Chalkbeat may be surprised with poll results showing parental support for how schools are handling in-person as opposed to remote education during the pandemic, but I am not at all shocked that parents are generally content with the type of learning their children are getting. As a remote parent of two, I am mostly satisfied with the remote instruction my two kids are receiving and I know they are as safe as possible.
The poll Chalkbeat cites shows 15% of parents want more in-person instruction, 10% want less in-person instruction, and a whopping 75% are getting what they want right now.
The poll digs a bit deeper:
How about we don;t go back until we get paid for last spring break? If they can send us into infected buses, trains and schools, they can surely negotiate, right? Or, if TRS, UFT and DOE are closed, it would be unsafe for us to go in, right?
ReplyDeleteJust looking at the numbers in my school shows what the parents favor. Out of just under 2000 students, a little over 1700 are remote learning. I hope that I don't bring anything home to my 4 month old, that terrifies me.
ReplyDeleteFACT: A small group of wealthy white parents demanded schools to be open. Mayor and Mulgrew agreed. I'm still waiting for a survey for teachers in NYC about what they prefer. Crickets as always.
ReplyDeleteBecause we know the answer. Teachers want to teach from home. Forever.
DeleteWith all due respect, I don't know where you work, but nothing is learned when we go into the building.
DeleteThey prefer you pay dues, that's it.
ReplyDeleteTeach NY, I have not heard teachers saying they want to teach from home forever.
ReplyDeleteI want to teach from home forever.
ReplyDeleteI should have said that I haven't heard from too many teachers who are seeking to teach from home forever. I haven't heard from even a few who use their real names.
DeleteTeach NY you are the Greatest !
ReplyDeleteThanks for your dedication to humanity.
Unfortunately, this situation and every situation about schools revolves around politics and funding.
ReplyDeleteYes. There is an influential group of wealthy parents that fund the campaigns for politicians and this group wants schools open. They do not care if teachers get sick.
As of this year, I am on the side of the mountain that is closer to retirement than the start of my ‘career.’ I say that because I am now seeing the finish line more clearly. Get me to my pension and a nice TDA and medical and I will live in a state with low taxes with a NY pension.
I will ply the game because that’s what this is. It is a game. For those who feel we are ‘educators’, knock yourself out.
I play the game and have very few problems with the kids and administration and I go home and live my life.
I don’t see any demands for Eva Moskowitz to reopen her schools. None from the mayor, chancellor or governor. I’m also apt to say that the parents of her students are a little more cognizant of what goes on in and outside the classroom than the typical parent that has a student in a non-charter/ non-specialized school. It looks like the teachers that work for Eva Moskowitz are getting better support from her than New York City teachers are getting from the UFT. The multi million dollar question (for the UFT during the opt out June time period) is why aren’t teachers being afforded input from the UFT into what most assuredly are demands to reopen schools very soon. Why the closed door secrecy? What promises are being made and what give backs are being traded? This is what I imagine is being said, I’m sure I’m wrong, of course :
ReplyDeleteMulgrew; ‘Bill, our members will never go for these demands.’
DeBlasio; ‘Then don’t tell them, same as always - just present it. If they don’t like it, too bad, they can quit. That’ll help me with the layoffs. They aren’t allowed to strike, so I’m not worried about any of that. We got to get these kids off the streets, the crime rates are through the roof! People are fleeing the city! Things have to get back to some type of normalcy and that means school! I don’t even have to have you sit in on this meeting Mike, I can just re-open the schools Monday morning without you! So sit there, shut up and listen. You agree to whatever I want. Or maybe you want to call Cuomo for help? (Pause) I didn’t think so.’
How many of these parents actually care about education though? Many of them are happy to have their high schooler home to take care of their other kids. Ive been told from certain parents that they kept their kid home because the kid wanted to stay home. I cant understand this sites obsession with staying remote. Numbers are in decline. Teachers are being vaccinated. Transmission in schools is low. Lets stop treating this March like it is last March because its a totally different ballgame. Dont give me the "We are vaccinated but we cant still transmit the disease" thing either. That is an incredibly unlikely scenario given the precautions + the history of how disease spreads when vaccines are introduced. We are at a point where the risk is extremely low. Also to the person who wrote that nothing is learned when you go into the building... what kind of teacher you? If you really feel like that... quit the job.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I care about our kids' education. We are in touch with other parents too.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog and respect your opinions. And I have no doubt you care about your kids' education. But I dont quite understand then why you want everyone remote. The numbers dont really add up. Is the point to have zero risk? There is no such thing. Would you recommend that kids dont interact or not see their friends? Should they not play sports? Not leave the house? Are we waiting for all kids to be vaccinated? I mean at what point does risk become minimal enough where we can say that sitting in a classroom with a mask on after getting temperature checked is enough to let them have a quality education.
