Why Does Chalkbeat Believe That Educators 4 Excellence Represents Teachers?

Chalkbeat wrote an article that showed the 33% of New York City teachers have not made up their minds about Chancellor Richard Carranza.  However, the survey was done before the Chancellor came under fire for his ill-advised  diversity program and the alleged anti--Asian bias as he tries to eliminate the SHSAT.

However, what bothers me the most about the article is that Chalkbeat, rather than asking a respected  classroom public school teacher like NYC educator, his opinion.  Chalkbeat interviewed   the Executive Director, a non-classroom educator for Educators 4 Excellence.as if she represented the New York City Public School teachers. The truth is that Educators 4 Excellence represents significantly less than 1% of the New York City public school teaching force.  In fact, in the last UFT election the lone Educators4 Excellence candidate received 25 votes out of over 44,000 votes cast or 0.05%.  The group refused to participate in the UFT elections, fearing their unpopularity would be exposed.

Its hard to believe what Chalkbeat writes since they are  a pawn of the education reform movement as their interview with Educators 4 Excellence demonstrates.

How Many Votes Did Educators 4 Excellence Receive In The UFT Election?

Micheal Loeb, a Bronx teacher and Chapter Leader is a national board member for the education deformer organization, Educators 4 Excellence (E4E) ran on the UFT integrity line and received a whopping 25 votes!   That's right, only 25 votes and I guess many of those votes came from his Teach For America dominated Bronx school.

This should prove to most educators that Educators 4 Excellence has no support from the rank and file at the UFT.  Moreover, its time for the UFT leadership to stop acting like E4E is a legitimate caucus and  admit that E4E does not represent the union or our interests.  Finally. E4E is simply a front for education reform organizations and are funded by the likes of Bill Gates and other anti-teacher groups.

There Is No Such Thing As A Good Education For Excellence Member.

Another UFT election is approaching and the pseudo-education group called Educators For Excellence (E4E) has, once again, decided not to run a slate of mandates, fearing how little support they would receive.

For people unfamiliar with E4E, this is a so called teacher education group that is simply a front for education deformers.  E4E gets their funding from Bill Gates, and other anti-teacher union education reform organizations who's only purpose is to destroy teacher unions and make teaching a temporary position.

New York City has between 50 and 100 E4E members and less who are full time members.  One of the reasons that E4E does not field candidates is they know how unpopular their organization is and would be embarrassed by their potentially low vote totals.  Apparently, there is one exception to  E4E's failure to  join the UFT election.  His name is Michael Loeb, a Chapter Leader in one of those E4E schools in the Bronx that are dominated by Teach For America "newbies".  Mr. Loeb  a national board member of E4E is running under the UFT Inspire heading and I will be interested on how many votes he receives.

While one blogger may be impressed by Mr, Loeb's tone.  I'm not, and let me remind people of what Mr. Loeb and E4E stands for:

• Supports anti-teachers union organizations.

• Supports the firing of all ATR after two hiring seasons in a school year.

• Supports converting our pensions to a less reliable contribution fund..

• Supported Michael Bloomberg's elimination of  "Last in, first out".

• Supports merit pay.

• Supports Fair Student Funding that discriminates against veteran teachers.

• Supports "mutual consent" that gives principals sole power to hire teachers.

E4E is a cancer in the UFT body and nothing about the organization's white paper on the UFT's 2014 contract changes my opinion.  For more information about E4E read them Here and Here.

America Achieves, Just Another Education Deformer Group That Cannot Be Trusted.

In Chalkbeat I read an article by two elementary school teachers who rightly complained that Special Education students should not be graded on tests that are inappropriate for their students.  Obviously, I and many others agree with these two teachers.  In fact, the highly regarded NYC Educator, has written about how inappropriate the tests are to his recent immigrant students over the last year.  However, what struck me was the fact both teachers who wrote the article are part of an organization called "America Achieves".  I had never heard of this organization and decided to Google it.  Sure enough this organization is funded by Bloomberg and Gates and other education reform supporters.  What does "America Achieves" support? Let's see.

1. The Common Core
2. No unions
3. Charter Schools
4. No tenure

That's right, all the issues that education deformer groups like Education 4 Excellence, StudentsFirst, and Teach 4 America support.  Quite incidentally, all funded by education deformer supporters like Bloomberg and Gates.  Here are some articles about "America Achieves',  Here, Here, and Here  As you can plainly see, this group has education deform written all over it.  While "America Achieves" is most notable in representing teachers who work in charter schools in places like New Orleans, and Detroit, they have made inroads in our State as well as the Chalkbeat article shows.

