Since the beginning of the new millennium, the education reform organizations nave been chasing the holy grail that would eliminate the student academic achievement gap, The education reformers came up with many ideas on how to eliminate the student achievement gap. At first they proposed smaller class sizes, more resources, and quality teachers, even if that meant paying them more. However, these ideas failed to significantly narrow the student academic achievement gap. Therefore, the education deformer started to blame the public school system, especially the unionized teachers for the student academic achievement gap.
The education deformer organizations were led by the likes of Bill Gates, Eli Board, and Sam Walton who bribed pseudo-educators like Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, and Arnie Duncan to implement programs that put the blame on teachers when they failed
For example the Obama-Duncan Race to the Top program forced States to implement a teacher evaluation system that linked student growth to teacher effectiveness. It hardly mattered that a study by the American Statistical Society showed that any one teacher had only between 1% to 14% impact on their student's growth, Many states used a percentage of between 40% and 50%, In fact, the student growth formula used was "junk Science" and in New York State a court found it to be true.
As the education deformer organizations could not close the student academic achievement gap, they proposed merit pay, elimination of tenure, limited collective bargaining rights, and the right to fire "ineffective" teachers.by weakening their due process rights. Instead of being allies to the public school system the education deformer groups became the enemy by supporting and funding charter schools, online schools, as well as private and parochial schools. They supported the school choice program that allowed any child to get a voucher and apply to any school.
The heyday of the education deformer movement was betweent 2006-15, when Arnie Duncan headed the Federal Department of Education and most States had education deformers in charge of the State education systems. Because President Barack Obama supported the education deformer education policy and the States desperately needed the Race to the top funds during the great recession, quite a few states implemented an education reform agenda, The result was vastly disappointing. The student academic achievement gap was as wide as ever, Moreover, the unrelenting attack on teachers throughout the nation made college graduates flee the profession and widespread teacher shortages are a contining problem.nationwide resulted from the unrelenting attacks on teachers.
I believe the pendulum is starting to swing the other wayas the education deformer orgabnizations are slowlly losing power and teachers are standing up for a livable wage. Example West Virgina.
The day of the education deformer organizations controlling the public schools have come and passed and even more of these deformer organizations will dissappear as many of the educatin deformer groups have become anti-public education and care more about saving money then giving the child a good education,
I was at Legacy High School when Daniell Hernandez said to me, "Yo bitch come work with me. Leave this fuckin stupid job." He was a lost student. Very troubled and confused. I was in my prime. Teaching on desks and thinking I was Robin Williams. He must have approached me over 10 times to go work for him. As I watch Daniel now rise higher and higher - I often wonder where my career would have gone had I left the DOE.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Hernandez is now Tekashi69 and me I am still Shady working for the DOE. Tekashi, if you are ever reading this. Please, let me work for you. I want out. Come back and get me. I want in, Tekashi.
Google Tekashi69. One of my proudest and most successful students. So proud of you!!! Keep bangin.
The irony is that here in NYC ed-deform groups like E4E are pretty much powerless. Eva Moskowitx is losing power. However, the enemy that we face is our own union! The UFT is saying that our current evaluation system is great, large class sizes are fine, and that new teachers are better that old fogies. How sad. How very, very sad.
ReplyDeleteWe all have wishful dreams for the future and a return to sanity, however, once a system is broken at its core it cannot be fixed.
ReplyDeleteTeaching as a profession is no longer a viable career for most. In district after district tenure laws are weaker than ever, psy-ops against teachers by vindictive admins are par for the course in the misguided belief that you have to keep your staff off-base and in fear to motivate them (yes, this is the belief among reformers and they have spoken openly of it, asserting that this is 'how it is' in the business world).
Younger teachers come in and in most places now find a student body that does not look or act like them and they find it hard to connect and wind up coming off as Peace Corp type 'white saviors.' They don't tend to stick around because of this and many other reasons. Therefore, the old idea of a career teacher who puts in 25-35 years is almost gone.
We are a civilization in decline and those who choose not to see cannot prevent it by their ignorance. Our cities are gutted and filled with despair and decay. Our suburbs are roiled by social/racial unrest as urban dwellers and 'immigrants' move their for 'more opportunity' (i.e. take resources easier).
The urban/rural divide is worse than ever and many brainwashed teachers are pushing 'rainbow' activism even in small towns, turning the generations against each other. We do not have a bright future ahead of us. These are the empty words of politicians and eternal optimists who fiddle while Rome burns. We have maybe 15-20 years of relative sanity left before we really go full Third world disaster. All you can do is try to insulate your children from the worst of it. There are things you can do. Otherwise, I fear we cannot just say things will get better just because we want them to.
I'm really trying to avoid taking the Black Pill, though I could not deny the truths of the Red Pill. I like many other teachers still want the best for our students no matter who they are, but any open eye can see we are not progressing but rather declining and we had better recognize it for the safety of ourselves and our children.
