Mr. Bloomberg Vs. the Aliens

Mayor Bloomberg's teflon armor continues to erode, as Sam Freedman questions his policy of closing high schools and disregarding the needs of the kids who attended them. The schools are supposedly no good (as always, through no fault of the mayor or his minions) and they must go (even if they're improving). The DoE has spoken. That's it. All the failing kids will go elsewhere, and magically become excellent.

But does this policy serve NYC communities? It certainly doesn't serve Lafayette High School's Chinese community. Where will they go, particularly if they're in need of bilingual services? Not Lafayette, because its new "academies" will not be providing it.

It turns out that ESL students don't tend to score as well on standardized tests. Why? Because they DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH. It turns out that if you DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, tests are somewhat more difficult. And Mayor Bloomberg really ought to make some accommodations for these folks, because even though he's renamed their schools and kicked them out, they still DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

Several Lafayette administrators and teachers joined Mr. (Steve) Chung, the president of a Chinese-American community association, in devising a proposal for a school specializing in international studies and submitting it to the department. At a public meeting, residents of the neighborhood lauded it. Meetings with department officials, he said, went amicably and productively.

Then, a few weeks ago, the department announced its plan for restructuring Lafayette, which now has about 2,100 students, beginning in September 2007. It would contain three new schools — one emphasizing sports management, another focusing on film and music, and a third offering “expeditionary learning” under the aegis of Outward Bound. None will offer bilingual instruction, at least at the outset.

“This is an absolutely unacceptable choice,” Mr. Chung said. “These three schools have nothing to do with our community. They’re forcing the immigrant students out of their own neighborhood. New York is an immigrant city, but I think the education policy is not for us.”

This is typical of Tweed--it makes public claims to care about parent input, then does whatever it wishes and gives parental opinions no weight whatsoever. While it reorganizes Lafayette and utterly disregards its immigrant community, it's doing much the same elsewhere:

Several miles to the east, in East Flatbush, something remarkably similar was happening at Samuel J. Tilden High School, which serves roughly 2,400 students. Like Lafayette, Tilden will be dismantled beginning next fall, and replaced by a collection of small schools. Like Lafayette, Tilden has a large population of immigrant pupils, about 250, many from Haiti. That critical mass allowed Tilden to operate a bilingual program in Creole, and its students outperformed peers at comparable schools on various standardized tests.

The new version of Tilden, however, will have one high school run by Outward Bound and another, called the It Takes a Village Academy, that says it will “prepare students for college and meaningful careers while fostering an appreciation for diverse languages and cultures.”

At best, according to the department’s own projections, those schools will take in a total of 50 English-language learners, as students entitled to bilingual or E.S.L. classes are officially known, despite the heavy presence of Haitian and African immigrants in the surrounding neighborhood.

While it may be convenient for Mayor Bloomberg to shuffle these kids around, it's not any way to treat immigrants, and one way or another, we're all immigrants. It's not their fault they DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, but in a couple of years they'll catch up.

Kicking them out of their community schools, whatever they may be called, is nothing short of reprehensible. It's true their test scores are inconvenient, and that's because they DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH, but they need time.

Let's send Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein to China. We'll have them take the NY State English Regents Exam in Chinese. I'll give them one year to prepare for it. I'll even provide them with the answers, which I wouldn't do for my own ESL students.

And I'll bet every cent I've ever had that my kids outscore Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Klein. It's time to stop penalizing our immigrant population and give them a little support. I'm sorry their test scores are low, but they DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH. They can do everything they need to do in schools, but they'll need a little time.

Is that too much to ask?

In the trade-off for the closing of Lafayette and Tilden, with the net loss of about 800 places in bilingual and E.S.L. classes, the Education Department has announced the opening of only one small school geared to immigrant pupils in the entire borough. And even now, less than two weeks before eighth graders throughout the city must submit their applications to high schools, the department has not revealed the location of that school, the Multicultural High School. For all any parent or child knows at this point, it could be anywhere from Bay Ridge to Brownsville.

It behooves this mayor to do better. I know kids who wake up at four in the morning to trek to our school, and we ought to have fewer, not more of them.

It's cold today in Mr. Bloomberg's New York.

Blatant Discrimination

Sometimes I'm amazed at the things I find when I check homework. Look, this kid got all ten sentences wrong. Wow, here's another kid who made exactly the same ten mistakes. What's the chance of that? And oh my gosh, here's another paper that's exactly the same again.

Boy, I wish I didn't read this stuff. It would certainly help me to become a better teacher by upping my passing rate.

So what to do?

"Say, David, you won't believe this, but Tim had exactly the same answers as you. Isn't that amazing? Also, they're all incorrect and you spelled all the same words wrong. What a coincidence."

"I didn't copy, Mr. Educator."

"Yes, I understand, but maybe Tim copied from you."

"I didn't copy, Mr. Educator."

"Well, I'm not saying you did. But to me, whether you copy from him, or he copies from you, it's all the same."

I usually leave little boxes blank for missing homework, but enter zeros when I catch kids copying. Dave and Tim get zeros.

But now, the bearer of paper no. 3, Linda, is crying. She knows she's caught, and is trying to explain. I restrain myself, gesture her to calm down, and don't discuss it further. But later, another kid says something about cheating, and Linda starts crying again. Linda's usually a good student--she participates, passes tests, and doesn't need to copy.

Two years ago I caught a generally excellent student doing the same thing. Though the evidence was overwhelming, she denied it and didn't speak to me for a year. I decide not to risk this with Linda. I won't tell her I'm mistaken (because I'm not). A few moments later, though, I say this:

"I'm sorry I made you cry, Linda."

She sniffs a few times and says it's alright. I've given both the boys zeros, but not her. She's still with me, at least.

As for the boys, they've learned their lesson--or at least they'll try to cheat more carefully in the future.

To Serve You Better

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, while sitting on billions of surplus dollars, is planning to cut millions in unimportant programs that are, admittedly, of little use to billionaires:

Bloomberg has called for slashing $22.2 million in city education programs, $30.3 million in aid to the City University of New York, $5.4 million to the beleaguered Administration for Children's Services, $6 million for child health clinics and $3 million for rapid HIV testing.

Aside from that, the Mayor is cutting a few other troublesome programs for the bootless and unhorsed:

$19.7 million from the "Teacher's Choice" program, an initiative that gives teachers up to $100 each to purchase instructional materials of their choice.

