Perdido Street School:
Chris Christie Gets Desperate, Attacks David Wildstein For "Deceptive Behavior" In High School
Christie Booed At Super Bowl Gathering
Perdido Street School Week
Chris Christie Gets Desperate, Attacks David Wildstein For "Deceptive Behavior" In High School
Chris Christie tried to undercut David Wildstein's credibility today in an email to supporters and campaign donors, but some of the points raised make Christie look desperate:In David Wildstein's past, people and newspaper accounts have described him as "tumultuous" and someone who "made moves that were not productive." As a 16 year old kid, he sued over a local school board el
Christie Booed At Super Bowl Gathering
Only getting worse for Governor Christie:Gov. Chris Christie was booed by a huge crowd gathered in Times Square today for the ceremonial 'handing off' of the Super Bowl to Arizona, next year's host state.The beleaguered governor spoke for less than a minute on a stage set up in the middle of Broadway, renamed Super Bowl Boulevard this week....When he left the stage, Christie ignored the crush of c
More Christie Corruption News
Another story to watch:Gov. Chris Christie took nearly a year to implement a law he signed that would require close oversight of federal Hurricane Sandy recovery money, a report this morning said.Christie signed the "Integrity Monitor Act" in March — a bill that would require independent monitors to oversee how the state government distributes billions in aid. The monitors would be assig
Chris Christie Has Three Scandals Dogging Him
The Newark Star-Ledger editorial board was brutal on Christie last night.The DN editorial board is brutal on him this morning: All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will never put Chris Christie together again if New Jersey’s governor fails to refute the accusation that he knew of the George Washington Bridge lane closures as they were taking place. In that event, Christie’s governorship is
YESTERDAY
Star-Ledger Says If Wildstein Allegation Is True, Christie Must Resign Or Be Impeached
Seems obvious at this point - if the Wildstein allegation that Christie knew about the lane closures is true, Christie is finished:Forget about the White House in 2016. The question now is whether Gov. Chris Christie can survive as governor. David Wildstein, the man who ordered the George Washington Bridge lane closures, is now pointing the finger directly at Gov. Chris Christie, saying the govern
Report Says Christie Knew About GWB Lane Closures
Wow:The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it.In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of
Sure To Make Daily News Editors And Governor Cuomo Sad
The Daily News seems to hate the idea of a tax increase on individuals making $500,000 or more in NYC to pay for Mayor de Blasio's universal full day pre-K proposal almost as much as Governor Cuomo hates it.Both Cuomo and the DN editors will be saddened by this news:A number of real estate executives have come out today in support of Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s plan to tax high-earners to fund universa
What "Vibrant" Democracy In The AFT/NYSUT/UFT Looks Like
Randi Weingarten said somewhere on the Twitter last night that the inter-union fight in the NYSUT is just an example of "vibrant democracy" in action and anybody who sees anything else in the battle between the Mulgrew/Weingarten-backed "grassroots" challengers and the Iannuzzi slate is plain wrong.Brian from Port Jefferson Station Teachers Association has an interesting perspe
Why I No Longer Watch Football
When I was a kid, I used to love watching football on TV. I reveled in the spectacle, the hype, the excitement, and yes, the violence of it all.My dad hated football and would always say to me whenever I was watching a game, "That's just like the Roman gladiator games. It's barbaric, bread and circuses stuff they feed the masses to keep them tame and in control."I was a kid, so I would
JAN 30
Treating Teachers Like Children
Just got finished with three days of Regents grading in which our DOE superiors treated us like children.The people I was grading with and I plowed through many Regents exams the past few days, but as usual with the DOE, no matter what you do or how you work, you are always treated like a criminal.At one point, after grading hundreds of tests, we took a five minute break.A "quality assurance&
Politics And Regents Grading
