Hey Bloomberg

Check out the environment Justice and his students deal with every day. Does your office look like this? Does your staff worry about health issues caused by the air they are breathing?

Oh wait, I forgot, Justice works at a school that is being closed down. Those kids, and the teachers are your throw aways. Their health and well being is of no interest to you. It is much more important to keep those charter schools looking good.

It Stinks In Here

The room stunk period 2 but I assumed we were getting an oil delivery and the smell would pass.

The room continued stinking period 3 and the kids really complained when they walked in. Several said the smell was making them sick and I could see, by looking at their faces, this was true. (We thought there mightbe soemthing dead in the radiator.) I called my AP. He wasn't in. I called the APO and found out there was no oil being delivered. Several kids left the room to work in the hall because the smell was getting to them. I called the APO again and this time he came up to investigate. When he claimed he smelled nothing, a girl looked at him and said "That is because you smell good. It is awful in here." Begrudgingly he agreed to call the custodian.

We waited. The period ended and Mr. AP walked by. I told him of the smell and he said he would call the custodian. I told him that was done ten minutes ago. He gave me his "stop complaining, I'm doing what I can answer" and walked away. Another 40 minutes passed and the custodians arrived.

The kids thought help had finally arrived. I knew better as I watched the custodian go over to the radiator with a can of disinfectant and proceed to spray the area. He said that is all he could do. But, he left me with the can of spray so I can take care of any future odors myself.

Bloomberg, does your office smell like that? Are the kids in the charter schools sitting in hallways because the air in their classroom is making them sick? I guess should be grateful for the can of Lysol. Ms Eyre would have had to buy her own.

Hey Mr. Education Mayor

Guess what subject I am teaching in this room?

If you guessed art, you can't pass go, you can't collect $200 and you might have to go directly to jail.

The correct answer is MATH!!!! Math to a group of main stream and special education students mixed.

Notice the chalk board in the front--that is the only one in the room.

Notice the seats that are not facing the board.

Notice the social setting for this class.

Testing will be fun--oh wait, they will all do well and that is what you want anyway so what does it matter if they actually learn anything.

I've been teaching a long time and I don't remember these type of classroom conditions when Thompson was in charge.

Exactly, what did you say you did with the $350 million you saved? You certainly did not spend it on the kids who must sit in this classroom daily.

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!

Super Hula

I promised a monument if there was a shade today. Sorry, this is the best I can do on such short notice. A monument is in the works.

Faster than a speeding bullet.

More powerful than a locomotive.

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Super Hula!

Yes, it's Super Hula - strange being from alternate universe who came to Packemin HS with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal principals.

Super Hula - who can get things done, and who, disguised as Principal Hula, mild mannered man in a humongous NYC HS, fights the never ending battle for clean classrooms, computer access, window shades.

Before Super Hula got involved--the glare in the afternoon kept the kids from being able to see the board.

After Super Hula came on the scene.

Mr. Teenie Bopper

There is no time during the day for me to tutor my AP kids. Most of them are in class when I am free. To help them out, I decided to stay late on Thursdays.

Staying late is not a problem, finding an empty room is not as easy. A door to door search was our only option this week and after several tries, we found a room with a teacher sitting at the desk. I asked if the room was being used. Mr. Teenie Bopper answered "I like to do my work here. There must be another room available." I answered "Not that I saw and told the kids to sit down to begin work." Mr. Teenie Bopper was not happy. He left the room and went in search of another room. He returned after a few minutes, resigned to the fact that we were not going anywhere.

The above picture is the place I affectionately call my office. It is no more than two chairs, sometimes three or four, placed outside the teachers' cafeteria. Here is where I sit during the day to help my students. We have no choice. Packemin HS has no empty space in the middle of the day. Things are still tight by 10th period, but not as tight. I'm not sitting in a hall when there is a room available.

Sorry Mr. Teenie Bopper, the room is not your private domain. Unless you have a class in there, it is free for any teacher to use. You better learn to share or you won't make it in this system.

EGS

Not the scrambled kind of eggs, the electronic grading kind.

Grades are due tomorrow and it took me twenty minutes to find an available computer to work on in school today.

The four computers in the library just don't cut the mustard for a school this size.

Thank you resource room teachers for allowing me to use yours.

(I did finish my grades before I wrote this post!)

It's Mine

So much to write, so little time. I could fill a book but this and the other little blog will have to suffice.

We have a chair shortage at Packemin High. Classes with 34 kids often only have 31 chairs. (Thanks Bloomberg--Keep It Going NYC Public Schools). Being resourceful, we scrounge around and borrow chairs from other rooms.

Mr. P is in the room next door. While I am short three chairs, he has at least four empty ones, so I send my students to get chairs.

Today, Crissy came back all upset. "That man won't give me a chair unless I give him my ID card", she said. I couldn't believe my ears and went to check it out for myself.

Sure enough, Mr. P said "I need my chairs. How can I guarantee they will be returned if I don't hold some identification."

I calmly told Mr. P that the chairs would be brought back, no ID needed. He often leaves the room before the period is over and he leaves with the ID card. He said, "Send your kids out a few minutes early." And then, Ms. Calm lost it. "You teach bell to bell but my kids should lose instructional time to return chairs that don't belong to you. That is not going to happen." I took the chairs and left.

