Download and print for your schools or send an email to your staff with the link. If you want hard copies delivered to you for distribution to mail boxes email more@morecaucusnyc.org.
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Historical correction sent in by Ira Goldfine:
You won't see these facts stated anywhere in New Action literature as they play their
decade-old assigned role of trying to confuse UFT members into voting for them and dividing the forces opposed to Unity. It always wasn't this way.
From 1990-2001, New Action which formed as a result of the merger of two caucuses (Teachers Action Caucus and New Directions*), was the major voice of the opposition, not always the strongest voice (as Ed Notes began pointing out when I started publishing in 1997) but the major place people opposed to Unity were able to go. They were able to garner over 10,000 votes and win the 6 or 7 (depending on the year) high school executive board seats in every election except one during those years. In 1991 they also won 6 middle school seats, thus giving them 13 EB seats, the most an opposition in the UFT has ever had.
It was directly due to this challenge that Unity, after beating back NA in 1993 when Unity regained 100% of the EB, took the opportunity to remove the divisional vice presidents from being voted on by the members of the division to make sure the opposition never gets to be one of the 11 officers (now known as the AdCom). In other words, if the high school teachers voted NA the HS VEEP would still be Unity. Which is exactly what happened in the 1995, 97, 99 and 2001 elections.
Then Randi, in what is perhaps her most brilliant move, made an offer to New Action which was worried about losing the high school seats in the 2004 elections (Unity pushed through a change from 2 to 3 year terms). She would not run ANY Unity candidates for those seats if NA wouldn't run anyone for president against her.
New Action bit and thus was born a collaboration that has turned NA into a shell of what it once was (check the vote totals as they dropped to an afterthought over the past decade.)
But proving the old adage that lemonade can be made out of lemons, the actions of NA spurred 2 other groups into action. Readers and supporters of Ed Notes, which had been critical of New Action for its tepid role as an opposition even before they did the dirty deal, formed the Independent Community of Educators (ICE-- one of the major forces behind MORE today). They were joined by key defectors from New Action: James and Camille Eterno, Ellen Fox and Lisa North. ICE, founded in late 2003 and just a month old, decided to run a slate in the 2004 elections.
Teachers for a Just Contract (TJC), a decade old advocacy group in the UFT, also decided to run for the first time in the 2004 elections. Both groups ran a joint slate for the high schools directly opposing the New Action slate, which without Unity running at all for these 6 seats, assumed they would win. New Action didn't, which pissed Randi off to no end.
The ICE-TJC slate won those seats and put people like James Eterno and Jeff Kaufman on the Ex Bd. For James it was a continuation of his years as the NA rep but now combined with Kaufman, the two of them raised hell with the Unity agenda, challenging them in a way they had not been before. One can imagine how people like NA dictator Mike Shulman felt sitting and stewing at EB meetings watching James and Jeff do their thing. And plotting with Unity how they could remove these thorns in both their sides.
And remove them they did in the 2007 and 2010 elections when they made sure a mix of New Action and Unity controlled the high school seats by running 3 from each caucus on both the Unity and New Action slates. In addition, New Action was given 5 more EB seats at large, including Shulman, who as a retiree finally made it on to the board.
In both elections, ICE-TJC almost doubled the NA high school vote but when their totals were added to the Unity total that shut out ICE-TJC which got no seats on the board.
A look at the 2010 HS slate voting totals: Unity 2600, ICE-TJC 1350, NA 750. A total of roughly 5000 votes out of a potential of almost 20,000.
In the 2013 elections with the rise of MORE, Unity needed New Action more than ever and has rewarded them with 10 EB seats. Thus if you look at the ballot you will see 10 New Action (and 4 Unity, including Mulgrew) running on both slates.
When you see your ballot you will notice that there are only 2 presidential candidates. Julie Cavanagh for MORE and Mulgrew with Unity/New Action next to his name. Thus there are only 2 real choices in this election, not 3.
And if you are a high school teacher you will see an interesting mix of EB candidates for your division. 7 MORE people and 7 mixed New Action and Unity. These are winnable seats if high school teachers come out to vote and vote for MORE, thus giving a real opposition a beach head in the exec bd. Thus it is crucial to get out the vote from the 25-27% in the last election which would give MORE a chance to defeat the NA/Unity combo.
In an upcoming post I will tell you about these 7 MORE people.
-----
*A history of the roots of New Action: Teachers Action Caucus (TAC) and New Directions (ND)
In 1990 the 2 major caucuses in the UFT merged into one caucus with a lot of promise.
TAC was founded in 1968 as an outgrowth of Teachers for Community Control (TCC), which consisted of people who had been associated with the old left Teachers Union which had disbanded in 1964 after suffering from years of persecution from the Board of Education over their ties to the Communist Party. (The very founding of the UFT was part of this anti-left push, but that's for another time.) TCC supported the community against the 1968 UFT strike and when they formed TAC they were branded scabs for many years by the UFT. Despite that they ran campaigns in UFT elections and found a following among teachers on the left, many of whom entered the system in the late 60s. Some were with what was termed the "New Left" and internally there were struggles between what was termed the "Stalinist pro-Soviet" old left and the mostly Trotskyist New Left.
As a non-leftist I entered into this world in the fall of 1970 in my 4th year of teaching. I was associated with a group of left-oriented people who were in neither camp but willing to build alliances. We tried initially with TAC but found that organization locked in its own narrow frame of politics and could make no headway moving policy changes. So we left and formed not another caucus but an advocacy group called the Coalition of NYC School Workers. We had no intention of running in elections but spent a lot of time analyzing and writing on policy and we attracted a large group of followers, including many from the New Left/Trotskyist groups who had no where else to go even if they were unhappy with some of the direction we were heading in.
Sometime in late 1975/early 1976 they split the CSW in half and formed New Directions which was aimed at running a slate in the 1977 UFT elections directly against Unity and TAC. We were adamantly opposed to doing that and formed an alliance with TAC to run together in the 77 elections. I believe we called ourselves New Action Caucus. ND ran its own course, but in some irony they threw out the Trotskyists that had fomented the split from us. (The trots formed a new group that never was a caucus that was called "Chalk Dust" and it lasted until the late 80s.)
It wasn't until around 1980 that New Directions began to join with us to run in elections throughout the 80s, even winning the high school vice president seat for Mike Shulman in 1985, an event that shook Unity. (Some irony here and an entire story how Unity sued themselves that the election was unfairly run and forcing another election, thus keeping Shulman from being seated for almost a year).
Sometime after that, ND had another purge, tossing out their leader Marc Pessin (I could write a book on him) who was apparently obstructing a move to merge with TAC, which had been a bitter enemy and would never have joined with ND as long as he was involved. ND had moved steadily to the right in a sense in that it ignored almost all social issues. Which was interesting and seemed to pave the way for a merger between the old left TAC which had been branded as scabs for breaking the 68 strike and more right ND.
The idea of Unity making a deal with anything to do with TAC was inconceivable until both Shanker and Feldman were out of the picture given their history of ani-communism. Even people like me were preferable and I had quite a few conversations with some of the upper echelon Unity people who loved my critiques of New Action, who they considered spineless. And so they turned out to be.
When Randi made the deal with New Action in 2003 there was just a bit of churning and turning in the graves of the old UFT right wing social democrats. The old guard was not happy, but there was such turnover in Unity, there was no real resistance.
In 1977 and 1979 we ran together with TAC and we called ourselves UNITED FIGHTBACK - in 1981 we formed NAC (the N for New Directions, A for Teachers Action Caucus and C for the Coalition of NYC Schoolworkers) and ran a full slate of 675 people with Pessin as the presidential candidate. We took nearly 30% of the total vote and over 35% excluding the functional chapter.
You won't see these facts stated anywhere in New Action literature as they play their decade-old assigned role of trying to confuse UFT members into voting for them and dividing the forces opposed to Unity. It always wasn't this way.
From 1990-2001, New Action which formed as a result of the merger of two caucuses (Teachers Action Caucus and New Directions*), was the major voice of the opposition, not always the strongest voice (as Ed Notes began pointing out when I started publishing in 1997) but the major place people opposed to Unity were able to go. They were able to garner over 10,000 votes and win the 6 or 7 (depending on the year) high school executive board seats in every election except one during those years. In 1991 they also won 6 middle school seats, thus giving them 13 EB seats, the most an opposition in the UFT has ever had.
It was directly due to this challenge that Unity, after beating back NA in 1993 when Unity regained 100% of the EB, took the opportunity to remove the divisional vice presidents from being voted on by the members of the division to make sure the opposition never gets to be one of the 11 officers (now known as the AdCom). In other words, if the high school teachers voted NA the HS VEEP would still be Unity. Which is exactly what happened in the 1995, 97, 99 and 2001 elections.
Then Randi, in what is perhaps her most brilliant move, made an offer to New Action which was worried about losing the high school seats in the 2004 elections (Unity pushed through a change from 2 to 3 year terms). She would not run ANY Unity candidates for those seats if NA wouldn't run anyone for president against her.