DeleteWhat one has to remember is that each New York City public school is its own fiefdom. Where there is a beneficent ruler, who treats his subjects with kindness, learning is a likelihood. Where there is a tyrant in charge, unleashed from Bloomberg‘s loins, that treats all subjects as moronic slaves, learning is an extreme rarity. If I had to guess I’d say 75% of the schools are ruled by tyrants. If you work, or have a child, in one of the other 25% consider yourself fortunate indeed. This is why you’ll have some people on here self flagellating themselves at the thought of going back to school, while you’ll have others, like TeachNew York, who are chomping at the bit at the opportunity. Even with beneficently ruled 25%, New York City teachers are extremely fortunate because Bloomberg set up all these mini schools as cookie-cutter fast food type enterprises. They were all to be run exactly the same way, with exactly the same management styles. What’s amazing to me is that he’s been gone for well over a decade and his management style and progeny is still prevalent. The damage is unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the age of the students too. Parents of older kids love it because they can take care of small kids and maybe even send them out to work since most schools don't require kids attend the zoom or google meets and have to do little if anything to pass.
ReplyDeleteBronx ATR, agree with you but Bloomberg got what every mayor before wanted to get. DeBlasio and future mayors are no different. They all get addicted to power. They all want to keep their boots on the necks of teachers. Bloomberg was just better at it.
ReplyDelete11:30, I guess you’ve never spent time in a classroom where kids are just yelling and throwing things all day. Not all of them, not even most. But the ones that do, prevent the rest from learning so yeah in some schools no education is taking place.
It’s a waste of energy for teachers to argue amongst themselves over school openings. No one cares what any of us think. If wealthy white people are still running the show, then NYC progressives like DeBlasio and AOC really are just regular democrats who pretend to be progressive. What’s their excuse? The rich white guy made me do it? The rich white guy put a gun to my head and made me take his donations? Progressives, wake up. Your saviors have betrayed you and snuggled up nice and cozy with Corporate Democrats. I agree with 11:15. Play them all for the fools they are, get my pension and fuck you, nyc bye bye.
You want to know why a lot of teachers want to work from home? I'll tell you: Many veteran teachers have had enough of admins causing their lives to be miserable. There are plenty of teachers who feel like they have a target on their backs. Others are simply fed up with the micromanaging of every single thing. Then you have teachers who are tired of their cars being broken into. The list could go on forever. Teaching at home during this pandemic has been a relief for many vets. Then again, everybody has their own opinion.
ReplyDelete1:07, We always shut down when it is too late in the USA. I hope there is no giant spread of new variants but they are on the rise. The time to shut down is before new variants are out of control.
ReplyDeleteEven vaccinations aren't 100% solution. As virus mutates, two rounds of Pfizer/Moderna or one round of J&J probably not going to hold off #B1351 or #E484K spread. So continued social distancing, masking, other protocols needed to keep those from taking hold here.
ReplyDeleteUniversity of Minnesota
ReplyDeleteBoth the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against the B1351 variant first identified in South Africa, although the latter vaccine could offer good protection against the B117 variant first seen in the United Kingdom, according to two letters published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
For the past month, the weather has been cold and snowy and many parents are more than happy to keep their kids at home—especially the younger ones. Are there any parent complaints coming from the Eva Moskowitz Charters? All parents might change their tune when the weather starts warming up in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteHowever, teachers and other school personnel must be vaccinated —both doses—before interacting with each other and their students along with daily robust school based testing routines. And who knows when that will happen —with the unreliability of vaccine deliveries and canceled appointments.
Also keep in mind—there is also a more potent wild card Covid b.1.1.7 variant in the UK which is forcing Boris Johnson to have another lockdown starting Monday. He is calling it a 4th wave. This variant is predicted to be in the US in full force by next month—and many health experts believe it’s already here—and it appears that younger age groups may be more at risk.
James, can you start a new feature where people can submit copies of their correspondence with UFT officials and staff for potential posting on this blog? They can delete the identifying details if they don’t feel comfortable publicizing the original letters and emails.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure it would be quite interesting to the readership to find out who at the UFT answers helpfully and who doesn’t or who fails to reply.
Mulgrew obviously receives too many emails daily to answer each one personally. Nonetheless, he should have made arrangements for referrals to competent staff members who are authorized to respond on his behalf.
You should be worried. For ONCE, we should worry about something BEFORE it completely destroys us. This variant closed London down completely. Hospitals are nearing collapse. The US hasn’t done a damn thing. We aren’t even talking about COVID anymore. https://t.co/XCSWlEFNEJ
ReplyDeleteA Johns Hopkins so called "expert" claims that the pandemic will be over by this April. He said by then we'll have reached herd immunity. I don't know how that is possible since only 28 million people have been infected so far. That's not even 10 percent of the population. Will we all be vaccinated by then? Also, when do we have to stop wearing the masks?
ReplyDeleteI hope the Johns Hopkins expert is right but I wouldn't bet the house or plan my life around it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the latest on opening up the high schools!
ReplyDeleteApril
DeleteHow long until the uft stops using the "arbitration is closed" excuse? We are paying dues, right?
