Thursday, May 31, 2018

NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS BLOG POSTS OUR PIECE ON EDUCATIONAL FADS (UPDATED WITH MULGREW OPED)

Parent activist Leonie Haimson asked me to write something for the New York City Parents Blog on Common Core. I responded by writing about a number of educational fads, including Common Core, that we teachers have had to endure since I started in the mid eighties.

Please go over there and read it and add your own stories on what you have been asked to do as a teacher.



UPDATE: I posted the above piece yesterday and then did not go back to the blog but a firestorm ensued when someone posted a comment that was critical of Michael Mulgrew's oped in yesterday's Daily News  on the high school admissions process.  The comment had a racial remark that was offensive but also copied Mulgrew's oped. I thought Mulgrew's piece was pretty much on target.

Here is a link to the oped and it is posted below so the comments that follow make sense.I deleted the comments that I thought were outright racist but here is my issue with pulling everything from the one or two people who are way to the right on the political spectrum and have racial views that most readers including me find abhorrent.

I am an ACLU type when it comes to free speech. I might hate what you are saying but you have a right to say it. I only step in when people write things that are outright offensive to a race or some group. Kids read this blog so it should stay on somewhat of a professional level as we are teachers. Also, you guys can be anonymous but I am not. My name or Jeff's name go on every posting.

Finally, much of this would not be an issue at all if people would just stay on topic which I will ask people to do once again.



Diversify N.Y. high schools now
By MICHAEL MULGREW
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
MAY 31, 2018 | 5:00 AM
 

If New York City is going to have the first-class public education system it deserves, then the new chancellor and the city's Panel for Educational Policy need to tackle the widespread academic segregation in the city's high schools — a problem within their power to solve.

As repeated studies have pointed out, New York City public high schools are highly segregated by academic achievement, a situation that the current high school admissions process has not only permitted, but actually encouraged.

The Education Department's own study — the Parthenon report of 2008 — conclusively demonstrated that when high proportions of high-need students were concentrated in certain city high schools, it became much more difficult for their students to succeed and graduate.

For example, that study found that a black or Hispanic ninth-grade girl with median test scores and attendance had a significantly higher probability of graduating from high school as the proportion of academically challenged students in her school declined.

The problem identified in 2008 remains true today.

According to a new analysis by the United Federation of Teachers, students who scored 2.50 or below on eighth-grade state reading tests are clustered in about 100 of the city's roughly 400 high schools. Their average graduation rate is below 70%, ranging to as low as 40%. The roughly 300 remaining high schools show incoming average reading scores of 2.63 or better; their graduation rates range from 70% to 100%.
This segregation by academic achievement exists despite the student choice system instituted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein. In theory, that system was supposed to open up enrollment in schools across the city, with the exception of the schools that use the Specialized High School Admissions Test. But the reality is far different.

The application process itself — from the 600-page explanation booklet prepared annually by the Education Department to the hundreds of existing screens by attendance, interviews or neighborhood residence — serves to deter struggling students and families and to favor those who can figure out how to navigate its complexities.

There are specific steps the city can and should take:
• The system knows the achievement scores of every high school applicant and can compute how these would affect the achievement average of each school; the complex algorithm used to assign students should be tweaked to ensure that no schools develop an undue concentration of struggling students.

• The hundreds of high schools that use some kind of screening criteria must adapt those criteria to an "ed-option" formula — one that ensures that they will admit a proportion of students from across the achievement spectrum. At the same time, the Education Department must ensure that effective information about school options is provided to all low-income eighth-graders and their families.

• While admission to three exam-admission schools can only be changed by state legislation, the city has used the Specialized High School Admissions Test for five other schools not explicitly mentioned in the law. The city should immediately adopt a "Texas model" — upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court — that would open up enrollment in these five schools to a percentage of the high-ranking graduates of all middle schools throughout the city.

But even these steps are insufficient.

Given the penalties the system imposes based on test scores and similar measures, few schools actively seek to enroll academically struggling students. Only a small minority of schools make a specific effort to bring in students at all achievement levels. The chancellor should mandate that serving an academically diverse population is a significant measure of a principal's success.

