De Blasio-A Bloomberg Clone?

De Blasio was standing at the podium talking about the state of emergency and telling everyone who did not have to go out to stay home.  After much BS he got to schools.  From what I gathered, in his mind, schools are day care centers for people who need safe places for their children while they work.

CBS news was great.  While he rambled on about how the city was up and operating fine, they kept showing stalled trucks, cars sliding all over the place, parents struggling to get to school and a jackknifed bus on Queens Blvd.

The arrogance he and Farina showed was no better than the arrogance Bloomberg and Walcott showed during their reign of abuse.  If this is any indication of what the next four years will be like, the city is still in trouble.

A Product Of Bloomberg Education

Four exams were given.

 

Talia scored less than 40 on the two she took.  Two she missed and requested a makeup on one.  The request was made after the exam was returned so it was easy to say no.  She has handed in three homework assignments,both late.

Talia believes she can pass the class.  She attends college on Fantasy Island.  Talia is a recent NYC graduate, part of the legacy Bloomberg is so proud of.

Bloomberg Education Mantra

Also shared by education deformers

Back Up Your Words Mr. Education Mayor



Now Bloomberg is encouraging high school students to become plumbers instead of going to college. Aside from the hypocrisy of the college readiness programs he has been pushing for years, he should be smart enough to know plumbing, or any trade, requires intelligence, skill and lots of hard work.  It is not for everyone, although he might feel anyone who can't make it in college could be a plumber.

If Bloomberg really believes in vocational education, why, in his 11 years as the education mayor has he not initiated one program to help train students in these fields?  Why has he continued this asinine testing program which just turns kids off and away from school?  Why has he allowed and encouraged programs that graduate everyone regardless of what they have learned or of how often they attended class?  Why has he created a generation of children who feel they are entitled to everything yet have done nothing to earn anything?  How can people like this be prepared to do the hard physical labor required of plumbers when they have never dirtied their hands for anything.

Bloomberg is right.  We need plumbers, electricians, carpenters, hair dressers, cooks, and endless other occupations that do not require college.  But, these jobs require education and a work ethic which is something he has cheated 11 years of students out of.  Shame on him for throwing out ideas he has refused to support.

Principal Suit Is Still Going Strong

 



My blogging buddy NYC Educator (scroll through the blog, he has several posts) has decided to use my Principal Suit as a representation of all the awful and disgusting Principals and assistant Principals in the system.  He's got some really funny stuff over there.  Rereading my posts about the original Principal Suit and reading his posts would make anyone wonder how these maroons got the jobs they have.  But, anyone who knows anything, knows our idiot education mayor Bloomberg is to blame.

Go read the escapades to Principals Suit.  Maybe yours won't seem so bad in comparison.

Walcott Dry Your Crocodile Tears And Face Facts

 



Newsflash to Dennis Walcott--in his too long term, Bloomberg has made the level of education in this city an all time low.  Walcott should dry his tears and look at the system today and compare it to the one that educated his children and, if he can't see a difference, he needs to go back to school.

Back when Walcott's daughter was a student at Francis Lewis HS, learning mattered.  She had to go to class, do homework and pass rigorous regents exams.  If she didn't cut it, there were repeater classes and summer school.  There was no boot camp and no chances to get her friends or to pay someone to answer online questions for her.  She worked and her teachers made sure she worked and learned.  I'm not sure, but  she might have been in an algebra class of mine.  I don't think Walcott would have had any problem with the quality of education she received.  And, since she is a success today, that reinforces what I am writing here.

Many kids today graduate without being able to perform simple arithmetic operations, write a coherent paragraph, or even be able to read.  Under fear of having their schools closed, Principal's are getting everyone out.  Kids are taking 8 regular classes, 2 after school classes, Saturday classes and then doing credit recovery work online.  None of this makes any sense.  A child who could not do well with 5 classes certainly can't handle a course load like this.  My former AP thinks every teacher should be able to have 100% of their classes passing.  This is hardly a reasonable goal.  I've had kids say to me, "If I don't pass, you can get fired."  Teachers have to pass them, whether they deserve to pass or not.

Bloomberg's reign has created an era of entitled students who think showing up half the time is enough.  I see this in the college.  The secretary told me the tale of students walking in, demanding to see the chairperson because their teacher refuses to give them extra credit to make up the homework they did not hand in, the tests they failed and the classes they missed.

I'm not a teacher worried about my job.  I've left the system.  I've had enough with the bull that passes for education reform.  I've had enough of the bright kids getting mediocre educations so everyone can pass.

Walcott, wake up and listen to those Democratic mayoral candidates.  I've been in the system.  They know what they are talking about.

Let's Teach Them The Way They Want Kids To Learn



I have come up with a way to convince Bloomberg and all these other politicians, businessmen and other know it alls that class size matters.