ReplyDeleteWhat about the high schools being used as vaccination sites ? I highly doubt the high schools are gonna open. Parents are not fighting for high schools to open.
ReplyDeleteThere Is much discussion these days of the importance of altruism in education, but it seems teachers are no more altruistic than other people even if they have that reputation, even if they, like many other jobs traditionally entrusted to women, are expected to be more altruistic, which often means little more than doing more work for less pay.
ReplyDeleteWe females are carrying most of the weight in this pandemic. And as most of us teachers are females, if want to find out what teachers think about remote, we should try to see things from a female’s point of view.
I want to teach remote, not forever, but for as long as I can because I want to stay home and spend more time with my children, with my family. I care more about my children than other people’s children.
Now I know that sounds selfish, and it certainly doesn’t jive with the progressive pedagogy preached from the ivory towers these days, but I’ve done yeoman’s work for other people’s children for decades, and now, if only for a year or so I would prefer to keep my job, work at home, where I can spend time with my family.
Is that selfish? Well, try this on.
I can Zoom from Miami, take the family there, bring the laptops. Or from an RV parked in Yosemite. Lots of folks are doing just that only they work for Zoom or Google or a bank. Don’t I work for Zoom and Google too? No? No, I guess I don’t, but maybe for now I can get some of those high tech perquisites too. Is that too selfish?
Let’s talk dead presidents.
Teaching remote is saving me a bundle. I can get more done because I don’t waste time in traffic, on trains, subways, cycling, walking to work. And the money! Yeah, if time is money, I’ve saving all that commuting time. And I’ve not spending all that money on gas, train tickets, subway fares.
And I don’t have to see the boss or the jerk or the nasty. Of that boy that wants to rape me.
Yeah, remote is better but it’s like love not harpies, it ain’t forever.
So, as Van the Man sez, “Let’s enjoy while we can . . . .”
Finally! Some honesty. I think people feel the same way as you, but still hide behind the number 1 excuse of not wanting to get sick. People I work with are “terrified” to go back, but they’re in Florida and Cancun as we speak. I don’t think you’re that terrified if you’re hanging in a mask-less swim-up bar or are dancing at the bar in Miami. Just own the reason why you want to stay home.
DeleteI mean it is honest. But not what is best for the kids... its what is best for you personally. That is not what we signed up for in becoming teachers. Its a selfless job in alotta ways.
DeleteTeach NY is the only honest voice on this blog. Teachers are some of the biggest hypocrites that I know. Just own what you are and move on.
DeleteSo basically you feel entities to get paid 6 figures a year of tax payer’s money to go on vacation with your family even if that means your students who need to be in person because of lack of food, heat, mental/emotional support can’t be in person? You have a JOB. Using the pandemic as an excuse to stay home is both selfish and lazy. You should be ashamed of yourself and I feel
DeleteBad for your students because students always know when they are not a priority.
Soon after coming to NYC, Chancellor Carranza praised Bronx superintendent Karen Ames for raising math scores in struggling schools. Then his First Deputy Chancellor dropped the ax. She's charging age, sex and ethnic bias in a $150M suit.
ReplyDeleteBronx educator fired after sharing Holocaust story, refusing 'Wakanda' salute https://trib.al/UhZWX7F
The John Hopkins doctors is basing his April prediction based on the presumed assumption that many more than the 28 million people were originally infected and not accounted for due to either being asymptomatic or lack of testing last February and March. There is speculation that the amount of people infected may be actually 8 times higher. That puts the number at approx. 224 million infections in our country alone. At 68% of the population with potential antibodies, add in the amount of people who are now getting vaccinated and the upcoming increase in vaccinations we could be closer to herd immunity. Keep in mind we didn't see numbers truly drop last year until June due to better weather. If masks are worn, social distance guidelines followed we will not overwhelm the hospitals. April therefore is a possibility but my non-expert opinion in better bet is in June we see a significant return towards normalcy.
ReplyDeleteFrom Business Insider reacting to the Hopkins professor's oped in the WSJ:
ReplyDeleteBut there's no concrete data yet to suggest that the majority of Americans are immune to the coronavirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one-quarter of the US population has been infected with the coronavirus so far. Even in New York City, where the virus spread widely in the beginning of 2020, studies found that 22% of the city's population had been infected by April. A more recent study found that by mid-November, around 14% of the US population had coronavirus antibodies.
"Even after adjusting for underreporting, a substantial gap remains between the estimated proportion of the population infected and the proportion infected required to reach herd immunity," the authors wrote.
Zimlichman said the very idea that a nation can reach herd immunity with the coronavirus has "never been put to the test." That's because the required threshold is often a moving target - and it can rise as new, more contagious variants spread.
ReplyDeleteStudies have shown that the more contagious coronavirus variant discovered in the UK, called B.1.1.7, may increase the virus' reproductive value by 0.4 to 0.9. In that case, up to 75% of the US population would likely need to develop some form of immunity.
"When you have a new variant of COVID, if the reproductive number is higher, that means that the virus is going to be able to spread even if fewer people are susceptible," Rahul Subramanian, a data scientist at the University of Chicago, recently told Insider.