New Action bit and thus was born a collaboration that has turned NA into a shell of what it once was (check the vote totals as they dropped to an afterthought over the past decade.)
But proving the old adage that lemonade can be made out of lemons, the actions of NA spurred 2 other groups into action. Readers and supporters of Ed Notes, which had been critical of New Action for its tepid role as an opposition even before they did the dirty deal, formed the Independent Community of Educators (ICE-- one of the major forces behind MORE today). They were joined by key defectors from New Action: James and Camille Eterno, Ellen Fox and Lisa North. ICE, founded in late 2003 and just a month old, decided to run a slate in the 2004 elections.
Teachers for a Just Contract (TJC), a decade old advocacy group in the UFT, also decided to run for the first time in the 2004 elections. Both groups ran a joint slate for the high schools directly opposing the New Action slate, which without Unity running at all for these 6 seats, assumed they would win. New Action didn't, which pissed Randi off to no end.
The ICE-TJC slate won those seats and put people like James Eterno and Jeff Kaufman on the Ex Bd. For James it was a continuation of his years as the NA rep but now combined with Kaufman, the two of them raised hell with the Unity agenda, challenging them in a way they had not been before. One can imagine how people like NA dictator Mike Shulman felt sitting and stewing at EB meetings watching James and Jeff do their thing. And plotting with Unity how they could remove these thorns in both their sides.
And remove them they did in the 2007 and 2010 elections when they made sure a mix of New Action and Unity controlled the high school seats by running 3 from each caucus on both the Unity and New Action slates. In addition, New Action was given 5 more EB seats at large, including Shulman, who as a retiree finally made it on to the board.
In both elections, ICE-TJC almost doubled the NA high school vote but when their totals were added to the Unity total that shut out ICE-TJC which got no seats on the board.
A look at the 2010 HS slate voting totals: Unity 2600, ICE-TJC 1350, NA 750. A total of roughly 5000 votes out of a potential of almost 20,000.
In the 2013 elections with the rise of MORE, Unity needed New Action more than ever and has rewarded them with 10 EB seats. Thus if you look at the ballot you will see 10 New Action (and 4 Unity, including Mulgrew) running on both slates.
When you see your ballot you will notice that there are only 2 presidential candidates. Julie Cavanagh for MORE and Mulgrew with Unity/New Action next to his name. Thus there are only 2 real choices in this election, not 3.
And if you are a high school teacher you will see an interesting mix of EB candidates for your division. 7 MORE people and 7 mixed New Action and Unity. These are winnable seats if high school teachers come out to vote and vote for MORE, thus giving a real opposition a beach head in the exec bd. Thus it is crucial to get out the vote from the 25-27% in the last election which would give MORE a chance to defeat the NA/Unity combo.
In an upcoming post I will tell you about these 7 MORE people.
-----
*A history of the roots of New Action: Teachers Action Caucus (TAC) and New Directions (ND)
In 1990 the 2 major caucuses in the UFT merged into one caucus with a lot of promise.
TAC was founded in 1968 as an outgrowth of Teachers for Community Control (TCC), which consisted of people who had been associated with the old left Teachers Union which had disbanded in 1964 after suffering from years of persecution from the Board of Education over their ties to the Communist Party. (The very founding of the UFT was part of this anti-left push, but that's for another time.) TCC supported the community against the 1968 UFT strike and when they formed TAC they were branded scabs for many years by the UFT. Despite that they ran campaigns in UFT elections and found a following among teachers on the left, many of whom entered the system in the late 60s. Some were with what was termed the "New Left" and internally there were struggles between what was termed the "Stalinist pro-Soviet" old left and the mostly Trotskyist New Left.
As a non-leftist I entered into this world in the fall of 1970 in my 4th year of teaching. I was associated with a group of left-oriented people who were in neither camp but willing to build alliances. We tried initially with TAC but found that organization locked in its own narrow frame of politics and could make no headway moving policy changes. So we left and formed not another caucus but an advocacy group called the Coalition of NYC School Workers. We had no intention of running in elections but spent a lot of time analyzing and writing on policy and we attracted a large group of followers, including many from the New Left/Trotskyist groups who had no where else to go even if they were unhappy with some of the direction we were heading in.
Sometime in late 1975/early 1976 they split the CSW in half and formed New Directions which was aimed at running a slate in the 1977 UFT elections directly against Unity and TAC. We were adamantly opposed to doing that and formed an alliance with TAC to run together in the 77 elections. I believe we called ourselves New Action Caucus. ND ran its own course, but in some irony they threw out the Trotskyists that had fomented the split from us. (The trots formed a new group that never was a caucus that was called "Chalk Dust" and it lasted until the late 80s.)
It wasn't until around 1980 that New Directions began to join with us to run in elections throughout the 80s, even winning the high school vice president seat for Mike Shulman in 1985, an event that shook Unity. (Some irony here and an entire story how Unity sued themselves that the election was unfairly run and forcing another election, thus keeping Shulman from being seated for almost a year).
Sometime after that, ND had another purge, tossing out their leader Marc Pessin (I could write a book on him) who was apparently obstructing a move to merge with TAC, which had been a bitter enemy and would never have joined with ND as long as he was involved. ND had moved steadily to the right in a sense in that it ignored almost all social issues. Which was interesting and seemed to pave the way for a merger between the old left TAC which had been branded as scabs for breaking the 68 strike and more right ND.
The idea of Unity making a deal with anything to do with TAC was inconceivable until both Shanker and Feldman were out of the picture given their history of ani-communism. Even people like me were preferable and I had quite a few conversations with some of the upper echelon Unity people who loved my critiques of New Action, who they considered spineless. And so they turned out to be.
When Randi made the deal with New Action in 2003 there was just a bit of churning and turning in the graves of the old UFT right wing social democrats. The old guard was not happy, but there was such turnover in Unity, there was no real resistance.
Saturday, 30 March 2013
No punishment for teachers in Seattle test boycott
Superintendent Jose Banda announced today that no teachers would be disciplined for boycotting the exams known as the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, this winter.District leaders concluded that none of the protesting teachers had responsibility for administering the exams, Banda said, so they were not insubordinate by failing to carry out their duties.
At many schools, Banda said, other school staff or parents are responsible for giving the test, not teachers.
“What I found out … is that it’s not the teachers that really do a lot of that stuff. You have a testing coordinator that’s primarily responsible for setting up the test.”
It’s possible that no teachers failed in their duties because other staff members stepped in to give the exam.
At Garfield, after teachers announced their boycott in January, administrators stepped in to give the exams. Banda had earlier told Garfield teachers they would face discipline for boycotting the tests. There were definitely teachers at Garfield whose students were supposed to take MAP reading or math exams during the winter testing period, said Kris McBride, the school’s academic dean and testing coordinator.
Banda called any changes in testing protocol an “internal decision.”
McBride said Garfield teachers they soon will announce whether they will continue the boycott for spring testing, which is scheduled to start April 22.
Banda says he hopes they don’t. Their concerns, he said, have been heard “loud and clear.”
District Says Teachers Who Boycotted Test Won’t Be Punished
The superintendent of Seattle Public Schools says no teachers will be disciplined for refusing to give students the district-wide Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test. The district got international attention after dozens of teachers at several schools boycotted the test this winter, calling it a waste of time and money.
Students in Seattle Schools take the MAP test in reading and math two or three times a year, from kindergarten through ninth grade or beyond. In January, dozens of teachers said they wouldn’t give the test winter quarter because it ate up class time without producing useful data.
In response, the district threatened teachers with two weeks of unpaid suspension if they didn’t administer the test. But in a letter to district employees today, Superintendent Jose Banda said it turns out the teachers who refused to give the MAP test didn’t break any rules after all. "In talking to the administrators, they didn’t find, or we didn’t find, that any of the teachers did not perform their duties as was expected with regards to the MAP testing," he said. According to Banda, that’s because none of the boycotting teachers were actually responsible for administering the test. For instance, at Garfield High School, hundreds of students joined the protest by opting out of the test. Banda says teachers had to stay in the classroom with those students while other staff members administered the test in another room.
Garfield history teacher Jesse Hagopian called the superintendent’s decision a "huge victory" for protesters. "Teachers at Garfield are celebrating today. You would see a lot of smiles down here in the doghouse," Hagopian said. But Hagopian says the superintendent’s letter makes it sound like the boycott never happened. He said the real reason teachers aren’t being disciplined is the attention the protest received. "Students, parents and teachers all over the nation called, and e-mailed, and wrote letters, and protested, and rallied, and made their voices heard for an alternative to the MAP test. They couldn’t be ignored," Hagopian said.
The district recently changed the MAP testing policy so fewer students will have to take the exam. But Superintendent Banda said he still expects teachers to give the test spring quarter.
Hagopian says he expects even more teachers will now boycott the MAP test.
Students in Seattle Schools take the MAP test in reading and math two or three times a year, from kindergarten through ninth grade or beyond. In January, dozens of teachers said they wouldn’t give the test winter quarter because it ate up class time without producing useful data.