Not a lot of time to post here before I have to run off to Regents grading, but the one thing I notice every time I meet teachers from other schools sent to a central site for grading is that many teachers the system over are feeling pissed off and demoralized.There's a certain education reform-friendly "news" blog that promotes the Gate Foundation-funded Educators4Excellence teacher gro
JAN 29
Surrender Is Victory In The AFT/NYSUT/UFT World
Two points to make in the world of AFT/NYSUT/UFT politics:First a tweet from one of the UFT cronies who launched the challenge against NYSUT President Dick IannuzziMake some noise to save our services! Save our schools! pic.twitter.com/CLF6wjTPi1— Andy Pallotta (@AndyPallotta) January 29, 2014This was at the Public Employees Federation, Civil Service Employees Association and NYSCOPBA union rally
Another Randi Weingarten Dog And Pony Show
Just got home from a wonderful day of Regents grading to see this news:Union leaders as well as some lawmakers took turns bashing Gov. Andrew Cuomo for “privatizing” and “downsizing” human services while at the same time calling for him to throttle back plans to continue closing disability centers, psychiatric hospitals and prisons. “Keep your hands off our state workers,” Saratoga-area GOP Assemb
Two State of the Union Tweets
Because I knew there would @#$% like this: Not just how well they can fill in a bubble on a test...wait whose policy was Race to the TOp? #SOTU— Liza Featherstone (@lfeatherz) January 29, 2014I decided this:Couldn't decide - watch the SOTU or paint dry? Decided to go w/ the paint. Drying paint doesn't lie or bull@#$% you...— realitybasededucator (@perdidostschool) January 29, 2014
NYSED, Regents Squeeze The ELA Regents Exam Scores
A comment Pogue left on a post here at Perdido Street School about the outrage that is this year's ELA Regents exam:January 2012 English Regents = 45 conversion opportunities for a 75+ August 2013 English Regents = 35 conversion box opportunities for a 75+January 2014 English Regents = 30 conversion box opportunities for a 75+"The Squeeze" created by corrupt/lazy Regents personnel whose
JAN 28
What Was Your Regents Exam Grading Experience Like Today?
I spent today getting "normed" for the ELA Regents exam.I have been tasked with grading the Part 3 component - the Question #26 (Controlling Idea Paragraph) and the Question #27 (Literary Element Paragraph.)There was not one teacher in the room who thought the Part 3 component from this administration of the ELA Regents test was a fair or well-designed task.Not one.Many teachers were rea
Regents Grading Hell
If you're reading this post anytime around 7:30 AM when I had it scheduled to be posted, then you're reading it long after I left for my ELA Regents exam grading assignment.You see, the NYCDOE sent the teachers in my department to a school almost as far away from our school on the island of Manhattan as you can get without being:a) in the Bronxb) in the East River orc) on the FDR Drive in a little
Some Central New York Schools Closed For Snow On ELA Regents Exam Day
From Syracuse.com:It's always a brutal wintry mix -- a school-closing snowstorm on a day when high school Regents exams are scheduled statewide.It happened today in several districts in Central New York, leaving some students frustrated -- and with one less chance to pass exams they will need to graduate. If they miss taking a Regents exam in January, they can't try again until June.Given how diff
JAN 27
Was The Fix In On The ELA Regents Exam?
NYC Educator has a post up tonight about the outrage that was the ELA Regents exam.Here's a bit of what he said:Read the two passages and show a controlling idea about insights. That's what today's Regents exam asked my kids to do. The thing is, most of them have only been in the country a few years. And there are likely plenty of American-born kids who don't know what an insight is. Certainly ins
Brutal ELA Regents Exam Grading Chart From NYSED
Okay, they're looking for a high failure rate at SED on the ELA Regents exam, that's for sure.Students need to get 20 out of 25 multiple choice questions right in order to get only a 6 on their writing component.Given how hard the passages were, I suspect we are going to see lots of 6's on the writing components.That means we're going to get lots of failures.The chart is even harder than last Augu
Space Aliens, Yellow Dust And Stars On The ELA Regents...