The central office also needs to provide aggressive oversight — rather than the system's current laissez-faire management style — to ensure that advanced classes are available to the maximum number of students, and that all high schools offer high-quality facilities and a diverse choice of programs. The de Blasio administration's AP for All push is a good start, but it's not enough.

Properly managed, academic integration can have a dramatic effect on student success rates. A recent study in Stamford, Conn., showed student achievement increased across all groups in academically integrated schools, even as the racial achievement gap shrank.

City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza was recently quoted as asking: "Why are we segregating kids based on test scores?" It's a telling question, but not as important as this one: "What can we do to solve this problem?"

Luckily for our students, the answer is that we can do a great deal, and we can do it now.


Mulgrew is president of the United Federation of Teachers.



133 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

The central office also needs to provide aggressive oversight — rather than the system’s current laissez-faire management style — to ensure that advanced classes are available to the maximum number of students, and that all high schools offer high-quality facilities and a diverse choice of programs. The de Blasio administration’s AP for All push is a good start, but it’s not enough.

Properly managed, academic integration can have a dramatic effect on student success rates. A recent study in Stamford, Conn., showed student achievement increased across all groups in academically integrated schools, even as the racial achievement gap shrank.

City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza was recently quoted as asking: “Why are we segregating kids based on test scores?” It’s a telling question, but not as important as this one: “What can we do to solve this problem?”

Luckily for our students, the answer is that we can do a great deal, and we can do it now.

Anonymous said...

Great comments from you on the Leonie blog. How I do wish you were the UFT president...

Anonymous said...

Speaks to a problem in NYC schools, an intelligence issue is made into a racial issue, by the UFT President, who is supposed to be our closest ally and most important person. You want idiots and criminals in Brooklyn Tech?

Anonymous said...

Can I say the answer is to fix what goes on when they are very very young and the hs admissions will fix itself.

Anonymous said...

Glad this Post was on academic fads and people throw in their race theories.

Anonymous said...

Agreed that this is "off topic" but again, Mulgrew is spitting in our faces. If you had a kid at Tech, you want the floodgates open? And doesnt he have more pressing issues to deal with? Like our contract, etc...The post was a post of what Mulgrew wrote, copy and paste, he wrote the garbage and nonsense.

Anonymous said...

James, one of the huge complaints we have on this board is student behavior. Do you think Mulgrew makes sense by saying that we should allow students who don't belong in upper tier schools in just because they are minority?

Anonymous said...

Mulgrew cares more about the liberal agena than our raises, retro, tda, and job comfort.

waitingforsupport said...

@12:33...You sound like an idiot are you a criminal too?

waitingforsupport said...

Sounds like this article woke up the "good law abiding" folks. I was wondering when they would show up...again. All in the family

Anonymous said...

Just goes to prove that the UFT is working on behalf of the DOE not NYC teachers.
PULL YOUR DUES PEOPLE.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Did anybody see the black woman on the train yelling at the Jewish guy, no media coverage, I wonder why. When it was the exact opposite, the white guy yelling at the black girl, every tv station, every radio station, every newspaper. Why?

Anonymous said...

Certain people dont have the ability to get into certain schools. Its that simple. Do we need more affirmative action and welfare?

waitingforsupport said...

Here we go...The best of America is on the blog tonight. Grab your popcorn and get ready for the "truth".

waitingforsupport said...

Ummm because it was wrong.

Anonymous said...

So why no mention of the black on Jewish attack?

waitingforsupport said...

How did you learn about it?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

It was a passenger vid put on youtube, i havent seen it on any media outlet, not once.

waitingforsupport said...

I read about it in the paper.

waitingforsupport said...

Isn't it enlightening when you realize what you only "thought" was true is proven to be true. I love it!!! I learn alot on this blog from my colleagues. MAGFO

Anonymous said...

has the outcry been the same? why was roseanne barr fired for saying somebody looked like an ape but no firing took place when ivanka was called a cunt?

Anonymous said...

How come only black schools are doing so badly they need to be closed? Nothing to do with the students?

waitingforsupport said...

Oh...why don't you enlighten us with the answer...you're very smart.

Anonymous said...

lack of quality students

Anonymous said...

