Gloria from ICE-GEM on NY 1 coverage of PEP protest last night.
http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/education/152547/panel-votes-to-approve-new-charter-schools
Ever the optimist, Norm posts coverage at Ed Notes.
Of course, the rubber stamp PEP approved all of the charter co-locations.
The moral of the story: We never give up.
Unfortunately, staging these protests are fine, but they would be better if they worked. Eva got her way despite the community's wishes.
ReplyDeleteActivism is great, but working smart is greater and the goal for the next 2 years should be local elections.
Quinn is already the charter movements choice for mayor (see NYTimes article). We need to get rid of any borough president whose representative votes the Bloomberg agenda. But most of all, we need to start supporting a good candidate for mayor,
Liu my first choice is no longer an option. So this means something ICE and Norm are not too fond of--raising awareness and MONEY for a candidate. Grassroots means going from door to door and school to school raising money and support for someone who supports public schools. Do you trust the UFT to endorse anyone other than Quinn? I don't.
Can't argue much that this is a decent strategy.
ReplyDeleteOne strategy is not enough. Why weren't their protests outside the borough presidents offices since they control 5 votes--although Manhattan has the only sane representative.
ReplyDeletebtw, how did Brooklyn vote? I can't find this information in the papers.
Brooklyn voted for the colocations.
ReplyDeleteManhattan opposed. Patrick Sullivanis our hero and Queens abstained.
ReplyDeleteSo much for Marty M. He had to know how the community felt. He should have been targeted!!!!
ReplyDeleteThere are only so many people willing to shlep out and do these protests and all the other suggestions. Organizing a movement takes bodies and people willing to work within an organizational framework. I have been arguing for years that none of these things happens in a vacuum. Right now the only organized structure out there is the UFT. It will take hundreds of teacher activists to effect change and right now we are in the dozens. I can't figure out how to get people to go to the next step. But apparently very few teachers felt it important to go to the PEP or to a borough pres home or office even if it were organized. If Occupy DOE grows all is possible. But a big IF.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly the point I made at GS. You can protest all you want, but if we don't hold elected officials responsible nothing will change. Quinn should not be an option. She will just continue the Bloomberg agenda. Politicians need to pay with their jobs for the mayor's folly
ReplyDelete"but if we don't hold elected officials responsible nothing will change"
ReplyDeleteWhat exactly do we mean by "we'?
The "we" has to be some kind of organization to advocate and organize and also to educate. I waas at a party with a teacher since 1993 who had no idea there was a '68 strike. You can't understand the UFT support for mayoral control without understanding that history.
Or people think Shanker was God and blame Randi for a change in UFT direction when in fact she was carrying out Shanker polices of collaboration with ed deform.
"We" should be the UFT, but since it isn't, and teachers aren't going to get off their asses to protest, then at least start a petition drive going at every school telling every borough president that their PEP votes are working against NYC's students and co-locating charters is an act of discrimination.
ReplyDelete