In response, the district threatened teachers with two weeks of unpaid suspension if they didn’t administer the test. But in a letter to district employees today, Superintendent Jose Banda said it turns out the teachers who refused to give the MAP test didn’t break any rules after all. "In talking to the administrators, they didn’t find, or we didn’t find, that any of the teachers did not perform their duties as was expected with regards to the MAP testing," he said. According to Banda, that’s because none of the boycotting teachers were actually responsible for administering the test. For instance, at Garfield High School, hundreds of students joined the protest by opting out of the test. Banda says teachers had to stay in the classroom with those students while other staff members administered the test in another room.
Garfield history teacher Jesse Hagopian called the superintendent’s decision a "huge victory" for protesters. "Teachers at Garfield are celebrating today. You would see a lot of smiles down here in the doghouse," Hagopian said. But Hagopian says the superintendent’s letter makes it sound like the boycott never happened. He said the real reason teachers aren’t being disciplined is the attention the protest received. "Students, parents and teachers all over the nation called, and e-mailed, and wrote letters, and protested, and rallied, and made their voices heard for an alternative to the MAP test. They couldn’t be ignored," Hagopian said.
The district recently changed the MAP testing policy so fewer students will have to take the exam. But Superintendent Banda said he still expects teachers to give the test spring quarter.
Hagopian says he expects even more teachers will now boycott the MAP test.
Marking the MORE slate with a big X will count as a vote for each of this great slate of elementary exec board candidates. Now in the bizarro world of the Unity Caucus voting system, MORE Veep elementary school candidate Sam Coleman is voted on by every UFT member and will appear on all the ballots while the 11 MORE elementary Exec Bd slate will only appear on the ballots sent to elementary school teachers.
This is a powerful elementary school list of people who will transform the way the UFT will address the assault on the elementary school classroom teacher, often termed "the infantry" of the school system. They are all great teachers and activists and many are also current, former or future parents of public school students.
Sam Coleman, Vice Presidential Candidate for Elem EB, is in his 8th year as a dual language elementary school teacher at PS 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He served as UFT delegate and is an active organizer with a number of grassroots educator groups in NYC.
"I am running on the MORE slate because I believe that the role of the union is to merge the fight for better working conditions, job security and a fair contract with the broader fight to halt the privatization of public education. A member-driven union must be responsive to educators' concerns. At the same time, we, the union, must educate and organize our colleagues to collectively stand up for ourselves and our students. Since joining the UFT I have been deeply disappointed by the contractual sellouts that Unity claims as victories, shocked at the leadership's unwillingness to stand up for members in the schools and humiliated by my union's collaboration with corporate 'education reformers'. It is time for a Movement of Rank and File Educators to put the UFT at the front of the fight for a just public education system.”
MORE ELEMENTARY DIVISION CANDIDATES FOR UFT EXECUTIVE BOARD
Jamie Fidler, who starred in the documentary American Teacher, has been teaching in the NYC public schools for 10 years, at PS 261 in Brooklyn for most of that time and has been an education and social activist for the past decade.
"I am running with MORE because I believe in the power of a strong union when it speaks for their members and accurately represents their voices. As a parent and teacher in the public school system, I want our children to develop strong voices and independent ideas. This can't be accomplished in a fearful environment where the teacher is relegated to a binder and test prep. I believe in public education, where teachers, parents and students' voices are at the center of a strong curriculum and sound policies.”
Emily Miller has been teaching for 6 years and is a second grade teacher in a Spanish/English dual language program in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
“I am running with MORE because students, families, communities and teachers are all in it together. We all want our students to have a high quality education. As MORE says, our working conditions are our students' learning conditions. Smaller class sizes are good for teachers and are very important for students. Evaluating teachers based on student performance on standardized test scores is not fair to teachers and the over emphasis on high-stakes standardized tests is harmful to students.
Lauren Cohen has taught elementary schools for eight years in self-contained special education, inclusion, and general education classes and currently teaches 5th grade at P.S. 321 in Park Slope.
"I am running with MORE because I believe that teachers need to collaborate and mobilize against the attacks on our profession and our students. I used to work in a school with an abusive administration, where I earned a reputation among my colleagues for speaking out against policies that were both harmful to children and violations of our contract. Without the backing of a democratic union, however, it was difficult to effect change and stop the onslaught of excessive paperwork, arbitrary denial of tenure, and inappropriate letters in our files. My renewed passion and drive came from the realization that the threat to the teaching profession was much larger: the systemic obsession with quantitative measures of success has narrowed the curriculum in many schools and marginalized any student whose strengths lie in areas other than reading and math. I am a member of Change the Stakes, a group of parents, teachers, and other NYC residents who are fighting back against the use of high-stakes tests to punish schools, teachers, and students."
Jia Lee has taught since 2002 in a self-contained Bronx high school, then a middle and now an elementary school in the East Village.
“As a special educator, I held high hopes the UFT leadership would advocate for our profession and students against value-added models of evaluation that have caused devastating school closures and the demeaning treatment of teachers. My faith in our current political and union leadership has waned as our voices have been ignored in the current climate of top-down educational reform. I joined MORE because it is an integral voice in our union against corporate infiltration. MORE pushes for a democratic process within our union. MORE understands that union leadership represents its members. As a special education teacher and parent, I find myself feeling hopeful again. Being asked to run with MORE is not only an honor, it is an obligation to my colleagues and our students. Thank you.
Mari Caputo has been teaching at PS 84, D.14, Brooklyn, for close to 25 years. She has served as UFT delegate and is currently serving her first term as Chapter Leader. She is a longtime education activist, advocating for developmentally appropriate, child-centered and experienced-based education for all students.
"We need a union that hears and respects more voices. We need a union that is dedicated to creating, supporting, and protecting excellent working conditions for teachers in every school across our city. I am running with MORE because this caucus has taken a position against the value-added method of ranking teachers which reduces us all to numbers. I am running with MORE in an effort to bring respect, debate, understanding, and joy back to our profession."
Karla Tobar is a 3rd grade bilingual teacher in her fifth year of teaching. She is a delegate at P.S. 443 in the Bronx and a core member of the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE).
"I am running with MORE because I believe in a democratic member-driven union that takes the voices of all members into account. My vision of a union is one that actively organizes, educates, mobilizes, empowers, and transforms not just members, but all people."
Patrick Walsh is an ESL teacher in PS/ MS 149 in Harlem for 8 years and a thrice elected chapter leader of the UFT.
“I am running with MORE because I believe that unions, to be effective and just, must be run democratically and that is not the case now. I believe fiercely in participatory democracy in across all aspects of the UFT.”
Yelena Siwinski has spent 18 years teaching at P.S. 193 in Brooklyn, elected co-chapter leader 8 years ago.
“I educate my members about the issues at the city, state, and national levels, motivate them to take action, and lead them to fight for their students and themselves. After sitting on several UFT committees (two Negotiation and the Evaluation committees) I witnessed first-hand how Unity leaders inform us of decisions they made and deals they had brokered with very little voice was given to committee members. I am honored to be running with MORE so that my voice, and the voice of my members, is truly heard. Their vision of the union is one that is run democratically, engaging the voices of teachers, students, parents, and their communities. The only way I can ever really be part of the fight is with a MORE leadership."
Lisa North has taught at PS 3 in Brookly’s D. 13 in Bed-Stuy for 24 years. She has been a chapter leader and delegate for over 15 years as well as active in many groups that include parents, community members, and educators in the fight for a better education for our students.
“I am running as a member of MORE because our union must rebuild from the bottom up. Every school chapter in the city must be organized to fight for an education system that provides the education our students deserve and the working conditions for us to make that possible. Our students need developmentally appropriate learning, experiential learning that builds background knowledge and critical thinking skills, NOT test prep. No more use of testing to punish schools, educators and students.
Patricia Dobosz has been teaching for 30 years (20 in the NYC Public School System) mostly in Early Childhood, currently at PS 157 in D 14, Brooklyn. She is an education/community activist belonging to several grassroots education groups.
“I am running with MORE because I want our union to fight for a fair multi-year contract with retroactive pay, tenure protections, and a call for the immediate end to mayoral control of our public school system.”
Christine Wong is a special education teacher at P.S. 1 in Manhattan in her 11th year teaching. She has been chapter leader for 4 years.
“I am running with MORE because I want to be part of a movement that expands the political voice of all teachers, and deepens our relationship with parents and communities. I think MORE offers an analysis of the deeper political reasons behind the attacks on public education, and the type of social justice strategy it will take to defend it.”
VOTE ONLY THE MORE SLATE ON THE TOP PAGE, TEAR IT OFF AND MAIL IT IN. DO NOT VOTE BOTH FOR A SLATE AND INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES OR YOU VOTE MAY BE INVALIDATED.
This is a powerful elementary school list of people who will transform the way the UFT will address the assault on the elementary school classroom teacher, often termed "the infantry" of the school system. They are all great teachers and activists and many are also current, former or future parents of public school students.