While I may have serious issues with our own union its still far better to be represented by a union than rely on these education deformer groups like "America Achieves" and Educators 4 Excellence who simply are sock puppets for organizations that want to destroy the public school system and the unionized teachers that work for them.


Beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing and "America Achieves" appears to be a wolf disguised as a sheep.

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My Response To The E4E Survey.

The education deformer front group, Educators 4 Excellence (E4E) has published an online survey that is geared to make the E4E fifth columnists look like a real organization that advocates for teachers.  However, this survey is clearly a transparent attempt to recruit  new members and retain the few they are struggling to keep.  Thanks to ed notes we now have the survey and is shown below.

The E4E cult make it seem that they really want to improve the teaching profession but they really want to indoctrinate educators to drink their kool-aid of education deform as they are funded and supported by Bill Gates, StudentsFirst, and Democrats for Education Reform, all education deform groups who support charter schools, and despise teacher "due process" rights. .

Let's look at the questions they asked and my response to these questions.

 

 Question #1:  My Response:

Few of the E4E members are experienced and tenured teachers.  The majority of their members were from Teach For America and few lasted beyond their two year commitment

Question #2:  My Response:

E4E's voice comes not from the teachers but their education deformer benefactors and supported Mayor Bloomberg's policies over that of the union's and its members.

Question #3:  My Response:

Strengthen teacher power?  Who are they kidding?    E4E believes in merit pay, a strict teacher evaluation system based on "junk science", wants to eliminate seniority rights, and supports pension reform that reduces teacher pensions,  All the core principals of education deformer groups.. In a nutshell E4E wants to drastically reduce teacher "due process" rights not strengthen them.

Question #4:  My Response:

How can E4E elevate and make the teaching profession more prestigious when the cult takes their marching orders from organizations that disrespect and demoralize teachers and their profession and make them "at will" employees with limited benefits?  Sounds like double speak to me.

The bottom line about E4E is they are a cult with few members that follow orders from education deforms groups and not what's best for the teachers.  Stay as far away as possible from the evil influence of E4E.

My Interview With A Disgruntled Education 4 Excellence Member.

During the summer I was contacted by a teacher who wanted me to hear his story about joining and eventually leaving Educators 4 Excellence (E4E).  I suspect his story is similar to many other disgruntled teachers who have joined E4E only to realize that this organization is a tool for education reform organizations and not what's best for the schools and the students.  To protect him I will call him "David".

David was graduating from a Midwest college when he was recruited by "Teach For America" (TFA) to teach in a low income urban school.  He always wanted to go to New York City and got his wish.  After receiving his five week training he was assigned to a school in the South Bronx in District 7 where he was greeted by the Principal.  The Principal explained to David and the seven other TFA teachers that his school is the "proving ground" to see if you have the ability to survive the demands of teaching in New York City.  On the first day, I was introduced to the "Chapter Leader" who told the staff that over 40% of the teachers we had last year are gone from the school.  At the time I didn't understand why there was such a turnover of staff.  However, I soon found out why.  Many of the teachers left because of the challenging student population, lax discipline, and Administrative demands that required teachers to take up extra duties on an unpaid basis. Many teachers stayed to 6pm just to complete the paperwork and prepare for the next day, all for $46,000.

Within the first week, I received a flyer in my mailbox that invited me to join an organization that represents the views of the teachers who are new to the school system.  At the time I thought this was simply part of the union and I eagerly joined this organization (E4E) since they claimed to want more pay, better working conditions, and a say in education policy.  It was easy to convince me after E4E plied me with booze and food while pitching their program at a get-together at a local bar..

During the first semester, I was contacted weekly by E4E to volunteer my time to convince other teachers to join the organization and to come to meetings about supporting the Bloomberg Administration's policy on eliminating seniority rights, and the evolving teacher evaluation system.  At first, I believed everything E4E was advocating and it helped that my school had many E4E members and the Principal actually supported the organization by giving them access to the school. It was only near the end of my first year did I slowly realize that E4E was a small group, even a cult, that had only a handful of schools represented and these schools were staffed by TFA teachers and experienced high turnover rates, just like my school.