$9.3 million from youth programs directed at immigrants.

$5.9 million from mental health programs.

$4.8 million from initiatives aimed at preventing infant mortality.

But fear not. Sports stadiums will not be affected, nor will the number of luxury boxes. And there will be no tax increases on either yachts, helicopters, or aircraft chartering fees. But as the old saying goes, why charter a private aircraft when simple first-class reservations will do?

Should the Democrats Cross-Endorse George Bush?

Should the Republicans cross-endorse Hillary Clinton? Not many from either party think so (even if their opponents might hope so). There's little need for opposition if that's the sort of opposition they provide.

Yet the United Federation of Teachers has a so-called "opposition party" called New Action, whose ticket is headed is current UFT President Randi Weingarten. Ms. Weingarten hopes those of us who oppose her will be too ill-informed to notice that the "opposition party" is nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Ms. Weingarten also hopes you won't find out that all New Action's leaders have union jobs and second pensions. These jobs and pensions appeared magically the moment they agreed to endorse Ms. Weingarten. Is anyone naive enough to believe keeping those jobs does not depend on rubber-stamping Ms. Weingarten's agenda?

Unfortunately, I've spoken with many articulate, otherwise well-informed teachers who've confirmed Ms. Weingarten's supposition, and still believe New Action represents true opposition. Few teachers follow union politics, and that's one reason we've gotten mayoral control, hall patrol, 90-day unpaid suspensions based on unsubstantiated allegations, and all the other goodies that accompanied the unconscionable 05 contract.

Meet James Eterno. He believes in checks and balances. He believes there needs to be an alternative to the Unity-New Action machine that's controlled our union for over half a century.

So do I.

More Than Meets the Eye

This story got my attention, but not enough of it. Now-bankrupt Platform Learning got over 63 million bucks for tutoring, though the no-bid contract from Tweed projected a mere 7.6 million. When you look a little closer at the Platform Learning Leadership Team, you find that both of its major executives are former employees of Edison Schools.

Despite the repeated insistence of DoE employees from Chancellor Joel Klein on down that they are not privatizing NYC schools, there is a definite pattern emerging here. When you consider that Joel Klein saw fit to appoint former Edison Schools president Christopher Cerf (who conveniently sold his interest in Edison only the day before he took questions from a parents' group) deputy chancellor, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure what the pattern is, either.

When you consider the city paid Platform more than it would've cost to preserve the use of Randall's Island for New York City's 1.1 million schoolchildren, the priorities of this administration become crystal clear.

I only wish the residents of this city, along with the New York Times, would clean their windshields a little so they could see too. Fiscally bankrupt is one thing. Morally bankrupt is altogether different, and our kids deserve better.

Gracias al ángel misterioso

Why Didn't I Think of That?

Everyone from NYC knows the schools never close, no matter how much snow there is, or how many wicked witches or cows happen to be flying through the air.

I vividly remember driving up the Long Island Expressway one morning with cars crashing to the left and right of me. Then-Mayor Giuliani was on the radio saying, "It's awful out there. If you don't have to come to work, stay home."

The mayor, of course, was referring to people of significance---not teachers or students, who were required to come in.

A pair of creative students from Edgewood, Ohio have decided to forgo such nonsense altogether. They simply stole a password, went to the school website, and announced a snow day themselves.

Pay to Play

Randall's Island, it appears, is bound for a new look. All we had to do was devote most of the island to private schools for a brief 20 years. After all, we're talking about 52.4 million bucks, and the private schools are gonna pay for it (over 20 years). The city doesn't have that kind of money (multi-billion surpluses are for other things). Unless, of course, it's paying even more than that for a no-bid tutoring contract, another valuable public-private partnership.

What this is about is values, and public school children simply don't cut it. Mayor Bloomberg could have built a school here, but he's using contaminated fields in the Bronx instead. Do you remotely imagine Dalton kids would play there? Do you think billionaire stadium owners would construct in a place like that?

No, Randall's Island is a playground for the rich in more ways than one. On Independence Day, Bloomberg LP (run by guess who), roped off a good portion of it for two weeks so it could have a private party.

Randalls Island Sports Foundation officials refused this week to answer questions about how much the company paid to use the park or what the foundation's policy is for private parties on the island.

Why don't you give 'em a call and ask whether you can have you can close part of it for your kid's birthday party this summer?

Even though Randalls Island has always been considered part of East Harlem, there is not a single resident of that neighborhood on the foundation's board....

That's because the mayor knows whats best for everyone, and excellent schools and parks are best for those who can pay for them. For everyone else, you know the drill.

Update: Class Size Matters states that the private schools are paying only half the cost for this new construction. Try getting a 20 year, no-interest loan when you buy something:

Contrary to what has been written in the press and elsewhere, the private school payments amount to less than half of the cost of this project. The present value of the annual payments by the private schools is only $33.2 million, while these fields are projected to cost between $70 and $ 80 million. Moreover, there is the considerable cost of maintaining them, which the city is expected to cover.

The Uniform

During my endless hall patrol, when boredom threatens to jump out of the air and strangle me to death, one of our Chinese teachers often takes pity and speaks to me, thus diverting me from the pointless mind-numbing task UFT President Randi Weingarten has condemned me to perform forever.

Yesterday, she told me that she had to wear a school uniform from first through twelfth grade. When she was selected for college, she was thrilled and had her mother buy her a pair of jeans. She'd wanted one for years and though it cost 25 Chinese dollars (a lot for them at the time), her mom obliged. But when she got to college, a dour-looking matron informed her jeans were prohibited even there.

One of the things she loves about America is the frequency with which she can wear jeans. Another is the fact that, as far as she can tell, it doesn't bother anyone at all.

"Boy," I told her, "I never had to wear a uniform. I'm glad we don't wear uniforms."

"But of course you do," she said.

Just then, four kids walked down the hall. Three of them were wearing black North Face Jackets. One was not.

"Where's your North Face jacket?" she asked the fourth kid.

"I left it in class," she replied.

I recently bought my daughter a full-length down coat at Macy's. I remember marveling that the North Face jacket in her size came only to the waist and cost $200 more.

Anyway, she's right. Our kids do wear uniforms.

And expensive ones too.

Tie Me Down One of Those Kangaroos

Here's an inspiring story, all the way from Australia, for those of us working under the draconian conditions UFT President Randi Weingarten and her Unity-New Action patronage mill negotiated for us in 2005:

Up to 700 Victorian teachers have been forced to take stress leave in the past five years after children as young as 10 bullied, threatened and abused them on the job, WorkCover figures reveal.