They should sign up for a class in a field they have no aptitude in and no previous knowledge.  It should be a class required to not only pass, but to excel in.  And, I would make sure the class had 40 students in it, each student needy of individual help and some with attention problems.  I would assign a teacher with a reputation of being a master and with VAM to back this up.

Maybe then, would these individuals who know nothing about education realize just how important small classes are to student achievement.

Despicable But That Is Nothing New



Bloomberg is supporting "microscopic" apartments in the city to make city dwelling more affordable for young people.  BS!  He wants more apartments per square foot to increase revenue for land owners.  These young people will be here for a short time and leave.  He should be looking into more affordable housing for families that will stay and help the city grow.

He is despicable, but that is nothing new.

Bloomberg's Latest

His gang doesn't walk.  They take limos everywhere so they won't be hit with this fee.

Makes Me Want To Scream

Honesty



Bloomberg should just come out and say:

Look, there are two sets of rules.  One is for the rich guys like me.  We get to do and say whatever we want.  We are all that matters.  Actually, there is only one set of rules and that one is for you.  Guys like me don't have rules.  You have to do exactly as I say. Kids and teachers have to suffer in  buildings without air conditioning.  You can't drink large soft drinks.  You have to bow down and kiss the ground I walk on.   

I'll Get you, My Pretty



My buddy Chaz wrote an excellent post about the DOE's weakening the disciplinary powers of the teacher.  He makes wonderful points about how we are harming the student by not correcting the behavior and how allowing it to continue will leave the student unprepared for college and careers. 

I have only one thing to add to this terrific post.  These disruptive students will remain in the classroom and keep others from learning.  Protecting, as the DOE calls it, the rights of a few will destroy the majority. No one can learn in a room full of noise and chaos.

Thinking about this brings a sinister thought to mind.  Is the DOE destroying classroom management tools as another way to get back at teachers?  Leaving these kids in the room will prevent learning,  test scores will go down and there will be more evidence to show a teacher is incompetent.  Sounds too evil to be true?  I don't think so.  Look at all that has been done to the school system since Bloomberg took over.  This goes right along with everything else he has done.

Racial Divide In Education



Proctoring a remedial final I look up and see seven black faces, seven Hispanic faces and one from southeast Asia. Hey Bloomberg and Walcott, exactly what is it you did to fix the racial divide in NYC schools? I'm not seeing things too equitably now.

Uneducated Children Grow Up and Can't Help Their Own Children



The little girl did not do well in school.  She had a concerned mom who made sure she was there every day and handed in all her assignments.  (Mom did many of them for the girl.)  Nothing this mom did got her little girl to learn much.  In the end, the little girl graduated because the teachers in this affluent comunity felt sorry for the mom and passed her along.  They knew high school was the end of her education and didn't give her future much thought.

Today the little girl is all grown up with a little girl of her own.  She wants nothing more than for her little girl to be a success in school.  This little girl wants to be a success too, and unlike her mother is a very good student.  Unfortunately, this girl has some learning difficulties and needs extra help.  While mom sits with her daily, she can't help with things she never learned.  The mom can't multiply or spell very well.  Her reading is also lacking.  She's frustrated and wishes she had paid more attention in school.  She is angry that she got a diploma without knowing much of anything.

I shudder to think of all the future mothers who will not be able to help their children either.  They can thank the Bloomberg administration for the emphasis it placed on statistics rather than education.  The mother in this story was in a minority in her time. The future mothers like her will be the majority of them.

No Teacher Wants Bad Teachers In The Profession



Let's get one thing straight--NO TEACHER WANTS BAD TEACHERS TEACHING.  Doing clean up, after a child has had one of these is not fun.  It is impossible to teach division if a child can't multiply and you certainly can't teach Shakespeare if the student can't read.  It is painful to listen to kids term after term complain about someone who can't teach when you know that child is correct and you can't say a word in agreement.

The schools don't need a new way to evaluate teachers.  There always was a good method in place.  It is only under the reign of Bloomberg that things like value added data has become important.  Administrators, who used to be required to teach for 10 years before they became assistant principals knew their subject and knew how to teach inexperienced teachers how to teach.  They spent more than 5 minutes in the classroom and were master teachers themselves in the subjects they were in charge of.  When, for example, a math teacher is put in charge of a special education program there is bound to be trouble because the person has no idea what good teaching should entail.  The same goes for the guy who became a principal through the leadership academy or some other back road and knows nothing of academics.