With the summer off and time on my hands, I started to read the education blogs and blogger posts about E4E and was shocked and disappointed how the bloggers felt about E4E.  They called them tools for Bill Gates, and Eli Broad, a fifth column, and how many of the E4E leaders were not even classroom teachers!  I decided to start asking questions to my E4E coordinator once I started my second year and quickly realized that they were uncomfortable with me questioning them.  At the first meeting in my school where E4E welcomed the next batch of TFA teachers the Principal had recruited (we had a 30% turnover rate, less left because of the recession).  At the meeting I asked why E4E is not working with the union on common issues of interest?  You would have thought I asked them to commit suicide. Their response was hostile that E4E represents the views of the 21st century teacher and not the old and stringent contract requirements that the union represented.  I stayed as a E4E member but did very little work on behalf of the organization.  The more I knew about E4E, the less I wanted to be part of the group.

By the end of my second year, I became so disillusioned with E4E's increasing demands and rhetoric for its members, that I quit the organization.  However, I found out "that once you're in, you can't get out". They wanted us to go to other schools and network with new teachers to invite them for food and drinks to encourage them to join.  I was unwilling to waste my time doing that and I noticed that many of the E4E leaders were no longer classroom teachers and had no classroom assignments.  When I asked one who I was particularly close to in my school how did he get out of the classroom and into a job as a "coach" in his third year of teaching.  He smiled and said that the E4E leadership encouraged the Principal to make him a "coach" to reward him for his loyalty and recruitment success to the organization.  Yes, it seems my Principal not only hired TFA teachers but was one of the select schools that encouraged teachers to join E4E and rewarded them for doing so.

In my third year, I went on the Open Market Transfer System and received many job offers, since I

was inexpensive and not tenured.  I took a position in Manhattan and decided to no longer be an active participant in E4E.    This did not stop E4E from contacting me repeatedly to help them recruit and keep including me as a member.  I finally, cut all ties with them when they refused to run a slate in last year's UFT elections and I soon realized that they were a fringe group that is not supported by teachers but is propped up by outside education reform groups that want to deprofessionalize teaching and make it a temporary stopover on one's path to a real professional job that can support a family.

I will be starting my fourth year in teaching and hopefully receive tenure as I now realize what a dope I was in thinking E4E cares about the teachers in the trenches (classroom).  Rather they are a tool for outside interests that want to destroy the power of the teacher unions and make the teaching profession a low wage, temporary job.  Finally, I have realized that the goal for many of the mid-level E4E members is not what is best for the students but the quickest path to achieve an education policy position and leaving the classroom as fast as possible.

Where Did Educators 4 Excellence Get $250,000 To Air A Television Commercial?

I am puzzled how an organization that represents less than 1% of the teachers (a hundred or so) and that has no dues can afford to air a television commercial that cost $250,000?  Of course I m not so naive to think that Educators 4 Excellence (E4E) funded the television commercial themselves.  They probably obtained the funding from their masters and benefactors, the Gates foundation, Democrats for Education Reform, and Education Reform Now. This organization, made up of ex-Teach For America teachers, many who have already fled the classroom to do the bidding of the anti-teacher groups These anti-teacher groups (ed deformers) get their money from corporate hedge fund managers and billionaires who's main goal is to destroy public education as we know it.

The latest rally for E4E was a disappointment with few people showing up and the ones who did, were there for the "freebies".  How many were legitimate teachers who actually attended? Not many, if my sources are correct.  It would have been interesting if E4E participated in a legitimate election for union representatives and see if they could have gained a hundred or more votes.  I guess they were afraid that their lack of support from the rank and file would be exposed and that the media would realize that E4E is a fringe group and do not represent the teachers of New York City. I guess for E4E it was best to continue the fiction that they represent the teachers than having the general public know the truth.

I would really like to know the list of donors to E4E.  However, the organization refuses to show the world who funds them and how much.  They are a cancer to our profession and like all cancers, left ignored, they will kill the body.  These "fifth columnists " must be removed from our teaching profession.

How Many Members Does Educators 4 Excellence Really Have? Not Many I Guess.

The UFT elections are fast approaching and the three caucuses, "Unity" MORE' and "New Action" will be busy going to the schools and handing out leaflets on why they are best suited to lead the union in the future.  However, absent from the election process is the education reform puppet organization, Educators 4 Excellence (E4E).  The question is why aren't they running a slate of people in the UFT elections if they claim they represent teachers?  The answer to that question is very simple, it is because they are afraid that their organization will be exposed for what it is,  a front for outside education reform groups and not teachers.  I would bet that E4E would receive well less than a thousand votes, probably a hundred or so, or significantly less than 1% of the eligible voters and they know it.

For E4E it's better to mislead the ever complaint news media with the fiction that they represent teachers and not their education reform masters.  Therefore, it's not in E4E's best interest to participate in a democratic union election where they will be exposed as a "special interest group" on the fringe of union politics and represent only a very thin minority of "newbie teachers", most being the two year Teach For America wonders, who will be long gone from the classroom in five years.

