I just arrived home from work and right there in the mail was my brand new copy of The NY Teacher newspaper. The cover stories are on a school that has remarkable professional development and a DOE - UFT agreement on reducing teacher paperwork.
I actually read the articles. It seems as though the schools the NY Teacher is covering and the buildings where I have gone to for ATR interviews are in two different school systems. Teachers I talk to do not like the endless Mondays and Tuesdays with marathon professional development on Monday that almost everyone agrees is basically a waste of time, while Tuesday afternoons are spent reaching out to parents when most aren't home because they work.
Teachers and other UFT members I talk to are not seeing any relief in micromanagement style mandates for stuff like paperwork, bulletin boards, etc.... in spite of a new reduction in paperwork agreement touted in the NY Teacher.
The newspaper also neglects to mention this year's very tight school budgets. The only negative piece is on oversize classes. Funny how that did not make the cover.
What we can infer from the way the UFT leaders are handling the news is they are determined to show Mayor Bill De Basio and Chancellor Carmen Farina in a positive way, even if the reality in most of the schools shows little, if any, improvement under the new regime compared to the last one.
I'm very sad to have to agree that I don't see substantive improvement under this mayor. I had high hopes. The fact that we're still discussing class sizes speaks volumes in itself.
ReplyDeleteToday Carmen and Michael had a meet and greet with Staten Island teachers. Teachers that will be targeted and discontinued by Carmen with no help from Michael.
ReplyDeleteOrwell would feel vindicated. I am ATR-ing in a school that prevents any student who isn't wearing black sneakers and exactly matching black laces from entering the school. Either a parent comes to delivers the mandated haberdasheries or the child is sent home. So, the lesson on the virtues of a free and critical society are bound in the practices of obedience training. Meanwhile, no guitars or musical instruments in the school for the music classes, no art supplies for students taking the required art classes, and where is Bel Kaufman to give us some humor and perspective on this triumph of bureaucracy?
ReplyDelete"Teachers I talk to do not like the endless Monday PD". Did you ask any of these teachers if they voted for the last contract? Any teacher who voted for this contract and is now complaining about it is a freaking hypocrite. I hear the same complaints and I simply say to them that they are responsible for the very meetings we have to suffer through. (I also tell them that they better get used to it as it is going to be like this for 4 more years)
ReplyDeleteI see those endless Mondays rapidly coming to an end as principals run out of PDs to do with their staff. As an ATR I sit in these PDs and watch the anguish on the face of classroom teachers as they go through mind numbing task created by overwhelmed principals
ReplyDeleteTitle One schools can call Chessintheschools.org and have them conduct Chess PDs. Great organization and it enlivens both teachers and students.
ReplyDeleteReaders' theater is also a good way to pass the time- select a play and let everyone sightread it. Mix the genders for some real fun.
Then there's the card game, Bridge which is what the most successful students of business, computer, and investing play. More of a college game, but it's a great PD. We are getting paid to learn- what would be bad? Yes, of course, we could be paid to listen to someone explain something. The horror of explaining is that it is the only thing that makes people turn their learning minds off. Stop explaining! Let us experience what we are learning, directly, not through somebody else's version. Even Judge Judy won't take hearsay as evidence. Duh?
This year we walked into schools with Contract and a Chancellor with the expertise to improve schools. There are wrinkles that need to be ironed out. Schools should be reporting class size issues, and teachers with inneffectives or who were discontinued have the right to an appeal. I truly believe Farina will be the support our school system needs.
ReplyDeleteWhen?
DeleteTo Anon 9:13
ReplyDeleteReally? Well, I have a bridge to sell real cheap in Brooklyn...believe me too?
To 9:13,
ReplyDeleteSurely you jest?! This current contract is a step backward for teacher's rights, unionism and common sense. Farina has the knowledge and authority to do something. She hasn't. Class sizes are much higher- the UFT buries it in an internal report. Last year it would have been a headline in its monthly rag (which I lined my cat's litter box with yesterday afternoon). Mulgrew has become an accommodating tool out of relief he doesn't have to deal with Bloomberg. He gave away the store with the contract and now he has to sit on his hands and be silent as things become worse in every possible way.
Ladies and gentlemen,
ReplyDeleteYou need to give this Mayor and Chancellor much more time to iron out the kinks left over from a draconian and evil regime. It is only the end of September of their first year versus the twelve years of despair. The right things are being said by the new bosses and they will materialize. Have patience. Thank you, Dr. John Marvul.
Dr. Marvel, your views could surely make for a wonderful comic book. I'm sure that expert purveyor of Fantasy Fiction - Mike Mulgrew would publish it, if asked. He can attach it to his monthly rag, as proof positive everything is fine and dandy.
DeleteI'm not sure how much communication you have with D75 teachers. However, we discovered a big issue with the rating system. If NYSAA was used as the MOSL for the 2013-2014 school year, ratings were negatively impacted (in most cases, for poorly rated via observation it might have increased overall ratings) because the scoring system was not disclosed prior to administration of the NYSAA. Now, as we start the 2014-2015 NYSAA we are being told, use more complex items so you score better. NYSAA is supposed to fit the needs of the student. As a result, if your students have a low functional level, your rating will suffer. This just seems wrong. However, the failure of the NYSAA and DOE to disclose the grading system for NYSAA prior to administration is unprofessional and tricky.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if this will come to the attention to the union as a grievance on a D75 wide level appears to be in order.