More than $21 million was paid to the teachers, who took stress leave from January 2002 to August last year because of harassment, work pressures and assault, News Limited newspapers reported.

I regularly read similar tales from NYC teachers, notably Ms. C. over at Teach You a Lesson. Where's justice? Where's the union?

And most importantly, where's our 21 million bucks? That would go a long way to compensate us for the indignities of potty patrol, baseless 90-day unpaid suspensions, compensation increases that fail to meet inflation, punishment days in August, 6 classes daily, and ATR purgatory.

Thanks to Schoolgal

Are You Overpaid?

My favorite anonymous tipster emailed me a story from Jay Greene and Marcus A. Winters stating that teachers were not, after all, underpaid. In fact, the article claims, they're paid better than just about anyone. It's from the Wall Street Journal, I don't have a link, and you have to be a subscriber anyway, so pay up and do a search if you're so inclined. With all that money you have, it shouldn't be a problem.

It's remarkable that anyone can make such arguments. One of the big disagreements between the UFT and Mayor Bloomberg is over the percentage of teachers who get tenure. Bloomberg says it's 99%, but the UFT puts the figure closer to 65%, since fully a third of the teachers hired never make it far enough to be considered. Within five years, fully half have moved on. I've heard, in fact, that more than half of our current union members have fewer than five years (and if anyone knows better, please correct me).

I've heard these teacher pay arguments for a long time. If you sit and make out a chart of actual hours worked, maybe it's true. I mean you get the summers off (I've had three summers off in 22 years) and you only work a few measly hours a day. Unless you take work home, or work nights and weekends (like me, for example).

For me, a regular-working-guy-type, it's hard to attribute teacher retention problems to the pay being too high, or the work being too easy. But folks like Mr. Greene manage to do it anyway.

Another thing I learned was this--according to the University of Arkansas website, Mr. Greene is paid $160,000 a year. That doesn't include speaking fees, or whatever he makes for writing papers and articles vilifying teachers.

I wonder how many hours he works.

Short Takes

Mayor Bloomberg has had it with people criticizing the bus debacle. How dare they? They have no experience doing anything. Public advocate Betsy Gotbaum wholeheartedly acknowledged the contrast between critics and the company that won hizzoner's no-bid contract:

"As to experience, yes, Alvarez & Marsal has ample management experience," she said sarcastically. "The firm managed to make a mess of the school bus system in St. Louis."

Meanwhile, 5-year-old children stand outside for fifty minutes on the coldest week of the season, waiting in vain for the newly rerouted buses to show.

And NY Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says of course he wouldn't send his six-year-old child out onto a city bus. Of course, he doesn't have a six-year-old, if he did he'd enroll her in public school, and your 7-year-old child is another story altogether.

Thanks To Schoolgal

My New Classroom

On Monday morning, UFT President Randi Weingarten came to visit our school. I’d have liked to see her, but I was out back teaching in a trailer. Ms. Weingarten, whose monopolistic Unity-New Action Caucus has not bothered to negotiate class size for almost 40 years, talked about class size and overcrowding. Others of us were experiencing it firsthand.

A colleague arrived unexpectedly to greet me.She notified me we were kicked out of the trailer, effective immediately, and sent my 27 students and me back into the building (She said she had 39 students, so protest seemed futile).

There are things I like to do when I teach. I like to walk around and check what kids are working on. I like to set the desks in a semicircle to encourage discussion and participation. On test days, I like to make three or four long rows to discourage cheating.

All these things are out of the question in our new classroom.There are 8 rows of 3 desks virtually piled on top of one another. Testing will be extremely challenging, if not impossible.

As an ESL teacher, I insist my student speak English at all times. That’s why I seat certain kids with others who don’t speak their languages.In this classroom, it’s virtually impossible to strategically place the kids, 55% of whom speak the same first language.

There are no windows in our new classroom. There are two doors, one of which connects to the office of the Assistant Principal of Security. We can hear every word he utters and every reply on his speakerphone. We can also hear every discussion he has with the students unfortunate enough to land in his office.

The other door leads to the hallway.You have to open the door, because the room smells like “cement,” “smoke,” “the locker room,” or “a pharmacy,” depending on which kid you ask. But you can’t open the door, because we’re across from the locker room, and the gym classes, which don’t seem to actually fit in our gyms, march down the hall for the first ten minutes of the period, and back up the hall for the last. Also, can hear everything going on in the dean’s office, just south of us, and you don’t really want it to spill into the classroom.

“What did we do?” a kid asked me.

“Is this a torture room?” asked another.

“No, it’s a punishment room,” replied someone with experience.

He was right. Our new classroom is exactly where they place kids with in-house suspensions. But there are usually only 5 or 6 of them at a time.

When you squeeze 4500 people into a building designed for 1800, you have to make a few compromises. I am not what you'd call shy, and I do not expect the administration to keep me there for long.

Still, some less assertive colleague will land in my stead for sure.

If you’re going to put “Children First,” as Bloomberg and Klein claim, there’s no excuse whatsoever for treating kids like this. Still, it will be my efforts, not Ms. Weingarten's, that get my kids out of there.

It's my job to look out for them, and neither they nor I can afford to wait another forty years.

So You Don't Forget, Call Before Midnight Tonight

Check out the Carnival of Education, appearing right now at This Week in Education.

The New Wheels on the Bus

The wheels on the bus go Round and round, Round and round, Round and round.
The wheels on the bus go Round and round,
All through the town.

Alvarez and Marsal say beat it kid, beat it kid, beat it kid"
Alvarez and Marsal say beat it kid, beat it kid, beat it kid"
All through the town.

Bloomberg on the bus goes "Cheap Cheap Cheap, Cheap Cheap Cheap, Cheap Cheap Cheap"
Bloomberg on the bus goes "Cheap Cheap Cheap,
All through the town.

Klein on the bus goes "Duh duh duh, Duh duh duh, Duh duh duh"
Klein on the bus goes "Duh duh duh, Duh duh duh, Duh duh duh"
All through the town

The money from the bus goes "Clink clink clink, Clink clink clink, Clink clink clink"
The money from the bus goes "Clink clink clink, Clink clink clink, Clink clink clink"
straight to the consultant clowns.

Thanks to David Bellel for updating the classic tune!

