Here we go again. The last time the UFT agreed to a pilot program was regarding the extended school time. Like a cancer, that concept spread to all the schools. Now, Randi Weingarten approves the idea of a pilot program for school to end at 6P.M. and losing 4 weeks in the summer. The next contract comes up in 2009. Is this what the UFT is going to agree to.
I can't believe that idiotic principal who claims that the longer day and year are both needed to accomplish school objectives. Lady, if you can't accomplish your objective during a normal school day, you ought to consider submitting your resignation or retirement papers.
With all the discipline problems in our schools, the last thing we need is for a longer day and longer year. Just too bad that the morons who propose this are not in a classroom teaching. Wake up teachers. Your summer vacation will soon go the way of the dinosaur.
I didn't strike in 1975 for the current UFT leadership to give everything up.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Truth About NYC Schools
The New York City school system is in a disaster mode. Chancellor Klein needs to retire from it as soon as possible. He has a corporate mentality which is great for corporate boardrooms but not for the public schools.
Teachers have been excessed due to a drop in the population of their respective schools. Klein, along with the editorial boards of this city, has made it appear that these teachers should be terminated due to incompetence. These duly licensed teachers, who received satisfactory ratings, have been relegated to the substitute status. What a reward for years of hard work! I hope that Mr. Klein does some subbing when he leaves from the chancellor's position.
Discipline continues to worsen throughout the schools. We have far too many schools out that are totally out of control. Children run amok. Thanks to organizations such as child advocacy groups, you can't effectively discipline children. For example, you can't have a child write 25 times that he or she must behave themselves. You can't have an unruly student stand in back of the room for tardiness or disruptive behavior. These forms of punishment are regarded as corporal punishment and are forbidden.
We have supervisors out there who couldn't qualify for tenure because they either never taught or taught less than 3 years before fleeing to the world of supervision. It's so easy to criticize others. Anyone can take the best lesson in the whole world and destroy it. I'm so thrilled that I retired after 33 credited years. I'd be insulted to take orders from a so called supervisor who once worked in a bank or was a salesgirl in Macys up until 15 years ago. I don't mean to demean them, but you need at least 10 years of experience in the classroom as a teacher before you can go into supervision.
There is a never unending attack on tenure. Teachers need tenure from some of our principals. A new principal would seek to get rid of a teacher, even though the teacher is excellent, in order to make way for one of his or her cronies. Furthermore, if you had a difference in pedagogical techniques, this would serve as grounds for removal.
Teachers need the summer to unwind and just plain relax. In addition, teachers must have their master's degrees within a 5 year period in order not to forfeit their license. In 2005 the UFT began giving back hard fought items in negotiations with the city. It will be virtually impossible to get these items back. Randi Weingarten is not the personnel director for the central board. She is there by will of the UFT membership. Unity Caucus has been in for far too long. Every other city union has changed who is in charge. Teachers are supposed to be intelligent. By constantly voting Unity Caucus in, you have to worder. Are people aware that Ms. Weingarten and other UFT hierarchy receive double pensions? Classrooms teachers only get one. Why aren't retired teachers getting the VSF funds? Other city pensioners are. There is no motivation for Unity Caucus to work for the membership when they get in by landslide votes each time.
Why are so many teachers out of the classroom in teaching? They are performing duties that could be done by a secretary. We don't need evaluators, coordinators, district representatives, physical education honchos, etc. The same is true for supervisors. Get every duly licensed teacher back in the classroom. You'd be able to lower class size significantly that way. Instead, due to political pull, cronyism and favoritism, we have teachers out there who rarely have seen the insides of a classroom. They've been out of the classroom for most if not all of their illustrious careers. No one seems to stop this.
Teachers have been excessed due to a drop in the population of their respective schools. Klein, along with the editorial boards of this city, has made it appear that these teachers should be terminated due to incompetence. These duly licensed teachers, who received satisfactory ratings, have been relegated to the substitute status. What a reward for years of hard work! I hope that Mr. Klein does some subbing when he leaves from the chancellor's position.
Discipline continues to worsen throughout the schools. We have far too many schools out that are totally out of control. Children run amok. Thanks to organizations such as child advocacy groups, you can't effectively discipline children. For example, you can't have a child write 25 times that he or she must behave themselves. You can't have an unruly student stand in back of the room for tardiness or disruptive behavior. These forms of punishment are regarded as corporal punishment and are forbidden.
We have supervisors out there who couldn't qualify for tenure because they either never taught or taught less than 3 years before fleeing to the world of supervision. It's so easy to criticize others. Anyone can take the best lesson in the whole world and destroy it. I'm so thrilled that I retired after 33 credited years. I'd be insulted to take orders from a so called supervisor who once worked in a bank or was a salesgirl in Macys up until 15 years ago. I don't mean to demean them, but you need at least 10 years of experience in the classroom as a teacher before you can go into supervision.
There is a never unending attack on tenure. Teachers need tenure from some of our principals. A new principal would seek to get rid of a teacher, even though the teacher is excellent, in order to make way for one of his or her cronies. Furthermore, if you had a difference in pedagogical techniques, this would serve as grounds for removal.
Teachers need the summer to unwind and just plain relax. In addition, teachers must have their master's degrees within a 5 year period in order not to forfeit their license. In 2005 the UFT began giving back hard fought items in negotiations with the city. It will be virtually impossible to get these items back. Randi Weingarten is not the personnel director for the central board. She is there by will of the UFT membership. Unity Caucus has been in for far too long. Every other city union has changed who is in charge. Teachers are supposed to be intelligent. By constantly voting Unity Caucus in, you have to worder. Are people aware that Ms. Weingarten and other UFT hierarchy receive double pensions? Classrooms teachers only get one. Why aren't retired teachers getting the VSF funds? Other city pensioners are. There is no motivation for Unity Caucus to work for the membership when they get in by landslide votes each time.
Why are so many teachers out of the classroom in teaching? They are performing duties that could be done by a secretary. We don't need evaluators, coordinators, district representatives, physical education honchos, etc. The same is true for supervisors. Get every duly licensed teacher back in the classroom. You'd be able to lower class size significantly that way. Instead, due to political pull, cronyism and favoritism, we have teachers out there who rarely have seen the insides of a classroom. They've been out of the classroom for most if not all of their illustrious careers. No one seems to stop this.
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