Mr. Talk Weighs In on the Contract

Now that the new proposed contract has been analyzed (and given the stamp of approval by the New York Post), the REAL question that I'm sure has been burning in your minds bobs to the surface, namely:

What does Mr. Talk think about all this?

I'm glad you asked. Personally, I think it's great for people like me who are on the verge of retirement. We get to walk out the door with a decent increase and we will receive our retroactive payments immediately, unlike the vast majority of teachers who can't retire and will have to wait until 2020 to get all the money that Bloomberg stiffed us on.

I'm still voting no.

I'd vote no for any contract that sells out our members, and this one hangs the ATRs out to dry. There was no reason why ATRs couldn't have simply been sent back to the classroom and evaluated based upon the same criteria as the rest of us. Instead, the UFT decided to make it relatively easy to fire ATRs at the whim of principals who don't want to have a veteran's salary on their payroll.

There's lots more not to like here. The retro pay really isn't retro pay: if you get paid more in future years, that's a raise, not retro. Unless you retire, you will have to work another four years to see all that money. I hate the de facto merit pay and the stealth charter schools that are being created by "relaxing" contract rules (will YOUR school be chosen? Who knows?).

There are a few more things I don't like that I haven't seen discussed much elsewhere. If anyone can enlighten on these points, please do.

• It seems we will NOT be getting interest on the "retro" money. If that money had gone into our TDAs like it should have back in 2009, we'd be earning 7% on it. Instead, your "retro" money will be LOSING value because it's not earning that interest and inflation will continue to gnaw away at it before you ever see a penny. 
• While there we some adjustments made to the evaluation system, the burden of proof at a 3020 termination hearing is still on teachers. In other words, if you are found ineffective, you will have to prove, somehow, that you are not or be fired. This should have been addressed in the new contract
• Artifacts are gone. While I hate that word, artifacts were one of the few ways teachers had of demonstrating that they were effective. While I know that compiling artifacts was a pain in the ass, it at least gave us ONE way to counter bogus evaluations. Now that is gone.
• Campbell Brown and E4E both got their way in this contract. Brown has apparently succeeded in persuading the DOE that they need to get tougher with teachers who abuse children, even when there is absolutely no proof that any abuse has taken place. E4E got their merit pay. This all proves that if you have big money backing you, you can get the union to bend over.
• It appears we will all be given a "new curriculum" that we will be forced to teach, even if it stinks on ice (and it will).

The only positive things I've found in the contract are 1. that sabbaticals are apparently still in place, and 2. the 37.5 minutes of faux instruction is history (but I'm reserving judgment on this one until I see what they replace it with and how much paperwork it will involve).

So, weighing the positive against the negative, there's only one thing to do. I don't mean voting "no"--that will make no difference whatsoever as this POS contract will sail through. What you should do is retire.

That's my plan. See you in Florida.

Why Does the UFT Sounds Like E4E?

This piece on the MORE caucus blog, entitled No Deal for Teachers or Students, makes it clear that the UFT is sounding more like an arm of E4E these days than it is an organization standing up for teachers' rights.

Mulgrew's people and E4E both want to put in place an evaluation system that uses value-added junk science as a major chunk of a teacher's score. This means that if you fail the junk science part two years running, you can be terminated in 60 days:

A teacher who fares poorly on the 40% of the evaluation that includes VAM test scores cannot be rated effective, regardless of how effective he or she is deemed to be by administrator evaluations.

This is utter nonsense. Our union should be trying to stop this, not looking for ways to implement it.

MORE in unequivocal on this issue. They oppose any evaluation system based on this crap. You should, too.

The only way to stop Mulgrew from selling off our rights is to make it clear that we will vote against him if he sells us out on this bogus system. Tell your CL and especially your colleagues that MORE is fighting for a better way.

Teacher Data Reports to be Released

Bloomberg finally got his way. Teacher Data Reports (TDRs) will, apparently, be released, according to NY1. Let the public shaming of teachers begin.

Now that teachers will be rated from ineffective to highly effective, you can bet those rankings will become public, as well.

It seems the court ruled that despite the fact that the data sucked, it was nevertheless public information.

The only bright spot to come out of this is that we might get to actually see some of the data on our favorite teacher bashers, like Ruben Brosbe, Sydney Morris, and Evan Stone.

You Might Be An Ed Deformer If...

