There is a new experiment going on that the UFT is involved with the DOE and the Gates Foundation on how to evaluate teachers (see NY Times piece). Did you get the letter from UFT President Mulgrew and Chancellor Klein asking to be involved in this experiment?
We know where President Mulgrew stands on collaboration. We want your opinion.
Is this experiment a good idea for us to be involved with or are we setting ourselves up for our eventual destruction?
This is a set-up for merit pay.
ReplyDeleteIf it is anything like PIP+, teachers will be setting themselevs up.
ReplyDeleteEvery time we team up with the DOE we lose.
ReplyDeleteI don't trust their motives.
ReplyDeleteAy caramba, dude. Funded by..Bill Gates? The character who surreptitiously funded all that "Keep it going, NY" nonsense?
ReplyDeleteI don't think Bill's got our best interests at heart. But that's just me.
GAtes is Joel Klein's buddy now. DON'T TRUST HIM.
ReplyDeleteWHY do they need to spend $2.2 million dollars to conduct a study on how teachers should be evaluated?
ReplyDeleteIs it ( the money for the study) coming from the taxpayers, or is it privately funded by megabucks Gates?
No, I wouldn't participate, given the fact that anything said by a teacher would most likely be used against oneself.
Perhaps ICE, as a group, should take a stand on this.
This isn't a set-up. This is an opportunity to show that what we do isn't just about test scores. This is a good thing!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with that last post. I'm sick and tired of people trying to put teaching into some sort of little box. People don't have a clue what goes on inside of classrooms every day. It's about time they did.
ReplyDeleteI hear the skepticism but let's use this as a chance to take control of our profession. I like the idea of an independent study looking at teaching holistically from inside of the classroom and I would rather that happen than have biased outsiders tell us what's important.
ReplyDeleteI want to sign up for this but I didn't get the letter. Did it get sent on email or was there a hard copy?
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Not entirely sure what to make of this. As long as it's independent, I guess it makes sense. I'd certainly rather be proactive and come up with something that uses multiple measures.
ReplyDeleteIs James Eterno signing up?
ReplyDeleteI think all Unity Hacks should sign up. After all they still think ATRs and the Open Market are the best idea since sliced bread.
ReplyDeleteThey backed the continuation of mayoral control with a few "tweaks" like parent input--except Bloomberg gets to pick the parents. So yes we should trust the UFT with this.
Hey Anon guy above, stick to the focus of this thread. I am curious too, is James Eterno signing up?
ReplyDeleteBill Gates after spending billions attacking teachers funding an independent study? Just say NO James.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that Mulgrew has already stepped up and is under the microscope as a target for criticism from some members and the media. Why shouldn't James who wants to be our future leader be open to similar dynamics? Besides the payoff could be him modelling exemplary strategies in what really works to educate a child.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally why not go beyond my usual expectations from this site? Would it be so bad for ICE to have first hand experience with something before they criticize it?
A response from James would be appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThis is in no way an "independent study" when one of the backers has an agenda against public education.
ReplyDeleteRecently NYU did a study proving that principals from the Leadership Academy did better than other principals. Yet the NYTimes ran a much deeper study that showed the opposite.
Funny how Unity wants to evaluate teachers but doesn't want teachers to be part of the hiring process.
Any time Unity says this is a "good thing", remember they said that about losing excessing senority too. That was a wonderful thing that led to age discrimination and the devaluation of excellent teachers.
I don't plan on signing up to be part of the study.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would like to comment that putting up this post is an example of the difference between ICE and Unity. ICE sees something that is planned and we put it up for a discussion instead of making a deal with the DOE and then telling the teachers about it.
Can you see the difference in top-down vs. democratic unionism?
It took you 3 days to come up with that response James?
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I'm disappointed. I was hoping that you'd say something interesting and new instead of the usual unity bash.
Why not get involved, step up, and lead by example champ?
James is an excellent teacher. He would be an asset to that program.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't even write why not before digressing into a Unity tirade.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he should put his money where his mouth is. It's easy to talk junk, actions speak louder.
I have to admit, James response was a let down.
What a crock from Unity Caucus. Step up to the plate to play with billionaires who funded the mayoral control debate and have been part of the teacher bashing? Mulgrew stepped up to ass kiss Gates when he said "As for the Gates foundation they are funding the project but please don't confuse them with chancellor."
ReplyDeleteIncredible. One difference between ICE and Unity is that we understand the neo-liberal attack on public ed and the process behind it. Measuring teacher effectiveness is part of this attack and Unity is a charter supporter of the neo-liberal agenda.
Is anyone talking about the effectiveness of soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan when things go wrong? Or the effectiveness of the individual policeman in high crime areas? Or lawyers? Or doctors in places where people die? Like if there's a swine flu epidemic, why not pin the blame on the doctors?
Playing nice with Gates is the kind of thing they have been doing for 25 years. Check to see where teacher rights and working conditions are today as a result. Now their answer is while the union falls around their ears, they will organize charters. Back to the 50's.