I Am Woman

"Mr. Educator?"

"Yes, Suzie?"

"What 's the difference between A-L-L-E-N and A-L-A-N?"

"Just the spelling, I think."

"Well, I like A-L-L-E-N better."

"I don't sink so," opined her neighbor (note to self--work on that "th" sound).

"Well, Suzie," I told her, "Maybe some day you'll have a son and you can name him A-L-L-E-N."

"No, I'm going to call my husband A-L-L-E-N."

"Don't you sink he may not like it?" asked the neighbor.

"If he wants me, he's going to have to use that name," declared Suzie, and the matter was closed.

Worth Another Look

One of the most remarkable education stories I've ever heard happened a few years back in Kansas City. I wasn't blogging at the time, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again today, so I hope you won't mind my dredging it up.

A young science teacher named Christine Pelton assigned a class project. Parents and students signed an agreement that the project would be worth half the class grade.

Unfortunately for the kids in question, Ms. Pelton went and read the projects. Perhaps the kids had not anticipated this occurrence because it turned out that many of the papers were identical. Using software that identified it, Ms. Pelton determined that 28 of the kids had committed plagiarism. Under the terms of the signed agreement, she proceeded to fail the plagiarists.

But the kids were not happy. And their parents, who'd signed the agreements, had second thoughts. The local board determined the project was weighted too heavily and instructed Ms. Pelton to reduce its value from 50 to 30%.

When Ms. Pelton arrived the next day, the kids let her know who was boss.

"The students no longer listened to what I had to say," she said. "They knew if they didn't like anything in my classroom from here on out, they can just go to the school board and complain."

Ms. Pelton resigned. At the end of the semester, her principal resigned too.
Ms. Pelton

Thanks, Mayor Mike

Here's an article about some of the nice folks kids are meeting on the public buses.

If Alvarez and Marshall say it's a good thing, that ought to be good enough for anyone.

Now That Can't Be Right

Norm at Ednotes has posted an incredible piece from Class Size Matters showing we're building twice as many seats for sports stadiums than for public schools.

Talk Talk Talk

UFT President Randi Weingarten has an op-ed in the Daily News this morning. She repeatedly praises Governor Eliot Spitzer for his emphasis on proven reforms, like smaller class size, but does not make it clear precisely what other choices he offered.

I'd like to believe Ms. Weingarten that Mr. Spitzer's intentions are good. Unfortunately, actions speak louder than words, and even Mr. Spitzer's words, up to this point, have been highly disappointing. Mr. Spitzer ran claiming he'd reduce class size, not that he'd offer the option of reducing class size.

Mayor Bloomberg has always had the option of reducing class size. He has always declined it. Can Mayor Bloomberg find some way to lengthen the school day, or year (his other options, according to the governor) without violating the UFT contract? He doesn't have to lengthen if for teachers if he can somehow make kids stay longer. Will Unity/New Action lengthen the school day and year in the next contract to secure another compensation increase that fails to meet inflation?

They've certainly done it before.

Related: This blog is also quoted in today's Daily News.

Tower of Babel

Peppermint Kiwi writes:

One of my Spanish teachers was Cuban, and she told us about her American boyfriend who was attempting to communicate in Spanish to impress her father. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that embarazada means "pregnant," not "embarrassed."

It's tough to pick up a new language, and if you do so as an adult, there are always stumbling blocks like that. When I was more advanced , I had a very good Spanish teacher who invited our class to come to a Three Tenors concert and "assist." We all thought we'd have to work (and most of us worked in the day before coming to class at night).

None of us accepted the offer. It wasn't till a few years later I discovered that the Spanish word asistir means "attend" while the word atender means "assist."

There the guy was, offering us free tickets to an expensive concert, and none of us had the remotest notion what he was talking about.

Guagua

My Spanish 1 teacher was from Chile. She would not hesitate to announce, "For homework, please do exercise C,D,E, F, G, H and I. You know what? Also do J,K, L, M,N O and P." You never knew whether the mood might strike her to add Q to Z, so it was important to try to ask an unrelated question at that point. It was summer, and she gave a test every other day.

She was a holy terror. But I never learned so much Spanish from anyone, anywhere.

For example, she taught us the word guagua means "baby" in Chile. But it means "bus" in Puerto Rico. Also, in Spanish, you don't miss the bus. You lose it.

When she first came to the US, having fled from the junta, she met a worried-looking Puerto Rican woman at a bus stop. She asked her what was wrong.

"I lost the guagua," the woman said.

"Oh no!" replied my teacher. "What on earth are you going to do?"

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'll just get another one."

Good for What Ails You

Having rejected wasteful frivolities like good teachers and small classes, Mayor Mike is looking for new innovations, like privatization, that won't divert money from important projects, like sports stadiums, giving ball fields to private schools, and constructing public schools on contaminated land.

After all, if you aren't gonna do what works, why not just toss a bunch of balls into the air and see where they fall down? Well, it turns out they've beat Mayor Mike to the punch in Philadelphia. How's that working out?

Philadelphia's groundbreaking privatization experiment with 46 of its worst public schools not only failed to significantly improve academic performance but cost an extra $300 per pupil, a new report said on Thursday.

Hmmm... but surely that wouldn't happen here, would it? Haven't Alvarez and Marshall been doing a heckuva job with that bus reorganization?

The report said the private model offered "no evidence" to show that private management was effective.

"There were no statistically significant effects, positive or negative in reading or math, in any of the four years after takeover," according to the report.

I don't expect that will deter Mayor Mike. When reorganization doesn't work, you reorganize the reorganization. When privatization doesn't work, reprivatize the privatization.

That way, the balls are constantly in the air, and there's no accountability whatsoever.

Mayor Mike's Magical Mystery Tour

I love the headline from today's Times: "City Tells Parents It Understands as School Bus Crisis Eases a Bit." There's a distinction between telling people you understand and actually understanding, but I don't see it in this headline. I wonder if that was intentional.

Education officials say the rules have existed for decades, but State Senator Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, accused the Education Department yesterday of wrongly denying bus service to thousands of children based on a rule requiring them to live within a quarter-mile of a school bus stop.

He said the rule was not printed anywhere and accused the department of making it up.

“It’s a Catch-22,” Mr. Kruger said in a statement. “They’re saying you can’t take the bus because it’s too far from your home. But the only reason the bus is too far from your home is that the city took the route away.”

