Joe Williams' Blog
November 24, 2007
A Vigil For The Death of Public Education (As We Know It) In NYC?
There is a lot of attention being given to the upcoming candlelight vigil in NYC being sponsored by the United Federation of Teachers to protest the city's decision to hire lawyers so they can better follow (to the letter) the labor agreement negotiated over the last generation by the union.
It strikes me, sadly, that this could very well be the beginning of the end of public education as we know it in NYC. How bad is it? The farcical comments are starting to sound more reasonable than the actual comments from teacher-protestors who will be speaking on Monday night at the vigil.
Here is the problem: This entire debate exposes the real underbelly of the NYC schools - the world where process and power-plays and arbitration and psychological exams and paranoia and letters from doctors saying things like "unfit for duty" end up consuming shockingly vast amounts of the focus and attention (not to mention resources) of both the teachers union and the nation's largest public school system.
You will hear complaints from teachers that principals are out of control, intimidating them into doing things that are just not right. You will hear complaints that investigators and lawyers for the city haven't followed proper procedure when proving that problem teachers are emotionally unstable or that it wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt that a teacher loaded porn onto a school computer (because someone else could have had access to that teacher's computer) etc.
You will hear the notorious "rubber rooms" for ineffective/unwanted teachers be referred to as "gulags" so often you'll wonder whatever happened to creativity.
And even though we're only talking about a small percentage of teachers, their voices will be amplified ten-fold in the next week. The silent majority of teachers (who aren't exactly thrilled with this stuff either) will not be heard.
It will be hard to know who is right (the teachers who claim innocence or the investigators/lawyers for the city who get tripped up when cases are appealed) but it almost doesn't matter. What people in New York City are going to see is a school system that long ago wandered off track, and where reasonable thinking (on the part of labor or management) was long ago abandoned in favor of process-driven (and sometimes paranoia-fueled) anarchy.
Whether the teacher is incompetent or the school administration is evil, deceitful, working against the interests of kids, etc., the bottom line is that sane people on the streets of New York City likely are about to start asking why it is that we tolerate such an awful environment for our kids. Why in the world do we put up with this? And why have we let it get to this point over the course of the last 30-odd years?
The stories (whether you are hearing them from the teachers or from the DOE's lawyers) are shockingly awful. When I was a reporter, there were teachers who used to carbon copy me on all of their voluminous written interactions with lawyers and arbitrators in their fights for justice, and I would get depressed. Then I'd hear other stories from the lawyers and I'd want to slit my wrists.
Often times it would seem there was plenty of blame to go around. But let's just say that the stories that will be exposed in this vigil and subsequent battle likely will introduce the public to some of the folks (on both sides, labor and management) whom we would never, ever want to be put forth as the "faces" of public education.
Take any of these stories, like the case of David Pakter, whose speech for Monday night is previewed above, and you start to wonder whether traditional public education in the city will be able to survive itself.
Continue reading "A Vigil For The Death of Public Education (As We Know It) In NYC?"....
Posted by Joe Williams on November 24, 2007 12:27 PM
November 20, 2007
Clyburn: "I am a strong supporter of charter schools"
Thanks to those of you who turned out last night for our DFER fundraiser with Rep. James Clyburn (D-South Carolina,) the majority whip in the House of Representatives.
The crowd was twice as large as we were supposed to have for the event (sorry Boykin!), thanks to a surge from charter school teachers, many from Harlem Success Academy Charter School, where Clyburn met earlier in the afternoon visited some classrooms and met with parents (pictured here).
In his remarks, Clyburn - the highest-ranking African-American in Congress - discussed the importance of parental choice and innovation in education, and called for balance in the party's positions on education.
NY Sun blurb on his charter school visit is here.
Special thanks to our friends at the Council of Urban Professionals and 100 Black Men for making the event so special.
Posted by Joe Williams on November 20, 2007 7:01 PM
"One Day Her Name Will Be In Bronze"
There is a rather amazing profile in Esquire magazine on Deborah Kenny, the founder of Harlem Village Academy charter schools in New York City. Very, very nice tribute for a truly outstanding education reformer. Good stuff.
Good to see a good Dem like Rep. Charles Rangel included in the story, for his recent visit to one of her schools to see her "educational miracles."
Kenny is listed as one of the magazine's 36 "Best and Brightest" for 2007. Congrats.