The UFT/Unity caucus machine is in bed with these guys and these cloying little emails urging James to jump into the sewer with you are a waste of time.
See the current ed notes for an email to Mulgrew, his response and Marjorie Stamberg's excellent points.
You never see the Unity people talk about the issue; it's right into the personal attack. Personal attacks are all they have because ICE is right on the issue as usual.
ReplyDeleteYeah, ICE isn't above personal attacks. I could've sworn that I read something in Ed Notes' first paragraph about kissing ass.
ReplyDeleteThis board would be frustrating if it wasn't so damn funny.
What have we discovered in this thread? Eterno isn't even considering the opportunity to help students with partaking in this study and Norm is still the official master of talking out of his bung.
Read this post now because it will be deleted later. It's ICE's double standard; Norm can talk about someone else kisssing ass but when one responds that he's talking out of his own it's too personal.
I find it absolutely instructive that Unity is supporting this Gates sponsored "Teacher Study" so strongly.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the basis of trusting the NYCDOE-UFT-Gates' study? Was it Billy Gates saying he made an "Oop-sy." That small high schools really don't work so well.
That was the same "Oop-sy" that has, in large part, sent 2000 of our brothers and sisters into the ATR cess pool.
If you've been keeping up with the news, you'd know that ATR are once again under attack this time in the NY Times. Where's Mikey's hard hitting response? Ha! No doubt he has decided to follow in Randi's timid, tepid, "behind the scenes" ways.
(For a well crafted response see Marjorie Stamberg's:
http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/2009/09/greasing-skids-uft-participation-in.html )
After 7+ years of the horrible treatment teachers, parents and, in the end, students have received under Bloomberg, how can Unity even consider cooperating with _anything_ Bloomberg wants*?
Helloooooo!! Many of us want a real Union. Many (I bet most of us who aren't in the UFT inner circle) do not believe in the value of the current leadership's collaborationism*.
* If necessary, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborationism
I DARE Mulgrew to gat us a new contract with NO givebacks, that DOESN'T lead to the termination of ATRs, that DOESN'T extend the school day or school year, that DOES restore ALL rights surrendered by the Grand Appeaser, Randi Weingarten.
ReplyDeleteEvery classroom has specific issues and along with that comes the right to privacy for every teacher. As a sub I have taught in a lot of classrooms and some of the things that for instance I have seen paras "have to do" to reach these kids would not be understood by those that do not understand certian populations Some of these paras would be falsely accused of abuse, even though they are actually loving and reaching the students.
ReplyDeleteWe need to do a video tape of how principals behave in their school and start evaluating them for a change.The burden of the performance of a school should always rest upon the administration not the teachers.
Let teachers teach and trust them for a change won't you?
Hey 11:04 p.m. Sunday night. Your comment is still here. It looks like ICE isn't censoring even the Unity comments. Could we say that about the Unity site? No.
ReplyDeleteMarjorie is more long winded than you Norm. I stopped reading after 3 minutes.
ReplyDeleteAbove, agreed.
ReplyDeleteOkay Unity,
ReplyDeleteDidn't you agree last year that teachers could be evaluated w/o their knowledge? Over 1,000 teachers didn't do so well. Now the NYTimes is demanding to see those reports and want parents to see it too. So these reports are not a "tool" to help teachers improve, it's a blacklist for the NYTimes to print.
Some principals are using those reports for student placement.
I believe teachers in general want a fair evaluation process. But Klein, Obama and now Randi are inching towards using standardized tests. So the future of public education is all-day test prep just to get a good evaluation??
I would be more inclined to be reviewed by my peers than my union, Gates or Klein. They know the students and they know the teachers.
Now for the Hacks to tell us to approve of this plan when we all know that the union protected the worst teachers for years is a joke. I know because I took the U-rating advocacy course with Mendell. He said it was not up to us to judge the teacher. If they paid their dues, we need to fight for them.
But maybe it is our right to judge from within the school. I may not be the most popular teacher with the kids, but my principal and staff know I'm an excellent teacher. And she and the staff know who doesn't cut the mustard. Yet they get S ratings every year. We had a teacher that really shouldn't have gotten the job, but the former principal thought she was pretty and I think she was "connected". Well after 5 years on the job, she never completed her Masters. We were all happy because we thought she would lose her license. Guess who saved her? The Union.
So if you really want reform--don't put us through these hoops without our input or our vote. Bring back the hiring SBO. Let the teachers have a say on who gets hired and who gets tenure rather than leaving that up to the richest man in the world.
By approving this process, you are basically destroying public education and the reason we have a union. Look at all the rights you tossed down the toilet within the last 5 years. Are you happy with the ATR situation because you told another poster that was not the subject of this particular post? Sounds to me you are avoiding that issue too.
Unity Caucus doesn't want to talk about any issues because they would get voted out right away.
ReplyDelete