It's encouraging to see the public so up in arms about something regarding the public school system. I can't help but think that if they'd take the same approach to teacher quality, class sizes, and decent facilities, we'd all be in much better shape today.

The Daily News reports today that the changes were made, in typical Bloomberg-reform style, with little or no thought as to what the results would be:

In an attempt to get the millions of dollars in savings promised by a high-priced consulting firm, the Education Department rushed its school bus reorganization before it was ready.

After all the headaches, taxpayers will see only a measly $5 million go into city classrooms this year - far short of initial estimates, school officials conceded.

Well, that certainly justifies the 15.8 million dollar Alvarez and Marshall contract, doesn't it? It kind of makes you wonder how well hizzoner has planned out the new reorganization.

Likely he planned it just as thoroughly as the last one. Unfortunately, I don't anticipate it getting nearly the scrutiny of the bus debacle.

And that's a shame. It merits every bit of it.

Related: See reality-based educator

What a Piece of Work Is Spam

I've just spent a good deal of time removing hundreds of commercial spam messages from the Haloscan comments boxes. I'm afraid I may have deleted other comments as well. Feel free to repost if I deleted yours in error. If you have trouble logging on, please email me and I will correct the problem.

You are free to express your point of view, whatever it may be.

Be advised that ad hominem attacks and name calling, whether directed at me or other commenters, will not be tolerated.

Rules are Rules

In yet another effort to help put Children First, Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein are strictly enforcing their bus policy. It's a well-known fact that rules must be adhered to, no matter how incomprehensible they may be (unless they're rules that protect working people, and they can all go to hell).

In any case, it's a rough world out there, and it's our job to prepare kids for it. This isn't the first stupid rule they've encountered, and it won't be the last. Give 'em a Metrocard, get 'em a subway map, and let 'em learn like we did. So what if they're five years old?

Did we have buses? Didn't it snow every day when we went to school? Didn't we have to walk 10 miles, uphill, shoveling the snow all the way? Didn't we have to walk 10 miles back, uphill again?

Does Joel Klein complain when he can't manage to charter a private aircraft to jet him to a blue-ribbon panel? Of course not. He knows simple first-class reservations will do. Grow up, New York!

We paid Alvarez and Marshall 15.8 million bucks to figure out how to save money, and if they say you can't get on the bus, you can't get on the bus. How are we gonna recover their fees if we squander our precious tax dollars transporting small children?

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein apologized for the inconvenience last night but defended the cuts.

"Of course everybody would like to have a bus. I understand that. Our job is to make sure the eligibility requirements by law are met, and they're done equitably and fairly," he said.

Still, some of the changes left parents baffled. Kerry Grasser's 7-year-old daughter is eligible for bus service to Public School 114 in Rockaway Park, Queens - but her 5-year-old daughter isn't.

Too bad. Rules are rules (unless they're rules that protect working people, and they can all go to hell).

"I had to imagine it was a mistake because you have two children coming from the same house and going to the same school," said Grasser, who is putting both children on the school bus anyway.

Clearly Ms. Grasser is laboring under a misconception, because if Chancellor Joel Klein says one of your daughters is eligible and the other isn't, I can only assume the eligibility line runs through your apartment, and the five-year-old is on the wrong side of it. Can't the five-year-old just sleep in the kitchen?

How on earth can Mayor Bloomberg continue to put Children First when adults can't even follow the rules? What sort of example does that set, anyway?

Thanks to Schoolgal

Related: Whatever you do, don't miss Joe Williams' take on this!

The Coveted UFT Endorsement

On Edwize, there's an interesting thread in which Leo Casey defends the UFT endorsement of Governor George Pataki, who vetoed improvements to the Taylor Law, and 25/55 (perhaps to show his gratitude). But it's not the Pataki endorsement being discussed.

Xkaydet65, who occasionally comments here, had this to say:

I have always wondered how the UFT could, with any conscience, consistently endorse Serphin Maltese for the State Senate. Mr. Maltese destroyed the Lay Faculty Assoc. at Christ the King HS in Queens in 1981. He permanently replaced 65 striking teachers, as he was Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees.

Three years later he provided support, bot moral and material, to the Board of St John’s Prep in their successful effort to destroy that school’s LFA Chapter. This time 96 teachers were replaced. Maltese providied access to a private detective agency to provide security, an anti union llaw firm to assist house counsel Kevin Quill, son of Mike, and he frequently arrived to strategize on how to hire new staff with Don Bertrand SJP’s Board Chair.

Despite this record, Maltese was not only continually endorsed for reelection, but he was a welcome guest at UFT functions in CSB 24.

An Edwize commenter stated the UFT had not endorsed Mr. Maltese in the most recent election. Mr. Casey pointed out that when they did endorse Mr. Maltese, there had been much discussion in the UFT about whether or not they should endorse this blatant union-buster. And knowing what he was, they decided to endorse him anyway.

I remember working with several ex-Christ the King teachers. They were anything but shy about assessing Mr. Maltese. I happened to live in his district at that time, and I voted against him without a second thought.

Mr. Casey also pointed to discussion of Mr. Maltese's "opposition to legislation recognizing gay rights."

Personally, I see no distinction between gay rights and civil rights for any other group . I find it remarkable that my union was able to make such a distinction. Xkaydet65 came to this conclusion:

...if David Duke supported a UFT cause I’m sure he’d receive the Union’s coveted endorsement. Sometimes there’s right and wrong and supporting Serphin Maltese, under any circumstances was and is wrong.

I couldn't agree more.

NYC Educator's Boarding House

Mayor Bloomberg is going to add twenty small schools next year. 10 of them will be in 2 buildings that he's shutting down. The other 10 will be, well, he doesn't know where they will be.

Personally, I've decided to follow in his footsteps. I'm going to take my three bedroom home and convert it into a thirty bedroom home. First, I'm going to put up dividers in each bedroom to make sure that everyone has their own room. Then, I'm going to put an air mattress in each room, as full size beds are out of the question.

I'm going to equip each bedroom with a lamp, and run extension cords under the floors so that everyone gets a hot plate. Or maybe I'll split up the kitchen, and everyone can get a shelf in the fridge. It'll be kind of like being a college student again. I'll make up a snappy motto like "Renters First," and squeeze in as many as I can.

My boarding house will have everything. It'll be kind of like living in a third-world country while staying in the US. So, let's do the math---three times five is fifteen. I don't know where the other fifteen will be.