I hate the race stuff that’s always tainting this blog. Is the UFT doing this? I think it is.

waitingforsupport said...

America's finest. Any who back to bizness...why is the UFT and DOE treating us so poorly. I think i will stay in the union despite the disrespect.

Anonymous said...

Then you are an idiot and a sucker

Anonymous said...

Can we get back to the topic? I think James hit many of the education fads I have had the pleasure to teach through.

I am not sure how many of these fads are system wide, district wide or just school wide. Many of the ones that James mentioned are still in practice. For example, we still must post the Accountable Talk sentence starters. We still have to hang a lot of paper in our classrooms to make them "print rich."

One of the silliest fads I had to endure as a math teacher was when I had to place the literacy skill of the week and literacy topic of the month on my blackboard. The reasoning was that literacy spans across the curriculum.

Another fad was the use of Singapore Math.

Is this a fad or a school mandate? When Common Core came out, we had to hang the math standards in our classrooms. Yes, all of them! A booklet with the math standards had to some how be placed in a accessible place in case the students wanted to look up the standards.

The current fads are Culturally Responsible Education and Implicit Bias stuff.

Anonymous said...

To Anon: James, one of the huge complaints we have on this board is student behavior. Do you think Mulgrew makes sense by saying that we should allow students who don't belong in upper tier schools in just because they are minority?"
This is a racist comment because it assumes that any minority kids will be a discipline problem, even high achieving ones.

Sure, you believe they want to take kids out of Rikers and put them in stuyvesant. What world are you living in?
They will take kids who are high achievers but who might not get to do all that test prep, etc. And not go by one test.
I had former black kids who went to Tech, which in the 80s had many minorities - but the Asian influx hadn't yet begun.
I hear 50% of the kids at Stuy are Asian. Aren't they minorities?

ed notes online said...

James,
As one of the founders of ICE I am disturbed by the openly racist comments allowed to be posted on this blog. I generally do not believe in censorship and rarely censor stuff on ed notes but giving this joker space for his venom reaches a point of no return.
The problem many of us have is that we feel we have to respond but that just gets into an endless debate with a Nazi.
As a parent of bi-racial children he is talking about your kids. Time to shut him up.
I am not proud of being associated with an organization's blog that allows this sort of thing. If you want ICE to be a respected voice in the UFT once again, consider moderating more closely.
Norm

James Eterno said...

Whatever happened to exposure is the best disinfectant Norm? I don't follow the blog comments closely sometimes I will admit. I have other things to do but posting the Mulgrew op-ed that I actually thought was fairly good was way off topic and then the discussion that followed didn't have anything to do with the topic either. I will look closely and figure what stays and goes. Give me a little time. Thanks all and sorry people were offended.

Anonymous said...

7:29, that's the point. They dont mention that they need to make special rules for asians because asians EARN their spot at these schools.

TJL said...

Norm I was upset for James too, having met him and his newlywed at the time many years ago when my school at the time had a strong chapter that was very active on the anti-Unity/anti-Randi front. However the fact that this blog allows immediate posting, unlike for instance Chaz's, makes it far superior. The offending posts can always be removed later.

The Mulgrew op-ed should have had its own post so that his nonsense could have been addressed separately since James's take on these fads - perfect word to use by the way - could have been discussed.

I fear Common Core is far more virulent and long-lasting than the other fads like Accountable Talk and Workshop Model. Look at the new "Next Gen" math standards, they are just an edited version of the CCLS. The need to "shift instruction" to accommodate them also shows, to me, a more nefarious scheme behind Common Core. Also James spoke of differentiation as a past fad but it is very much front and center right now.

Anonymous said...

There are 4 HS schools in NYC that the state has laws about, the rest don't.

I don't know why people are upset if the other "test in schools" have to take in the top middle school kids (even if they didn't score "high enough" on the test. I'm sure the top kids at any school are lovely children and are often stuck in a terrible school. They may not be prepared for the test, but it doesn't mean they don't have the brains to do high quality work. I'm sure they would be thrilled to be in a good school and would work very hard (and catch up if they need to). These kids, I repeat kids, are not the kids who are causing problems, cutting school, screaming down hallways, these are kids who need a change and a chance.

