Media Accountablilty Needed

The News has been busy for the last few days reading Eric's blog and learning the true facts.  Too bad these individuals who call themselves reporters don't bother to check facts and report the real news before they go and print stuff that is not true and has the potential to ruin a person's life.

The News is quick to call for teacher accountability.  Where is there accountability when it comes to reporting the facts?

I apologize for the orginal post.  I guess I didn't read the article carefully enough.

Feeding Your Pet Snake

Manuel was in my geometry class last year. He was (and still is) a quiet, sweet boy who was absent quite a bit. When I questioned him about his absence, he told me about his different illnesses. I foolishly believed him and let the whole thing slide. I assumed (and made the ass out of u and me) incorrectly that his resource room teacher would look into the problem. I guess it was better late than never but I did start looking into the problem, got his ISS guidance counselor involved and we did our best to help him.

One of the things I discovered last year was that Manuel's Math A regents grade was not on his transcript. Manuel told me he took the exam and passed it and the teacher he had for Math A confirmed this. I spoke to Mr. AP about the missing grade, I spoke to Ms. AP Guidance about the missing grade, I spoke to the teacher about the missing grade, but it never appeared. I was worried because if Manuel straightened himself out, he would graduate in 2010 and I did not want him to be missing the credit for an exam he needed and already passed. (Unfortunately, he only got a 60 on the geometry regents, short the points he needed to pass.)

A few days ago I got an e-mail from the ISS guidance counselor asking me if I knew anything about the algebra regents. I'm sure my screams went from Texas to New York. This poor kid will have to take the algebra regents in January and while I am guessing he will pass and not even mind taking it, I mind. I resent the incompetence that is making him do this.

Packemin HS is too big but even if we were smaller, mistakes would still occur. Guidance counselors, teachers and even assistant principals, even in smaller schools, have huge case loads which make it impossible to avoid mistakes like this. Someone needs to take the fall for Manuel and it shouldn't be someone from Packemin. I HOLD BLOOMBERG AND KLEIN ACCOUNTABLE. They are the ones that refuse to do anything to reduce class size. Schools will keep failing and they will keep closing them. They will shift the kids to different schools with the same over sized case loads and the problems will continue.

NOTHING IS CHANGING. KIDS WILL ALWAYS BE LOST IN THE SHUFFLE. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT BLOOMBERG, KLEIN AND THE PEOPLE LIKE THEM DO NOT CARE. TO THEM, THESE KIDS ARE THE MICE THE PET STORE SELLS TO SNAKE OWNERS.

Criminal Activity Amongst Us

I had a conversation today with Mr. AP about possible grade changes from Middle Schools and kids graduating without meeting minimum requirements.

Mr. AP said, "Principals don't want to lose their jobs." I just looked at him and said, "I want to buy a new car, can I rob a bank? You piss me off all the time, can I punch your lights out? (I didn't really say that, but I thought it.) What they did was criminal and there is no excuse."

For once, he had no answer.

Unaccountable Education Mayor

(This bear has better living conditions than some NYC students have learning conditions--thank you Mr. Education Mayor.)

What happened the the education Mayor's promise to get rid of all trailer classrooms?

Shouldn't he be accountable for these deplorable conditions?

Evil Moskowitz's charter schools students don't have to learn in these conditions, why do NYC kids?

Accountability should start at the top!

The Accountable Mayor

He spends a mini fortune to go on television and talk about how he improved NYC schools.

He talks about accountability, how he himself is accountable.

Wake up public! NYC schools are no better today than they were 10 years ago and in my opinion, they are worse. Kids are graduating without knowing basics. Things like credit recovery and boot camps are pushing them out without real educations. Incidents are going unreported. Hundreds of good teachers (ATRs) are sitting without classes. Others are sitting in the rubber room on trumped up charges with no substance made by principals who can barely wipe their own rear ends.

Bloomberg, you talk about accountability, but, how are you being held accountable? How about being accountable for the students in the community colleges who barely know reading, writing and arithmetic? How about being accountable for substandard trailer and split room classes? How about being accountable for school built to hold 1800 now holding 4500? What is your penalty for failing the children of NYC?

Horse S**t

An article in Newsday today explained Merryl Tisch's reasoning for moving standardized testing from the winter to May--TEACHER ACCOUNTABILITY--MORE TIME FOR TEST PREPARATION!

When the tests are given in the winter it is hard to know which teacher screwed up when the kid did not improve. This is important because everyone knows the teacher is the only factor in education.

What a crock of DOO DOO! This is just another way to play the blame game.

And more test prep time. What the school's really need is MORE LEARNING TIME!

Accountability Continued

Non Sequitur 5/12/09

Look At What We Are Accountable For Producing

Little Harry is a product of the ritzy schools on the south shore of Long Island. For Harry, a student in resource room, failure was not an option. His teachers bent over backwards to make sure he graduated on time, with the rest of his class. And, while his mother always pushed personal responsibility for him, it wasn't enough. No matter how she punished, no matter what he yelled, no matter how much money she spent on tutors, Harry did what Harry wanted to do, which was next to nothing. A school like the school he attended could not afford to have non graduates in their statistics so Harry was pushed ahead.

Harry now attends a local community college. He is just about to finish his first year and has completed one remedial class and 2 credit classes. He cuts. He reports late to class. He doesn't study or do homework. He didn't do anything in high school so he didn't expect college to be any different. Boy, was he wrong.

When Harry found out he would not even be allowed to take a final (due to his poor attendance), he got hysterical and called his mom. He told her he finally realized that he screwed up. He promised to do better next year because she was just about ready to yank him out of school.

Harry thought his math teacher would get in trouble because so many were failing. He thought his English teacher would get fired because she did not greet the class with a smile every day. Harry thought his mom could get involved and help him out. Harry found out, the hard way, that real life doesn't work like that. Maybe if he had been held more accountable in high school, maybe if he was held back a year or forced to spend some time in summer school, he might be a little more mature and ready to handle college now.

Accountability, the big catch phrase of the twenty first century is a joke. Good administrators always held teachers accountable for doing their jobs in the classroom. Teachers never minded being accountable for doing their jobs. Accountability now is just a way to make teachers accountable for things they have no control over. Accountability for teachers has stripped students of their own accountability.

Accountability

Non Sequitur--5/11/09

Th sad thing is that this is the message our students are getting every day. They know teachers will be held accountable for their failures and they are not shy about saying so.

When I'm Feeling Down

When I feel like there is a conspiracy against older teachers (I am not in that group, but I still feel the pain.)

When I feel like education has gone down the tubes and it is not worth the effort anymore.

When I feel like chucking it all because I'm tired of fighting the system. I'm tired of administrators who put accountability first and learning second.

I open my e-mail and find this:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Mrs. PoD!

These kids are making it hard for me to do what I know I should do.