teacher from a CTT class in order to avoid hiring a senior teacher. Do you really feel it was appropriate to deny mandated services to children with special needs because you prefer not to have any of the "refugees" mingling with you in the cafeteria? Shouldn't their education come first?

You seem to be resentful that teachers like me don't work as hard as teachers like you. In truth, I probably don't work as hard as someone like you. I don't need to. I know what I am doing. I've taught every grade numerous times and I know my subject area inside out. I have written plans for every type of class for every type of reading and writing assignment imaginable. I have a stockpile of tried and true lessons that I can adapt for any class and which I have refined over the course of several decades to be as effective as possible. Perhaps you work so hard because you lack the experience to draw upon when writing your own lessons. When I was as new as you, I had to work much harder, too. The difference is that I didn't resent senior teachers; I reached out to them to learn how to become the best teacher I could be.

You also seem resentful that veteran teachers make more money than you do. You specifically mention an out-of-license ATR who, while adapting to the class, irked you because " I feel like I’m training her, while she gets paid twice my salary." Perhaps you are unaware that teaching has never been a well paid profession, and it used to be much worse. I made about $18K in my first year--how about you? Do you resent the fact that I achieved my master's plus 30 (plus much more) and put in more than two decades of dedicated service?

I do have a question for you. As a young teacher, what gives you the right to judge all of your fellow teachers and paint them with such a broad brush? Did you sit in on the 37 interviews your principal conducted? Did you personally observe each one teaching? If so, what qualifies you to make an evaluation as to what you saw? What qualifies you to say that ATRs have an "apparent low ability to teach"?

I suppose we should give you a break. Being lead teacher and department chair are heady things, after all. Your principal must think a lot of you. I can only hope for your sake that this principal stays around forever, because with a change of administration in a few years you may find yourself working in a school where you are considered the pariah for being one of those over paid veterans who soak up too much of the school budget. Should that ever happen, you may just find yourself standing shoulder to shoulder on the interview line with your fellow ATRs, avoiding eye contact with all the newbie teachers who consider you one of the dregs of the teaching profession.

It shouldn't happen to anyone. Not even you.

Get Out the Barf Bag

The latest post in the community section of Gotham Schools is so alarmingly inaccurate and deceitful that it deserves special mention here. One Ms. Sacks writes about the ATRs in her school and proceeds not only to smear them, but virtually all veteran teachers in the process. She obviously has her head up her principal's ass, as she condones his attempts to thwart the hiring freeze and subvert the contract. Read the piece, and please comment. Let Ms. Sacks know what you think.

Here's my comment:

This article is a disgrace. We have here a teacher who obviously resents other teachers who make more than she does (one assumes she thinks she is worth more). She accepts the principal’s assertion that not ONE ATR was qualified to teach at her school as the gospel truth. She implies that she thinks these teachers are the “dregs” of the profession based upon…what? Hearsay? Obviously the author is in league with the principal–”WE’ tried to subvert the hiring freeze…”WE” found a way around it. As a teacher and a union member, do you really feel that you should be on your principal’s side as he violates the spirit and letter of the contract?

There is no such thing as a teacher who is licensed to teach all subjects in a middle school. Did anyone fact check this piece? In truth, that special ed teacher is teaching OUT OF LICENSE in violation of the teacher’s contract and Klein’s hiring freeze.

There is an assertion here that TFAs are “more committed and faster learners” than ATRs. That is nothing but a bald faced slur on a group of teachers who have put in more years than the author and all the TFAs in her school combined.

Finally, I don’t think it’s the twilight zone you’re in, although I have no doubt, Ms. Sacks, that your head has wandered to some nether region and has somehow made it up a passageway vertically.

Gotham Schools–you should be ashamed to print such nonsense. Ms. Sacks, I sure hope your principal promised you some plum job for writing it.

A Total Load

An article in Gotham Schools discusses a talk to principals by one William Ouchi, who is afraid what might happen should BloomKlein lose the election. Ouchi believes that a change-over would mean a drop in scores because a more centralized system would lead to an increase in what he calls TSL, or Total Student Load.

Here's the explanation: TSL differs from class size in that it considers the full number of students a teacher must get to know and see over the course of the day, not just in one period. “It’s not class size,” he said. “It’s the opportunity for the student to seek the teacher out during their time in school when they need help.”

I don't know about you, but my TSL has sure increased under BloomKlein. Not only do I teach more students, but I am expected to do a LOT more per student than I ever did in the pre-Klein era. What with TANs, portfolios, constant assessments, quality reviews, ARIS, and God knows what else, I spend at least triple the time on each student's paperwork than I did 8 years ago. So in my view, my TSL has increased--exponentially. I have less time than ever before to talk to kids and to get to know them on a personal basis. When students seek me out, I'm often ensconced in my room, filling out labels to stick in my TAN or filling out a spreadsheet of the strengths and weaknesses of each child. I definitely do not have time to talk to students who are "seeking me out".

In case you haven't figured it out by now, Mr. Ouchi was an early supporter of Mayor Bloomberg and an adviser to Klein, according to Gotham. That hardly speaks to his impartiality, but it sure does make his spiel seem like the total load it is.

Can Even Klein be this Evil?

I've seen so many dirty tricks played in the 7+ years of the BloomKlein reign that perhaps I've started seeing things where nothing exists, but this item caught my eye because of the timing.