The DOE is in a witchunt of experienced teachers. They are creating chaos and bringing instability to our schools.
ReplyDeleteSo what is the next phase of the NYC school system? Are you saying things are looking up!!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the Spring Break everyone!!!!
I'm rarely the optimist at a party, but here goes.
ReplyDeleteWe were a civilization and City in decline in the 60's and 70's. Teaching wasn't seen as viable, and not long after the mass layoffs, a shortage ensued. Those hires have been retiring the last 10 years or so, many took the up front retro the last time around. Compared to the Tier VI newbies, they have it made.
The advice they gave me almost 15 years ago was to stick it out. The "workshop model" came and went. In time, "cooperative learning", "ICT", and even Danielson, will be replaced. Of course, it may very well be replaced with something else.
In the meantime - and I say this having gotten a Danielson drive-by just yesterday - keep your head down, keep getting the direct deposit twice a month, do your Per Session, ignore the nonsense, and fight (i.e. enforce the Contract) when you need to. When you think you've had enough remember another job wouldn't give us 6 days off starting at dismissal today, a better teaching job (like in Catholic school) comes with far less $, bennies and job security, and accountants and actuaries may make more money but will be at a desk in July and August.
If you think I'm nuts, I can't blame you, but you should read an article I keep in my desk, from 2/6/83 "Does Pavarotti Have to File an Aria Plan?". The teachers then were in the same boat, and now many quite literally are on a boat fishing somewhere collecting their pensions. Sure Mulgrew is no Al Shanker but we all need to keep our eyes on the prize. Quitting and/or treating this as an intinerant job is what DeBozo and the ed deformers want. Don't play into their hands.
To Shady
ReplyDelete"In October 2015, Hernandez pled guilty to one felony count of Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance." Wikipedia
Oh yeah... real good. He will go far...
@6:46 In some way things are looking up. Teachers now are beginning to have more power.
ReplyDeleteI was assigned to a school last March/April where the principal had me teaching 5 classes and would not offer me a provisional. He wanted me to do grades, PD and everything else a teacher does. However, he did not want to rate me like a professional. He called my ATR supervisor and they tried u-rating me.
I decided to grade the students by real standards. Out of 141 students I only passed 10. Principal flipped the fuck out and I whispered "let's negotiate" with a smile. End of the day he negotiated fairly. I can't say anything bad about him. He agreed to get rid of my 2 file letters and called my ATR supervisor and told him not to use my BS observations. They even both observed in late June like June 26 well after the rating day.
I got my S and he was able to negotiate 121 students to pass. I even called him the other day asking him if he needs me. He said please do not call me again but I know he is joking. He likes me.
Many Leadership Principals are destroying
ReplyDeleteOur schools.
The apple does not fall far from the tree. Instead of blaming defenseless teachers, blame these anemic parents who don't show up for parent teacher conferences and who are no where to be found in the education of their sons and daughters. Sorry but this nonsense doesn't happen in the suburbs....
ReplyDeleteShady, you're a douche bag. Do you like 13 year olds like your protege? Fuck you.
ReplyDeleteMike Sill said no ATR buyout is being discussed.
ReplyDeleteFarina, who just retired for the 3rd time, stated that she began working as a teacher when Lyndon Johnson was president.
ReplyDeleteI agree with much of what you wrote, but I don't believe the goal of reformers is necessarily the closing of any achievement gap. Were that the case they'd address poverty rather than simply blame us for its consequences. There's a lot of evidence that the goal is privatization and consequent profit, and you can see that played out in charter scandals coast to coast. This also entails the breaking of union, and you can see that being played out in Janus and anti-tenure lawsuits. Charters became a favored tactic of reformies after voters rejected vouchers in droves.
ReplyDeleteIf reformies like Bloomberg, Klein, Obama, King and many others really wanted to improve public schools they'd send their kids to them. They're far more likely to use Quaker or Montessori schools that outright reject the nonsense they impose on our children. I think you're giving these people far too much credit.
The DOE legal is taking a huge amount of money and it is doing a disservice.
ReplyDeleteOur Union by not negotiating in good faith has impacted that a group of teachers called ATRs are treated in a different way under rules that were not voted, and are denied a fair chance to find permanent jobs because they are in disvantage with respect to new teachers. The ATR pool was never created to be a dumping ground for the most experienced teachers. Therefore we require a new agreement with the input, and vote of ATRs in compliance with the Roberts Laws. We also require a new agreement that prevents any targeting, harassment, or abuse from any type of supervisor with the sole purpose of terminating ATRs. Observations should not be used in a arbitrary, and capricious way to penalize or to terminate an ATR.
ReplyDeleteI stayed up 24 hours straight from April 1st starting at 12:00 a.m to April 2 12:00 a.m. hoping that Carmen Farina sends us an "April Fools" joke saying she was joking and she is staying.