With that in mind, he said, "I would hesitate to say that we've reached herd immunity."
Reaching herd immunity could be even more difficult if vaccines prove less effective against new variants or if people refuse to get shots.
Some research suggests that vaccines may not work as well against the more infectious variant discovered in South Africa. And 13% of adults in the US say they won't get a coronavirus shot, according to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
"Obviously you'll have issues with people that refuse to get vaccinated for whatever reason," Zimlichman said, "so getting herd immunity by vaccination is a hard one to achieve."
Shelley and Teach NY and anyone else taking advantage of this situation are the type of assholes who give teachers a bad name. They are a small minority.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree!
DeleteSelfish me only Americans are why there have been 500,000 deaths in the US. Truly sick nation.
ReplyDeleteAll i have to say is that the people soo afraid of catching the disease better be the omes getting the vaccination
ReplyDeleteSuker is an asshole too for thinking that cynically. Some of us care.
ReplyDeleteThen I’m not talking about you? Why are you so sensitive? Go back to your rocking chair!
DeleteNYS has the highest rate of people currently hospitalized from Covid in the country.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredibly dangerous NY is trying to reopen so much when our Covid rates are some of the worst in the country and more contagious variants are spreading here.
Herd immunity my ass.
ReplyDeletePolitico Morning Consult poll in Forbes.
ReplyDeleteOver half (55%) of the roughly 2,000 voters surveyed in the Morning Consult/Politico poll said states should wait to reopen schools until teachers are vaccinated, while 34% said schools should open as quickly as possible regardless of teacher vaccinations.
Republicans proved more supportive of a speedy approach in the survey, with 55% of Republican respondents saying schools should reopen even if all teachers haven’t received the vaccine.
On the other hand, nearly three-quarters of Democrats said that schools should wait until teachers have been vaccinated.
Teachers will be vaccinated by the end of spring break unless they chose not to be...
DeleteCool. Mulgrew had a week more to negotiate last spring break. You are all just gonna forget. Wow.
ReplyDeleteMy school and my classes have about a 70% attendance when in person. I have about 60% remote. Most of the same students who came to school/class every day when we were “live” show up to my google meet every day. And the same kids not coming to the google meets are pretty much the same students hat weren’t showing up anyway. And 70% attendance figures is based on the student coming to ONE class per day at least. Real number more like 50%. I agree with earlier comment very little education happening live anyway. That is the dirty little secret. Yes 10-20 percent of my students try and learn but the rest do nothing or copy from the good 20%. Let’s be honest about what was going on in the schools before he pandemic.
ReplyDelete1016,
ReplyDeleteThat’s not a dirty little secret. It’s the truth.
For the most part, nobody learns anything in the doe for a variety of reasons. We all make excuses also and play the game. I’m an adult and can have the tough conversations, but lost people want to move on.
Heck, ask an administrator about how most kids can barely read and get ready for non-stop rhetoric about how pronouncing the words is a great start.
I used to really bang the drum so to speak, but now I go along to get along. If you can fog a mirror, you can pass my class.
955. It’s not a teachers job to provide food, heat or mental support. That’s one of the problems with nyc education. Schools are for learning to read, write etc... not for taking on a parent’s responsibility to feed and shelter their children.
ReplyDeleteThere is a global pandemic. I was teaching in my building, so was my partner. My kids were going to school. All that has stopped not because we decided to take a vacation but because of the pandemic. Our schools are not open and won't be opening again this year. Nothing wrong with us getting out of town, as so many have, to sunny, warm, Florida, while we work, online.
ReplyDeleteThe three essential workers in the family are vaccinated against the pandemic, those not eligible for vaccine yet will get it as soon as it is available to them. Meanwhile we all follow all CDC guidelines.
But we don't feel guilty. And yes, we are happy to keep working like this for the rest of this year and would be happy if we could continue doing so all summer and even into the Fall. And we don't feel guilty about it. In fact, we are happy to save a lot of money. Most Americans like us, ordinary working families who are luck to have work are doing the same, savings rates are setting records. And we are glad that we can enjoy our time together. We are not depressed, anxious, suffering pandemic fatigue.
Why is this so upsetting to people? We are making the best of bad situation.
The reason some are upset with us is that they have an unrealistic, idealistic view of teaching and teachers, but we don't. We worked as teachers in Haiti. Now that was work for saints and nuns. But we were never foolish enough to believe that we were saving children from hunger or poverty or slavery because we knew only they could do that. We are teachers and we admire and love teachers, but we are not fools. This pandemic has deprived the most needy of education, of bread. We know that. But we also know that we are doing our part, have been for decades.
Maybe its because we were born poorer than kids in this city. We never had a guidance counselors, let alone college advisors begging us to apply for a scholarship. We rode the public bus to school and we paid for it. Often we walked half way to save some of the fare and pooled our money with others. How about having one pair of shoes, with a hole in it? I'm not gonna go on with the sad story of no teachers, not books, bringing chalk to school for teachers and so on. We didn't have indoor plumbing. Get the picture.
