Summer Randomness

Summer's here, and in keeping with the general laziness of the 95 degree day, I decided I'd post some random thoughts rather than some long screed.

First off, I am going to miss the DOEnuts blog. Although it is continuing with a new blogger at the helm, I will sorely miss the wit and wisdom of the original.

NYC Educator wrote a piece I was thinking about the other day on not letting retirees vote. When I researched the idea, however, I discovered that the UFT actually still charges dues to retirees--albeit half the rate of teachers and based on their actual retirement allotment. While this amount is way less than most teachers pay (figure about 1200 a year to maybe 300), if retirees are paying in, they should have a voice. Contracts and UFT leadership are matters that do affect them. It's not the fault of retirees if only 17% of teachers can be bothered to vote. What if, on the last day of school, those who vote get their paychecks at noon, and the apathetic get theirs after the usually scheduled extended day? I bet we'd get a lot more votes then.

There's a lot of buzz about the Badass Teachers Association (BAT) on Facebook.  Their mission is: "...to engage in discourse that improves our profession." Really? Does the word "Badass" in the name really help us engage in discourse or improve our profession? It sounds more like we're looking to pick a bar fight. Picture the debate on MSNBC's Education Week: "Today, the president of Students First will debate one of the founders of the Badass Teachers Association". We lose before we start. Also, on an even more petty note, shouldn't the acronym for "Badass Teachers Association" be BTA, or if you count "ass" as a separate word, BATA? I guess those aren't as badass.

I've spent a LOT of hours this vacation playing the PS3 game The Last of Us, which is about a post-apocalyptic world overrun by infected humans (who are NOT zombies, although you wouldn't know by looking at them). This game is like a great movie, except you get to be in it. You play it mostly as Joel, whose teenage daughter was killed when the epidemic began and who is tasked, 20 years later, with escorting a 14 year old infected girl named Ellie across the country in the hopes of using her DNA to find a vaccine. It is easily the best game I have played in the last decade--maybe ever. It totally sucks you in by forcing you to make an increasingly troublesome set of moral decisions about survival as you try to protect Ellie and keep yourself alive. I mention it because in the post Common Core world, I'll probably never get to discuss this game with my students. But it had the exact kind of story they would care about. I would love to get the graphic novel versions of this tale and let them debate the moral decisions they would make.

Bill Thompson? Really? I mean, if you're losing by a fairly wide margin to a guy who sent pictures of his johnson to random women on Twitter, you're in trouble. Might be time for Thompson to break out the Viagra and cell phone cam to see what he can come up with. Christine Quinn is on her own.

George Zimmerman is going to walk. Or at worst, get hit with the lowest manslaughter charge Florida allows and be sentenced to time served. This is 'Murica.

I am shocked that more people are NOT shocked at being spied on by PRISM and President Obama.  But judging from my real life Facebook feed, there's no shortage of people willing to share their most intimate thoughts and deeds with the world at large. Maybe they're just happy that someone is reading their status updates at all.

Campbell Brown seems to think that an unproved allegation against a teacher should be grounds for dismissal. I have to wonder why she doesn't rant about Kevin Johnson, who paid a $230,000 settlement to a 16 year old girl who accused him of molesting her. It might be that he's married to ed reform rock star Michelle Rhee, while Campbell herself is married to another ed deformer, Dan Senor.

Since New Yorkers seem hell bent on punishing "perv" teachers but equally determined to elect perv politicians, I'm surprised that Kevin Johnson hasn't thrown his hat in the ring. He could give Weiner a run for his money, and if elected, he could make his wife chancellor. While the idea makes me shudder as a teacher, as a blogger the "Weiner vs. Johnson" puns would almost make it worth while.

The 80 Million Dollar Stare Down

Right now, Joel Klein and city principals are in the midst of a very expensive staring contest. Klein has imposed a hiring freeze, but principals are hoping he blinks before the opening of school and lets them hire non-ATRs to fill their vacancies.

According to Gotham Schools, only about 300 ATRs found jobs in the last month, despite a mandate from the chancellor that principals hire only from the ATR pool. So with less than two weeks to go before school starts, there remain 1800 openings and 2100 ATRs. It doesn't take a mathematical genius to figure that we could fill the former with the latter. The question is, does Klein really want this?