I read an interesting piece today called "You Might Be A Conservative If...". It got me thinking that there are a lot of ed deformer types who may not recognize themselves as such. Many E4E "members", for example, claim to be pro union even though they seem to want to destroy everything unions stand for. Those of you unsure of which side of the fence you're on should definitely give this a look.

You Might Be An Ed Deformer If...

1. You're asked whether you favor unions and you say people should be allowed to marry whomever they please.

2. You'd have to work 20 years in the system for your salary to equal what mummy and daddy paid for one year of your undergrad work.

3.  You believe that exorbitant teacher salaries and lavish pensions are wrecking this country's economy, so you spend millions of your hedge fund profits fighting them.

4. You chose your child's private school based upon low student teacher ratios, high tuition, and college acceptance rates, but you think public schools can be "fixed" by putting 50 poor kids in a room with a "quality" teacher.

5. You consider a teacher with three years of experience a veteran.

6. Your first day of teaching introduced you to the first black people you ever met who you didn't have to tip.

7.  You spend more on beard maintenance in a month than you received in Teacher's Choice last year.

8. You think that poverty, drug addicted parents, gang-infested neighborhoods, and hunger can all be defeated with a sharpened number 2 pencil.

9. You want to open up a chain of charter schools because everyone in your yacht club has one.

10. You've spent more time writing white papers than Cheech and Chong have spent rolling papers.

Any other signs you know of? Post 'em in the comments!

Ruben Brosbe, The Musical! Or, How To Succeed In The Teaching Business Without Really Trying

It was inevitable! After the roaring success of his low TDR scores made him the Toast of the Post, and his extended tenure made him a Daily News Notable, E4E Productions is proud to bring you (drum roll....)

Ruben Brosbe, the Musical!

We can't give away too many spoilers, but we can tell you some of the exciting plot line! A young man named Ruben Brosbe wants to become a great teacher, but realizes he has none of the skills it takes to be one. Discouraged and about to quit, a fellow unsuccessful teacher slips him a book called How To Succeed in the Teaching Business Without Really Trying, by Doug Lemov and Mel Brooks. The book tells him that there's no need to bother with all those teacher-ish things, like writing and executing good lessons. No, all he needs to succeed is to seize on the anti-teacher sentiments brewed up by the ed deform movement, and become their poster boy! This strategy actually allows our hero to succeed by failing. Ruben starts blogging, shilling for E4E and Gotham Schools, and stabbing his fellow teachers in the back at every turn. He becomes a folk hero to the local dailies. Nothing can stop him now!

Or can it? After a round of vicious self-flagellation lands Ruben a flattering cover story in the Times Magazine, his fellow teachers confront him in the men's room and threaten to expose the fact that one of Ruben's students actually learned something. Dismayed, Ruben tries to restore his lack of confidence in one of the musicals most rousing numbers, I Don't Believe In You. As he stares in the mirror, he croons to himself:

Now there you are,
Yes, there's that face!
That face no one can trust!
It might embarrass you to hear me say it,
But say it I must! Say it I must!
You've got the dull, brown eyes
of a failure without a full deck!
Yet there's that hipster beard
looking weirder than all holy heck!
I don't believe in you!
I don't believe in you!

With his self-doubt fully restored, Ruben goes on a bender of negative posting. He blogs his every mistake. He bemoans his every misstep. Still, it seems unsatisfying. He's about to tender his resignation but first he goes off to drown his sorrows. By chance, he tells his troubles to a group of young teachers standing at the bar. Upon hearing this story, the leader of this group, Evan Stone, pulls out a copy of How To Succeed in the Teaching Business Without Really Trying. Ruben realizes he has found soul-mates in his E4E friends and resolves to join them. This leads to the rousing finale, The Brotherhood of Scabs:

(Ruben):
Now you may join the Elks my friends,
And I may join the Shriners,
And other men may carry cards,
As members of the Diners.
Still others wear a golden key,
Or small Greek letter pin,
But we all need to wear Asshats,
before we can get in...into the...

Brotherhood of scabs,
The malevolent brotherhood of scabs,
Ignoble ties that bind our lips to Klein's behind,
A great big brotherhood of scabs!

(Chorus joins in, donning hipster beards and Asshats)

Your E4E membership is free!
Keep downing all the free drinks you can!
Oh we're so proud to be,
Failing so miserably!
In this great brotherhood of scabs!

(Curtain falls)

So far, the musical has gotten rave reviews:

"This play will run for years! And then I'll extend it another two years!"--Ruben's principal.