So I don't have any guilt about underprivileged America kids, none.
Yesterday, I was in the addiction clinic, clean, organized, full of resources, all paid for with tax dollars, most of it coming from far away and I thought ...yeah America is fucking great. A dissident lefty I find patriotism the last refuge of scoundrels, but I do this country. It's been so good to us. And it is good to the children we teach. They have computers and internet and food and shoes. They will be fine. Students want what we have, want to do what we've done. Learned English. Studied. Got good jobs. Traveled. Made their mothers proud. There is too much theory about how to save the oppressed in this country by people who have no idea what it means. A lot of what I see is thwarting ambition and coddling kids who need to strong and emancipate themselves.
Here comes the sun, gotta get in my morning walk on the beach.
If the idiots in charge had bothered to effectively survey and coordinate, most teachers and parents would have the type of teaching/learning (remote, in person, hybrid) they prefer. Sure some might not have gotten their choice but I think most could have been satisfied.
ReplyDeleteIf I hear one more person say, "Teaching is supposed to be a selfless job", I'm gonna puke. That is total bullshit. Teaching is a JOB. It is a job that pays for food on my table and a roof over my head. I am not a martyr or a missionary.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard teaching is a selfless job? Go ahead and puke. It's not about being a martyr or missionary. We get paid 6 figs and thats awesome. But yeah if you can't see that there's a big part of this job that is selfless... you probably suck at teaching.
DeleteSelfish Sukar, Shelley bragging from her Florida beach house about teaching remotely, me,me,me TeachNY, the guy who spends his life worried about his spring break pay from last year that the rest of the world doesn't give a shit about, the cowards who pass everyone rather than stand up to administrators: you are a bunch of selfish losers, no matter how much you have in your union won TDAs. You are a left-right microcosm of why the US has had such a terrible coronavirus response. It's me first all day and all night.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder nothing could get organized from this blog, some of the selfish assholes who comment couldn't get elected to anything and if you were ever elected, you would sell out your members in a half a second for some per session.
It’s Suker, not Sukar!
DeleteTeachers I know work so hard. I can't believe these self centered, cynical commenters are more than just a few malcontents who bring nothing to the discussion.
ReplyDeleteIn defense of the comments,
ReplyDeleteIf you’ve spent any time in a large institution, it’s not hard to see uncle Joe for what he is, an institutional survivor. His real talent is knowing who’s side is the buttered one and pledging his faith and service in them. Do *not* expect him to help with healthcare or climate. Or to organize teachers.
LOL. And I'm on a permanent 6th period now, from my bed, $720 extra per check. I'm done teaching, was told i shouldn't bother. I just post assignments and have Google Classroom grade them. Hey, this is what you all wanted. Everyone passes. I give up.
ReplyDeleteWasn’t it back in September that DeBlasio announced some nonsense poll that 75% of NYC parents wanted their children to return to their schools for indoor learning. And he also said that perhaps some classes could also take place outdoors. The bottom line is nobody knows what they don’t even know—with these new Covid variants —especially when you listen to the medical authorities.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, as a national priority-all teachers should be vaccinated—instead all these mixed messages from the CDC—and just hope that the data continues to show the doses effectiveness against Covid and also against the new variants. Unfortunately, they still seem to unsure about an upcoming vaccine for children under 16–and that in itself is also a factor—in order for in- person instruction and all other school activities to return to the pre-Covid days.
Randi was just on NBC saying nyc has been a model school system. She wants summer school so students can get their "mojo" back. What a joke. Students won't even show up. With leadership like that, who needs enemies? Dues well spent.
ReplyDeleteThe possessed marionette Randi Weingarten is on Meet the Press. (Watch at your own risk.) Her polls say 70% teachers want to be back in schools if protocols are in place and “we need a summer school semester to get the kids mojo back” and quickly added ‘on a volunteer basis’ (ie, if you want a job in September) Has anyone answered such a poll? Are you guys looking forward to working in the summer?
ReplyDeleteBiden's Surgeon General - $2 million in COVID consulting fees, pushing COVID panic
ReplyDeleteBiden's SecDef - $1.7 million in Raytheon stock, awarded Raytheon $285 million in contracts
Biden's CIA Director - Millions of $ from China to his think tank, soft China policy
Sense a pattern?
11:07 Yes. A pattern of all Presidents. Profits over people. The nature of capitalism and the US ideology of neoliberalism.
DeleteI notice Mr. Suker only complained that his name was spelled wrong, not that anything else there was not correct. I got mine so fuck the rest of you.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I never said that since I got mine the rest of you can fuck yourselves. I just wish teachers would grow a backbone and stop complaining so much. Be proactive in your own school not just a blabbermouth as an anonymous commentator which will gain you zero points with anyone.
DeleteSorry, but I never said that since I got mine the rest of you can fuck yourselves. I just wish teachers would grow a backbone and stop complaining so much. Be proactive in your own school not just a blabbermouth as an anonymous commentator which will gain you zero points with anyone.
