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How Did Mulgrew Get a Such a Sizable Majority At the DA on Wednesday?
He talked!He talked so long that people who don't usually go to Delegate Assemblies (many of whom feel out of place just being at one) were afraid they'd miss the train home and finally just decided to...
View ArticleFrancesco Odysseus Portelos: Please Return To Your Class!
Let the word go out from south Brooklyn to the upper Bronx that the last major battle of the Edwars here in New York City has ended with a victory for the teacher. In a 109 page decision, the hearing...
View ArticleA New and Improved Way to Fire a Teacher
[View the story "The New Path To Getting Fired Under the Proposed UFT Contract" on Storify]
View ArticleAbout Portelos' ATR Status
After my last post about Francesco Portelos, I got a text from a friend who reminded me that Homer's Odyssey, a poem which I referenced, did not begin at the beginning and did not exactly end at the...
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"Vote Yes!" (Act I: 'Rage!')
Act I; 'Rage'Act II; 'Mulgrew's Minions'Act III; Growing PainsThis is the first of three posts about the process of convincing members to vote for the new proposed UFT contract. All three are based on...
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"Vote Yes!" (Act II; 'Mulgrew's Minions')
Act I; 'Rage'Act II; 'Mulgrew's Minions'Act III; Growing PainsIn my last post, I wrote about Mulgrew's concerns about the out-and-out anger over the new proposed contract. In this one, I'll focus on...
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"Vote Yes! (Act III; 'Growing Pains')
Act I; 'Rage'Act II; 'Mulgrew's Minions'Act III; Growing PainsIn my last post, I spoke about the poor organization of the "Vote Yes" campaign thrown together by union leadership a full two weeks after...
View ArticleHow Mrs. Flowers Helped Maya Angelou Find Her Voice
I was reminded on the drive home that Maya Angelou, who died today, was partially the product of a wonderful teacher. Angelou spent much of her childhood as a mute after being experiencing a rape. Mrs....
View ArticleMy Contract Vote Prediction: 55% 45% (Sunday Morning Banter)
Ala fivethrityeightI'm hearing "Landslide!""80-20!""We'll be lucky if get 30% of working teachers to vote against this!" and, oh yeah "Heck yeah, I'm taking the marshmallow!". But the truth is that the...
View ArticleWhy The 5K Differential May Be a Game Changer (What I like About the Contract)
While I'm upset to learn that teachers don't expect anything more from their union than a raise worth just a few percent, there are certain parts of the new UFT contract that I actually like and am...
View ArticleIn the Wake Of the UFT Vote
I was only off By 22%! My predictions are getting better every day!!Here's our new contract!Money Our raise by this time next year? 5% (2% in the Fall and 3% in the Spring) Projected inflation? 5%!!!!...
View ArticleAllegory of the Coffee Shop
The following conversation actually took place today before work at the local coffee joint.Colleague: (walks in) Heyyyyy man!! I told you dude! I told you it was going to pass! I don't know why you...
View ArticleBOMBSHELL: Over 2/3 of Portelos' Charges Were Dismissed or Withdrawn
Amid the renewed public debate over teacher tenure (the 'right' to have due process before being fired) a post from Francesco Portelos that is absolutely shocking when taken into full context of the...
View ArticleThe Historical Controversy of Teacher Tenure (Guess the Year)
Guess which year each of the following quotes about teacher tenure was made (Hint: It none of them come from the 21st century) 1. "Tenure, an abhorrent, outmoded practice, lets people whose performance...
View ArticleTenure Quotes Through History (Pt. 2)
Last night, I threw some quotes about teacher tenure out and asked if you could name the year they were given (I would have been happy with a decade). Obviously, the post was intended for history buffs...
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Mr. Burns Sends A Tweet
Private sector business executive, and former federal prosecutor, Joel Klein sent a tweet earlier today! This, during a slow summer month, is really big news!His Twitter account, which was created in...
View ArticleDropout Nation and Comes Out Against Teacher Tenure
It is a total bummer that Rishawn Biddle, the editor of Dropout Nation has come out against teacher tenure and in favor of the lawsuits that would that would kill teacher tenure here in New York State...
View ArticleMy Comment to Ben Spielberg
Ben Spielberg is a member of the San Jose Teachers' Association. He has hosted several discussions about teacher tenure in the wake of the Vergara decision out there. One of those discussions was a...
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Treu's Toys; Playing With "Evidence"
Judge Rolf M True (pronounced /troi/ like the ancient city of Troy), the dude from California who took tenure from tens of thousands of teachers, 'played around;, as we say here in NY, with a few...
View ArticleTenure & Academic Freedom in California Pre Vergara
I was reading over some stuff getting ready for my response to San Jose Teachers' Association member Ben Spielberg and I tripped on the actual text from CA Code 44932 (the things that a permanent...
View ArticleMy Conversation with Ben Spielberg Continues
Ben Spielberg (who is, apparently not the son of Steven) was kind enough to respond to my thrashing of his points of view regarding how tough unionists should be as we (yes I said we) support tenure.I...
View ArticleOn Having A Tumor Without Tenure
So it's June 20th ("Regents' Week" in New York high schools) and I'm having coffee with the most wonderfully kind teacher of my school. We're in his classroom, talking about our wives, when he starts...
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Whatever To Wherever My Comment on Ednotes Went
Norm Scott is a very busy guy and probably just missed the comment I published on his blog. Alas, it didn't get published. It happens (I once missed a comment posted to here from my wife; "I know...
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Why I Support the Common Core
This one is long overdue. I'm proud to rub shoulders with some of the most intelligent and influential bloggers and activists in NYC and beyond. As I lay claim to neither their influence or their...
View ArticleRumor Mill: Final Ratings Released Next Tuesday
This is just a rumor. I hear tons of rumors. I ignore most of them, but if I think one is true (or pretty close to true), I'll blog it.This one says that our final ratings, including the 40% based on...
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