According to Gotham Schools, Teaching Fellows who have not been placed by September 18th can earn $250 a week for six weeks by doing four days of "practice teaching" a week (if someone knows what practice teaching is, please fill me in. I can only picture a classroom full of mannequins being huddled in groups of 4). That is certainly not a lot of money if you're out of work, and it's a pittance in NYC. Still....

It just might be enough to keep those TFs on a bit longer. And this is where the timing comes in. Six weeks after September 18 brings us right to election day weekend. Suppose Mayor for Life Bloomberg wins--is it possible that he will lift the hiring freeze immediately after he is re-elected and hang all the ATRs out to dry? As of right now, Klein insists that the hiring freeze will remain in place, but that may be just to give Bloomberg cover in an election year. Mike can claim he's doing all he can to place the ATRs and avoid the political fallout of the 80 million a year the ATRs cost the city, and then fill the vacancies with TFs as soon as he gains his unethical third term.

Is it far fetched? A coincidence? I don't know. but we've had the football pulled away from us too many times to be sure.

The Doppelganger

Michael Mulgrew, who will succeed Randi Weingarten as UFT president following the latter's resignation today, is already being positioned as the anti-Randi. This is reminiscent of John McCain's attempt to paint himself as the anti-Bush, the Maverick, while everyone knew that if you scratched that paint, you'd see the Bush beneath (which sounds somewhat like a porno movie title).

Gotham Schools gave Mulgrew a fresh coat today, saying that Mulgrew also couldn’t be more different from Weingarten. Tall and apple-cheeked, he has the physical presence of Mr. Clean (both shave their heads) and a quiet charm. “Women seem to like him,” noted one union member.

Well, OK. He looks not a bit like Randi. But my fear is not that he is Randi's physical double, but her philosophical Doppelganger. It seems unlikely that Randi would groom a successor who was not in her own image. Only time will tell, but with a new contract looming, I'm not terribly sanguine. I say we give him the summer to establish himself as something other than Randi's puppet.

Riddle Me This

How do you know when the UFT has done something useful?

When the press excoriates them.

The City Council held a meeting on charter schools, and the UFT was there in force, distributing cards to council members with questions to ask about charter schools. The Post rails that the questions about charters were "sharp", as if that's a negative thing. It's a GREAT thing. Someone should be asking the tough questions about charters rather than accepting the biased pronouncements of Arne Duncan, Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee, and Gotham Schools.

The only negative quote the Post managed to find was from Simcha Felder, a councilmember from Brooklyn who has his head so far up Bloomberg's ass that a dentist could work on both of them at the same time. Said Simcha: "You couldn't get by without (the UFT) handing you a card." Again, this is GREAT. Finally, the UFT doing exactly what we pay them 80 million dollars a year for--to lobby for us.

Let's face it--charter schools suck. They are an educational gimmick that work only on a small scale by syphoning off the best students with the most motivated parents. They then claim success without ever having to show that they can achieve the same results when they have to accept students with disabilities, behavior problems, and parents who don't give a damn. Of course, politicians generally love charters because they give them a chance to say that they are doing something and weaken support for unionism at the same time.

Far from being embarrassed by this, as the Post claims we should be, we should all send letters of thanks to Randi for finally getting something right. We should encourage her to show up at city council meetings in person and hand out those cards herself. Let's face it--Felder and the NY media aren't really upset because unions show up at meetings, they are upset because they absolutely hate it when anyone questions their goofball education ideas.

So, in a rare gesture for this blog, I salute Randi and the UFT for doing the right thing. Keep it up. Let's start fighting to make all schools great.

Widening the Gap

No, not the achievement gap. The salary gap. Remember when Randi touted the disastrous last few contracts, claiming they helped achieve some sort of parity with a number of neighboring districts? Well, it was a joke then, and it's an absolute crying shame now. When those contracts were signed, our top salary was 100,000. Assuming that we get the 4% that other unions, such as DC37 got, the top salary will be 104K. In today's Newsday, it was reported that many LI teachers will get 6%, and some as much as 8%, bringing the top salary of many teachers on the island to well over 140K. That's a gap of over 40%.

To make matters worse, even the measly 4% isn't guaranteed. Bloomy is running around shouting that the sky is falling, and... DC 37 pact followed a pattern set by other municipal unions before the economy tumbled. Bloomberg has said he wouldn't make the same deal today. Well, what deal is there left to make other than the deal with teachers? Additionally, Bloomy wants teachers to pay 10% of our health premiums, which would effectively wipe out any gains anyway. Does anyone expect Randi to be able to successfully negotiate even the pattern set by DC37 for us?

There's an interesting debate going on at NYC Educator's blog touching indirectly on these very points. A poster from Gotham Schools named Ken equates NYC teachers to lazy slobs and thinks school choice (charters and vouchers, presumably) will change everything. I pointed out that the thing to do is fix all the schools--not just a few charters with small class sizes and vast resources that make the city look good. Imagine how many great teachers NYC would attract if we had what Long Island does: 140K salaries, good working conditions, and involved parents. But no, that would actually fix something. Ed reformers don't want to fix anything because then they'd be out of a job. They'd rather apply a bandaid to the schools and whine about how we'd be doing better if we left education in the hands of the private sector.

As to the job the private sector has done, let me say a few words: AIG, Citibank, Contrywide Fianacial, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Is this how we want our schools run? Into the ground?