DeleteLOL at Randi. I will work summer school, as I always do, due to retention rights. A very tiny % of students show up on a regular year. They didn't even show up for online summer school last year. Oh, well. $53 bucks an hour. What can I say? Highest grad rate ever. UFT should be proud.
ReplyDeletePolitifact editor using Andrew Cuomo talking point on Andrew Cuomo-supporting network to absolve Andrew Cuomo of deaths Andrew Cuomo is responsible for.
ReplyDeleteAdd Jo to the list of me first characters who couldn't organize their way out of a paper bag who comment here.
ReplyDeleteWhat did Jo say wrongly? The students didn't show up? That is a fact. The per session rate is what it is.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, james has been talking about organizing for 20 years. Not happening. Mulgrew got 88% last election after all this. More teachers, including me are learning to shut the fuck up and take the $130K.
My AP actually told me I should do less work because students wouldn't do any work in my class and my passing % was lower than the others. THE NYCDOE WINS. Everyone passes. Uft knows about this, does nothing. Why should I or Jo or Shelley have to figure out how to do this mass organization and change the world when it is obvious nobody cares. Those who care get destroyed by students and admin. I no longer care.
Dave’s right of course. It’s one of the big reasons the public, politicians and private industry are about to turn against teachers with a Bloomberg/Klein ferocity. What they won’t understand is what Dave stated - this pragmatism has been pounded into teachers from the DOE and a silently complicit UFT. When the attacks arrive, the DOE will turn on a dime and accuse teachers of everything it has solidified. Then Mulgrew and Weingarten will scream and throw their arms to heaven, from the roof of 52 Broadway, that all the accusations are untrue and that they have perennially fought for students and teachers. When deBlasio is finally gone, they’ll then blame him or Trump or Eva or anyone who’s walking by that they can grab and throw into the UFT Welcome Wagon. Get ready for Tier 7 - indentured servitude for the newly graduated White devils from the suburbs and just the same old crap for everyone else. Start documenting everything - or you may be the one in the van.
ReplyDeleteYes, BronxATR, we might as well play along. Let the minority students learn nothing, this is what the DOE wants. Why else would you eliminate tests, attendance, any legit grading policy...While wondering why those same students can't get 4 years of college completed or get decent jobs...While those students can;t write a sentence...Cool, joke is on them, let them work at McDonalds forever...I have a 2020 Benz and own 2 homes. Thanks uft. You are doing a great job. Don't say i didn't try. Dues free since 2018.
ReplyDeleteA main reason for keeping this blog going is to get some UFTERS to realize they have to be part of the process of fixing things and cannot expect Mulgrew or Randi to do it for them. I am grateful for those who get in touch with me or others and are trying to get involved in repairing the UFT. However, I have not succeeded at all with the more cynical commenters here. Some of their comments are quite painful for me to read. I knew people like them throughout my teaching career; I represented them as CL. They do not speak for any kind of majority of educators in my opinion and they more than likely will not help with anything but will continue attacking those of us who want a union that actually functions as one.
ReplyDeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteIf what you just write is accurate, then how did Mulgrew get 88% last election? SO 88% are happy with what's going on. And you expect change?
"Some of their comments are quite painful for me to read. I knew people like them throughout my teaching career; I represented them as CL. They do not speak for any kind of majority of educators in my opinion..."
Some 80% or maybe even more of active members did not vote in the last UFT election. Turnout was quite low. It is so possible to turn this around with a bunch of activists who want a real union. Cynics, I understand you but you aren't changing anything.
ReplyDeleteThis is the band of idiots James things is going to bring change.
ReplyDeleteUFT President Michael Mulgrew has won his fourth term as the union’s president. Mulgrew, the Unity Caucus candidate, received 38,591 votes, or 86.2 percent of the votes cast, while Solidarity Caucus candidate Lydia Howrilka received 3,604 votes (8 percent) and Dermott Myrie the candidate of the MORE caucus, got 2,540 votes (5.6 percent).
2014 UFT Contract-members overwhelmingly ratified a groundbreaking nine-year contract with the Department of Education on June 3. The contract passed with more than 77 percent of the 90,459 votes, which were counted by the independent American Arbitration Association.
Did you check how many of those Mulgrew votes came from retirees? A sizable chunk I would say and many other came from functionals. Nothing against retirees or functionals but they are not classroom teachers.
ReplyDeleteI fought the 2014 contract with everything I had. That base of over 20,000 no votes needs to organize. We won high schools in 2016. It didn't take that many votes. Yes we can organize those non-voters. I am sure the cynics will have none of that, however.
My request to the cynics is to leave us be to try to do our work. It is a bothersome distraction for us to have to respond to the cynical comments that often take over here. I would rather concentrate on trying to find viable candidates to run for and win chapter positions this spring.
ReplyDeleteWhy aren’t there term limits for UFT President? At the most 8 years.