"If you see only one ed deform musical this year, see this one! I'll buy everyone drinks!" --Bill Gates

"I almost cried, but I have no human empathy! Or tear ducts!" --Michelle Rhee, Students First

"I don't know. I tried really hard, but in the end, I think I sucked in this role!"--Ruben

With this kind of success/failure, can "Ruben Brosbe On Ice" be far behind?

Ruben Brosbe Uses Occam's Razor To Cut Himself Some Slack

OK. It official. Ruben Brosbe, award winning blogger, darling of Gotham Schools, and hero in his own mind, was denied tenure, for the second time. He will now embark on his 5th year in the NYC Public Schools.

Ruben wasn't the only one denied tenure, of course. A bunch of other E4E people, like the teachers at Aspirations HS, also had their tenure decisions extended. There's talk that E4E will be officially renamed "Extensions4Educators".

The irony, of course, is that these E4E folks are the very ones who advocated for stricter tenure requirements. Well done, E4E folks! Congratulations!

What struck me most about his "Occam's Razor" post is that Ruben decided the simplest solution to his denial of tenure is just that he isn't good enough yet. Actually, I could respect that kind of stance--if it were genuine. But Ruben leads up to this realization by giving us many, many excuses, such as:

• The superintendent is making it tougher to get tenure (which is what E4E wanted).
• It's difficult to earn tenure in a new school.
• His TDR was flagged because he scored so low (again, something that E4E wanted).
• The principal's decision was beyond her control (which assumes she wanted to grant Ruben tenure, but did not. There is no evidence presented to support this).
• Fifteen of his students started as level 1, and many were ELLs (welcome to NY, Ruben!).
• Four of his students required special education services (welcome to NY, Ruben!).
• He didn't take criticism from the principal well.
• He might have poisoned his relationship with the principal.
• Something on his blog might have upset his superiors.
• His previous principal would have given him tenure (but how could this be when we know these decisions are based on data and supervisors are always fair?).

That's a lot of excuses to give his readers before he comes to the conclusion that the fault lies not in his stars, but in himself.

I think the most telling part of his piece, however, was this: My principal told me she saw a “disconnect” between what I understood and how I put it into practice in the classroom. Swallowing my pride for a second, I could see it was true. A critical step between the planning of my lessons and their instruction was missing, and as a result, lessons sometimes lost their way.

I don't believe that Ruben understand what a harsh criticism this really is. Ruben has had four years to learn how to execute lessons effectively, but has not. What his principal actually is saying is, "You seem to understand the nuts and bolts of lesson planning, but you aren't a very good teacher." That's why he was denied tenure.

Just how bad is Ruben? Honestly, I don't know. Let me put it to you this way, though. He carries water for the DOE and Joel Klein. He published his own crappy Teacher Data Report score in the New York Post to help them advance their agenda of publishing all teacher scores. He helped write the white paper that would have effectively ended seniority, which was Mayor4Life's wet dream. He stabbed his colleagues in the back at every conceivable turn and wrote about it for GS. And with all this major sucking up, he was still denied tenure.

Twice.

Let's not forget that in Ruben's little white paper, he and his E4E cronies wanted to give the city the ability to lay off any teacher who had gotten a U rating in the last five years. Meanwhile, Ruben has had four years to prove he deserves his job, and has failed to do so.

One of the tenets of E4E, as adroitly pointed out by NYC Educator, is that teachers don't improve after the third year. While I don't believe that for a moment, I can tell you one thing: I have never seen a mediocre teacher improve dramatically after the third year. From all indications, Ruben is, at best, a mediocre teacher and it is highly unlikely that his FIFTH year will make him into a teaching superstar--you know, the kind of excellent teacher that E4E says everyone deserves.

So why is Ruben still teaching? How many years should the grotesque science experiment that is his teaching career be allowed to go on before his principal pulls the plug? How many students have to be subjected to his mediocrity before someone stops him?

And GothamSchools should be asking itself why they are giving such a broad forum to someone who has proven, year after year, that he really isn't a very good teacher.

So do us all a favor, Ruben. Instead of using Occam's Razor to cut yourself some slack, use it to cut your ties with the teaching profession.

A Message for E4E "Likers"

If you're one of those new teachers who "liked" E4E on Facebook because you are dissatisfied with the status quo, or if you're one of the few who actually joined their ranks, I have something to share with you that might change your mind.

