With A Brooklyn Accent Go BATs All Week
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Dear Governor Christie, Yesterday I took the opportunity to come hear you speak on your campaign trail. I have never really heard you speak before except for sound bytes that I get on my computer. I don't have cable, I don't read newspapers. I don't have enough time. I am a public school teacher that works an average of 60 hours a week in my building. Yes, you can check with my principal. I run the after-school program along with my my classroom position. I do even more work when I am at home. For verification of this, just ask my children. I asked you one simple question yesterday. I wanted t
To My Students, I did not return to the classroom this year and I want to apologize. I am truly sorry for having left you. It was the hardest decisions I have ever made. I want you to understand why I left. It had nothing to do with you. I still love you and believe in you. You are still amazing and you can do anything you want to do. I did not give up on you. I left to fight for you. I saw you struggling with Common Core skills. Even with the new curriculum from the district, no matter how I broke it down for you I could see you didn’t understand. I saw the fr
10 Things BATs Know about Common CoreINTRODUCTORY STATEMENTBATs continue their fight against the CCSS. We do not believe in a “one-size” fits all standard for education and we do not believe in a top down federal approach to control education for profit. BATs fight the CCSS for a variety of reasons but specifically we know that the CCSS doesn’t make up good education and will not fix, nor lower, our child poverty rate. This document hopes to clear up a few things: 1. Dispel some of the myths about the CCSS as superior set of educational standards. 2. Give readers a clear vision of what th
DEC 05
BATS and the Pedagogy of Joy
One of the reasons that BATS continue to grow and thrive is that we expound a Pedagogy of Joy that stands in sharp contrast to the Pegagogy of Fear and Pain which dominates current education policy. The Arne Duncans and Michelle Rhees and John Kings of the world advocate using schools to "whip students in shape" to meet the demands of global competition. Their vision turns teachers into
DEC 04
My Personal Stake in Defending Teachers
My parents, children of immigrants who became public school teachers, were harder working and more capable than any wealthy and prominent people I met in my journey from Brooklyn streets and schoolyards to an Ivy League college and a Professorship at Fordham. And so is my wife Liz, a public school principal. Attacking the dignity and integrity of such people, while undermining their autonomy and j
DEC 03
Job Description for New Teachers
Job Description: New Teacher.Your Mission: To Squeeze Excellent Test Results out of Frightened and Angry Children and Shatter The Achievement GapThings to Ignore: Hunger, Homelessness, Disability, Language, Chronic Illness, Family and Neighborhood Violence, Children's Talents, Personalities and Aptitudes.Things to Sacrifice: Play, Recess, The Arts.Job Security: Dependent on Results on Standardized
DEC 02
A Tennessee Teacher's Letter to President Obama
November 29, 2013Dear Mr. President,I generally don't remember my dreams, and I generally don't dream about presidents, but this time, I did both. Go figure. Anyway, in my dream, I had the opportunity to meet you and talk to you face to face. You have to understand, in my dream, I am totally excited- this is a historic moment for me- since I voted for you twice, think you are an incredibly intelli
NOV 30
Letter to President Obama on Education Policy
Dear President Obama:As a scholar in African American History and a teacher and coach formore than 45 years- it is my unhappy duty to inform you that youreducation polcies have contributed to the lowest morale among teachers that I have seen in my lifetime, while failing to narrow gaps inopportunity or achievement based on race or class.You may not believe me, but if you were, as I am, in daily co