"I am running on the MORE slate because I believe that the role of the union is to merge the fight for better working conditions, job security and a fair contract with the broader fight to halt the privatization of public education. A member-driven union must be responsive to educators' concerns. At the same time, we, the union, must educate and organize our colleagues to collectively stand up for ourselves and our students. Since joining the UFT I have been deeply disappointed by the contractual sellouts that Unity claims as victories, shocked at the leadership's unwillingness to stand up for members in the schools and humiliated by my union's collaboration with corporate 'education reformers'. It is time for a Movement of Rank and File Educators to put the UFT at the front of the fight for a just public education system.”
MORE ELEMENTARY DIVISION CANDIDATES FOR UFT EXECUTIVE BOARD
"I am running with MORE because I believe in the power of a strong union when it speaks for their members and accurately represents their voices. As a parent and teacher in the public school system, I want our children to develop strong voices and independent ideas. This can't be accomplished in a fearful environment where the teacher is relegated to a binder and test prep. I believe in public education, where teachers, parents and students' voices are at the center of a strong curriculum and sound policies.”
“I am running with MORE because students, families, communities and teachers are all in it together. We all want our students to have a high quality education. As MORE says, our working conditions are our students' learning conditions. Smaller class sizes are good for teachers and are very important for students. Evaluating teachers based on student performance on standardized test scores is not fair to teachers and the over emphasis on high-stakes standardized tests is harmful to students.
"I am running with MORE because I believe that teachers need to collaborate and mobilize against the attacks on our profession and our students. I used to work in a school with an abusive administration, where I earned a reputation among my colleagues for speaking out against policies that were both harmful to children and violations of our contract. Without the backing of a democratic union, however, it was difficult to effect change and stop the onslaught of excessive paperwork, arbitrary denial of tenure, and inappropriate letters in our files. My renewed passion and drive came from the realization that the threat to the teaching profession was much larger: the systemic obsession with quantitative measures of success has narrowed the curriculum in many schools and marginalized any student whose strengths lie in areas other than reading and math. I am a member of Change the Stakes, a group of parents, teachers, and other NYC residents who are fighting back against the use of high-stakes tests to punish schools, teachers, and students."
“As a special educator, I held high hopes the UFT leadership would advocate for our profession and students against value-added models of evaluation that have caused devastating school closures and the demeaning treatment of teachers. My faith in our current political and union leadership has waned as our voices have been ignored in the current climate of top-down educational reform. I joined MORE because it is an integral voice in our union against corporate infiltration. MORE pushes for a democratic process within our union. MORE understands that union leadership represents its members. As a special education teacher and parent, I find myself feeling hopeful again. Being asked to run with MORE is not only an honor, it is an obligation to my colleagues and our students. Thank you.
"We need a union that hears and respects more voices. We need a union that is dedicated to creating, supporting, and protecting excellent working conditions for teachers in every school across our city. I am running with MORE because this caucus has taken a position against the value-added method of ranking teachers which reduces us all to numbers. I am running with MORE in an effort to bring respect, debate, understanding, and joy back to our profession."
"I am running with MORE because I believe in a democratic member-driven union that takes the voices of all members into account. My vision of a union is one that actively organizes, educates, mobilizes, empowers, and transforms not just members, but all people."
“I am running with MORE because I believe that unions, to be effective and just, must be run democratically and that is not the case now. I believe fiercely in participatory democracy in across all aspects of the UFT.”
“I educate my members about the issues at the city, state, and national levels, motivate them to take action, and lead them to fight for their students and themselves. After sitting on several UFT committees (two Negotiation and the Evaluation committees) I witnessed first-hand how Unity leaders inform us of decisions they made and deals they had brokered with very little voice was given to committee members. I am honored to be running with MORE so that my voice, and the voice of my members, is truly heard. Their vision of the union is one that is run democratically, engaging the voices of teachers, students, parents, and their communities. The only way I can ever really be part of the fight is with a MORE leadership."
Lisa North has taught at PS 3 in Brookly’s D. 13 in Bed-Stuy for 24 years. She has been a chapter leader and delegate for over 15 years as well as active in many groups that include parents, community members, and educators in the fight for a better education for our students.“I am running as a member of MORE because our union must rebuild from the bottom up. Every school chapter in the city must be organized to fight for an education system that provides the education our students deserve and the working conditions for us to make that possible. Our students need developmentally appropriate learning, experiential learning that builds background knowledge and critical thinking skills, NOT test prep. No more use of testing to punish schools, educators and students.
“I am running with MORE because I want our union to fight for a fair multi-year contract with retroactive pay, tenure protections, and a call for the immediate end to mayoral control of our public school system.”
“I am running with MORE because I want to be part of a movement that expands the political voice of all teachers, and deepens our relationship with parents and communities. I think MORE offers an analysis of the deeper political reasons behind the attacks on public education, and the type of social justice strategy it will take to defend it.”
VOTE ONLY THE MORE SLATE ON THE TOP PAGE, TEAR IT OFF AND MAIL IT IN. DO NOT VOTE BOTH FOR A SLATE AND INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES OR YOU VOTE MAY BE INVALIDATED.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
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Reed Hastings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_HasJump to California State Board of Education: He became interested in educational reform in ... State Board of Education, and in 2001, Hastings became its ...tings Reed Hastings On How To Build A $20 Billion Education Juggernaut ...
May 11, 2012 – REED HASTINGS: About half my work in education is US political reform around school districts and charter schools, and creating more room ...Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Blew $12 Billion In Market Cap. Why We ...
www.forbes.com/.../netflix-May 3, 2012 – I cover education as a sector and as the bedrock of all sectors. ... on competition, technology, and accountability as three pillars of education reform, ... Below are excerpts from Reed Hastings' Education Innovation Sumit talk, ...ceo-reed-hastings-blew-12- billion-in-mar... Schools Matter: Duncan, Hastings, and Gates: The Digital Promise ...
www.schoolsmatter.info/2011/..Sep 24, 2011 – When it comes to education, R&D cycles can take years, producing results that are out of date the minute they're ... That Reed Hastings doesn't miss a beat, does he! .... If the Public Mattered to Arne and the Reform Scho../duncan-hastings-and-gates- digital.ht... Netflix CEO's Education Reform Views Sneak Into House of Cards ...
6 days ago – Netflix's terrific new series, House of Cards, features a legislative battle over education reform as envisioned by Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO.
 | ||||||||
----------- Crooks and Liars: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/netflix-ceos-education-reform-views-sneak-h I blame John Amato for getting me hooked on the new Netflix Series, House of Cards. Kevin Spacey is fantastic, the pace is great, but unfortunately, the policy issues they tackle in this first season are predictably corporate. Nothing screams corporate like the storyline about education reform. After Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) forces his colleague to abandon education reform because he's "too left", Underwood finds himself negotiating a package with union representatives that feels a lot like Reed Hastings' dream "reform package." Adam Bessie introduces Ms. Reform, Hastings' dream girl of education reform: Ms. Reform is the Marilyn Monroe of domestic policy. The corporate media – and the President himself – can’t get enough of her. It’s no surprise she’s become famous. Ms. Reform is sexy and seductive, especially to the powerful: she looks like a philanthropist – kind and nurturing, committed to helping the poor, forgotten black and brown children in the inner-cities. Who in their right mind could be against her plans to help our children – especially our most vulnerable and least privileged – have a fair shot in life? But inside – a side she never shows the camera, and when she does, it’s Photoshopped – Ms.Reform is a cutthroat businesswoman: she’s read Ronald Reagan’s economic advisor Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom from cover to cover, she has complete faith in “free enterprise,” she’s never heard of John Dewey nor deigned to teach a day in her life, and boy, does she friggin’ hate unions. In short, Ms. Reform appeals not just to the bleeding heart social justice Obamaites, but also, to venture capitalists that think Obama is fomenting a socialist take-over of America. The only surprise is that she didn’t become famous sooner.Alyssa Rosenberg at ThinkProgress noticed it too: Elsewhere in the education fight, the only discussion of policy are facile mentions of charter schools, collective bargaining, and performance standards. A union official appears in one scene to declare that “Charters jeapordize our ability to organize, which is reason enough” to object to Frank’s draft of the bill. Otherwise, the movement is represented only by picketers who melt when Frank and his wife serve them barbeque, and by a paid lobbyist who is manipulated into decking Frank in his office, giving him the advantage he needs to force a settlement to a teacher’s strike and a legislative deadlock. When Frank manipulates Congressman Russo (Corey Stoll) into running for Governor of Pennsylvania, his opposition is largely personified by the head of a shipbuilder’s union decimated by the BRAC process that shutters a local shipyard.It's true that Hastings didn't write the script, but I can't help thinking he shaped a narrative that lends itself to such a script. The casual treatment and perception of unions as thugs, of teachers as incompetent, of solutions as simply privatizing the effort altogether while using data analysis as the benchmark for nearly everything is characteristic of today's reform discussion. News broke late tonight that Chicago Public Schools may be closing 50 public schools. FIFTY. There is absolutely no way the school system can absorb that kind of shock. I don't think the number 50 is a coincidence. Back in the days when the Gates Foundation thought charters were the answer to everything, the foundation put millions into the district to create charter schools, including 50 new high schools under their "small high school" initiatve. |
At ICE's scheduled meeting today we will have the bonus of special guest Substance, telling us all about what's happening in Chicago with the school closing protests and the CORE re-election campaign. As one of CORE's founding members, George will also talk about the evolution of CORE from an 8 person group of people in 2008 reading Naomi Klein's "Shock Doctrine" to running the Chicago Teachers Union by July 2010. The theme of George's talk will be from dissidents to the realities of power.