Posted by Joe Williams on November 20, 2007 6:24 PM
November 16, 2007
Pantsuits and Candlelight Vigils
I'll let Rick Kahlenberg weigh in on whether Al Shanker would be pleased by the candlelight vigil planned by the United Federation of Teachers for Monday night to protest the team of lawyers who will begin working with principals to do a better job of managing the workforce in the city's schools. (Though Rick told me a few months ago that Al would have the Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl this season - so you can take it to the bank!)
But it is noteworthy that the MOST GENUINE (and refreshing) non-Kucinich moment of last night's Democratic Presidential debate came when Sen. Hillary Clinton was responding to Wolf Blitazer's question about merit pay.
If you watched it, you know what I'm talking about. Blitzer asked the former First Lady what to do about school-based bonuses (which Hillary supports and are all the rage with the kids these days) if there was a "crummy teacher" on a winning team.
It wasn't so much what Clinton said (though that was important too) but how she said it. She eeked out a slightly stifled laugh as she was answering. You know that kind of the laugh. The kind of laugh that says, "Well Wolf, only a complete boob doesn't understand how to solve this problem!!!"
What she actually said was:
Wolf, you need to weed out the teachers who are not doing a good job. I mean, that's the bottom line. (Applause.) They should not be teaching our children.
Wow. Considering all the drama over NYC's decision this week to start weeding out crummy teachers, it is a wonder that more hasn't been made about Hillary's break with the union that already endorsed her.
Continue reading "Pantsuits and Candlelight Vigils"....
Posted by Joe Williams on November 16, 2007 8:13 PM
November 15, 2007
Air Obama
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama became the first candidate in the race to hit the airwaves with an education related ad. The 30-second spots, which can be seen here, call for expanding early childhood education and recruiting "a new generation of teachers."
Safe bets, but at least he's out there on the issue.
Considering how depressing it was to see the charts in yesterday's NY Times about what issues voters in Iowa and New Hampshire listed as the most important (education aint even close) the ad's launch marks what could (hopefully) turn out to be a better discussion about the future of America as far as schools are concerned.
Will the other candidates engage, or leave education to Obama?
Dicslosure: While DFER is not endorsing any candidate in the primary, my wife and I both personally maxed out on our contributions to Obama's campaign.
Posted by Joe Williams on November 15, 2007 5:56 PM
Clyburn: Let's Achieve Balance on Ed Issues As Dems
Thanks to those of you who have signed up to attend Monday night's fundraiser/conversation in NYC with Rep. James Clyburn (D-South Carolina,) the majority whip in the House of Representatives. It is shaping up to be a great event. Not many slots left, so make sure you sign up quickly if you still want to join us. Contribution levels are $500 and $5000.
Rep. Clyburn sent along this note in advance of the event:
I look forward to joining my friends from Democrats for Education Reform, 100 Black Men, New York Council of Urban Professionals, and others on November 19th in what I know will be a fruitful dialogue that promotes more balanced education policies for our party, raises awareness for our nation's public charter schools, and reaffirms my support for tax credits for middle-class families.
There are few things that are more vital than ensuring that all of our children have access to a meaningful and productive education. Therefore, I am very appreciative of the opportunity that the Curry family has provided for us to exchange ideas and develop strategies that will benefit our youth and make sustainable investments in the futures of our children and grandchildren.Thank you in advance for your participation in what I am sure will be an outstanding affair. I look forward to working with many of you in the future on initiatives that advance the agendas of our students and hard-working American families.
Posted by Joe Williams on November 15, 2007 12:11 PM
November 13, 2007
Tisch: Grade NYC Charters Too
Merryl Tisch, vice chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, in this morning's NY Post defends the new school report cards that are causing such a stir in New York City and adds that charter schools should be graded the same way.
Amen. Arm parents with as much info as possible and let them decide (a) whether the grade matches what they know about a school, (b) whether it should lead to more questioning about what is and isn't happening in a school, and (c) whether the school has earned the right to educate their child.
Stop sending your kids to crappy schools - crappy district schools, crappy private schools, crappy charter schools, crappy pre-schools, etc. And then as The Man to either do something about those schools or to shut them the heck down.
And for those who don't have kids: You have to recognize that this is a CRUCIAL issue regarding the best use of public resources. We don't have to settle for crappy schools when there are enough non-crappy schools popping up all over the place.
Posted by Joe Williams on November 13, 2007 8:45 AM
