EdNotes picked up on Leonie's criticism of AFT President Randi Weingarten not even mentioning lower class size as a part of the program to improve schools. Norm says the UFT abandoned the lower class size fight forty years ago.
This blog wrote about lower class size last November and at other times over the years. Nothing changes on class size so below we are repeating our piece from 2015.
The ICE-Blog asks readers to write to the city to tell the mayor and chancellor it is time to start complying with the law and lowering class sizes. You might want to send a copy to Michael Mulgrew and Randi Weingarten too. Union leadership has basically abandoned lower class sizes too.
LOWER CLASS SIZE IS THE LAW THE CITY, STATE & UFT IGNORE
Before the settlement, lower class sizes were also a goal put in the UFT Contract in Article 8L which says in part: "With regard to the long term recommendations of the 2005 Fact Finders made subject to adequate CFE funding, the parties shall establish a Labor Management Committee to discuss the following issues:...d) a program for the reduction of class size in all grades and divisions." Absurd parts of Article 8L such as school wide merit pay have managed to come and go since then.
Remember lower class sizes for the city were supposed to be achieved by 2011 according to the law. Why haven't class sizes been lowered anywhere near CFE levels?
The fiscal crisis is long since past as the city and state budget surpluses show. Certainly, paying those paltry raises of 10% over 7 years for teachers and other city workers isn't causing the city to go broke. The main reason class size levels are way too high in my opinion is that our not so brave UFT leaders won't do anything more than give lip service to lowering class size. The Union calls it progress when there are only 5,485 classes over the traditional class size limits that range from 32-34 in grades 1-12. My daughter's grade one class has 28. This is outrageous. Kids get very little individual attention in these huge classes.
The reality of life in 21st Century America is that laws are for "little people" like teachers and public school students in the city. Teachers must be evaluated using ridiculous cookie cutter Danielson rubrics and invalid/unreliable student test scores. If we object, the law is thrown in our faces by the UFT. Our students must sit in large classes because when it comes to lower class sizes, leaders like Dennis Walcott, Joel Klein and Carmen Farina can just take the law and ignore it. And what does our union do? Ask us for more COPE money so public schools can continue to be mistreated by the politicians.
25 comments:
Why doesn't the UFT file a grievance here?
Or yet another lawsuit?
Why should they file a grievance. They get paid for do nothing!
At this point, who cares? Its a lost cause. The whole system is. Just look at the new credit recovery scandal on Chaz's site, along with all the abuse, violations of discipline code, etc...
I agree. We are so far past the point of lowering class size from 34 to 32. Its so much worse, in every aspect.
Wait till us ATRs walk in and are refused bathroom keys on Sept 6. The UFT will then tell us to talk to the Chapter Leader, like its never happened before, then told to pay $20 for keys.
Been an atr for the last 4 yrs have only met 5 chapter leaders in the 40 plus schools I've been in. They don't care and I don't care. Cover my 4 or 5 classes and go home to my wonderful wife and kids in my beautiful home.
Been teaching physical education in NYC for over 10 years. Class sizes are bigger now then ever before. We are capped at 50 kids per class but the numbers are always higher than that. UFT does nothing. Then there are combo classes with 100 kids with two teachers present. This is insane and would simply not be accepted in the suburbs.
Phys Ed? You mean free play, nobody gets prepared, nobody participates unless its boys playing basketball, but everybody passes...
And don't forget intruders in the gym all day...Surprise, nobody gets in trouble, and then they also pass the classes they are cutting all year.
That Ed notes guy would blame the teacher for the intruders and blame the teacher for the kids passing without doing any work. Once again it's not the teachers fault when kids intrude, cut, curse or fail. Got it!!!
Wow, I can't believe other teachers are ragging on this PE teacher. I dare any of you to go try and teach PE lessons to 50-100 middle school kids for just one period. And yes, PE teachers do teach. They are held to the same BS standards with Danielson and all the same crap as the rest of us. On top of all that, kids tend to take out their aggressions and violence during gym. So easy to pass judgement when it is not you in their shoes.
I make a point as CL in my school to offer my friendship to every ATR that steps into my school. I am not UNITY and maybe that's the difference. It makes me angry to hear of ATR's being mistreated. As jaded (and fairly so) you might be Anon 12:57 I hope you can give each school you enter a benefit of a doubt. Maybe a few will surprise you. I truly wish all ATR's good luck. I suspect the DOE will target many of you this school year. No one's talking about it (very puzzled by this), but all the shit in the 2014 law is supposed to get sharted all over us this year. Not sure how things like outside observers will work, but I can't imagine it going well for ATRs. Mulgrew and his UFT will not even do enough to even call it the bare minimum. Have a great school year everybody!