Whichever caucus wins the UFT election, one of their first order of business should be to expose E4E as a "fifth column",  a phony organization that does not represent teachers but outside education reform groups who want to destroy public education.  Too long the UFT has ignored this cancerous tumor in the UFT body and it is time to surgically remove it by refusing to appear with E4E in any forum.  These forums simply gives E4E credibility that they do not deserve.  E4E had their chance to show their popularity with teachers by running in the election and failed the test.  Let them fade into history as simply a tool for outside education reform groups.

The Typical Education4Excellence Member - Clueless

I just laughed when blogger South Bronx School showed a video of an Educators4Excellence (E4E) member at their youth rally holding a sign supporting the "teacher evaluation system" at today's demonstration who was obviously clueless of what he was supporting.  First the interviewer asked this E4E member to explain the  "Value Added Measurement"  part of the "teacher evaluation system".  He seemed befuddled and said he couldn't right now. The second question asked by the interviewer to the increasingly uncomfortable E4E member was what "Value Added Measurement" means.  He mumbled something incomprehensible but did not even attempt to know what it meant.  Finally, the interviewer asked this totally clueless E4E member if he understood the math behind the "Value Added Measurement" , by now he was completely dumbfounded and did not respond at all.



I truly hope this clueless E4E member is not a teacher but simply an E4E non-educator that was looking for some free doughnuts.  However, if he is a teacher, I feel very sorry for the students in his classroom who must be embarrassed that their teacher is in support of a program that he knows nothing about.

Educators 4 Excellence Is A Cancer To Our Union.

After the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy as the metropolitan area struggles to get back on their collective feet.  Educators4Excellence (E4E) issued one of their  self-serving statements that it was happy that the E4E team came out unscathed.  I guess the sixty people who died in the NYC Metropolitan area, including a teacher at the Brooklyn High School of Social Justice, don't count since none of them are E4E members.  Talking about E4E membership?  How many teachers are actually E4E members?  Fifty? One Hundred?, Five Hundred? Better yet, how many are really active classroom teachers?  I bet it is less than one hundred and of those, most are probably Teach For America "newbies" who can't wait to get out of the classroom and won't be teaching three years from now.  Regardless of how many active members there are in E4E, one thing is clear, this group, or as I call them, a cult is anti-union and gets their funding from corporate and hedge fund education reformer groups.

Time and again E4E is invited to various panel discussions by Education reform groups and has little good to say about our union rights and proposes policies that eliminate many of our  "due process protections". In fact, they are the darlings of many education reform organizations and their policy papers reflect the agenda of education reformers.For example, they supported the repeal of LIFO and were a prime supporter of Mayor Bloomberg's infamous LIFO bill. They also agreed with the education reformers that a merit pay plan should be implemented, including higher initial salaries for "newbies" but no step increases for experienced teachers.  Moreover, they believe the nonsense that a "great teacher" is more important than poverty in student academic achievement.As for the ATRs?  The ATRs should be given six months to find a job or be terminated.

For some reason our union, the UFT, has tried to reach out to E4E and include them as part of the union body.  In fact one of E4E's failed teachers who couldn't even gain tenure before abandoning the classroom, Rubin Brosbe, has his blog included in the union's Unity caucus Edwize blog for NYC teachers.  In my opinion E4E is not like the loyal opposition caucuses like ICE, TJC, or more recently MORE.  E4E is  a union-destroying cult who is a cancerous tumor in the UFT body and needs to be removed from our union.    E4E is a "tool" for the corporate elite who control the eduction reform agenda and is a danger to all teachers and it is the union's responsibility to kick them out before E4E's fifth columnist activities destroys the union from the inside just as cancer does to the human body.

South Bronx School and Accountable Talk  have many more articles about E4E and they are a must read.

Educators 4 Excellence Claims That Poverty Is Not As Important As An Excellent Teacher But Continues To Fail To Show Proof Despite Overwhelming Evidence To The Contrary.

During my vacation I turned to the CNN blog comments and saw one of those "Educators 4 Excellence" (E4E) mouthpieces write how it was more important for a student to have an "excellent teacher" rather than living in poverty despite the overwhelming studies that show the opposite conclusion.  I guess the E4E represents the "no excuses" crew who prefer to ignore poverty and family as the major contributing factors in a student's academic development.  What interested me was her failure to define what an "excellent teacher" is. but then that is always the problem with Education Reformers who never say what the specifics are.  More telling, Ms. McGurk has a Masters degree in educational leadership, is she still teaching in a classroom or is she like many of the E4E drones who fled the classroom at the earliest opportunity?  Just look at Ruben Brosbe, Evan Stone, and Sydney Morris, just to name a few, they couldn't leave the classroom fast enough.