George Schmidt, the founder, publisher and editor of
And that is an interesting theme given many Unity Caucus comments over the years that it is easy for a group like ICE or MORE to be critical when it doesn't have to deal with running a union. And those are not points to slough off and it will be interesting to hear George tell us about that tightrope walk. But I am interested in how the structures of CORE work in terms of organization building. How have they managed to gather so many more committed activists in Chicago than we have done so far here in NYC given they have about 650 schools (soon to drop to 600 if Rahmbo gets his way) while we have 1700 here and 5 boroughs. George often tells me that organizing Chicago is the equivalent of Brooklyn.
Some who are not aware may be wondering what role ICE still plays given that the other caucus, TJC, is no longer functioning.
We all made a decision that once the organizing groups got MORE up and going their official role as decision makers would disappear and MORE would be a membership org of individuals rather than a coalition of orgs which I for one felt would clog up the process.
ICE as one of the constituent groups that helped organize MORE felt we had strong enough bonds between us to continue in some form, mostly as a discussion group to explore issues of interest. And there are some ICEers who are either not interested in MORE, so keeping ICE alive gives them a voice. Plus the ICEUFT Blog that James and Jeff continue to maintain and gives ICE its own voice in the union debates.
We don't meet often, especially with the work needed in MORE, but think that as a group of older teachers and retirees we have some things to offer which MORE may not have the time or inclination to address. In fact one of my own disatisfacttions with MORE meetings is the lack of time to just talk. MORE people are more action oriented and that just doesn't always suit old fogies like me who love the give and take we always have in ICE.
And we have invited some of the newer people we have met in MORE to join our meetings who we think fit that mold. We meet in a diner and just talk -- and eat. And I never emerge from an ICE meeting without feeling I've learned something or had some issues that were muddled illuminated. The floating agenda and lack of time constraints plus the fact that with MORE doing the work we don't really have to do anything -- but talk and eat.
Ahhh, life is good.
George Schmidt, the founder, publisher and editor of
Some who are not aware may be wondering what role ICE still plays given that the other caucus, TJC, is no longer functioning.
We all made a decision that once the organizing groups got MORE up and going their official role as decision makers would disappear and MORE would be a membership org of individuals rather than a coalition of orgs which I for one felt would clog up the process.
ICE as one of the constituent groups that helped organize MORE felt we had strong enough bonds between us to continue in some form, mostly as a discussion group to explore issues of interest. And there are some ICEers who are either not interested in MORE, so keeping ICE alive gives them a voice. Plus the ICEUFT Blog that James and Jeff continue to maintain and gives ICE its own voice in the union debates.
We don't meet often, especially with the work needed in MORE, but think that as a group of older teachers and retirees we have some things to offer which MORE may not have the time or inclination to address. In fact one of my own disatisfacttions with MORE meetings is the lack of time to just talk. MORE people are more action oriented and that just doesn't always suit old fogies like me who love the give and take we always have in ICE.
And we have invited some of the newer people we have met in MORE to join our meetings who we think fit that mold. We meet in a diner and just talk -- and eat. And I never emerge from an ICE meeting without feeling I've learned something or had some issues that were muddled illuminated. The floating agenda and lack of time constraints plus the fact that with MORE doing the work we don't really have to do anything -- but talk and eat.
Ahhh, life is good.
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
I am updating as more info comes in. Fred Klonsky has great pics. Here is one.
Jaisal Noor tweeted links to his videos:
@jaisalnoor: Interviews with Karen Lewis and those arrested at #Chicago protest for #EDUjustice & against #CPSclosings
You tube
NPR coverage
In Chicago, Dozens Arrested As They Protest School Closures
by Eyder Peralta
NPR - March 27, 2013
Hundreds of demonstrators, along with the Chicago Teachers Union, marched through the city today demanding that City Hall walk back its plan to close 53 elementary schools and one high school in response to a $1 billion budget deficit....
http://www.npr.org/blogs/
Civil Disobedience Planned in Chicago to Oppose Unprecedented Mass School Closings
See Jaisal Noor's video report from yesterday:
Jaisal Noor tweeted links to his videos:
@jaisalnoor: Interviews with Karen Lewis and those arrested at #Chicago protest for #EDUjustice & against #CPSclosings
You tube
NPR coverage
In Chicago, Dozens Arrested As They Protest School Closures
by Eyder Peralta
NPR - March 27, 2013
Hundreds of demonstrators, along with the Chicago Teachers Union, marched through the city today demanding that City Hall walk back its plan to close 53 elementary schools and one high school in response to a $1 billion budget deficit....
http://www.npr.org/blogs/
"People have a right to the neighbourhoods in which they live," said CTU leader Karen Lewis at the rally. "Children have the right to a safe, nurturing, loving environment."Well, you could do what the UFT does when there are mass school closings announced: show a tepid presence with no organizing at closing school meetings like this report in Nation of Change, Shuttered: How America is Selling Out Its Schools
The CTU emerged with considerable public support after it blunted Emmanuel's attempts to tie teachers' pay to test scores last year. It has pledged to continue the campaign of non-violent disobedience. "People who work in the schools and rely on public schools will oppose the mass closings by any and all peaceful means," [Vice-President] Sharkey has told union members. "[School closings] are not something we are prepared to accept without a fight ... We're going to take this fight as far as we have to, to defend our community schools."
The United Teachers Federation, which represents educators in New York, hasn't even bothered to mobilize its members, apparently preferring to bide its time until the mayoral election in November when, presumably, someone more amenable than billionaire Michael Bloomberg will be in office.
while
Decked in red t-shirts, members of MORE were out in force at the PEP hearing, standing by parents and students where the UFT leadership was absent. Their hope is that those with a mutual stake in preserving public education can band together to beat back the privatization of learning and build a quality school environment for all.
Civil Disobedience Planned in Chicago to Oppose Unprecedented Mass School Closings
See Jaisal Noor's video report from yesterday:
Arrests at Chicago schools protest
More than 100 people arrested while taking part in mass civil disobedience against Rahm Emmanuel's cuts and closures
A protester is arrested in front of Chicago City Hall during a demonstration against school closures and cuts. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian
More than 100 demonstrators taking part in mass civil disobedience were arrested in Chicago on Wednesday as several thousand people marched against the largest proposed round of school closings in recent memory.
Many carried placards proclaiming "Strong Schools, Strong Neighbourhoods" and "Protect Our Children" while chanting "Whose Schools, Our Schools" and calling for mayor Rahm Emmanuel's resignation.
"We're signalling that there is going to be a large and determined movement that will use the tactics of civil disobedience and direct action in order to keep these schools open," said Chicago Teachers Union vice-president Jesse Sharkey, who was arrested outside City Hall, one of 131 detained by police. "We see this event as kicking off an extended campaign this spring and we think it was a great success."
The city last week announced plans to close 54 schools affecting more than 30,000 students, primarily in low-income black and Latino areas. The proposals – which had already sparked huge, rowdy protests at hearings throughout the city prior to the announcement – mark Emmanuel's second major confrontation over education in less than six months following the teachers' strike in late August.
The Rev Jessie Jackson and Karen Lewis, president of CTU Local 1, at the Chicago school closures protest. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian
"People have a right to the neighbourhoods in which they live," said CTU leader Karen Lewis at the rally. "Children have the right to a safe, nurturing, loving environment."
Chicago Public Schools claims the closings are necessary to plug a $1bn deficit in the third-largest school district in the city and that consolidating under-utilised and under-performing schools will save $560m over 10 years by reducing investment in shuttered buildings. The district insists the savings will go to improving classroom resources including air conditioning, libraries and iPads for all students in grades 3-8.
Roughly 100 schools in Chicago – the third-largest school district in the country and with 87% of students from low-income families – have already been closed since 2001. Eighty eight per cent of the students affected in those closings were black, even though black students comprise just over 40% of the city's student body as a whole.
The Rev Bonnie Osei-Fimpang and her five-month-old daughter Carmen sit in the street in front of Chicago City Hall. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian Community groups, unions and many parents argue that the closings will devastate already struggling areas, raise student-teacher ratios, put children in danger by forcing them to cross gang lines to go to new schools and are based on flawed calculations and savings.
"For too long children in certain parts of Chicago have been cheated out of the resources they need to succeed because they are in underutilised, under-resourced schools," said Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the CPS chief executive, explaining the announcement. "The district must consolidate ... to get students into higher-performing schools."
Opponents point out that there is little evidence that school closings achieve that aim and claim the closings mark an acceleration of the city's bid to "privatise" education by forcing students into charter schools.