James Eterno said...

Thank you T.J.L I hope I removed the most offensive things. email me if you think someone has crossed the line. We try to be fair here and I really don't want to be the comment police.

Anonymous said...

More liberal political correctness. Thanks James for shielding us from what the easily offended snowflakes want removed. Not sure what was written but let the reader decide. A nation with free speech shouldn’t remove comments if it offends the likes of norm and his convoluted position on what’s appropriate. I’ve read all the previous comments I guess I missed the offensive one. With that being said our nation has spiraled into everything being about race, skin color, religion or ethnicity. Thank you Obuma. Your work is almost done. Divide take away our 2nd A and see what happens. Soruos is waiting to pick up the pieces. Hope this doesn’t offend the feeble minded. God bless you all

James Eterno said...

12:02, Please email me off list at iceuft@gail.com and I will tell you the offensive words that I think cross the line and have gotten teachers in trouble.

waitingforsupport said...

I disagree. Let freedom of speech flow. Those who are open minded and truly aware of history will simply place the ill-informed where he/she belongs--in the 90% off bin. The hatred is real.

waitingforsupport said...

@9:42 you are generalizing. You are giving asians the benefit of doubt. It's also possible that it wasn't honorably earned. Also, keep in mind the enormous amount of mental health and drug issues not addressed. So many factors but just because you test well to get in doesn't mean you are smarter. It means you tested well. If all things were equal...you may see a difference

waitingforsupport said...

I agree with 11:14 am

waitingforsupport said...

At 12:02 you should try picking up a history book and/or removing your blinders. If we become more divided, nobody wins.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your reply. Which one should I do first? God bless. Enjoy your weekend

Anonymous said...

We showed up when bleeding heart progressives like you started to post again my intellectually superior friend. Your a hero in your own mind. Have some vino and call it a night the Yankees are on soon.

Anonymous said...

You already know the answer to that question

Anonymous said...

shall i assume no atr buyout offer this year?

Anonymous said...

We need Mulgrew to focus on our raises, our healthcare, our working conditions. He is so out of touch with OUR -TEACHER'S- RIGHTS.

Anonymous said...

I am teacher and I am crying out for respect and representation. I don't see Mr. Mulgrew effectively standing up to the DOE in order to represent us. And we, teachers, need a passionate and EFFECTIVE leader so desperately. Instead he is a pundit on a soap box talking about issues that are real and relevant, but outside of what should be his true role as our, THE TEACHER'S, champion. We didn't elect him to put his two cents in and join the fray of racial issues and attacks. Healthcare, wages, over-work, job-stress, a decent retirement. I want him to talk about these issues RELENTLESSLY in the media. Mr. Mulgrew should take care of us first and be laser focused on the rank and file's NEXT CONTRACT. This is your mandate from the people who voted you into office...incidentally.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like an excuse...Well, im smart but I dont take tests well. Sounds like, why did the kids all fail your test, it must be because you didnt differentiate. You mean make it 2 + 2 so they all get 100%. Sounds like grade fraud...Or free grades.

Anonymous said...

You can’t argue with the liberal mind. So called black schools and African Americans do poorly for the most part is because they have been and still are victims of white supremacy an oppressive policy. It’s the easy way out for certain groups to okay the victim instead of trying to correct the glaring issues of out of wedlock births and the almost total breakdown of the family structure. That’s why they want to legalize certain drugs so that it lowers the incarceration rates and maybe keep the families together. They will continue to blame the perceived notion that it’s the fault of someone else. I hope this doesn’t offend norm and his crew and won’t be removed by the blog admin.

Anonymous said...

why is it that in June, students still dont have a piece of paper to write on?

Anonymous said...

You think these students aren't discriminated against by the system then you have your eyes closed. Look at how those African American schools are denied supports like lower class sizes or extra guidance help and have awful administrators placed at the helm. Then, the school is closed so their teachers, many of whom are African American, are displaced. Look at the conditions of some of those dilapidated school buildings too. That isn't where the white kids are going. Those people of color know what guys like 7:55 think of them. His solution is to just keep cutting taxes for corporations and blaming people because of their skin color. You probably want more private prisons too. Are you going to suggest sending them back to Africa next? Free speech is one thing but outright racism is just ignorant, downright ignorant.