Normally when I finish proctoring the ELA Regents and see some of my students outside the building after the test, they say that test wasn't so bad, here's what I wrote for this part, etc.Today when I saw students outside the building, they all said "What was up with that test?"I also heard:"What was up with those passages?""I wasn't sure about that quote..."And... &q
Cuomo Lights $5 Million In Tax Money On Fire For The Super Bowl
The Daily News, Post and Times are always railing about how tax money shouldn't be wasted on municipal employees, that there are better things to spend the money on.They mean on stuff like this:New York taxpayers are underwriting several parties in the coming days, including picking up $500,000 of the bill for reporters to eat and drink at a Super Bowl media bash at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan on T
Cuomo Rakes In Big Bucks From Eva Moskowitz's Success Charters
Gee, I wonder what they want for all this money?Supporters of a charter-school network in Mayor de Blasio’s cross hairs are pouring big bucks into the campaign coffers of Gov. Cuomo, a friend of charter schools. Records show board members at the growing Success Academy, which runs 22 charters in the city, have given $375,367 to Cuomo’s re-election campaign — including $90,000 since de Blasio won t
Someone Should Sue Cuomo Over The Unfunded Mandates In NY State
From North Jersey.com:The Saddle Brook Schools may join with several other local school districts in a lawsuit appealing unfunded state education mandates.Superintendent Dr. Richard Katz at the Jan. 15 school board meeting said that school districts including Denville, Montville, Readington and Wayne have been making appeals either to the New Jersey Council of Local Mandates, or directly to the Co
JAN 26
And Yet Three More Oldies But Goodies: Michael Mulgrew Defends John King's APPR Teacher Evaluation System
Because I'm in the mood for oldies this afternoon, here's three more UFT gems coming to you from back on September 4, September 5, and September 13:First, from September 4, 2013:Michael Mulgrew Hails New APPR Advance Teacher Evaluation System Remember this while you're collecting your artifacts and preparing for your 4-6 observations on 22 Danielson domains and wondering why you're being evaluated
Another Oldie But Goodie: Michael Mulgrew On Why John King Was A Great Figure To Impose A NYC Teacher Evaluation System
A post I wrote back on May 30, 2013, as we awaited the system that "independent arbitrator" John King would impose on NYC teachers:Mulgrew On King's Evaluation System: We Supported And Shaped This Piece Of Shit (UPDATED) Mulgrew is spinning the evaluation system decision already: Dear colleagues, Late on Saturday, June 1, State Education Commissioner John King is expected to release an
Oldie But Goodie: Mulgrew "Frightened" By Opposition To Common Core
There's some debate back and forth on both the Twitter and here at Perdido Street School over why a Mike Mulgrew/UFT-controlled NYSUT might turn the clock back on yesterday's NYSUT declaration of no confidence in NYSED Commissioner John King and withdrawal of support of the Common Core State Standards.Past actions and policies of groups and individuals are often pretty good indications of future a
Rick Hess: Ed Reformers Overreached, Reform Backlash Resulted
Rick Hess in the Daily News today: Those who follow New York City schools have been witnessing a time-honored ritual — pro-testing school reformers have mightily overreached, inviting pushback that’s now poised to dismantle much of their useful handiwork. Mayor de Blasio has said that he and his new chancellor, Carmen Fariña, will “do everything in our power to reduce focus on high-stakes testing.
Governor Cuomo Looks To Impose Casinos On Any Community He Wants - Without Their Input
Just as the governor imposes an education policy without regard for what the public in the state wants, he is going to force communities to accept casinos in their midst whether they want his "generosity" or not.The Times-Union has an interesting editorial on this issue - see how many analogues to the education reform issues we have been dealing with these past years you find in this cas
JAN 25
Will NYSUT Re-Announce Support For John King & Common Core After Mike Mulgrew And The UFT Oust Iannuzzi?
The NYSUT board of directors announced a vote of no confidence has been issued against SED Commissioner King and support for the Common Core State Standards has been withdrawn until a set of demands around the implementation, testing and budgeting of the CCSS are met by the state.This sounds all well and good, but there is a civil war going on within the NYSUT between the Dick Iannuzzi wing of the
NYSUT Issues "No Confidence" Vote On SED Commissioner King, Withdraws Support For Common Core Until "Course Corrections" Are Made
From the Times Union:The state’s largest and most powerful teacher’s union on Saturday issued a declaration of “no confidence” in state Education Commissioner John King, a symbolic but unprecedented gesture calling for King’s removal from his post by the state Board of Regents. New York State United Teachers’ 80-member board of directors unanimously approved the resolution Saturday during the boa
One Final Bloomberg Boondoggle
From the Daily News: In one of its final acts, the Bloomberg administration pushed through a costly contract to modernize the city's 311 call system — hiring the same company fired by the feds for the botched rollout of the Obamacare website. The city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, known as DoITT, awarded the contract to the Montreal-based company CGI on Dec. 31, ho
Who Made The NYSED Commissioner King?
As I posted yesterday, NYSED Commissioner John King told members of the New York State Senate Education Committee that the Legislature does not have the power to pull the state out of the Common Core.The exchange showed up in a Capital NY piece by Jessica Bakeman:Some legislators have suggested ditching the Common Core standards altogether. King defended their educational value, describing that th