"In the same time these school closings have been taking place over the past decade, the city has opened about 100 charter schools in the very neighbourhoods where they're now closing schools through under-utilisation," said Sharkey. "Meanwhile supports of charter schools have been very open ideologically about making school competition part of the larger picture.
"We have not yet won the argument with the people of Chicago that this is a critical moment to be active. But this was a good start. Four or five thousand people and lots of different schools represented today. The argument can and will be won."
A study by the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research revealed that from the 38 schools closed between 2001 and 2006 only 6% of students who were moved went to high-performing schools.
"Our research found that school districts tended to save under $1m per school [closed]," Emily Dowdall, a senior associate at the Pew Charitable Trusts told the New York Times. "So in some ways that's not a game-changing amount."
Sharkey further argues that the city rarely follows through on its promises on savings. "In the past there's been investment for the first one or two years. But the money dries up once the attention is gone."
Thousands of parents, students, teachers, public school employees and community residents rally against proposed public school closings in Chicago. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian
Emmanuel, who was absent on a skiing vacation on the day the closings were announced, which many here interpret as a bid to disassociate himself from the move, has since joined the fray. "If we don't make these changes we haven't lived up to our responsibility as adults to the children of the city of Chicago," he said. "And I did not run for office to shirk my responsibility."
The CTU emerged with considerable public support after it blunted Emmanuel's attempts to tie teachers' pay to test scores last year. It has pledged to continue the campaign of non-violent disobedience. "People who work in the schools and rely on public schools will oppose the mass closings by any and all peaceful means," Sharkey has told union members. "[School closings] are not something we are prepared to accept without a fight ... We're going to take this fight as far as we have to, to defend our community schools."
Many carried placards proclaiming "Strong Schools, Strong Neighbourhoods" and "Protect Our Children" while chanting "Whose Schools, Our Schools" and calling for mayor Rahm Emmanuel's resignation.
"We're signalling that there is going to be a large and determined movement that will use the tactics of civil disobedience and direct action in order to keep these schools open," said Chicago Teachers Union vice-president Jesse Sharkey, who was arrested outside City Hall, one of 131 detained by police. "We see this event as kicking off an extended campaign this spring and we think it was a great success."
The city last week announced plans to close 54 schools affecting more than 30,000 students, primarily in low-income black and Latino areas. The proposals – which had already sparked huge, rowdy protests at hearings throughout the city prior to the announcement – mark Emmanuel's second major confrontation over education in less than six months following the teachers' strike in late August.
The Rev Jessie Jackson and Karen Lewis, president of CTU Local 1, at the Chicago school closures protest. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian
"People have a right to the neighbourhoods in which they live," said CTU leader Karen Lewis at the rally. "Children have the right to a safe, nurturing, loving environment."
Chicago Public Schools claims the closings are necessary to plug a $1bn deficit in the third-largest school district in the city and that consolidating under-utilised and under-performing schools will save $560m over 10 years by reducing investment in shuttered buildings. The district insists the savings will go to improving classroom resources including air conditioning, libraries and iPads for all students in grades 3-8.
Roughly 100 schools in Chicago – the third-largest school district in the country and with 87% of students from low-income families – have already been closed since 2001. Eighty eight per cent of the students affected in those closings were black, even though black students comprise just over 40% of the city's student body as a whole.
The Rev Bonnie Osei-Fimpang and her five-month-old daughter Carmen sit in the street in front of Chicago City Hall. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian Community groups, unions and many parents argue that the closings will devastate already struggling areas, raise student-teacher ratios, put children in danger by forcing them to cross gang lines to go to new schools and are based on flawed calculations and savings.
"For too long children in certain parts of Chicago have been cheated out of the resources they need to succeed because they are in underutilised, under-resourced schools," said Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the CPS chief executive, explaining the announcement. "The district must consolidate ... to get students into higher-performing schools."
Opponents point out that there is little evidence that school closings achieve that aim and claim the closings mark an acceleration of the city's bid to "privatise" education by forcing students into charter schools.
"In the same time these school closings have been taking place over the past decade, the city has opened about 100 charter schools in the very neighbourhoods where they're now closing schools through under-utilisation," said Sharkey. "Meanwhile supports of charter schools have been very open ideologically about making school competition part of the larger picture.
"We have not yet won the argument with the people of Chicago that this is a critical moment to be active. But this was a good start. Four or five thousand people and lots of different schools represented today. The argument can and will be won."
A study by the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research revealed that from the 38 schools closed between 2001 and 2006 only 6% of students who were moved went to high-performing schools.
"Our research found that school districts tended to save under $1m per school [closed]," Emily Dowdall, a senior associate at the Pew Charitable Trusts told the New York Times. "So in some ways that's not a game-changing amount."
Sharkey further argues that the city rarely follows through on its promises on savings. "In the past there's been investment for the first one or two years. But the money dries up once the attention is gone."
Thousands of parents, students, teachers, public school employees and community residents rally against proposed public school closings in Chicago. Photograph: James Fassinger for the Guardian
Emmanuel, who was absent on a skiing vacation on the day the closings were announced, which many here interpret as a bid to disassociate himself from the move, has since joined the fray. "If we don't make these changes we haven't lived up to our responsibility as adults to the children of the city of Chicago," he said. "And I did not run for office to shirk my responsibility."
The CTU emerged with considerable public support after it blunted Emmanuel's attempts to tie teachers' pay to test scores last year. It has pledged to continue the campaign of non-violent disobedience. "People who work in the schools and rely on public schools will oppose the mass closings by any and all peaceful means," Sharkey has told union members. "[School closings] are not something we are prepared to accept without a fight ... We're going to take this fight as far as we have to, to defend our community schools."
See new info below. This info was sent to OSI and they did nothing. When a video about a teacher is out there they pull the teacher and try to fire them. See what was sent to OSI.
And where is the press on this double standard?
How long will the DOE protect the administrators at this school?
http://youtu.be/UR0-MKVZeiA
sent OSI and SCI and they did nothing. From teachers to osi:
And where is the press on this double standard?
How long will the DOE protect the administrators at this school?
http://youtu.be/UR0-MKVZeiA
sent OSI and SCI and they did nothing. From teachers to osi:
Other Allegations submitted 4 months ago about the same assistant principal:
On 9/9/11 AP _______ was seen grabbing student _______ by front desk at dismissal and pushing him back and forth shaking and holding him by his wrists yelling
AP ________ was seen grabbing student _____ in the main staircase on 1st floor by the neck and shaking her. Beginning of 5th period (approx 11:20-11:30) on 12/30/11
AP _______ was observed pulling the hoody strings around the neck of District 75 student____ outside room 228 around 7pm on February 28, 2012
From anonymous staff member submitted on my UFT online suggestion site:
“ On the day (June 6, 12) of the incident, with Student A Ms. ______shielded student A with her body so that she would not get cuffed by School Safety. Student A was pinned against the wall by her AP, her body up against Student A and her two arms against the wall so that she had leverage to move her body if anyone tried to get to Student A.School safety tried on several occasions to try and secure Student A to be cuffed, but Ms. ______ moved her body to and fro and and school safety was not able to cuff Student A. It was absolutely disgusting to see _____’ body up against a student. All of this can be verified by the video tape from the security cameras, she was next to Rm 131. Hill (principal) called in school safety agents and tried to say that they were responsible for allowing Student A to get in building. School safety, at dismissal, is usually relieved by Hill or AP (when they were checking staff out for day) so that an agent can go to the doors to make sure they are closed.______was checking out staff for that day, but she did not go early to relive level 3, because she wanted staff to wait for making complaints about having to wait to check out. By the time _____ got to relieve level 3 was the same time that _____sneaked through the doors.There are no suggestion because no matter what we do nothing is ever done about it… ”
So I am a suspicious sort. I agree that Quinn is awful and believe everything in the NY Times article and would never vote for her. But something is fishy. Note this quote from a 2010 Wayne Barrett piece:
Friends of Thompson expect him to try, like loser Rudy Giuliani did in 1989, to stay in play on the sidelines and run for mayor again in four years, when a departing Bloomberg might throw him an endorsement or some checks.... Thompson often looked like a befuddled shadow-boxer, tied to Bloomberg at the hip while serving up obligatory campaign lip.See Perdido St. comments:
and Backlash Against Quinn Grows. RBE at Perdido has often branded Thompson as the worst candidate in history.
I do think there is a plan operating here. And that is to make Joe Lhota mayor and the only way to do that is to have the weakest possible Democrat as a campaigner run against him.
And that is one Bill Thompson the worst candidate to run for mayor and the supposed behind the scenes choice of Bloomberg both in 2009 and most probably this time too as a stalking horse for Lhota. The Times has run some puff pieces on Lhota and a look at Thompson's backers leads one to some suspicion -- sorry I can't find the link. Ignore the talk about rifts between Bloomberg and Lhota. They are both part of the undemocratic oligarchy that has a choke hold on the city, especially when it comes to the education and real estate gravy trains.