Anonymous said...

Or they are just lazy and raised with no work ethic.

Anonymous said...

Ignorant, downright ignorant. Go back to some breitbart sight so you can talk to people who agree with you.

Anonymous said...

Those parents want their kids to succeed just like yours.

Anonymous said...

So why no paper and pen?

Anonymous said...

Why bring paper, pen, books, or do the work that will help them pass the class and the state mandated regents when we are forced to pass them. That’s right some aren’t good test takers. Only in the minds of a liberal this makes any sense. It’s time for 2 countries, let the better one win. The kids know the system and are taught they are the institutional vicitims of racial oppression. Did I get the talking points right my leftest friends? Teach me how to think like a leftest.

Anonymous said...

Why dont asians experience the same failure?

Anonymous said...

Don’t make too much sense the leftest can’t follow the logic.

Anonymous said...

I will James thanks

Anonymous said...

It's cultural, not racial. Can't you see that? There is a thriving Black middle class and people left behind in a culture of poverty. The answer is not to pass everyone or throw them all in jail.

We need to show that education is the key to a decent life by fully funding and updating all schools and also not tolerating kids who misbehave in class or in the halls.

Anonymous said...

the students dont care, have no respect, and all they think about is gangs, fucking, basketball, cell phones, perception and rap

Anonymous said...

ok 605, so the black culture breeds failure and crime, the stats clearly say so

Anonymous said...

No it does not or there would not be so many successful African Americans. You are totally wrong there 6:15, totally wrong if you think skin color is the problem. It has nothing to do with race. Nothing. it is a culture of poverty. See it among white people in poverty too. More black people have the problem because of the history going back to slavery. Those are facts that cannot be ignored. Poverty leads to more crime, out of wedlock births and all of the other problems that are referred to. You are totally wrong if you assign it to skin color and have been proven wrong in independent research. Read the Kerner Commission report

Anonymous said...

Native Americans too. Don't you think some of that oppression has created problems for Native Americans. Not dealing at all with racism against these people leads to the problems among the under class. It goes on for generations because it is never dealt with properly.

Anonymous said...

And sneakers?

Anonymous said...

try really integrating the schools as a possible first step.Not bullshit integration but really let's not have segregated schools or segregated neighborhoods.

Anonymous said...

You mean there is unfair housing in America? shocking.

Anonymous said...

Schools are still segregated. I'm so surprised.

Anonymous said...

If that racist guy is a teacher, I hope he doesn't come near my kid. I really think he isn't a teacher or might be a plant from Unity to get this blog off the topic of showing how awful the UFT leadership is which is done on an almost daily basis here in the posts and comments.

Anonymous said...

Sill said NO ATR BUYOUT THIS YEAR. Ok, so they will pay me 2 million dollars over the next 15 years plus a much higher pension plus a bigger sick bank plus my medical instead of a 1 time payment. Plus I will continue to max out the 3 retirement accounts...while getting abused of course.

Anonymous said...

Like this angel, I mean, he wanted to go to college, probably a "Good Kid."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A former high school hoopster was bounced upstate on Wednesday.

Erik Morris, 19, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for bringing a gun to Curtis High School last year and for possessing a firearm in a Lyft car on another occasion.

Authorities said the defendant, who had played on the school's basketball team, carried a loaded Springfield Armory XD .40-caliber handgun in his backpack on May 1 of last year.

Three weeks earlier on April 8, 2017, the Clifton resident possessed a loaded and defaced Ruger P95 9 mm pistol while riding in a Lyft car, according to a criminal complaint and an indictment.

An NYPD source previously told the Advance investigators believe Morris and another Curtis student each brought a gun into school on May 1 to "show off" for each other.

"There's been no indication of anything else," the Advance quoted the source as saying.

Cops visited Curtis and confiscated the weapons after receiving a call from school administrators who were tipped off to the guns by a student, said a police spokeswoman.

Last month, Morris pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to two counts of second-degree criminal weapon possession and one count of petit larceny.

