MULGREW CONCEDES SCHOOL SAFETY IS BROKEN

The normally happy talking UFT President Michael Mulgrew is admitting that there are major problems in the schools with discipline and order. He is quoted in what is now becoming the voice of the shell shocked NYC teachers, the NY Post. “Our current discipline system is broken,” Mulgrew said Wednesday evening. “It doesn’t work for students or staff.” 

Mulgrew's solution to the problem is as wishy-washy as we would expect.

“To make schools safe for everyone, we need the resources and training necessary to change school climate,” Mulgrew said Wednesday.

Blah, blah, blah.

Okay, I'm for more resources but training is a code word for more professional development.

We don't need more professional development on discipline. We must have teachers put back in charge of classrooms. That's simple. Administration needs to support teachers and stop looking to control us. It is also essential for teachers to have a meaningful role in school safety that is more than just having to have representation on the Safety Committee.

Who are the ones that lose the most from our broken disciplinary system?
1-The teachers who have to put up with schools where they are not permitted to have control over the classroom for sure.

2-The decent kids who want to learn who suffer when the out of control children with many needs that can't be handled in a regular classroom can easily take over.

The Post has a column from a Flushing Middle School Teacher on school discipline.

An excerpt:

If I tell a student to put away her phone, the conversation usually goes something like this:

Student: “Leave me the f–k alone.”

Me: “I’m going to call your parents.”

Student: “I don’t give a crap. My parents will just agree with me.”

Then maybe she’ll throw a desk across the room for good measure.

So now the trend is that the good kids, the kids who do their homework, who pay attention, are seeing this and asking themselves, “Why do I have to be good all the time?” And now they’re misbehaving, too — because, well, why not?

So what can we teachers do to lay down the law? Under the current system, nothing. The best we can do is meet with the troubled kids and try to explain that their actions have long-term consequences. Consequences that, as adults, could be fatal.

Every now and then, it works.

Our new friends at the Post went even further last night publishing numerous accounts from teachers at every level from all over the city on the lack of discipline.

A sampling:

This is way beyond talking out of turn — today’s public-school students are hellions who attack educators, shout X-rated bile and make bomb threats with impunity, teachers told The Post.

"If I had a dime for every time I was told to suck something, I’d be a millionaire,” said a female Jamaica, Queens, high-school teacher.

 “They know the system. They can say whatever they want to us and get away with it, but we can’t say a thing to them.”

When teachers use what little leverage they have, the kids do their best to get the educators in hot water.

"You can’t even tell a student that they aren’t going to pass a test or a class anymore because they will go to an administrator and complain that you made them feel uncomfortable and we’ll get written up,” she added.

The situation is no better in elementary schools, a teacher at Staten Island’s PS 44 said.

“In the lunchroom, there are constant fights . . . I had to go to urgent care. I was kicked in the knee [by a student]. I was limping for a week. I had blocks thrown at me,” she said.

Here is what the Post said was Mayor Bill de Blasio's reaction to the lack of order in the schools.

But de Blasio on Thursday doubled down on his claims about the effectiveness and fairness of restorative justice, crowing that schools are safer now than ever.

“Just look at the statistics,” the mayor told reporters.

“I think they have been very clear and consistent,” he said.

“A lot of the problems we experienced in the past have been reduced greatly in our schools. Crime has gone down, violence has gone down, our schools are safer than ever before,” he said.

“We had to address the overuse of suspensions,” he added.

“We had to address the discriminatory use of suspensions.”

What is the old saying about statistics Mr. Mayor?

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

What did Mark Twain officially say?

"Facts are stubborn but statistics are more pliable."

The facts are it is the wild west show with out of control students in way too many of our schools and the statistics are there for the gullible and politically motivated to quote.

The Post is not making these things up or just getting some small scale anecdotal evidence. The system is broken. Don't get me wrong, I'm no NY Post shill. While the Post's reporting on the schools has been on the money, the Post editorial board thinks the answer is more charter schools. That is not the solution.

More charter schools would make the problems in the schools worse as it would keep going a two tiered system of haves and have-nots. Lifting the cap on charters would deplete the public schools of resources but public schools would have to continue to compete on a non-level playing field for students since public schools must take all kids, including those with the most academic and emotional needs and English Language Learners. Charters can be selective, counsel out problem kids and not backfill their seats when students leave .

We must restore integrity to the system. The first step is to empower teachers to have control over their classrooms again. The culture in schools must make teachers feel respected by students, parents and administrators.