I wrote about the Wayne Barrett piece in the Voice Jan 10, 2010
The next time you read a New Action leaflet bragging about how they were the only caucus to endorse Bill Thompson, suggest people read this revealing Wayne Barrett piece in the Voice about Thompson's girlfriend/wife and how Bloomberg has helped her.
Read it all here.Bloomberg and Thompson: The (Really) Odd Couple
Now it can be told: The surprising ties between the billionaire mayor and the poor slob who ran against him
This is an odd story about an even odder couple, and the surprising ties that bind them. It's a tale of intrigue about a mayoral contest that left New Yorkers feeling so cheated fewer of them voted than in any election since 1917. It also reveals how one of these odd partners compromised the other, subverting the independent checks and balances required of a mayor and comptroller by law.As the curtain opens on 2010, the stars of the year in city politics, Mike Bloomberg and William Thompson, who were awkwardly allied since being inaugurated together eight years ago, are each moving on to new and uncertain phases of their public lives.Bloomberg, who has suffered recent stunning setbacks in the City Council, has already discovered that third terms and narrow wins can diminish even mogul mayors. Thompson—entertained at Gracie Mansion at a post-election private breakfast and praised by Bloomberg as "a quality guy" who the mayor hopes "stays in public service"—is still considering a 2010 race against our unelected senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, or unelected state comptroller, Tom DiNapoli ("Go for it," cheers Bloomberg). Friends of Thompson expect him to try, like loser Rudy Giuliani did in 1989, to stay in play on the sidelines and run for mayor again in four years, when a departing Bloomberg might throw him an endorsement or some checks.Thompson, who only promises he will run again sometime for something, has suddenly become a darling of the media, which are now overcompensating for relying too obsessively on inaccurate polls that failed to anticipate a four-point margin of victory. Thompson, it turns out, got virtually the same total vote Fernando Ferrer did in 2005, while Bloomberg pulled in 180,000 fewer votes than he received last time. Thompson's close margin was less a result of his underappreciated strengths—the Times' Mike Barbaro correctly reported two weeks before the election that his "biggest obstacle" was "his own undisciplined campaign"—than they were of a result of Bloomberg fatigue. Thompson, in fact, had an "oddly relaxed" campaign schedule, with a single event some days, observed Barbaro, and was "chronically late" and often failed to appear at all. He spent more than half his money before the mid-September nominal primary, forcing him to rely on blink-of-an-eye, 15-second TV commercials in November.But that wasn't enough. Thompson's real role, for Bloomberg at least, was to help force the feared congressman, Anthony Weiner, out of the race, a goal that Bloomberg guru Howard Wolfson has openly acknowledged. Thompson obliged, giving up a sure third term as comptroller. Weiner himself explained in a Times op-ed when he withdrew in May that "running a primary against Thompson would only drain the ability of the winner to compete in the general election." Having lost to Ferrer in 2005 by 11 points, Weiner understood that minority candidates have won all but one of the Democratic mayoral primaries since 1985. So when the leading black politician in the city decided to make his improbable run, Weiner had nowhere to go but out. Thompson and Bloomberg might as well have had a first-round victory party together that night.Like other powerful New York pols, Mike Bloomberg wanted to pick his own opponent. Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer spent a year setting the table for 2010, and, as one-time putative opponents Steve Israel and Carolyn Maloney can attest, the incumbent pair used every knife and fork available. Ed Koch picked his opponent when he derailed ex-congressman Herman Badillo and won a third term in 1985, and Giuliani did it when he submarined a possible challenge from Alan Hevesi in 1997. Faced with internal polls that we now know rarely put Bloomberg above 50 percent, he preferred an opponent whose vulnerabilities were well known to him, having already exploited them for years.Thompson couldn't, for example, attack Bloomberg's development policies since, as a member of the city's Industrial Development Agency, he had voted 876 times in favor of the $9.6 billion in bonds that underwrite the projects, opposing them only five times. Charged under the city charter with assessing Bloomberg's budgets and auditing his agencies, Thompson had instead gushed about the mayor for most of his two terms, leaving him with virtually no viable way of distinguishing himself from his golf buddy when the two ended up on opposite sides of the ballot.What Bloomberg got with Thompson was a made-to-order challenge, so tame at times that a reporter, frustrated by Thompson's unwillingness to say a single critical word about Bloomberg at one September press conference, asked why he'd called it, and so over-the-top at other times (as when he promised to fire Police Commissioner Ray Kelly), that he looked grotesquely out of touch. The Daily News' Adam Lisberg captured it in a classic headline: "Nice-guy Thompson can't find the jugular." Thompson curiously decided to make schools the core of his attack on Bloomberg even as his key campaign consultant, Roberto Ramirez, was lobbying in Albany on behalf of a Bloomberg-tied group championing mayoral control. Thompson often looked like a befuddled shadow-boxer, tied to Bloomberg at the hip while serving up obligatory campaign lip. As for Bloomberg, he'd contended in 2008 that all the term-limits extension did was give voters the additional choice of voting for him, a supposed "expansion" of the franchise even as he overrode the result of two referendums. Then he maneuvered successfully in 2009 to narrow that choice to the opponent he wanted to face.
Here are some ed notes pieces on Thompson:
Dec 26, 2011
Thompson only lost by 50,000 votes. Denis Walcott will continue his jihad against city schools. Christine Quinn will be Mayor Bloombergs proxy in retirement. Nothing will change. The UFT must support Bill Thompson for ...
Nov 04, 2009
The big winner, and maybe the only winner in the mayoral election, was Bill Thompson. 51% to 46%. Add the other anti-Bloomberg candidates and it's a statistical tie: 51-49%. All along I felt he was running for the 2013 race.
Dec 14, 2007
The man who stood beside her in October to announce the project, city Controller William Thompson, could have warned her about the problem. His office was aware during negotiations that the developer refused to promise ...
Ernie it trying to get his show to Broadway and you can help. http://www.usaprojects.org/project/bushwick_to_broadway
I've written about Ernie, who was in my 4th grade class around 1982. Ernie's story it quite engaging. (I wonder if he knows what they've done to his alma mater, Murry Bergtraum?) I went to see Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame at least 3 times and Ernie always managed to work "Mr. Scott" into the dialogue. My claim to fame.
I should write more about that class and how I came to get it --- a top class my principal was forced to give me due to contract rotation but she tried all sorts of tricks to deny me and I had to file a grievance. One argument I made at the time was that a teacher should experience kids who had a great chance at success at least sometimes in their careers -- too many of my former students had gone down to drug use, prison time, etc. And this class has given me a lot of nachus (that's a Jewish word, not nachos.)
See my piece on Maria, another member of my class who came to our film screening, the first time I had seen her in over 20 years (A Former Student Surprise Visit at GEM Film). Maria was a "can't miss" student who went to Stuyvesant but also had some trials and tribulations. So many lessons from kids in that class.
This was clearly a golden class with many very smart kids and Ernie was one of them -- guaranteed to make it, right? Well, "Heavy...." tells us of his journey and trials that so many of even our top academic performers go through and reinforces the point we make when ed deformers claim the teacher is the most important element. Believe me, that class could have been taught by a monkey and the kids would have been successful.
One of the most riveting parts of Ernie's show is the stop and frisk segment when he was 12 years old. Quite pertinent with the current court case going on. The judge should see the show which Ernie is trying to bring to Broadway.
Here are my previous posts about Ernie:
About Heavy:
“Heavy Like the Weight of A Flame” is based on the true events, of R. Ernie Silva’s own life.
The tale of a Brooklyn street kid desperate to escape the difficult environment beset by tragedy throughout his young life and spurred on by the fatal overdose of his older brother.
Ernie finally found the courage to gather together his possessions and his beloved guitar, Savannah, and left the projects. Infused with the spirit of Jack Kerouac and an array influences like Jimi Hendrix, Ernie’s journey as a young man, became monumental in his development as an adult as he struggled to fight off all the demons he thought he left behind in the mean streets of Brooklyn, as he travels through the Heartland of America. He is haunted by visions, voices and memories that torment him and force our protagonist to question, define, and redefined himself on his own terms as he finds his true path.
Here is where you come in.
To do this run we will need to raise a minimum of $53,000 which will go to various expenses -- the first payments will go to hiring a cutting edge publicity firm 3 months prior to the run. The research we've done shows that a quarter of a year is an ample enough timeframe for the firm to properly raise the type of profile that will create the firestorm not only needed for the opening, but to generate the heat needed to last through the duration of the run. Subsequently, the remaining funds will go to satisfying all the criteria set down by both The League of Off-Broadway Producers and those set down by the Theater Unions. There are very strict rules we will have to comply with regarding the hiring of technical crews, lighting designers, and stage managers the run will need. In addition, it will also fund the necessary street teams who will engage in a three-cycle street promotion campaign in tandem with the publicity agency.
From Team Heavy: Help us on our Journey
• 2006 -2009. “Heavy like the Weight of Flame” is conceived while Ernie is a student in USC’s first MFA program in twenty seven years. The amazing honor is capped off with him being awarded the only full scholarship given that year.