The latter charge stemmed from an incident on March 8, 2016, in which the defendant was accused of participating in a robbery along with several other individuals near the intersection of Stuyvesant Place and Wall Street in St. George.

At Wednesday's hearing, the tall, slender Morris apologized for his actions and asked to be sentenced as a youthful offender.

He told the court he wanted to support his mother and go to college.

Anonymous said...

Important to understand that these schools are 60-70 percent Asian-American, and that between 33 and 50 percent of students qualify for reduced or free lunch. Segregation narrative more complicated than suggested. So its not a segregation or integratiin issue, its the fact that the people they want to put in arent qualified.

Anonymous said...

Yeah like the forced busing in the 70’s really worked. Another liberal catastrophe. Didnt serve either side but caused more problems.

Anonymous said...

NY schools are very segregated. Guess which ones are given the worst treatment.

Anonymous said...

How many trillions of dollars dumped into poverty? No change. The DOE budget is many billions per year. No improvement. Most schools are all minority so the money has to be going to minorities. No change.

waitingforsupport said...

@7:55 am...You should have compassion for the opioid abusers. It is ruining so many families and waging hell on our community but what can you do...they are addicts.

waitingforsupport said...

Free grades? What educator is giving free grades?

waitingforsupport said...

Probably lazy and raised with no work ethic...history repeats itself. First is was the lazy slave owners who couldn't even nurse their babies traveling the seas to get people to work for free, be raped, murdered, family being torn apart...i guess now the situation is reverse. Poor role models rofl....

waitingforsupport said...

Probably because you aren't really teaching (free grades remember) so they aren't stupid..why bring paper and pen?

waitingforsupport said...

Two countries? Let the better one win??? Damn you are dumb. One hardship and some folks will crack like an egg. 8 yrs of Obama and folks lost their damn minds and voted for Archie Bunker. Bye...good luck in your new country but please don't use any people of color to train you how to wipe your azz and blow your nose. Try working and not stealing. Just try. So again, byeeeee

waitingforsupport said...

You're right 5:53 pm leftist can't follow the logic...of the rancid racist mind.

waitingforsupport said...

@5:49..
You need to ask Asians for guidance because they are surpassing everyone...EVERYONE. They really are superior

waitingforsupport said...

And chewing gum, ass out shorts, cheating and opiods. Lying stealing and hating...

waitingforsupport said...

And don't forget superior strength, indurance, flavor, style, power, beauty, intelligence, faithfulness, fearlessness, honesty and know when a bullshitter is bullshitting...wink wink. How are you doing bullshitter?

Anonymous said...

One man’s racist is another man’s realist or do I have to be politically correct and say person not man.

waitingforsupport said...

Sniff sniff i smell a scaredy cat...

Anonymous said...

Thanks meathead and God Bless

waitingforsupport said...

Give more...reparations. Do you have the ear of Archie @9:28? Tell him to give reparations. And stop being so jealous of people of color. Don't be scared and I know you are powerless but it'll be okay.

waitingforsupport said...

So fearful of what's coming because it's coming the US will be a majority of people of color....racist clean out your closet,drain storm, rocket ship cause it's coming. We're herrrrrre

Anonymous said...

No it’s just all second hand weed smoke roaming the halls in those underfunded schools you leftest like to go on an on about. We got money for weed and money for sneakers and the newest cell phones but no money for a pen and a notebook. Gotta love liberalism

Anonymous said...

Easy on the vino my friend your starting to lose it. God bless

Anonymous said...

I agree

Anonymous said...

That would be a great name for one of those new schools being created. The school of superior strength endurance flavor style power.... you know the rest

waitingforsupport said...

Yessssss @ 10:38 be a dear and get on that would ya.

waitingforsupport said...

Don't forget the opiods stench coming in on the daily from the burbs. It smells almost as bad as the coffee rofl

waitingforsupport said...

Better to lose it than to be a coward fearful of everything with a little color...

Anonymous said...

Alrighty then you have a great Sunday my friend

Anonymous said...

Yeah those poor white kids the victims of oppression

Anonymous said...

No answers, just more stereotypes. What do you propose Mr Bunker? It is mostly white people shooting guns in schools? Is there something inherently wrong with pale skin?