I'm not interested talking to Asshat scabs Evan and Sydney, or A4E blog monkey Ruben Brosbe. They are in this for all they can grab for themselves. I believe there are many E4E members who sincerely believe that as long as they work hard, they don't need union protections. And as hard as you work, you resent the possibility of being laid off. You probably believe that the union is working against you, and the DOE will watch your back as long as you do your job.

Did you see the article in the Daily News that detailed how the DOE is currently recruiting 500 Teaching Fellows and TFAers even as they threaten to lay you off? That's right--the DOE is looking to lay off more than 4000 new teachers, and then replace 500 of them with even newer teachers.

If you're a hard working E4E member, you have to ask yourself why the DOE is looking to replace you rather than retrain you to take one of those 500 jobs. The answer is pretty obvious, really. If you've got 2-4 years in the system, the DOE would rather dump you than tenure you.

Remember, these 500 replacements have zero teaching experience. So much for the idea that the DOE values all your hard work and wants to judge you on merit. If they cared about merit, they'd retrain you and keep you on.

The Asshats that run E4E would like you to believe that their billionaire sponsors are looking out for you. What they want is to create a temporary workforce, of which you will be a part. You will be replaced as soon as you start to make decent money or a younger teacher comes along.

If you're a 1st or 2nd year teacher who is about to lose his or her job to someone who has never been in the classroom, you should go right now and "unlike" E4E. They've lied to you about the DOE's desire to keep you on. They don't oppose layoffs; they just want to make sure that no one has a right to a job, no matter how long and hard they work.

Not much to "like" there.


Thanks to South Bronx School for coining the "blog monkey" title for Ruben.

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E4E Values Experience!

It's true! The folks over at Asshats4Education really do value experience! When it comes to their own hiring requirements, anyway.

A4E is looking for a Temporary Outreach Director. Let's ignore for a moment how a "grassroots" organization like A4E, run by two part time teachers, can afford to hire its own director of anything (cough*gates*cough). What's more interesting still is the qualifications list for the job:

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of professional experience, either in education or community/campaign organizing
• Previous experience in a classroom strongly preferred
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including experience in preparing and delivering public presentations

I'm surprised that A4E doesn't just hire people fresh out of Barnard, like themselves. What happened to all that talk about hiring people with new ideas?

And while we're at it, what does this job pay? Read for yourself:

Salary: Commensurate with Experience

Uhmmmm...what??? Salary based on experience and not on merit? Looks like they forgot to mention the most important qualification of all for this job:

Experience sticking your head far up your ass and ignoring reality.

Ruben? If that teaching gig doesn't work out....


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An Asshat By Any Other Name

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the name Asshats4Education when discussing the scabs at E4E. I think Reality-Based Educator should be inducted into the Ed Bloggers Hall of Fame for coining it, and it has been my privilege to run with the name. It thrills me to no end to see them referred to as A$E all over the blogosphere. Still, there's something dissatisfying about the name.

It doesn't capture their essence. They are asshats, to be sure; I don't think anyone can deny that. But the phrase misses why they are so adroit at wearing their buttocks as head gear. Sure, they are greedy, pretentious bastards who want to take down the union, but it's more than that. I couldn't figure it out until I went back and reread some things from our old pals Ruben Brosbe and Michelle Costa, both proud wearers of fanny fedoras. That's when it hit me.

Read Ruben's post again (at your own risk; those with nervous issues and stomach problems should seek medical advice before reading). What struck me about it is that he spent much of the time whining about himself and his issues. It was all about him. "I suck! My data sucks! I'm being picked on! Me me ME!" Sure, he threw the obligatory "I must improve for the children!" gag at the end, but that was a personal pity party just like the one he shared with the New York Post when his TDR numbers bit the big one.

You might say that you can't blame ol' Rube for feeling a bit self-absorbed after discovering that he isn't the only one who thinks his teaching stinks on ice. Maybe. But what was really telling were the comments. Teachers--real teachers who do this job for decades and not as a farce or a resume filler--actually rallied to Ruben's aid. They offered him advice, consolations, and words of encouragement. That is what teachers--real teachers--do. That is NOT what Ruben is doing. Rather than support his fellow teachers he is happily throwing them under the bus. For Ruben, it's all about "ME".