• Ernie is also the only Graduate student recipient of USC’s highly coveted “Norman Topping Scholarship” award for show of promise in his chosen field.
• Ernie receives the only Phi Kappa Phi student recognition award for “Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame.”
• Shortly after completion of his MFA in 2009, The Odyssey Theater, in Los Angeles, produces “Heavy Like the Weight Of A Flame.” It is the shows’ first professional production. Tony Nominee Mary Joan Negro directs it.It runs for 9 weeks.
• In 2010 The LA Weekly nominates the show for best solo performance.
• 2010-Present. La Mama New York’s historic theater of the Avant guard produces Heavy for two weeks.
• 2010 from its successful run at La Mama “Heavy Like the Weight of Flame” becomes an official selection of the 2010 ONE FESTIVAL produced by Caicedo Productions and Teatro LATEA in NY.
• “Heavy Like the Weight of Flame” wins the 2010 ONE FESTIVAL and earns a week-long run produced by Teatro LATEA in NY.
• The HOLA Award committee selects R. Ernie Silva in “Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame “as a recipient of the 2010 award for best solo performance.
• 2011 Heavy is selected by Teatro LATEA to represent the work of the theater in an inaugural exchange program with the Greenwich Theatre in London.
• 2011 The Greenwich Theatre is so impressed with the production they also sponsor a run of Heavy in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
• 2012 The Contact Theater Manchester produces a week run of Heavy.
• 2013 The MC Theater in Amsterdam produces Heavy.
All that remains for Heavy is to have the kind of Legit Off-Broadway run that puts R. Ernie Silva on the radar of Broadway producers who need to know what the independent theaters and the rest of the world already knows…R. Ernie Silva’s Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame is sheer performance brilliance.
“We most ask of theater: to remind of us our personal mythologies, to ask us to keep in mind that while the form of our struggles is particular, the essence -- that we all struggle and suffer or struggle and rise -- is a shared experience.”
-The Huffington Post
"Funny, Philosophical, Irreverent, Spiritual..." -Felipe Luciano
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
- Joseph Campbell
- The hero of thousand faces 1949
-- Thank you sooooo much for being involved with our cause! In this day and age where the internet connects people all over the world, it’s important that we as artists turn around and mix that with the zeitgeist of things like the Occupy Love movements and Occupy Wall Street and make this happen! It’s been proven to work, the fact is that when people join together to make things reality they happen these days. To date, who or what makes it to Off-Broadway/Broadway is determined by small groups of people, which resulted mostly in regurgitated themes and stories. However, there is definitely a lot of room for more decision makers! Help us bring a new energy of love and human understanding through fun, intelligent entertainment! Thank you sooo much for your help!
To view a longer video presentation, a 3 minute show teaser, and for much more information on Ernie, the show, and the rest of the team involved please visit www.heavyliketheweightofaflame.com
Next step Broadway! ;)
I should write more about that class and how I came to get it --- a top class my principal was forced to give me due to contract rotation but she tried all sorts of tricks to deny me and I had to file a grievance. One argument I made at the time was that a teacher should experience kids who had a great chance at success at least sometimes in their careers -- too many of my former students had gone down to drug use, prison time, etc. And this class has given me a lot of nachus (that's a Jewish word, not nachos.)
See my piece on Maria, another member of my class who came to our film screening, the first time I had seen her in over 20 years (A Former Student Surprise Visit at GEM Film). Maria was a "can't miss" student who went to Stuyvesant but also had some trials and tribulations. So many lessons from kids in that class.
 |
| Maria at screening |
This was clearly a golden class with many very smart kids and Ernie was one of them -- guaranteed to make it, right? Well, "Heavy...." tells us of his journey and trials that so many of even our top academic performers go through and reinforces the point we make when ed deformers claim the teacher is the most important element. Believe me, that class could have been taught by a monkey and the kids would have been successful.
One of the most riveting parts of Ernie's show is the stop and frisk segment when he was 12 years old. Quite pertinent with the current court case going on. The judge should see the show which Ernie is trying to bring to Broadway.
Here are my previous posts about Ernie:
Apr 18, 2010
So I watched my former 4th grade student Ernie Silva perform his powerful one-man show, "Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame," with a different eye. As his former teacher and a member of the education deform resistance ...
Apr 12, 2010
Actor, guitarist, stand-up and sketch comedian, USC graduate, Ernie Silva tells his story; sometimes fun, other times harsh but always universally human. Ernie Silva comes back home to New York City to tell the story of the trip ...
Jul 29, 2010
“Heavy Like the Weight of A Flame” is based on the true events, of R. Ernie Silva’s own life.
The tale of a Brooklyn street kid desperate to escape the difficult environment beset by tragedy throughout his young life and spurred on by the fatal overdose of his older brother.
Ernie finally found the courage to gather together his possessions and his beloved guitar, Savannah, and left the projects. Infused with the spirit of Jack Kerouac and an array influences like Jimi Hendrix, Ernie’s journey as a young man, became monumental in his development as an adult as he struggled to fight off all the demons he thought he left behind in the mean streets of Brooklyn, as he travels through the Heartland of America. He is haunted by visions, voices and memories that torment him and force our protagonist to question, define, and redefined himself on his own terms as he finds his true path.
Here is where you come in.
To do this run we will need to raise a minimum of $53,000 which will go to various expenses -- the first payments will go to hiring a cutting edge publicity firm 3 months prior to the run. The research we've done shows that a quarter of a year is an ample enough timeframe for the firm to properly raise the type of profile that will create the firestorm not only needed for the opening, but to generate the heat needed to last through the duration of the run. Subsequently, the remaining funds will go to satisfying all the criteria set down by both The League of Off-Broadway Producers and those set down by the Theater Unions. There are very strict rules we will have to comply with regarding the hiring of technical crews, lighting designers, and stage managers the run will need. In addition, it will also fund the necessary street teams who will engage in a three-cycle street promotion campaign in tandem with the publicity agency.
From Team Heavy: Help us on our Journey
• 2006 -2009. “Heavy like the Weight of Flame” is conceived while Ernie is a student in USC’s first MFA program in twenty seven years. The amazing honor is capped off with him being awarded the only full scholarship given that year.
• Ernie is also the only Graduate student recipient of USC’s highly coveted “Norman Topping Scholarship” award for show of promise in his chosen field.
• Ernie receives the only Phi Kappa Phi student recognition award for “Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame.”
• Shortly after completion of his MFA in 2009, The Odyssey Theater, in Los Angeles, produces “Heavy Like the Weight Of A Flame.” It is the shows’ first professional production. Tony Nominee Mary Joan Negro directs it.It runs for 9 weeks.
• In 2010 The LA Weekly nominates the show for best solo performance.
• 2010-Present. La Mama New York’s historic theater of the Avant guard produces Heavy for two weeks.
• 2010 from its successful run at La Mama “Heavy Like the Weight of Flame” becomes an official selection of the 2010 ONE FESTIVAL produced by Caicedo Productions and Teatro LATEA in NY.
• “Heavy Like the Weight of Flame” wins the 2010 ONE FESTIVAL and earns a week-long run produced by Teatro LATEA in NY.
• The HOLA Award committee selects R. Ernie Silva in “Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame “as a recipient of the 2010 award for best solo performance.
• 2011 Heavy is selected by Teatro LATEA to represent the work of the theater in an inaugural exchange program with the Greenwich Theatre in London.
• 2011 The Greenwich Theatre is so impressed with the production they also sponsor a run of Heavy in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
• 2012 The Contact Theater Manchester produces a week run of Heavy.
• 2013 The MC Theater in Amsterdam produces Heavy.
All that remains for Heavy is to have the kind of Legit Off-Broadway run that puts R. Ernie Silva on the radar of Broadway producers who need to know what the independent theaters and the rest of the world already knows…R. Ernie Silva’s Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame is sheer performance brilliance.
“We most ask of theater: to remind of us our personal mythologies, to ask us to keep in mind that while the form of our struggles is particular, the essence -- that we all struggle and suffer or struggle and rise -- is a shared experience.”
-The Huffington Post
"Funny, Philosophical, Irreverent, Spiritual..." -Felipe Luciano
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
- Joseph Campbell
- The hero of thousand faces 1949
-- Thank you sooooo much for being involved with our cause! In this day and age where the internet connects people all over the world, it’s important that we as artists turn around and mix that with the zeitgeist of things like the Occupy Love movements and Occupy Wall Street and make this happen! It’s been proven to work, the fact is that when people join together to make things reality they happen these days. To date, who or what makes it to Off-Broadway/Broadway is determined by small groups of people, which resulted mostly in regurgitated themes and stories. However, there is definitely a lot of room for more decision makers! Help us bring a new energy of love and human understanding through fun, intelligent entertainment! Thank you sooo much for your help!
To view a longer video presentation, a 3 minute show teaser, and for much more information on Ernie, the show, and the rest of the team involved please visit www.heavyliketheweightofaflame.com
Next step Broadway! ;)
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