Anonymous said...

I can’t I’m too much of a coward that’s a job for the, wait a second, superior strength endurance flavor style power... getting tired typing it all..type of person

Anonymous said...

Not skin character

Anonymous said...

Yes, minorities are becoming the majority, I guess its a coincidence, as that has happened, the school system has gone into the toilet and they have to keep coming up with more restorative justice and ways to get the new majority into the better schools.

Anonymous said...

superior strength, indurance, flavor, style, power, beauty, intelligence, faithfulness, fearlessness, honesty...All those attributes has gotten poverty forever, and of course neverending school failure.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if we can ever get back to the topic and the billions of dollars wasted on educational fads?

Is this team teaching thing here to stay?

Integrating academically delayed students with students who have tremendous discipline/mental issues with students who are on or above academic level is a huge loss for all involved. Poof, all the issues go away because there are two teachers in the room?

waitingforsupport said...

@7:16am and the majority has been the majority since robbing the original inhabitants of this wonderful land that the original inhabitants offered to share with the new immigrants. The new immigrants (the majority) plundered raped stole killed and sickened their hosts. I guess it's a coincidence that the world has gone into the toilet and the majority keep coming up with more hateful acts and ways to try and stem the inevitable that minorities will soon be the majority. Step aside and let them show you how to do it right-- via peace and love, not grab steal plunder and beating of chest and patting on the back and saying "Amazing" for the most minute feat. It's a coming so embrace the change: peace and love.

TJL said...

Thank you 10:21. ICT is the biggest farce imaginable. Take the 12 "special needs" kids and put them in the room with the SpEd teacher, and the other 22 and put them with the GenEd teacher. Problem solved except for the educrats from Tweed.

TJL said...

Waiting, I know you're responding to all that BS, but some of what you're posting is similarly full of hate, black supremacy, etc. Hopefully you're just trying to prove a point.

Anonymous said...

Any white schools close lately? Oh, right, de blasio, the most liberal mayor in the world must be racist. Along with farina, a hispanic, still close only minority schools do to neverending failure, chaos and crime.

TJL said...

Many of these posts miss the point. White liberal "do-gooder" BS has fostered the ghetto mentality I see in some of my black and brown students. They don't see the irony of or telling black and brown people what is good for them (vote Democrat, depend on the government, etc.). If I point this out, I'm called a racist, alt-right, etc. and if my black and brown co-workers (or my high-achieving black and brown students) point this out they are called "Uncle Tom", sellout, "bougie", etc. I could go on, but this is not a political blog.

What IS germane to this blog is that all this experimentation and fads James speaks of chiefly is done to kids in the segregated urban schools. One program after another and none of them work. Not for anyone except for the six-figure do-nothings from Tweed and all of the PD facilitators, curriculum developers from U Chicago and Columbia TC (can you get more white or elitist than the IVORY tower!), etc. Take for one example "restorative justice", guess who gets screwed the most! My 25 good black and brown students held hostage by the 5 or so who ought to be in 600 schools.

TJL said...

11:46 you actually hit the nail on the head, DeBlasio and Farina are racist, or more accurately elitists who tell everyone what is best for them, while they keep everyone on the Democrat plantation.

However all this BS is spreading, Districts like 31 and 26 that have resisted all this are coming down too. Look at what has happened to Port Richmond HS and Tottenville HS. It's even spreading to the suburbs. Socialist group work, whatever gender you want in the bathrooms, your kids can't have their own pencil case (everything is "community supplies"). All this in a school district that votes "Red", to boot. (And I don't mean Communist Red!)

Anonymous said...

this stuff is tried because those schools always fail and they cant admit why.

Anonymous said...

I can’t walk around NYC for 10 minuets without hearing black people use the dreaded N word.

Anonymous said...

We need to respect the language, cultural norms and the behavior certain people exhibit. Who are we to judge. Sounds right my leftest friends? And it’s more like 2 minuets not 10 but we get the idea

Anonymous said...

Many give free grades. Take fucked up grading policies, no grades below 45 on tests even if they score a zero which leads them right to 65, teachers who dont want to be targeted, dont want to get called in by principal, dont want to be bothered by students, everybody, students who cant read row write magically pass.

ed notes online said...