ReplyDeleteYou say votes came from wherever...Why would that change next time? It isn't like Mulgrew or the 2014 contract won with 51% of the vote.
ReplyDeleteYou say let you try to do the work...Were you trying in 2005? How about when you ran for president? How about 2014? How about every other election? How about when they sent us to die last year and this year?
So when shall i expect to see this change? Remember, everyone on here laughs that only "3" [people opted out. Cool, so you have 200k+votes for the 2022 election. It should be a breeze.
Oh, and after you figure out all this stuff, figure out when we are getting spring break pay from 11 months ago. Another success story, 86% voted for this guy.
9:11if you mean by selfless that you should care about your students and try to educate them the best you can and tie them the best skills you can, i agree. If you mean by selfless that we should be ready to put ourselves or our families in danger, sacrifice money or time from our families for our students, then I disagree with you. It’s a job. Not a calling. Become a priest or a reverend. Those are callings. Teaching is a job. Should you do it to the fullest? Of course. But please spare me the liberal claptrap thAt I am responsible for changing poverty, homelessness, etc.
ReplyDeleteCNN medical analysts indicated that teachers should be vaccinated as quickly as possible—but they should NOT be a priority. They think that the soon to be approved one dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine should be prioritized for teachers and adults in school buildings.—but that may not happen till April. Vaccines for students may be available for students—in the summertime—at the earliest. And there is still the Covid variants that still have to play out in the upcoming weeks.
ReplyDeleteAnd then today, Randi Weingarten on Meet The Press says ridiculous things —that teachers need to be vaccinated but not all of them in order to reopen and praised NYC as an urban model for in-person learning.Is she for real?
So, parents are not stupid—they prefer safety too and they are scared—and that’s why they are not screaming to reopen right now—because of too many uncertainties. DeBlasio’s parent poll back in September—was deeply flawed and misleading. Also, just wondering about where the parent voices of the all remote Eva Moskowitz Charters have been —since September.
Don't read too much into the Success Academy parents. If they raise a fuss Eva can kick their kids out.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe diversity of approaches to a practical problem like the one we face is one of the problems of cooperation.
To deal with the practical problem we need to acknowledge the diversity of approaches, even the cynical, “All is lost, we can do nothing but tickle the monster . . . .” approach. That is, those who claim the only approach is to complain on a blog and do nothing because nothing is going to change need to be acknowledged and not silenced. Those who advocate opting out as the best approach need to be acknowledged.
There is little or no censorship by James, owner and monitor of this blog, of disgusting and offensive rants about race. Bigots and zealots of several kinds post here frequently and are not silenced. So, while the constant opt-out and give up posts are an annoyance, they are not, in what they say, worthy of censorship. Indeed, they give voice to one legitimate approach to the practical problem we face and if we are to cooperate to address that problem, we must acknowledge the opt-out and do nothing approach as one option, one approach. That is, if we are to cooperate, we must accept the inherent difficulties of cooperation.
I say we, but in the end, this is James’s blog. He can do what he wants. I think it’s a mistake to silence the opt-outers while giving a forum to the bigots and racists, but it’s not my blog.
The diversity of approaches here on this blog is one matter, the diversity of approaches from the several caucuses another. There must be cooperation there too and this also requires an acknowledgment of the diversity of approaches to our mutual problem.
Sometimes the iron is hot and cooperation strikes, but such moments are rare in the Unites States. We all witnessed a handful of these moments recently when strikes and job actions were popping up across the nation, but there is stiff resistance to job actions from within the unions as we saw recently in Chicago. Big labor is the major weapon of the Democrats against Socialism and the Left. This is clearly the case here in NYC in the conservative unions like the UFT.
James wants to change that. But he needs people to cooperate. His approach is to prove how bad Mulgrew and Unity are and how much better things would be if we would only cooperate and get Unity out. Will it work? I hope so. But also hope that all approaches, even those that seem uncooperative, are acknowledged as legitimate approaches that might also work. In the end, we will have to cooperate and agree to one approach. But I’m not sure we are there yet.
Looks like the doe must pay for all charter school covid testing now as well...
ReplyDeletehttps://nypost.com/2021/02/19/judge-doe-must-provide-nyc-charter-schools-with-covid-19-tests/
Christie was on a morning show today, criticizing teachers. Bridgegate Christie back to his old tricks.
ReplyDelete1. Where is the billion from diblasshole wife for mental health? WE need it.
ReplyDelete2. Unless you have taught at least 15 years, your opinion means jack shit if a veteran is enjoying the time at home with kids and the constant commute, parking, 40 kids in a class crazy admin etc etc. Awww you worked a few years, 90% of you tier 6 won't even last 10 years. Seriously shut up, if a married DOE couple has a kid only one parent gets the 6 week leave not both.
3. If you are soo so 😱 😱🥶 scared to go back get this unknown vaccine good luck and stop whining.
4.High schools at this point should go back for mp3 last 6 weeks. IT is also a good indicator to see if there is any spread moving towards summer.
