NYC Educator: Desperation, Thy Name Is De Blasio

NYC Educator: Desperation, Thy Name Is De Blasio

Desperation, Thy Name Is De Blasio

In the face of an exploding epidemic, and in the face of a new more virulent strain, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has decided that quarantine needs to be cut rather than extended. The mayor just decided that rather than quarantine for 14 days, as recommended by CDC, he will cut it to ten, because they said it was allowable. It's remarkable in this day and age to find a politician who can unite both left and right, but we've got one in our current mayor.

The fact is that, no matter where on the political spectrum you may fall, you almost certainly hate Bill de Blasio. People on the right contend he's the second coming of Fidel Castro, while those of us on the left wonder how we ever counted him as one of us. And whether left or right, if you haven't drunk deeply of the Trump Kool Aid you know that deadly disease is a bad thing, and its spread ought to be avoided by any means possible. 

We're learning that the new strain tends to affect younger people more, but that doesn't bother Bill de Blasio. After all, his kids aren't in school anymore. And why should he worry about UFT? After all we didn't support him in the primary, opting for some guy who told the NY Daily News the city couldn't afford the raise NYPD and FDNY got. Is he still mad at us for that? Does he think by making us go out and risk our lives and those of the kids we serve CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Desperation, Thy Name Is De Blasio

CURMUDGUCATION: About Teachers4OpenSchools

CURMUDGUCATION: About Teachers4OpenSchools

About Teachers4OpenSchools

You may have run across a shiny new group on line that is agitating for teachers to be back in the classroom-- Teachers4OpenSchools.

The arguments are the usual ones, from the legitimate concern about mental health to the learning loss baloney. There's not much of anything new here, and not the kind of balance we find in a piece like this one.  But I'm always curious about these little pop-up goups, and the website is pretty opaque about who, exactly, is happening here. But poking around the site, I found two teachers who are apparently acting at least as spokespersons for the group.

One is NYC teacher Stephanie Edmonds, who runs the Youtube channel Class Disruption, where you can find vidcasts like this one, in which she explains what Ibram X. Kendi gets wrong about equity issues and also describes how lefties like emotional language "that may not exactly align with reality" while righties prefer reason and statistics and things that reflect reality (though she "doesn't subscribe" to the whole left-right thing). Power. Vibe. She's a little rambly. She was the president of her college's Libertarian Club. She wants unity and the media is hurting it. She's a history teacher who uses the 1776 unites materials. She has a very distinctive voice, sometimes. She's been a teacher since the fall of 2016.

Her compatriot is Catherine Barrett. We've encountered Barrett before, as a teacher voice on the CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: About Teachers4OpenSchools

A Teacher’s Predictions For 2021 | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

A Teacher’s Predictions For 2021 | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

A TEACHER’S PREDICTIONS FOR 2021

Some of these predictions are educated guesses that I hope don’t come true, and some may be pipe dreams. Check them out, let me know which ones are off-base, and share your own! You can see the predictions I’ve made in previous years at the end of this post.

*The new stimulus package will be a much-needed boost for schools.  However, it won’t be sufficient to deal with the full negative impact of the recession, and another stimulus – this time including support for states – will be approved in February.   Unfortunately, the Democrats will only pick-up one of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats being decided in January (Editor’s Note: I’m thrilled to say that based on still incomplete election returns, it appears that I was wrong on this), so the support won’t be as generous as it would have been if that party controlled both houses of Congress.  That shot-in-the-arm to states will substantially reduce potential education cuts next year.

*President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory should not only lead to greater support for schools during this pandemic, but will also reduce additional pressures on our students and their families (and their subsequent negative impacts on student academic achievement), including through the elimination of President Trump’s draconian immigration crackdowns and policies negatively impacting low-income families.

*Speaking of the new administration’s education policies, its plans look great, and new Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will be about a zillion times better than the non-educator who has held that position for the past four years.

*Many more school districts will be joining the San Bernardino school system in deciding to finish the rest of the school year full online. It’ll be a wise decision for many in high infection areas. Unfortunately, however, many of those same districts will stockpile new funds from the federal stimulus package for the following year and won’t use it in ways they should – to solicit teacher input about professional development needs to improve remote teaching, increase online classes for vulnerable student populations, and increase social service support for students and families who have become disconnected to schools during the pandemic.

* The vaccine roll-out for adults will take longer than expected, and a vaccine for children won’t arrive until CONTINUE READING: A Teacher’s Predictions For 2021 | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Education Matters: Poor leadership is destroying the district.

Education Matters: Poor leadership is destroying the district.

Poor leadership is destroying the district

 I want to acknowledge that being a superintendent is undoubtedly a hard job, and the powers that be in Florida often work to undermine public education. That being said, I can’t imagine a superintendent doing worse than Greene. Her leadership is just plain bad, and don’t take my word for it, take the Times Unions. 

The indifference to the pandemic. 

Adding to people’s plates. 

Forcing staff into the buildings and encouraging more students to do so. 

The indifference to the plight of veteran teachers and staff 

Then as hundreds of millions go to the pockets of charter owners, I don’t believe the referendum will be the panacea it was sold as. 

The terrible contact tracing. 

Giving in to the state over and over again.  

I could go, but instead, I will let the Times Union do so for me. 

From the Times Union, my comments in bold. 

 "We have to show that with students who have poor attendance or are failing, we've done everything we can to bring them back to brick-and-mortar," Greene said at a School Board meeting. "We sent notice saying if that was the case, we would call them back to brick-and-mortar. Once that happens and those families don't CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: Poor leadership is destroying the district.

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/01/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm.html

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NewBlackMan (in Exile)