Pivot over to Michelle Costa, a young lady who also sports a buttocks beret. Not only did she pen a rather facile article denouncing her fellow teachers, she helped craft the now infamous A$E layoff recommendations (I use the word craft advisedly, as in, "I have to go craft a dump"). Read her drivel, if you can stomach it. She also likes the word "I" a lot. She tells us that she didn't become a teacher for the money, or the vacations--she did it for the kids (as opposed to the rest of us hammock swinging, check collecting vermin). She then goes on to tell us how senior teachers should be laid off in favor of wonderful, idealistic souls like her. She says these things despite that fact that she comes from an F rated school, and there is zero evidence that she can teach.

And again, despite her self-infatuation, she was defended in the comments by a real teacher--a colleague who would most likely lose his own job due to his union activism should her plans ever be realized. For him, it's about US--the union. For Michelle, it's all about her.

That, in the final analysis, is what good teaching is about. We do it for the kids, not for ourselves. Sydney and Evan ran away from teaching as soon as a Gates funded opportunity to stab their colleagues in the back came along. How long will it be before Ruben and Michelle do the same?

These E4E people are all about themselves. They aren't in it for anything noble, such as public education, or equal opportunity, or anything else. They are in it for "ME".

Therefore, I proposed that we start calling them ME4ME. That would be a more accurate description of what these asshats are all about.


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Dealing with the Asshat4Educator Scab Wannabes

Scab is a pretty strong word. I come from a union family, and being a scab ranked slightly above being a pedophile, but only slightly.

So the question is, are the asshats at E4E, such as Sydney Morris, Evan Stone, and Ruben Brosbe actually scabs, or are they some slightly higher life form?

Technically speaking, we'd have to conclude that they are not scabs, because a scab is defined as someone who takes the job of a union member during a strike or lockout. However, the purpose of a scab is to bust the union and destroy the benefits of the union faithful, so Sydney, Evan, and Ruben certainly fit the bill on that account. I think we'd have to classify them as scab wannabes, which may, if you think about it, be worse that being an actual scab. Replacement workers are at least trying to put food on their own tables, whereas the E4E asshats generally dine at only the finest restaurants or have Mummy tell Cook to make them something.

So the question is, how do we deal with these scab wannabes?

My father was a union dock worker and, as a result, a pretty strong guy. If Sydney, Evan, and Ruben tried to take his job, he'd likely have crushed them into much smaller versions of themselves and shipped them off to Hong Kong in a steamer trunk.

Now, those were simpler times, when people weren't afraid of committing felonies against the scum of the earth. In these complex, fast-moving, Internet fueled times, violence is rarely the answer. We've all seen recently how loose talk of violence can get out of hand, so I'm not for a moment suggesting that we harm E4E scab wannabes. If you see one in your school, you should not spit in their hair, push them down a flight of stairs while laughing maniacally, or stuff them in a burlap bag while beating them with sticks. Those things would be wrong.

Besides, most teachers today aren't as rugged as the old dock workers. About the best we could hope for today is to beat those jackasses with stockings filled with chalk.

So what to do? At the very least, all right thinking teachers should shun these E4E scabs. After all, they are enjoying the benefits that the rest of us have spent decades fighting for, while simultaneously trying to take those rights away. They want to get you fired so they can have your job, destroy your pension, and collect the crumbs dropped by Bill Gates. If someone robbed your home, you'd feel justified in taking severe action against them. But you can replace items in your home--these E4Es want to take your license and profession away.

So if anyone in your school tells you they are a member of E4E, first try to reason with them. If that doesn't work, make sure to spread the word about their scabby behavior throughout the school, so they can be rightly shunned.

And then give me a call. I bet I can find that steamer trunk somewhere.

Ruben Brosbe, The Face of Asshats4Educators

Asshats everywhere rejoice! Ruben Brosbe has come to lead you!

Yes, just when you thought there were no more ed deform toads left to crawl out of the woodwork, out slithers Ruben, ass backwards, to lead us to new heights of idiocy.

In case you don't know Ruben, he is the newbie teacher who, despite his limited teaching experience and writing skills, has managed to get himself a platform on GothamSchools. Not only that, he managed to stick a knife in the back of his colleagues by writing a column for the completely unbiased New York Post in which he advocates releasing the Teacher Data Reports based on flawed test scores and an unscientific value added metric. Ruben was even kind enough to tell us that his score sucked, but he's willing to work hard to make it better, unlike those nasty senior teachers who only come into the schools for all the neat office supplies.