This is the job. It sucks. It isn't changing. We can't even give honest grades. As Shelley, stated, suck it up, get paid and opt out seems like a legit option. That is my option.
ReplyDeleteShelley, A very thoughtful comment on different approaches. You say I let the bigots through but what passes is the mild stuff. I don't want to talk about the bigoted stuff that doesn't get through. It's way over the top. I try to be as fair as possible to all sides but sometimes it is rather frustrating fending off the anti-union comments from the same two or three who have opted out a thousand times.
ReplyDelete8:54 am- You're right, he is a survivor. I've met a couple in my career. Thanks for the insight.
ReplyDelete2 or 3 opted out? Lol.
ReplyDeleteAre the parents in Los Angeles county that are revolting against the union nonsense and the unions not following the science Republicans? Seems like that would be a vastly Democrat stronghold.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you charged students Union dues you’d start doing what’s right for them?
You know what’s really hysterical, 859? You thinking that only a few opt outers care that there’s only a few. The few get to have their cake and eat it too. They save $$$ AND the union stays intact preserving whatever benefits it is they preserve.
ReplyDeleteCheers to the guy who wants to puke. I’m not a member of the convent or military. I’m a paid employee. I’m paid to teach an academic subject not to provide coddling,food, shelter or mental health services or make any damn sacrifices for that matter.
Cheers to Shelly who knows what true poverty and disadvantages look like.
Boos to all the self identified saviors who love to signal their virtue while minority kids with a shot at making it get screwed by the policies the self identified saviors advocate for.
Governments and Businesses are still struggling to understand which of the pandemic’s effects will be temporary and which will turn out to be permanent.
ReplyDeleteThree new reports attempt to analyze these longer-term trends. One is from Glassdoor, a website that allows workers to rank their employers. Another is from the Boston Consulting Group, a management consultancy. The third is from the Chartered Management Institute, a British professional body. Read together, they imply that Businesses stand to benefit.
One change that is all but certain to last is employees spending more of their time working at home. The Glassdoor report finds that less commuting has improved employee health and morale. Splitting the week between the home and the office is also overwhelmingly popular with workers: 70% of those surveyed wanted such a combination, 26% wanted to stay at home and just 4% desired a full-time return to the office. Perhaps as a consequence, remote work has not dented productivity—and indeed improved it in some areas. Flexible work schedules can be a cheap way to retain employees who have child-care and other home responsibilities.
From these three sources, cited here in The Economist, no Left-Wing periodical, we learn that only 4% of office workers want to return to the office.
But we are not office workers. Our work, like the work of nurses, suffers productivity loss under the current work regime and the consequences are grave.
Baumol's cost disease (or the Baumol effect) is the rise of salaries in jobs that have experienced no or low increase of labor productivity, in response to rising salaries in other jobs that have experienced higher labor productivity growth. Teachers and nurses and are the classic examples used to explain the cost disease.
There are three primary methods for increasing productivity. Give the workers technology. Replace the workers with technology. Coerce the workers to do more work without providing technology. We have been given technology and this has not increased productivity mainly because we have resisted increases in classroom size. Jobs have been replaced with automation (consider the school secretaries whose jobs are being replaced by machines and by Admins who break laws and contrasts to outsource secretary work to school aids). But most of the productivity gain in education is coercion. We, organized workers, are now competing with non-organized charter school teachers who are more productive because of coercion. And, in our building the spill-over effect of coercion (the Bloomberg and Charter school management styles and methods) we too are subjected to a constant coercive force.
And, our work, like the work of nurses is far more important to the nation. And that should give us the power to resist coercion. The UFT, representing teachers and nurses, has failed to use this power. Now that the Democrats are in charge, locally and nationally, the teacher unions have joined the chorus of the Business Class and Democrats calling for the opening of schools.
When schools are opened we will be under great pressure to increase productivity and close the pandemic learning gap. The technology, that will bend and break the contractual protections of workers, especially on classroom size, will be bent and broken further. More automation and outsourcing, the blurring of responsibilities and job descriptions, will be in place.
And, coercion will be encouraged by management and the Democratic/ Business monopoly.
To resist we need a new UFT. Unity must go.
How will we do it.
The elections are on the horizon. We need cooperation, coordination, and communication. We need one opposition, not three or four. We need to the retirees to understand what is happing and why they need to support us.
A tall order.
A mistake Biden made was to say that schools would be open in 100 days. If teachers, using scientific data and the concerns of parents, can push back, then maybe he will re-calibrate.
ReplyDeleteRandi Weingarten is already pushing for open schools. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/21/teachers-union-reopening-schools-covid-weingarten-470615
She used similar language before for National Teaching Certification. Michael Mulgrew also embraced the destructive Common Core, another one size fits all metric.
School re-openings should be on a school by school basis. This is unwieldy for a large district like NYC, but this is a deadly disease and can have long-term negative effects. I feel ill when I hear that the risk of transmission is very low in schools. How many covid positive cases are ok? What about the ripple effects on the families?