The conversation continued again later in the day but by then I realized as I was talking to Mr. P, I was talking to someone with a pea sized brain and just left.

Many years ago I had a similar problem with a teacher who would not give my class chairs. I solved that problem also. I made sure I arrived much earlier than he did and emptied the room before he arrived! He never even knew the chairs were missing.

Gee, I know things are tight but do we really have to get so possessive of chairs?

Office Space

It is early in the morning.

Mr. Y needs a quiet spot to relax, have his coffee and prepare for his day at work.

Mr. Y is working in the only peaceful spot around--his car.

Imagine Bloomberg, or Klein or Weingarten or a school administrator having to start their day like this? Pathetic, isn't it?

And now I just heard a rumor that Suit will be getting $700 a day to mentor new Principals. On top of that, it is rumored that he will get at least a $20,000 bonus for the report card grade our school got by his dubious methods. Last year he got all new furniture in his office. The DOE claims they have no money but just spent $80,000,000 on ARIS computer system to track students [and teachers.]

So, the teacher sits in the car, the school aide earns $.43 more an hour and the rich keep getting richer. What a city we live in.

My Kingdom For A Trash Can

Mr. M is still a trailer teacher. He complained last year, but not nearly as much as I did. He is a mellow kind of guy and, no matter how bad things get, he keeps going. A few years ago, he had to teach with an open umbrella because his roof leaked when the snow melted.

Mr. M doesn't ask for much. Right now, a garbage can in his classroom is all he needs to make him happy. He's been requesting one for over a year. He's continually told that none are available in the building. He has tried using empty cartons, but the custodians just remove them whenever they clean (which is not all that often) so he does manage to have a trash receptacle sometimes.

No garbage can means the papers on the floor and in
the bathroom build up. The place is a pig sty. Maybe Suit's greatest achievement was getting trash cans under the water fountains in the halls, but a greater one might be getting trash cans in every classroom.

Modern Day Fairy Tale

The puddle is mostly dry--just mud and garbage remains.

On a good note, my air conditioner is working. On a bad note, the air in the trailer next door is not working. The kids and teacher feel like Hansel and Gretel being pushed into the oven by the wicked witches Bloomberg and Klein.



Suit had his little grand daughter in school today. I wonder how he would feel if her classrooms looked like the one my students learn in every day.

Build A School Here

No air conditioning in this trailer. And now, no fresh air.The SO is collecting money to build a school in Kenya. It would be nice if Bloomberg spent some money on the schools right here in NYC.

Workspace

This is how one math teacher has been spending her lunch period every day.

I'm usually just as busy. Today I tried to do some computer work on my lunch. As luck would have it only TWO of the THREE COMPUTERS available for teacher use were working. So, in the "BEST LIBRARY IN NYC" I could not find a computer to use.



Yes, in a school with a staff of over 400, in the twenty first century, teachers have access to exactly two working computers.



Isn't NYC education grand! Thank you Bloomberg. Thank you Klein.

Letter Update

Principal Suit stopped me in the hall tonight and thanked me for my letter. He told me it was just what he needed and that it was right on the money. He said a guard would be posted outside the trailers.

I'll believe this when I see it, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Trailer Update

Now the railing is coming off!
But, on the plus side, the hole in the trailer is fixed. It only took four little screws to reattach the piece that had fallen off! On the minus side, it rained and the puddle is back.

A Pleasant Surprise

We have soap and paper towels!

Please Pass The Trash Can

The appearance of our school and classrooms can have an impact on our student behavior and learning. Please monitor your classroom and pass the trash basket around to your students and ask them to pick up any trash that is on the floor around them. If you come into a classroom and find that it is in poor condition, please report this to your assistant principal, supervision.

This, from a principal who allows this and this to go on!

Dump Your Children Here

This is the garbage strewn puddle outside my trailer. But, most people reading this blog have seen this picture many times before.
This is something new. Someone seems to have forgotten to pick up the garbage or even put it in the dumpster. Last week when it was windy, a teacher got hit with a flying box.
More garbage pictures. We walk through this every day to get to the building.
Another view.

Got to love working for the NYC DOE!

There's a Hole in the Trailer

There's a hole in the trailer. Maybe they are looking for a new classroom. Might be good for a swimming class.

School Condition Update

My puddle--picture taken from inside the room.
My puddle, picture taken from the top of the ramp. The white stuff floating around in it was pretty scary stuff. I was assured it was not toxic, but who knows? Today the custodian (one I trust) told me it was the sodium chloride put down to melt the ice.
View from the top of the ramp. At this time the puddle is so deep, it is impossible to get in or out without getting soaking wet
Today's puddle remnant. What an enticing place to get an education!
More puddle residue.

On another note, while my trailer has soap in the bathroom, the trailer next door still has none. Trailer people must be immune to germs. Both trailers are still missing paper towels.

Good news, the APO is getting all new furniture in her office and one the F Status people has had an office carved out for her. She has her own desk, phone and computer.

Isn't the NYC DOE great!