Thanks anon 11:15. I give every school the benefit of the doubt but still very disappointed by all my fellow teachers. Most don't even say hello and almost all the co's couldn't be bothered. I wish I knew which school you were to see if you introduced yourself. Like I said who cares anymore. Not looking to be surprised. With 21 yrs in I'm just trying to smile and do what im told. You want me to do 4 in a row sure, all day cafe duty sure, 6 classes sure I'll be happy to do all of it. Why stand up for yourself it will only make you a target. What has happened to my profession? What has happened to me? Good luck everyone we are going to need it!!!!
D27 PS in Richmond hill/Woodhaven area.
And the we get sent to a multi session school, and have no say what session, and the school has no care. I have coaching, I cant get out at 4pm. Why do I have to beg and plead like im a piece of garbage? And still get ignored...
Ok thanks anon 12:13. Have a good year!
40 Years ago? Actually, the last time that class size was changed, was as of the 1967 contract - almost 50 years ago. Unless class size is spelled out in the contract, it will continue to be ignored.
Remember how we were all led by the UFT to believe that the Campaign for Fiscal Equality would FINALLY bring REAL change to New York City schools?? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!
James, I'm an ATR, who's been offered a provisional position in the Black Hole of Bombay HS. Now that the former rules don't apply, I can legitimately turn it down without being terminated?
BRONX, N.Y. — Last year, they were rookie teachers at the Pelham Lab High School in the Bronx. By the end of the school year, they’d had enough.
Totally disillusioned, they both quit. They contacted PIX11 News to tell their story, provided we conceal their identities. They both spoke about having dreamed of being a teacher, getting degrees in Education and the excitement they felt before starting their jobs last fall.
What happened to their dreams? Reality got in the way. One of the teachers, who we’ll call Ray, says “I was struck with an object the first day of school. I’ve been hit in the face. I’ve had objects thrown at me. I’ve been generally verbally and physically abused from day one.”
The second teacher, we’ll call her Susan, had a similar experience. “There were kids in my class that were so misbehaved and crazy, running around, screaming at me, cursing at me. The first day that I kicked them out of my class, I was told that I was not allowed to do that. They got brought back to my class and their behavior didn’t change. Ray and Susan both complain of getting no support from the school Principal, Jason Wagner. “He doesn’t care about teachers. He doesn’t care as long as he looks good and the school looks good and there’s nothing on paper or there’s no points against him,” says Susan.
Ray says none of the other administrators do anything to deal with the misbehavior because they are afraid of Principal Wagner. “He uses bullying , intimidation and harassment techniques against everyone.” They both complain “ there’s no disciplinary action against the students whatsoever. All the burden is placed on the teachers.” Susan says the teachers have no power. “You know, 20 plus staples in a cup of coffee, zero punishment. Zero punishment for the door being knocked down. I’ve been pushed by kids, cursed out on a weekly basis. Nothing I can do about it.”
Pelham Lab High School at 3000 East Tremont Ave., is one of six schools that share the Lehman Educational Complex. Pelham has 211 students, 95 percent minority. A spokesman for the Department of Education says “Nothing is more important than the safety of all students and staff. These claims are not an accurate depiction of the disciplinary practices taking place at the school. Principal Wagner has protocols in place to report and address incidents.”
But both teachers we spoke with say the behavior problems at the school are so severe that it makes it extremely difficult to do any actual teaching. While these two teachers have given up their dreams of being educators, they say it’s the students that are the real losers.
Kids only curse at teachers because it's the teachers fault. Isn't that right Ed notes guy and james!!!!
Yes 5:44, it's true. Ask any administrator on that campus and they'll tell you the kids in Pelham Lab are nuts. They purposely have to have their staff patrol the hall to keep Pelham kids out of their classes. The principal is afraid of the students. He's a very passive aggressive guy, that will pay back a complaining teacher. That entire campus, except for Schulerville and Renassisance was completely out of control. Farina finally went in and barred cell phones there because of the cororidinated fire alarm riots. That campus is not unusual.
For sure , 500 years from now, they will look back at this period of time and it will become known as "THE AGE OF BULLSHIT"
And there is no better example of it then the NYC DOE.
I will check the contract on turning down provisional positions but I only think there are very limited instances where we can turn something down.
I found the Lehman piece that Arnold Diaz did and linked to it in a new post.
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