Independent studies have shown that social-economic factors like poverty, community, and family account for 80% of a child's academic development.  An excellent article written by Daniel Akst in Newsday is a must read. However, the Education Reformers and their allies like E4E, with blinders on,  pretend that poverty is not important or not as important as an excellent teacher. Hence their slogan of "no excuses".  According to E4E an excellent teacher is whatever the Principal decides is one, along with test scores.  In other words a teacher who does continuous test prep and kisses their Principal's rear end is the E4E definition of an excellent teacher. Maybe E4E would be more credible if they were more accountable, many of the leaders of E4E no longer teach in the classroom and in many cases never received tenure (Ruben Brosbe, Sydney Morris, etc.).

To me E4E is a derisive influence on teachers and a tool of Education Reformers who's main purpose is to destroy the teachers union and eliminate long held tenure and seniority rights.  Worse, is that E4E is a willing accomplice in trying to destroy teacher "due process rights".  In other words a "fifth column". and teachers need to stay away from this evil organization.

My Hero And Villain When It Comes To Teaching In the Classroom And Representing The Teachers.

I opened up today's New York Daily News and saw that two teachers were expressing their opinions on Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to give bonuses of up to $20,000 for teachers that principals rated "highly effective" for two consecutive years n the proposed "teacher evaluation system". On one side was Bloomberg's "fifth columnist" flunkies, Education 4 Excellence (E4E). The "tools" for the Education Reform leaders. On the other side was a Chapter Leader for one of the largest high schools in the New York City Public School System and as an independent thinker is not a "tool" for anybody.

First, lets discuss the villain, E4E education reformer "tool" and "fifth columnist", Ms. Margaret Copollo, who represent an organization that consists of the "clueless" and "newbie" teachers who are unable and unwilling to see the big picture that their Mayor is trying to destroy the teaching profession not reform it. E4E is founded and funded by ed deformer groups and gets support by the DOE who conveniently gave this cancerous organization the DOE email addresses of all the teachers in the 33 restart/transformation schools. The E4E then emailed a highly misleading and inaccurate letter about the teacher evaluation system to these school 's teaching staff. Unbelievable, but true. Ms. Copollo didn't even pretend to understand the Bloomberg bonus plan saying that it is a salary increase. Either she is misreading Bloomberg's bonus proposal or she is intentionally misguiding the reader as the E4E letter to the teaching staff at the restart/transformation schools did. In either case, she fails to explain that the $20,000 bonus may come out of the school budget and few principals will be inclined to give even the best teachers two consecutive "highly effective" ratings if it comes out of their increasingly tight budget. Finally, just like all her E4E "fifth columnist" comrades, she blames the teachers' union and not the DOE for the failure to retain the best teachers when almost all teachers will tell you it is the DOE that has made the classroom an increasingly hostile environment, with test prep being more important than good teaching. Further, she gives a free pass to the Mayor who attacks teachers consistently refusing to give them a contract he gave others and then tried to layoff over 4,000 of us last year. Ms. Copollo, shame on you and your cancerous organization E4E.

By contrast, I bring you my hero, a shining example of a "great teacher". Mr. Arther Goldstein, who is an independent Chapter Leader of a great high school and is nobody's "tool". I have had the pleasure of watching him teach and how well the students respond to him. His classroom management skills are emulated by many, including me, and has represented his school with distinction. If anybody deserves a bonus it is Arthur. He has time and again disagreed with his union and Administration and lets then know when their actions are contrary to the members interest. Furthermore, Arthur is an advocate for his teachers and unlike E4E, practices what he preaches by representing all the teachers in his school, regardless of their opinions. I doubt Arthur will ever get a $20,000 bonus since he is a great Chapter Leader and advocate for his staff and the students of the school. Therefore, I do not believe his Principal (who is a good Administrator by the way) will be giving Arthur two "consecutive highly effective" ratings anytime soon since, as a Chapter Leader, he can be a "pain in the ass" to him and take a badly needed $20,000 out of his tight budget.

Hero: Arthur Goldstein, Chapter Leader, student & teacher advocate and great teacher.

Villain: Margaret Copollo Fifth Columnist, ed deformer tool, and teaching skills unknown.