Thursday, April 28, 2016

Penguins



I highly recommend all NYC residents get a city ID and head over to the Bronx Zoo to pick up Wildlife membership.  This gives entrance to Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Flushing Zoo, Prospect Zoo and the Aquarium.

I only had a half hour today but I got to visit the penguins, my favorites in the Central Park Zoo.  These two little guys were busy flirting with all their visitors.

Of course there are tons of other benefits to be had with this ID.  I had to buy a new case just to keep all my membership cards together.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Cabinet Meeting


I posted this on Facebook with a comment about how administrators think.  A friend pointed out, they
SCHEME are incapable of thinking.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Hard To Get Excited


It is kind of hard to support an institution that treats people poorly.  No wonder so many will not respond to an invitation to join them in this endeavor.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Puma



Flushing Meadow Queens Zoo, today.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Making School Look Good



Schools keep their top ratings doing exactly this.  Shame on them.  They are helping themselves at the expense of their students.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Post Observation Conference


The teacher was observed, rated ineffective of course.  She had a conference with her supervisor and this is what occurred.






Wednesday, April 13, 2016

A Day Out



Learned how to do HDR from UFT photo class for retired teachers.

Took these on a class trip to Norman J Levy Preserve in Merrick.

Three photos combined to one and then three separate looks.  Infinite number of looks possible.

Two great teachers--Richie and John

Saturday, April 09, 2016

Springtime?


Park Ave and 64th St

63rd and Lexington Ave

The flowers and blooming trees say spring but the raw weather says something else.

NYC-you got to love it no matter what the weather does.

Monday, April 04, 2016

Letter To The Editor



If only the media knew what we knew, about what really goes on in schools and how certain schools manage to keep their top ratings.  True, these schools are better than most but they are still far, very far from how they portray themselves.


Friday, April 01, 2016

School Suspensions-Another Case of Playing With The Stats


Today's Daily News had an article where Chancellor Farina is bragging about the decline in suspensions in NYC schools.

I wish the newspapers would really care about what is going on in the schools and go to the people that know, the teachers, students and deans.  They should stop relying on these statistics that hide half or more than half of what actually happens.  School administrators are more interested in keeping their A ratings and making sure they are attracting the most students than they are in being truthful.  When I taught I saw way too much being unreported.

When people ask me about my former school, I hesitate, not wanting to tell all that I really know because it is better than most schools around.  Still, it is not nearly as good as it is portrayed and while it is pretty safe, no one will ever hear of incidents swept under the carpet that keep the safety rating so high.