Many skeptics, myself included, believe Joel's gambit on ATRs to be a negotiating ploy for the next contract. He will whine that he tried to place those pesky teachers, but nothing happened. He will then demand a clause in the contract asking for ATRs to be fired after a specified time in the pool. He'll try to trade some pittance like making the 37 1.2 minutes into 36 1/2 minutes, hoping the UFT will grab it and declare victory.

But this is risky business. This is, after all, an election year for Bloomberg, presumptive mayor for life. What if the UFT says no? (hard to fathom, I know, but possible). Klein brought this situation about by closing large numbers of schools. The 80 million or so per year the ATR pool costs the city is a huge blot on the "education mayor". Klein could fix the problem any time he wants, if he has the will to do so. He's gambling that the UFT will help him get these teachers fired, but this is, as Chaz points out, a tenure issue, and tenure is supposedly off the table in the upcoming negotiations.

I hope the Democratic mayoral hopefuls, Tony Avella and Bill Thompson, address this issue swiftly and put Klein on the hot seat. If the UFT or the candidates show any gumption at all, they could force Klein to blink.

Liveblogging the Mayoral Debate

For those who don't get NY1, I'm going to type in my summary and random thoughts of the debate. I'm only going to touch on education issues unless something else jumps out at me.

7:05
Thompson says we are teaching to the test. Education has lost art and music education in the schools. SAT scores have gone down, so there has been no real improvement.

Avella says we have dumbed down the test. We are not educating kids. Teachers and parents need more involvement. First thing to do is fire Joel Klein.

When asked what they would do differently:

Thompson: Focus on literacy. Smaller classes in earlier grades.

Avella: He is not an education expert--teachers are. We should be asking teachers what is that accurate measure of learning? Reading scores are a "lot of bunk."

7:14
Avella: We have not done enough to limit swine flu. The city blew it last time. Schools should be closed when necessary--not enough has been done.
Thompson: Bloomberg's response to the flu was a disaster. Rumor ruled the day. Parents want to know what is happening in the schools. Standards of when to close schools were haphazard and confusing.

Both men seem well prepared and aware of the issues at this point.
There will be a "lightning round" in which only yes or no answers can be given--this never works--most politicians are incapable of stopping at one word. But now on with round 2.

7:32-Halfway point
Thompson seems to be positioning himself as the "fiscal watchdog" mayor--he wants transparency on every level, Avella wants the reform vote--he wants to change the way things are done--shifting power from the mayor to the city council, stopping the use of discretionary funds, etc. At this point, both candidates look strong. It's a tie.

7:39 Finally, some blood. Avella accuses Thompson of taking money from real estate and pension funds he manages. Both claim to be grassroots campaigns.

LIGHTNING ROUND--I don't type that fast, so hopefully I can get a few in.

Ray Kelly as police commissioner? Both said no.
Do you have a metrocard? Both show theirs from their wallets.
Excluding marijuana (crowd laughs) have you ever tried an illegal drug? Both say no. Marijuana? Thompson yes, Avella no.
Is Bloomberg a better mayor than Guiliani? Both say yes.
Should NYC name a subway station or a street after Michael Jackson? Both yes.
Will you endorse Patterson for governor next year? Avella no, Thompson yes.
Have you been to the new stadiums? Both no.
Have you ever voted for someone who was not a democrat? Avella yes, Thompson no.

Whew. Round over. New reporter round.

In response to a question about dealing with Albany, Avella mentions he is not in favor of mayoral control of schools.

8:07 Candidates ask questions of each other.
Thompson asks Avella, what is the worst thing Bloomberg has done? Avella thanks him for the softball question, and Avella responds that it's the overturning of term limits. Thompson agrees.

Dominic Carter (moderator) asks both what is the best thing Blooie has done. Thompson says smoking ban, Avella says 311.

Closing remarks:
Avella: Let's end corruption and the political machine, which Thompson represents. Touts the fact that he has not accepted money from interest groups to campaign.
Thompson: NYers have a real choice. We need a mayor who will fight for the people.

Overall impressions:
Avella came off tough in a typical NYer kind of way.
Thompson came off suave and informed.

Generally, it seemed a tie to me.