Excuse me. I gotta go take a look at the crawl space.

An Outrage

I was once a short-order cook, and I have often amazed people by making perfect omelets. But here's the thing--many short order cooks don't even know what an omelet is.

To make an omelet, you have to first put the eggs in the pan, and when they firm up a little bit, you add ingredients (spinach and feta cheese, for example) to one half of the mixture. After a while, you fold the other half onto your ingredients, slide it out of the pan and onto a dish, and serve.

You cannot mix the ingredients into the eggs and then fry the whole mess unattended until it is hard as a rock. This should be a felony.

If this is what you think an omelet is, you have never eaten one, so you should not ever attempt to make one.

All over the country people are making things like this and calling them omelets. It's simply un-American.

Looking for a House?

Consider not becoming a teacher. It can be rough to pay for a half-million dollar home when you're making 40 grand a year. Over on this coast, you might be able to find something in Nassau County for a mere 400K, but be prepared to shell out another 8 or 10 thousand for local taxes.

If you want to live near where I work (we could do lunch), be prepared to shell out closer to a mil. But Mayor Mike has really kept those taxes down, so it won't be more than 3K a year.

You could always look into a fixer-upper, I guess.

Who Killed the CFE Lawsuit?

The CFE lawsuit promised to bring NYC children good teachers, smaller classes, and decent facilities. For years I walked around convinced that substantive change was coming to our system, despite the babbling of various self-serving politicians. But now I think it's nothing but a fond memory.

There are a lot of suspects.

Was it Mayor Michael Bloomberg? Mayor Bloomberg strongly supported the idea of the infusion of capital. However, when the judge said the city might have to pay a portion, he decided decent education was too expensive. His representative said if the city were asked to pay any portion whatsoever, it would say no thank you to the whole deal.

Was it ex-Governor George Pataki? To his credit, Governor Pataki immediately offered to shoulder 60% of the award. He probably could have come up a little, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to pay a dime. As a result, he appealed the decision.

Was it the judges? One of them decided an eighth-grade education was good enough for New York City kids, and that our sole obligation was preparing them for a career in fast food. When the mayor refused to kick in dime one, another decided to cut the award by two-thirds and ensure there was no oversight in how the city spent the money.

Was it UFT President Randi Weingarten? Though Ms. Weingarten speaks about class size frequently, she negotiated two contracts under the spectre of the CFE lawsuit, and made no effort whatsoever to enforce reductions. She continues to push petitions and letter-writing campaigns knowing that any ballot proposal she wins is subject to the mayor's veto. The mayor has singlehandedly killed referendums before, and there's nothing to indicate he won't do so again.

Was it Governor Eliot Spitzer? The new governor promised great things for NYC schools. He promised to force Mayor Bloomberg to kick into any award. Gone is all such talk, and now he's kicking in money, but offering a menu of "improvements." They can reduce class size, but they can also increase the school year or day or offer "other changes in scheduling."

On teacher quality:

In a call for better teacher preparation, Mr. Spitzer said the state should offer expanded alternative certification programs to increase the number of teachers entering the profession without traditional training.

Mr. Spitzer, perhaps, is the only person on earth unfamiliar with the results of New York City's thirty-year program of intergalactic recruitment. While such programs swell the ranks of teachers and artificially depress New York City salaries, I don't see anyone standing up and praising Chancellor Klein for retaining teachers who've failed basic competency tests, often dozens of times. The overwhelming majority of internationally-recruited teachers turned tail and fled when they got a whiff of the cost of living here in fun city.

Mr. Spitzer has also taken a stand supporting Mayor Bloomberg's demand that test scores become part of tenure reviews, despite Randi Weingarten's prominent protestations. So much for the clout of the so-called "powerful teachers' union."

After years of resisting class size reduction, I see no reason why Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein would embrace it if not forced. It's likely their "other changes in scheduling" will be smoke and mirrors, or further privatization of the public schools. What will they do with the money? Hire extra levels of administrators? Construct schools on toxic waste sites? Invest in cutesy programs like Everyday Math? Who knows?

One thing appears certain--there will be no significant reduction in class sizes unless and until it is mandated, one way or another. The last best opportunity to have done so was during contract negotiations with the UFT.

The next best chance will be with a new mayor. And if teachers are really serious about this, they'll elect a new union president who values education even more than the half-century old UFT patronage mill.

Think Before You Write

That's just one thing I tell my hapless ESL students when they're facing the NY English Regents. The test is not designed for them, and they shouldn't have to take it. But that's not why I brought this up. When constructing an argument, you need to be careful, and anticipate what the other side may say.

For example, today's Daily News features a rather brutal attack on UFT Prez Randi Weingarten. First, it quotes her on class size reform:

"We need this more than anything else - the only reform that has never
been tried systemically in New York City, and that is a real lowering of class
size," Weingarten told lawmakers, seeking to have them set aside $1 billion just
for class size cuts.

Ms. Weingarten is very, very smart (no sarcasm here--I've seen her speak), and ought to have known she was setting herself up for this:

First, consider the truthiness of Weingarten's claim that this is the
only reform that's never really been tried. Let's see here. The schools have
never implemented a serious performance-pay plan for teachers. Or taken on
teacher tenure. Or substantially lengthened the school day or year. Or opened a
large number of charter schools.

There are many other reforms that have never been tried, like having classrooms in Wal-Mart and making teachers fold shirts between classes. Nor has anyone tried paying teachers minimum wage and hoping they wouldn't get snatched up by Burger King (where the food beats NYC cafeteria fare hands down).

A stronger argument against Ms. Weingarten's sincerity is the fact that she's consistently declined to make class size a part of contract negotiations (although quote two of the Daily News E-opinion section features some weirdo named "NYC Educator" making that very point). It's important to note (again) that class sizes are only as low as they are because of clauses in the UFT contract that are 30 or 40 years old.

I strongly support reducing class sizes, and I would like to see class size made a priority for those CFE funds. Unfortunately, the CFE verdict suggested there would be no oversight in how the funds were spent. This bodes ill for class size advocates.

And speaking of real class size advocates, don't miss Leonie Haimson's take on the News editorial.

Marching for Mayor Mike

Mayor Michael Bloomberg now proposes a "fair funding" plan, calculated to make it inconvenient to hire senior teachers. Principals will be able to hire two newbies for the price of one vet (Thanks to Schoolgal).