I want to stress this point: This is not the James Eterno blog but the ICEUFT blog which does represent a general point of view over the past 15 years. So As one of the founders I am also touched by racist comments.
Now I agree with James about being open about comments. But I also feel obligated to respond to the comments and since this guy is relentless in spewing uninformed right wing comments we could spend all day going back and forth.
And without a response, some of the comments might resonate with some readers - I know they do.
So let them start a blog and spew forth what they want.
That every single post no matter what the topic leads to the same drivel and takes everyone off topic is not civil liberties.
If this guy came to an ICE meeting he would be a joke.
So why should an organization give him a forum that goes against everything we believe?

Anonymous said...

You leftest love calling people racists and nazis. And it’s not him it’s them. Fair and balance my liberal legend

Anonymous said...

It’s not a joke, many of the liberal policies have created a culture of generational government dependency. Not good for anyone. Just my opinion and I should be allowed in a free society to express it. If you don’t argue I respect that and wouldn’t want to curtail your right to express your opinion. Just the opposite I welcome it. Thank you and God bless this great country that allows all to express their beliefs even if everyone else disagrees with it

Anonymous said...

Agree not argue sorry for the misspelling

Anonymous said...

Dont confuse racism and facts. If i say, factually, blacks dominate jail, that is a fact. If i say they only close black schools because they fail, that is a fact. You might not like it said, but its true. Sinee we are teachers, teaching in an 80+% minority school system, this has to be a concern.

Highly Effective King Clovis said...

Punishing Elite Schools for being Elite is a bad idea. Not a good idea to lower standards. Really frustrates me. If anything, standards should be raised. More schools should have test based admissions, not fewer. While I understand we want more black and hispanic kids to have more opportunities, it seems unfair to deny opportunities to those who meet the standards.

The kids who go to Stuy, etc. work hard to get in here. It's not about race, it's about ability. The city should push to raise the level at all schools. It's not going to happen as long as they turn a blind eye to administrators who cook the books on grades. You're not doing any favors for kids by letting them get into elite schools when they clearly are not prepared for the challenge.

Anonymous said...

They close majority black schools because they are not properly supported by the DOE. Has very little to do with the kids. Look at some of the information on how African Americans committing the same crimes as whites are treated much harsher in sentencing. That is documented. Facts are tough things. Being in denial about racism doesn't help us. Norm is right. Start your own blog and leave this one to teachers who are trying to work with the kids and not blame them.

Anonymous said...

Now that’s a good one! Keep believing my friend.

Anonymous said...

More funding, more than billions a year, so they can throw books out the windows and break calculators, and of course never bring pen or paper.

Anonymous said...

Billions in welfare, still no progress. Time to try something different. Great society has failed. Not only has it failed to improve poverty rates it’s created the opposite. I could go on an on how it’s made certain aspects of our society dependent. Dependency knows no color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender or sexual orientation. Hey let’s try creating millions and millions of good paying full time jobs to eradicate the cycle of dependency. Let’s stop paying for the worlds economic progress and help our own country for once in a long time. Let’s stop getting screwed in trade with countries we paid in blood and money to keep free. If only someone would try it. I wonder who it will be?

Anonymous said...

3:11, support how exactly? funding what exactly?

Anonymous said...

Sorry trilllions not billions, what was I thinking.

Anonymous said...

Go to a suburban school and then go to an inner city school. Those kids in the Bronx have every right to be pissed off by how they are treated and so do their teachers. Your Republican answer is more tax cuts for the wealthy and more charter schools and more vouchers for private schools. Oh and let's not forget, break the unions. Keep blaming the kids. Soon, we can all be unemployed as they close the public schools. See New Orleans after Katrina to see how this is done.

Anonymous said...

We are getting screwed by Canada 5:27? Hard to deal with comments here.

Anonymous said...

Countries plural my friend not singular

Anonymous said...

Yeah wasting more money is the answer. It’s not a money problem why these kids and schools are failing. Wake it. Show me where someone is blaming kids. You need a course on reading comprehension. More leftest propaganda.