Mayoral Debate Tonight

For anyone who may not have heard, there will be a Democratic mayoral debate tonight at 7pm on NY1. Bill Thompson and Tony Avella will go head to head. Hopefully, this will begin to shine a light on the two candidates who are not billioniares, belong to the same party for the long haul, and who aren't afraid to debate.

Mayor for Life? Maybe Not....

There's an interesting article in New York Magazine that details how Bill Thompson just might be able to unseat Mike Bloomberg. My favorite is suggestion #1, which is Keep Repeating "Mayor for Life. Mayor for Life." There are five other suggestions, and they are all good ones. I have said for months that I think Bloomy is vulnerable, and that mayoral control can be wrested from him only by voting him out of office.

And let's not forget the veracity to the old axiom "Familiarity breeds contempt". Not only have NYers had 8 years to get familiar with this mayor, but he has bombarded us with his image everywhere he goes, like a political Waldo. You're not even safe surfing the web, where Bloomberg's ads seem more ubiquitous than Netflix pop-ups. BTW, you can stop those Netflix ads with AdBlock Plus, which can also stop banner ads, including Bloomberg's. Don't tell your friends until after the election.

A Wolfson at the Door

If you want a chance to speak to those in power directly, here's your chance. Both David Cantor of the DOE and Howard Wolfson, chief architect of Bloomberg's third term run, are responding to Bill Thompson's scathing piece on the mayor's education record on the Huffington Post.

When you spend over 36 million dollars on your campaign by the middle of July and your poll numbers start to tank, you send out the big dogs. Luckily, on the internet, you're as big a dog as anyone, and here's your chance to piss on the mayor's tree by posting in response to Wolfson and Cantor. Here's the tinkle I let go on HuffPo, which I got from the Times:

Isn't it correct, Mr. Wolfson, that you said in 2005 that "Michael Bloomberg is an out-of-touch billionaire who can"t relate to the problems of ordinary New Yorkers."? What brought about this change of heart as it relates to this billionaire?

Thompson has gone from 22 points down to 10 points down. Bloomberg is under 50% for the first time in a long time. That means the race is up for grabs. Let your voice be heard.

A Question on Mayoral Control

Let's face it. Mayoral control is a done deal. A major reason we have it is that Randi Weingarten supported it in the first place, and never changed her tune. When the New York Post encourages you to give your last blessing to mayoral control before you pass on to the AFT presidency, you know you've sold out big time.

I've opposed mayoral control from the beginning, and I still do. I know that Randi initially supported it because she wanted a good contract and mistakenly thought she'd get someone like Bill Thompson in there who she might be able to manipulate. Mayor Moneybags, however, threw a monkey wrench in those plans when he decided that the will of the people who twice voted for term limits just didn't apply to rich fellows like him.

The point is, I am opposed to mayoral control, period. It doesn't matter whether it's Bloomie or Thompson or anyone else. No one should have that kind of power over the schools because if they mess it up even for one mayoral term, it will affect children for many, many years. When you get tyrannical screw-ups like Bloomberg and Klein running things, it's disastrous. Even Obama has to bow to checks and balances--it is the foundation of our society. But not in NY.

So, the question is, where are you on this issue? Are you opposed to mayoral control, or just to Bloomberg having it?

Can't Buy Me Love

After spending 20 million dollars on his re-election campaign so far and showing up in more ads than Waldo, Mayor Bloomberg has learned one thing: Money can't buy him love.

According to a NYT/NY1 poll, despite a high approval rating, a whopping 55% of NY voters say they want someone else to be the mayor. Unfortunately, a lot of those people have no idea who Bloomy's opponent, Bill Thompson, is.

In Randi's apparent quest to be on the winning team, she recently gave her tacit approval to mayoral control. Now, it appears, there is a real opening for the democratic nominee, if only people learn who he is.

So the question is: will Randi now jump ship and endorse Thompson, the man she should have been supporting all along? Or will she now attempt to bolster the campaign of the man who brought us ATRs and Joel Klein and rubber rooms bursting at the seams by throwing her support behind Bloomberg?

My guess is that while money can't buy you love, it just might be able to sway a powerful union leader or two. But I sure hope I'm wrong. This is the moment, Randi. Seize it.