UFT President Randi Weingarten has spoken up against it, but had she not enabled mayoral control and the demise of seniority-based placement, it would not even be an issue.

Some schools, apparently, are staffed almost entirely by new teachers. While I've seen a lot of very good ones, I still think they can learn a lot from experienced colleagues (I know I did). Unfortunately, those nasty teacher unions insist that 20 years experience carry a price tag. If Mayor Mike were only able to get rid of salary scales and institute merit pay, he could ensure that no teacher lasted more than five years and eliminate pensions altogether.

When kids failed tests, he could simply blame the teachers and hire new ones. It would be perfect.

Are newbies any better off? You decide. Here's an email I received this morning:

I was accepted as a Midyear Fellow this year, and accepted my position. I completely picked up and relocated to New York City for the program and set up home in Queens. I started my training in December. I was never late to any sessions and always did the work that I was asked to do.


For the first few weeks of the program, I was subletting so that I could have the safety net of going back to my parents' house in case things didn't work out. At the midpoint evaluations, I was told that I was doing fine, so I went ahead and signed a lease for an apartment.


After that, the program's actions really left me in a bind. I had a field observer who decided on a whim that he didn't like my classroom management skills and then proceeded to complain to the office. When I asked repeatedly what my status in the program was, I was told not to worry about being removed from the program. This happened repeatedly when I asked for feedback on how I was doing in the program.


I finished my training period and spent the entire week afterwards taking interviews for teaching jobs. I also made two trips to my assigned university to get things set up there; I was even given an ID card and registered for classes. I then received a call tonight from the program essentially telling me that my evaluations led those in the office to believe that I was not ready to teach and that they had removed me from the program and removed me from my university classes.


I asked if there was anything that I could do as far as further training or ways that I could work to improve upon their concerns and was basically told that I was not eligible to apply for the Fellows program ever again and that they basically never wanted to see me again.


Bear in mind that when I got my apartment, I was also required to submit a proof of income letter to my landlord. The Fellows program gave me a letter that said that I would be eligible to teach beginning January 22nd and making over 40,000 dollars without any fine print saying that it was contingent upon successful completion of training.


They also allowed me to go to interviews at schools all of this week, which was a waste of my valuable time and a waste of principals' time if they were unable to hire me. Since I spent so much time searching for a teaching job, I was unable to even begin looking for other jobs and now am stuck with no way to make my rent and bills.


I feel as if I was very much wronged by the program and am writing to make you aware of this situation so that you can blog about it and make others beware of the Teaching Fellows program.

The Bottom Line

Though I've been accused otherwise, I'm not anti-test. Really, you need demonstrable evidence that kids are doing well (or poorly) in your classes, and grades are something it's hard to argue with. But is testing the be-all and end-all? I don't think so.

Unfortunately, when your principal's merit pay is on the line, everything else goes out the window.

"The kids can't tell you who the president was during the Civil War," she said. "But they can tell you how to eliminate answers on a multiple-choice test. And as long as our test scores are up, everyone will be happy.

"That's education?"

The teacher, who requested anonymity, said she was ordered by her principal to "forget about everything except test prep" over the four weeks prior to this month's statewide English tests.

"All anyone cares about now are test scores," she lamented.

It's useful for kids to be able to eliminate incorrect multiple choice answers. It shows resourcefulness and cleverness, too. But I really believe in the saying "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." Test scores are important. No doubt about it. I want my kid to do well on tests, and I'll help her any way I can.

But that's not all there is. I'd like her to know there's history, and music, and art, and that she can be part of all these things. Do you want that for your kids too, or am I some wild-eyed extreme-liberal hippie pinko lunatic?

Thanks to Schoolgal

GPS My S

The computer guy at our school is a genius. If you bring him your sick laptop, he can just smell it and tell you exactly what's wrong. That's why I've always followed his advice without any questions whatsoever. But I think he may have software issues.

I travel a lot, and I'm writing this from Stroudsburg, PA. But it's a miracle I ever got here. Usually, I rely on Mapquest for directions, print them out and go. But lately, I've been considering one of those GPS units you plug onto your dashboard. Computer guy said to get Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS, and save a few hundred bucks. So I picked it up, and bought a convertor to power the laptop in the car.

Yesterday, I was on I-80 west, on my way here, when the woman in my computer suggested a shortcut through Hackensack (or some other NJ garden spot). She took me up a road, and every time the road turned said things like "Bear left in 2/10ths of a mile." She then took me to a traffic circle, had me turn around, go back the other way, and drive all the way back to I-80.

While she's a computer and all, my inadequate human brain could not comprehend the wisdom of having driven around darkest Jersey for an extra 30 minutes. When she told me to get off again, I looked her right in her GPS screen, and told her, "Forget it."

She was mad, so when we got here, she took me in a circle all over town and refused to show me where the hotel was. I had to get out at a convenience store and ask for directions. Neither my wife, my daughter, nor my young nephew was impressed with the space-age technology I'd inflicted upon them.

What's the moral of this story? I couldn't tell you. But Instructivist says math is taught exactly like this GPS program works, and what's more, he's got a video to prove it.

Upstairs Downstairs

It's campaign season again for the United Federation of Teachers. UFT President Randi Weingarten is spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions of our dues dollars, on a professionally produced TV commercial that appears on Law and Order, the Today show, and who knows what else. It makes passing mention of class size, which Ms. Weingarten failed to bring up in contract negotiations, urges the public to listen to teachers, then posts Ms. Weingarten's name prominently for all the world to see.

This is not the sort of message that keeps us from being vilified in the press, nor is it designed to do so (Dues money is not wasted on such things). Like previous UFT commercials (that also appeared during UFT campaigns) with messages like "It's not fair" (really), these commercials are aimed at The Help. That's you and me.

When The Help gets uppity, it sometimes runs candidates against Ms. Weingarten. I'm not talking about New Action (who now know their place) but ICE-TJC, which actually opposes her and is not beholden with patronage jobs. Sometimes The Help just doesn't do what it's told (and it's hard to get good Help nowadays).

Here's one example, from a comment Teacher J made last night:

NYCE, please help me get my head around our mafia-style teacher's union.