The problem is, Ruben may not get a chance to improve. His score sucked, even though he was judged against other newbies on his TDR, and not against the senior teachers he rails against. And today, "Chancellor" Cathie Black stated that she wanted to end "last in, first out" seniority rules and lay off teachers based on merit. Poor Ruben! With his awful scores and his lack of seniority, he may soon find himself out of a job. And that would be a shame, because he's willing to try to be better!

I guess that's why Ruben joined "Educators"4"Excellence", a group led by a couple of people who have even less experience than he does. In fact, as far as anyone knows, the founders of E4E don't even teach anymore. They've moved on to take tons of money from ed deform groups in the hopes of changing the status quo and improving the socioeconomic lot of many New Yorkers. Especially themselves.

Perhaps Ruben wants a job with E4E, especially given his tenuous position with the DOE, what with his shitty scores and low seniority and all. That is problematic, however. Ruben doesn't like being part of a group he doesn't agree with, like the UFT. Fortunately, even though until recently outed, he hid his membership with E4E, he is now on their Teacher Evaluation Policy Team. Isn't that terrific? I didn't even know E4E had one of those! Thanks E4E! Just what teachers needed--more evaluations from totally unqualified newbie teachers! I can't wait for the recommendations of the TEPT to come out, although I'm fairly sure UFT scab teachers with crappy TDR ratings will be allowed to keep their jobs.

I still think Ruben's talents are wasted with E4E. Given the trend of giving totally unqualified people like "Chancellor" Cathie Black positions of unbridled power, I think Ruben should aim higher. He should form his own organization and get it funded by Gates or Bloomberg or Broad or one of the other billionaires willing to scatter largesse to educators who have no qualms with sticking shivs in the collarbones of their colleagues. Reality Based Educator had a great idea for a name--Asshats4Educators! Here, as I see it, is the A4E platform:

• Teacher Data Reports shouldn't be counted for newer teachers, because they are really really trying.


• Senior teacher suck and should be fired.


• The UFT isn't doing everything we want in terms of helping its members get laid off, so we must make sure it dies.


• We should go around talking about how education is the civil rights issue of our time, especially when a billionaire is nearby.


• Committees are needed for everything, including the Teacher Evaluation Committee, the Using the Media as a Front for Hedge Fund Managers Committee, and the Committee to Wear Stupid Beards to Look as if We're Grown-up Enough to be Teachers Committee.

Yes, Ruben, the billionaires would love you even more then. You're just the kind of toad they want to help them take public education private.

I've mostly tried to avoid writing about Ruben, but he launched an attack on Ms. Eyre, one of my favorite bloggers and someone I can tell is an outstanding teacher. I've even had Ms. Eyre chastise me a few times here for being mean to ed deformers, like when I compared Joel Klein's head to a bowling ball. And she may have had a point. So I apologize in advance for my tone, but remember, Ruben is an asshat.

When dealing with an asshat, you can't turn the other cheek.

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LIFO the Party

I want to give credit where credit is due, so let me start by saying this post is inspired by a commenter named Vote NO on GothamSchools. This person made the brilliant yet obvious-once-you-think-about-it comment that teachers, and especially newbies, should be down on their knees thanking the "Last In, First Out" (LIFO) layoff rule for saving their jobs.

As Vote NO correctly pointed out, the mayor decided to cancel layoffs once it became clear that we would not allow a change to LIFO. That meant that his newest teachers--the ones Mayor4Life salivates over because they are cheap and will likely never qualify for a pension--would be the first to go if layoffs occurred. That would destroy the BloomKlein new school juggernaut that relies so heavily on newbie teachers. Rather than destroy his beloved initiatives, His Wealthy Mayorness decided to cancel all layoffs.

That move saved the jobs of people like Evan Stone and Sydney Morris, the two lunk-headed backstabbers who tried to change LIFO so they could save their own hides. What a delicious irony that, but for the very thing they were trying to eliminate, Evan and Sydney would shortly be standing on the unemployment line. BTW--check out South Bronx School's blog for an interesting expose on the E4E people. Seems like they've incorporated and gotten some very high powered backing. Not surprising--when was the last time Joel Klein thanked you in an email to all 80,000 teachers for taking your students to the Grand Canyon? (How was that funded again, Evan?)

