Ed Notes Online
How Unity is Selling the Contract and A Response from a Rank and Filer Who is Not Buying
What was the union's dream contract? What were our demands? How can anyone but the mayor declare this a victory?... High School teacher responding to email from UFT organizerYou know something is shaking when people I haven't heard from in years start sending me letters they are writing saying they will vote NO. These are not the activist MOREistas who spend a hell of a lot of time on union stuf
Kit Wainer: Historical Reference to Previous Contract Struggles
Kit's history is an important starting point for the upcoming contract struggle. I have a different take on some of Kit's analysis - remember - my history of contract struggles goes back to the early 70s. But it is too nice a day and I am too lazy to get into it - though I may do a separate post at where I disagree.But a few words before I head outside.In 1995 I had just come back to activism afte
Rebecca Mead in New Yorker on Teachers Refusing to Give Test and on Louis C.K. Slam of Testing and Common Core
This week, teachers at International High School at Prospect Heights, which serves a population of recently arrived immigrants from non-English-speaking countries, announced that they would not administer an assessment required by the city. A pre-test in the fall “was a traumatic and demoralizing experience for students,” a statement issued by the teachers said. “Many students, after asking for he
YESTERDAY
Memo from the RTC: Time to Start Mooning Over Buffalo
Published in The Wave, May 2, 2014 Memo from the RTC: Time to Start Mooning Over BuffaloBy Norm ScottI walked into a rehearsal of the Rockaway Theatre Company’s upcoming production of the very funny “Moon Over Buffalo,” a play that I, a theater ignoramus, had never heard of before even though Carol Burnett got rave reviews when it opened on Broadway 20 years ago. There on the stage were Kim Simek
please join us Tuesday May 6 at 9 AM re charter giveway!
From Leonie: Parents and elected officials are holding a press conference Tuesday May 6 at Tweed to speak out against the new state law that gives any new and/or expanding charter free space either in our public school buildings or in private space paid for by the city . Meanwhile, many thousands of NYC public school students are sitting in vastly overcrowded schools, subjected to excessive class
The Contract: Retro Pay is a LIE!
From a former colleague who I haven't heard from in years:Retro Pay is a lie!From what I understand of the new UFT Teacher's Contract?? It's crap.There is no Retro Pay!Retro pay is pay for timed served. They want me to work another 4 years to make up that pay. If I retire or leave the system, I get 1% of the "Retro Pay” for 2013.Now what about the work for 2009, 2010,2011,2012?A teacher that
MAY 01
Video and Press Release: NYC High School Teachers Refuse to Administer Test
International HS at Prospect Hts has children from 35 nations speaking about 25 languages. Making them sit through a MOSL test that has nothing to do with their education but only to do with rating their teachers is obscene. These 30 teachers said NO.Was this event worth getting 5 hours sleep? Hell yes. Below this photo is the video of the press conference held across the street from the Prospect
Change the Stakes Next General Meeting - Friday May 2, 6-8pm - CUNY Grad center
Greetings All, As today marks the first day of the math state test, Change the Stakes begins to move the conversation to "What's next?" Opt out numbers tripled in NYC and almost 35,000 statewide, parents found support in many schools, some difficulties in other schools, teachers spoke out, principals spoke up, parents rallied, the press covered the issues of testing daily, if not multip
Even more Louis CK Tweets this time about CC and "Bill Hates"!!!
I'm not that much aware of Louis C.K., whose daughter attends a public elementary school in Manhattan. I know he uses lots of unprintable words. So holy shit, how great are these tweets? Louis C.K. @louisck 2hdidn't mean to write Bill hates. I meant to write "doody faced rich guy". Oh just kidding. Alright I'm done. Go ahead and rip my head off.Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Louis C.K
APR 30
Video: Change the Stakes Rally at Tweed Apr 24 14 - Parents and Students Speak
Here are 2 videos extracted from the Change the Stakes rally on April 24 at Tweed. First parents speak and the 2nd one is a group of amazing high school students from The Student Union, a grassroots true student first bunch of kids. We met Primi at a Change the Stakes meeting last year and she is so articulate it makes me feel like I have marbles in my mouth. One note is that one of her teachers h
UFT HS VP Doesn't Want to be Like Tennessee - Likes Current System
I'll leave you to judge this report from Murry Bergtraum CL John Elfrank-Dana for yourselves: Janella Hinds, VP High Schools, was asked if the UFT sees that the Tennessee teachers union (TEA) got their state legislature to drop evaluating teachers by test scores in their Teacher evaluation scheme. Can we call in the Vote Cope chips to do the same here? Janella says we will work with the current sy
Stand Up Optout: Support Teacher Test Refuseniks
http://standupoptout.wordpress.com/MOREistas (and supporters):Almost 30 teachers are refusing to give the NYC ELA Performance Assessment to our high school ELL students. This is very big news and we're excited!!!!! We need as much support as we can get! Please pass this around in your schools and on your networks and send us a solidarity picture or message from your school chapter on our website,
Breaking: 26 Teachers and Staff of International High School at Prospect Heights Campus in Brooklyn refuse to give NYC ELA Performance Assessment Test
Oy! Can I get up that early tomorrow to cover this? Well, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden plant sale is still on tomorrow and it's right across the street. Maybe I'll have some sleepy video for you by Friday. Much irony in that so many PEP meetings take place in this building. FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: April 29, 2014CONTACT: Emily Giles, e.giles@ihsph.org, (917) 575-2936
APR 29
LA Dreamin: Alex Caputo-Pearl Wins Run-Off for Presidency with 80% Over Incumbent Warren Fletcher
Breaking: Alex Caputo-Pearl, the Union Power candidate for UTLA President, just defeated Warren Fletcher, the incumbent UTLA President, in the run-off election, winning 80% of the vote, completing a Union Power sweep. Alex won just short of 50% in round 1.Alex is well-known nationally:...half the teachers at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles found out they had been dismissed from their jobs as p
APR 26
Ravitch and Weingarten Misdiagnose Pearson Issue by A Newark Teacher
By shrouding the test in secrecy, Pearson denies information to teachers to help diagnose student needs. The tests become useless by having no diagnostic value. ...teachers will be fired and students will be failed and schools will be closed without seeing the validity of the instruments of punishment. This is wrong.Diane Ravitch These gag orders and the lack of transparency are fueling the growi