This is the last part of my responses on Mayor Bloomberg's Washington D.C. speech on the "rubber room', ATRs. and tenure. In my previous responses I discussed what Mayor Mike and Chancellor Klein wants to obtain from teachers in exchange for the "City pattern" despite no other union agreeing to "givebacks" for the same "City pattern" Their demands are to fire all "rubber room" teachers, give ATRs a one year time limit, and as for tenure? They want none. What Bloomberg and Klein want is what no self-respecting union can never allow.
Bloomberg and Klein want to use student test scores to determine tenure and the right for principals to layoff teachers as they please rather than seniority. Both proposals require State legislative action to occur and the State teachers union (NYSUT) will never allow this to happen. Moreover, I do anticipate our own union (UFT) will never agree to these outrageous demands anyway. In fact, even the ATR one year time limit is a backdoor attack on tenure and a further reason that our local and State unions will not give one inch on anything that affects tenure.
Any changes to tenure is non-negotiable even if some well meaning bloggers think it is okay to strengthen tenure provisions. I might even agree with a blogger that a strengthened tenure process for "newbie teachers", with reasonable benchmarks, might actually work better than allowing principals to make tenure decisions based upon their likes or dislikes. However, any change to the tenure process, no matter how well meaning and fair, put the tenure issue on a slippery slope for more and significant erosion of teacher tenure rights. Remember, Tweed not only wants to reduce retiree health benefits and pension costs but to encourage senior teachers to resign by making the classroom an unceasingly hostile work environment. Therefore, there should be no retreat on the tenure issue. The same goes for the seniority issue where many principals would jettison senior teachers in a moment if they could pick or choose who gets laid off. For the DOE and their principals it is not what is best for the students it is about their control and budget or I know it as "education on the cheap".
When it comes to the tenure issue, I agree with our union that this issue is non-negotiable and no change in the tenure process is possible since it will lead for demands for further and more serious attacks on teacher tenure in future contracts.
7 comments:
you mean "speech"
I'm glad you agree with the union. Now I can only hope the union agrees with you.
Has Mulgrew come out and said that any change to the tenure process or even the ATR situation is a non-starter? I don't believe he has, but I could be wrong.
Great blog. As a teacher of 15 years in New York City, NOTHING is more important than job security right now. Sure, a raise would be nice, but that will happen in due time. However, any givebacks right now would be 100% wrong at this time. In fact, we have lost so much in a very short amount of time. I say bring back seniority based transfers and never budge an inch on the topic of tenure. As a veteran teacher I never would have thought a few short years ago that someday I would have to worry about my seniority being cut in favor for some new TFA or TF teacher. Keep the faith and keep our union strong or we will all suffer.
correction:
Thanks.
nyc educator:
Maybe I am naive but I have been told tenure is off the table.
SBSB:
See my comments to nyc educator.
Anon:
Thanks for the complement. The more you read the blogs the more you get to understand what is really happening. If we had more teachers like you, the terrible 2005 contract would have never happened.
soutien scolaire le plus pédagogique et visuel possible. Ainsi, nos fiches de cours, de la sixième à la terminale sont très souvent enrichies d'animations soutien scolaire Ces animations représentent un réel plus pédagogique
Chaz,
Our fearless benificent leader Reich Chancellor Kleiner Shvance, said it himself.
He hopes that legislation will be passed by the New York State of Dysunctional Legislature, to undermine tenure, and do away with due process, and scrutinizing teachers through student data.
I hope that the State has not been greased in some way to screw the teachers yet again.
The new cabal of state education crooks are even scarier than Richard Mills and company who presided over a pogrom/purge of NYC teachers under a modified and peverted set of anomalous 3020a "laws".
It seems that the budget and other financially depressing matters in our wonderful "Free Trade" economy, will provide the needed pressure to erode or erase all gains made by teachers.
What's left? Tenure now is the mark of Cain and it is a target for any twisted adminstrator type who buys into the Jack Welch corporate fascist ideology.
Tweed has turned out bumper crops of these little horrors,
Work Rules. There is a wonderful gray area regarding work rules which means that your employers can require you to do idiotic and stupid cretinous things. You must follow the work rules and abide by them.
The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you wish to park you must proceed to the yellow zone.
The UFT has no remedies for this idiocy, except to say that you can grieve it but you must do as you are told or else you will be written up as insubordinate and that a disciplinary hearing will be sure to follow.
Data manipulation. The system will utilize it's screwy math to rate teachers and either force them out as incompetent, or deny new hires tenure.
Anything to torture teachers. And the union goes right along with it.
The UFT talk about kids. But, wait, isn't it teachers who are dues paying members and the teachers interests, are the ones that UFT is supposed to represent?
If any more schools are closed or any moves against teachers are made, it would appear that the time to strike is ripe.
Why have the Taylor Laws never been challenged by our union? Why are the union members allowing themselves to be controlled by some Mafia type hacks who view the members as sheep fit to be fleeced.
Why have the sheep taken it on the chin for so long?
They take it because they are used to it. They cannot stand up and have been socialized and institutionalized not to think or stand up for principles.
They routinely engage in creative math to provide passing grades on classwork and Regents Examinations, so as not to rouse the ire of adminstrators, students or parents.
We are cowards. We have been prostituting ourselves as agents of the state's Youth Containment Facilities and Spirit Breaking Camps.
We are forced to pontificate drivel curricula and useless idiotic methods, of imparting the meaningless garbage that we are told is content.
We are party to the destruction of generations of victims. People who we mold, to become good corporate drones, consumers, soldiers for the rich men's fascist wars, and prisoners for upstates most expanding industry, prisons.
We stand by and let this happen, only dimly aware of the havoc that we wreak on the future.
Dimly, because we are narcotized by Seratonin Uptake Inhibitors, Antidepressants, poisoned air, water and food, and what we perceive to be entertainment on the idiot box.
We are entranced by the lies they feed us on the news.
This will continue until the rich will have created a neo-fuedal society, where there is no middle class.
Just the super rich and the serfs. We are well on our way to that dreadful day.
STRIKE NOW! MORE THAN EVER!
Fuck You, I Won't Do What You Tell Me!
Angry Nog
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