Of course, considering their high-powered and moneyed backing, it's likely Klein would have spared Evan and Sydney somehow. But all 857 of you (mostly new teachers) who joined E4E's Facebook page should let them know how they almost cost you your job. Naturally, though, comments aren't allowed on their Facebook page or their blog.

Had E4E and M4L gotten their way, we would have had massive layoffs of newbie and senior teachers, increased class sizes, and a destabilized system for years to come. So when all of you whose jobs were spared celebrate your good fortune this weekend, don't forget to hoist one for your old pal LIFO, who made the party possible.

Oh What a Giveaway!

If you got Joel Klein's totally gratuitous email thanking teachers today, you may have noticed something. While I, personally, was not thanked, and I bet you weren't either, someone was. Here is the relevant quote from the email:

Teachers at a school in the Bronx organized a trip to the Grand Canyon for students, many of whom had never before left New York State. With these educators, the 11 and 12 year-olds discovered new heights to which they could push themselves.

Forget Klein's twisted English in discussing how students could push themselves to new heights in the Grand Canyon. Let's focus instead on who was thanked here.

Why, it was our old pal from E4E, Evan Stone, who is pictured at the Grand Canyon with these very same kids. If you have forgotten Mr. Stone, it was he and Sydney Morris who started an organization to stick a knife in the back of the union by calling for senior teachers to be laid off so they could keep their own jobs, all the while implying that they are wonderful educators while senior teachers stink on ice.

Of course, it is surely a coincidence that Mr. Stone started a website promoting the laying off of senior teachers and ended up getting thanked by the chancellor for being a wonderful teacher. And he got a trip to the Grand Canyon as well! What are the odds?

I'm sure you are a hard working teacher, as well. Don't think Klein has forgotten you. If you have put in your years in this system, Mr. Klein would like to thank you too! He's working hard to bring send you on a trip to a pool with other teachers, or maybe a special room. There's even a line he'd like you to stand on where you can collect checks from the government every two weeks!

Just make sure if you ever find yourself standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon with Evan Stone or Joel Klein that you don't let them stand behind you.

If the Hat Fits...

When the Klan marches, the newspapers have to cover it because it is a newsworthy event, however repulsive and ignorant the Klan may be. While "Educators 4 Excellence" may not quite rival the Klan for cluelessness, they do their best to come close. I've tried to avoid covering them because they are outstanding attention whores all by themselves and they don't need any additional coverage from me. Besides, Chaz and South Bronx School have both done an admirable job of exposing the idiocy of the E4E crew. Still, there are two things that bother me that no one has addressed.

First is the E4E website itself. It's certainly nicely done, as it should be--it's powered by Media Mezcla Campaign Engine, which provides tools for politicians to run campaigns. I wonder how two low-salaried teachers managed to put up a website using expensive software that politicians use in their campaigns? A suspicious person might infer that these two fine newbie teachers somehow managed to hook up with powerful, moneyed pols, but we all know that couldn't be, could it? In any case, one of their goals is to join the "debate" on how to improve schools, apparently by eviscerating them. Toward this end, they have a blog that does not accept comments. So much for debate.

A bigger bone to pick with E4E is that they brainlessly list two contradictory goals on their "Declaration" page, to wit:

• Reestablishing tenure as a significant professional milestone through the use of a comprehensive teacher evaluation system and
• Eliminating the practice of "Last In, First Out" for layoffs

Perhaps these two don't understand that tenure is already a significant professional milestone. A teacher must produce results for three years, and can be fired for any reason whatsoever before that time frame elapses. How E4E plans to make tenure more rigorous remains unclear; it seems to me that getting fired for any reason is already pretty rigorous. Perhaps E4E would like those who fail to attain tenure to be drawn and quartered or slammed in the iron maiden.

What the E4E crew fails to get is that eliminating seniority for layoffs effectively renders tenure meaningless. What good is tenure when you can be fired any time the mayor declares a fiscal crisis? Fiscal crises happen in NYC with greater regularity than ethnic street fairs. Let's see how far tenure gets you when your principal hands you a pink slip and sends you skidding down the street on your hindquarters.

Of course, none of this probably matters much to the E4E crew. I doubt their ultimate ambition is to be great teachers. More likely, they want to be the Grand Wizards of education--superintendents or better. If layoffs were based on the ability to brown nose and kiss Joel Klein's wrinkled ass, these two would have jobs for life.

So the E4E crew get awarded a pair of matching dunce caps. Which, when you think about it, look kind of Klannish, which seems to fit.