ReplyDeleteEven though she has done not one thing different from Klein (except get rid of networks but remember he created borough centers too) I am really not sure how this system can exist without her. Remember when Bloomberg ran for a 3rd term thinking nobody else can run the city? Well, I am sure little Carmen feels the same way. What is it with little people feeling like this?
Usually it takes the average educator 20 to 25 years to know they need to get out of this system. It took Carmen 53 years and she is still hanging on 1 or 2 days a week. Honestly, seems weird. What new Chancellor wants the old one to stay around after they leave? Can you imagine being a teacher and the retired teacher says "I'd like to come back and visit my classroom one or two days a week." How insulting to new Chancellor? Does she have no shame, class or pride? Some would say "Go to another district. You have milked this system enough." I mean everyone loves Carmen and she has brought on so many great new changes. None that come to mind but still does she really want to stay on? Why?
Hopefully, she does not leave us and stays on well late into her 90s so we can have her read more elementary school books to us. Also, there needs to be a Chancellor's Reg where every Chancellor is forced to read children's' books to educators. Nothing can be more humiliating to both educators and the Chancellor reading the book. However, whenever I was asked to participate in a PD - I would read a children's book. I'd start off by saying "I'd like to copy a page out of Carmen's book..." This usually lasted for only 2 to 3 sessions until the principal or AP calls me into the office and tells me "You do not have to participate in Pd any more. You can leave early." That's when I usually ask, "Why? I'd like to continue participating??" They usually respond, "It is okay. K. PD is for our staff only." Once in a while I pretend to cry like my 4 year old and other times I leave very abruptly.
This Friday I would love to hold a protest outside of Tweed asking Carmen to come back one more time. If anyone is interested contact me at my personal email.
Where are you Chaz ? I hope a well deserved vaca . Uft members need this blog .
ReplyDelete@ all the ATR's that complained and cried about unfair treatment by the NYC Dept. of Idiots. The so called lawsuit is all but dead because the truth really is that most ATR's were horrible at their jobs and couldn't teach a fish to swim. Sad how people can dilute themselves into thinking they are right when the fact is ATR's are getting what they deserve!
ReplyDeleteATRs are the product of age discrimination, and it would be proven in Court soon.
DeleteThe ATR pool has become a dumping ground for the most experienced workforce.
DeleteOne of the most closely held secrets by both the DOE and UFT is the demographics of the ATR pool. The reason being that both organizations knows that if they released the information, it would show an age discrimination issue and that only younger and untenured teachers were being selected for vacancies.
Average age = 53
The ATR pool consists mainly of highly experienced and older teachers
Salary and seniority overrides all other factors.
Racial factors have little to do with who ends up in the ATR pool.
* It should be noted that many ATRs are being observed outside their license area and with students they have no ownership of making classroom management a difficult chore.
I guess chaz must have realized his blog was garbage and stopped doing it!
ReplyDeleteMike Shill is a pathetic Sycophant. Don't believe anything he tells you.
ReplyDelete4:12, "The ATR pool was never created to be a dumping ground for the most experienced teachers."
ReplyDeleteThe claim may have been that it was for "rotten apples" but make no mistake, from the beginning the City wanted the ATR pool as a tool to weed out good teachers with good salaries who have institutional memory.
The City combined this with the Fellows program, TFA, etc. to both fend off a shortage (inflate the supply of teachers so we can not demand $, relief from work rules, etc.) and more importantly fill the ranks with sycophants who have been programmed to believe that "cooperative learning", "constructivism", "scaffolding" and all the other BS that the Leadership Academy principals push down our throats, is good.
In my earlier post I mentioned how 15 years ago the vets encouraged me; admins pushed tons of BS then too, like the "workshop model", but no one did it except perhaps for a FO, they did the dog and pony show if you will, and that was it. Even the AP and Principal who were career educators knew how the game worked and would gladly give you an S as long as the parents didn't complain, you could run your class, your Regents were good, etc. I have to admit a big difference now is a lot of the staff I work with actually believe in all this crap, which makes it much harder to actually teach the established way. In fact I still have kids who ask if there's a test when they see the room set up in rows, because they've been programmed to believe that desks only go in rows on a test day. Not to mention, the Admins who actually believe in Danielson and look for every opportunity to downgrade you (as opposed to my last school, which was a hellhole, but the APs mostly looked for ways to give you a 3 for all your categories).
hey 5:53
ReplyDeleteyo mama
are you special ed
are. you illegal immigrant
are you Hillary
somebody needs to go over to chalk beat and check out this blogger Larry little field. This guy must be a paid troll or whatever but the comments this dude makes are beyond hysterical. I would love it if someone actually know who this guy is and see if chalk beat can ban this goon from his bizarre and hysterical comments while this guy is some traffic coordinator ir something like that.
ReplyDeleteLarry Little is the titz
ReplyDelete