Another teacher at my school who's a member of TJC, the opposition to Unity/NA in the coming elections, was putting leaflets in the teacher mailboxes of another school in our building. Later, he gets hauled into a room to be scolded by the principal of our school, the principal of the other school, and the chapter chair of the other school, who all essentially told him that they had taken the leaflets out of the mailbox and thrown them away, and that they were going to try to get a letter put in his file. He pointed out that DoE policy explicitly protects campaign activities if done outside work hours (he put the leaflets in the mailboxes during his lunch period). They replied in so many words that what he was doing was reprehensible and the principal has to authorize what teachers receive in their mailboxes.

What do you and your readers think this teacher can do to allow his democratic rights to be respected by the school and the union?

Yesterday, only 340 people read this blog. What were the chances this would happen to one of them? What are the chances, if this happened to one of them, that it's happening all over the city? And how many teachers don't even know opposition messages are being tossed into the trash?

Total monopoly is required to maintain the Unity patronage mill, and it's not going to let The Help get in its way. The 50-year-old Unity caucus, as always requiring signed loyalty oaths and total fealty (expelling members for opposing the Vietnam war, according to David Selden in The Teacher Rebellion), has certain standards to uphold.

Don't expect Randi Weingarten to get off her pedestal and debate The Help. That's unheard of. Not having access to dues money, and being strictly working class, the only thing The Help can afford is putting flyers into mailboxes. But Unity doesn't like that, and the administration doesn't like when The Help gets uppity. Without Ms. Weingarten and Unity, who will keep The Help in line?

What would happen if The Help found out what was really in that 05 contract? What would happen if The Help began to understand what cost of living was? What would happen if The Help found out New Action was a front for Unity?

I speak with my fellow Help every day. I am amazed at the number of intelligent and articulate teachers who have no idea about these things. Certainly neither Ms. Weingarten nor her patronage employees understand that the union is us, and that union employees (theoretically) work for us.

Against all odds, we need to get the word out.

When we do, we the people will run the union, and UFT HQ will contain The Help.

To Boldly Split that Infinitive...

We've all heard of Superman and Wonder Woman. But do you know about Grammar Girl? Unlike the others, she's 100% real.

Her podcast is remarkably popular, and has been downloaded over a million times. But people are afraid to write her for fear of being corrected. If only I knew what a podcast was, I'd listen right now.

(via)

State of the Blog

Thank you all very much for coming.

First of all, I'd like to welcome everyone here. Let's get right down to it. On the issue of bipartisanship, we are making definite progress. Several voices from Unity Caucus have been visiting lately, and while we disagree with them, they are welcome here. Unfortunately, the sole representative from New Action has opted to take his ball and go home, and there is little we can do about that.

We continue to do battle with the evil empire, but I must report we are vastly outnumbered and massively outspent. Also the unruly space aliens with whom we battle daily continue using weapons of mass destruction to achieve their goals, and still hope for kids to act like those they've seen in their favorite movies. We will not give up, we will not relent, but it will be some time before we can expect peace and prosperity.

Now we must turn to balancing the budget, and I say to you this goal is attainable within five years, and there will be no new taxes to accomplish this. The deficit is a burden to us and future generations. First, it's 12 bucks a year to get rid of those Haloscan ads. Then, there's the added burden of the new domain name nyceducator.com, which brings the deficit up to a staggering $17.99, the largest in our history.

I'm pleased to announce that this summer I plan to get a paper route in order to ease the debt. Sometimes, in extreme situations, one must take extreme measures.

So rest assured that this blog will remain free and independent of foreign influences. God bless you all, and let's be careful out there.

Yipee-i-yo-ka-yay!

The Carnival of Education is over at The Education Wonks place this week, buckaroos and buckarettes, and if you don't wanna miss it, get yer keesters over there right now!

Just click here, and you'll be there faster'n a GOP Senator can filibuster against raising the minimum wage.

Yee-haw!

Watch What They Do...

...and ignore what they say, because their words mean nothing.

UFT President Randi Weingarten, who made no effort whatsoever to get class size reduction written into the UFT contract (which is the only thing keeping class sizes are as low as they are), is now demanding one billion dollars of the CFE lawsuit be directed toward class size reduction.

The Mayor's consistent unwillingness to contribute dime one to this settlement resulted in its reduction by two -thirds, hardly a boon for city kids. And when this mayor says he's reduced class sizes, Class Size Matters says he has not.

Ms. Weingarten also made no effort whatsoever to make the CFE settlement part of the UFT contract, resulting in two contracts that failed to meet inflation, not to mention the draconian givebacks we suffered in 05. However, the current CFE settlement, to the delight of the mayor, provides no oversight whatsoever in how the funds are spent. Governor Spitzer, who's impressed me very little during his brief tenure, is fine with that, apparently:

A spokeswoman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer said that in his budget message next week, he would propose overhauling the state’s school aid formula, greatly increasing the dollars available for city schools, and would allow school districts to use the money to reduce class size but not require it.

The spokeswoman, Christine Anderson, did not indicate precisely how much money Mr. Spitzer would direct toward city schools. In his campaign, Mr. Spitzer repeatedly promised to spend $8.5 billion more a year on needy school districts statewide, including at least $4 billion a year for New York City.

Where's that promise he made now? And does anyone who reads the papers believe that voluntary reforms are the way to go with Mike and Joel?

Ms. Weingarten is also talking tough about Chancellor Klein's tenure proposals. Again, let's see what they do. Personally, I don't believe this chancellor wants to withhold tenure. If he does, that will reduce the pool of teachers, and he might have to raise salaries to attract more of them. That goes against everything this city has stood for for thirty years.

Weingarten's comments came in an exclusive interview after Klein told the Daily News Editorial Board he would talk to the union about a pay-for-performance pilot program in high-needs schools.

"I think paying people to produce results, especially in communities where we're not seeing these results, is what we need to do to reform this system," Klein said.

Weingarten has agreed to discuss incentives for teachers to work in difficult neighborhoods or shortage areas like math and science but said using test scores to set salaries or decide tenure is like "telling an oncologist that the only way to keep your job is for your cancer patients to survive."

Ms. Weingarten is correct, of course, but it was she who created this monster by enabling mayoral control in the first place. It was she who reinforced it by pushing the draconian givebacks of the 05 contract. Ms. Weingarten does not wish to appear an old-time union boss, and looks quite contemporary when she sends her teachers out to do hall duty, and to be permanent subs, and gives them 90-day unpaid suspensions based on unsubstantiated charges.

Give me an old-time union boss any day.

In fact, give me Tony Soprano. I don't know about you, but I've had it with people who talk and talk while never accomplishing anything.