It used to be teachers that needed help were given it.  Senior teachers took newbies under their wing, shared lessons, gave guidance.  Now, it is dog eat dog as one teacher's statistics are compared to another.  The teacher with 10% failing will be in trouble when compared to the one with 6% failing although the numbers themselves can't involve more than one child and no one bothers to look at the background of the children that fail.  It used to be that teachers who gave it all, who came in early, stayed late and gave up preps in an effort to help were rewarded and thanked for this effort.  Now, it is thanks for the effort but the numbers count more.  It is more important for a data specialist to help with numbers than it is to help with students.

One of the ways the colleges evaluate their adjuncts and new teachers is with student evaluation forms at the end of each semester.  If 30 students currently in a class say the same negative things about a teacher, maybe they are right.  In contrast, if 25 say good things and 5 say otherwise, that says something as well.  In addition, the teacher is observed by a colleague, a colleague who knows the subject and knows about teaching.  BAD TEACHERS ARE NOT REHIRED.  The college doesn't need a data specialist because it knows the kids come in as a mixed bag.  The college knows the data specialist does nothing to enhance learning.  The teacher can't make students buy the text, do homework or go for help.  The teacher is required to teach and engage, plain and simple.

Plenty has been written and said about that awful idea of grading and releasing teacher numbers so I won't go into it here.  I don't know if the system can even go back to hiring qualified administrators as most of the people qualified are long gone but there has got to be a better way than releasing meaningless numbers, numbers designed to hurt, not help.

Kudos

I showed two college students how to subtract 48, 157 from 60,000 today.

Congrats Bloomberg.  You did a great job educating these kids and getting them ready for higher education.

Retirement Questions



I got this e-mail from a retired teacher and reader.  she has lots of good points and questions I can't help her with so I am posting in hope of getting her some answers. 

Hi Ms. PO’ed,


I wanted to vent and didn’t know to whom to vent (sorry, I am an old English teacher). All the blogs are concerned with Bloomberg’s attempts to destroy education in New York as we know it and I can’t seem to find any that deal with the day-to-day complaints of our retired brethren. In fact, one of my formerly favorite bloggers seems threatened (his column this past week) by the retired teachers chapter members, afraid that if we vote in mass we will somehow make things worse both in the union itself and in the system.


I know you are (somewhat newly) retired and several of your followers are too. Do you know of any blogs that are specific to our needs?


My vents: 1) I paid into the 25/55 retirement plan for many years, confident that I would make it past the 25 years, even expecting to work beyond. But the sudden targeting of older teachers, the Principals Academy no-nothing principal I worked for, the lack of protection from the union, made all my plans go up in smoke. I went out after only 23 years. That means that the retirement figures bounce back to the 32 years model and the money I paid in goes for nothing. Why can’t we get that back? Since so many of us older teachers are going out early, being forced out by the Bloomberg policies, where is all that money going? Since I am now on a small fixed pension, smaller than I had ever dreamed because I went out early, I could so use that money. I emailed the retired teachers chapter leader, Tom Murphy, and got an email back saying he would look into it. I can’t possibly be the only retiree who has asked about it, can I?


2) I know that all the teachers are now being told they must use express scripts. I hate express scripts. I hate the idea that it is a monopoly and I have no choice. I hate that this badly affects neighborhood pharmacies trying to survive in this awful economy. I hate that even though I can get discount coupons from the drug companies that reduce my costs, express scripts will not honor them (the neighborhood pharmacies always did). I hate it taking up to 30 days to get my meds. I hate that I have to rely on the post office, which is on the verge of bankruptcy and is cutting services, to get me my much needed medicines.


3) Where did the deductible suddenly come from for lab tests? I thought the medical coverage (GHI) stayed exactly the same after retirement. I just received a denial letter on routine blood tests my husband and I got two weeks ago, saying I was responsible for the entire amount because my deductible had not yet been met. WTF? I have never, in all my years as a City employee, had a lab bill denied. And what does this mean when I go in later this year for some surgery? Will there suddenly be bills that wouldn’t have been there if I were still working? If so, why, if it is the same plan??????? And why does no one explain this? Nowhere is it written – all I find is that the medical coverage is the same after retirement.


4) Can anyone explain SHIP to me in laymen’s terms? Do I save all my doctors’ and lab bills and then submit them? Why? I am confused about the purpose of SHIP and what to do about it.


5) And finally but perhaps more important than the rest, why should it, in this era of computers, take 5 full months for them to get me my actual pension? I retired in the off-season, not at the end of a school year when so many others were putting in their papers. And, more to the point, why did they “tide me over” with less than half of my projected pension – I figured that my twenty-something daughter who works for little more than minimum wage was earning more than I was getting, certainly not enough for a person to live on! I know, I know, they give you interest on the monies, as the person at the pension office kept saying, but I had to take out loans to get through these five months! That is a sin! Why can’t they err on the side of the newly retired teacher?


Thanks so much for letting me vent. You know I am such a big big fan of your blog. If you want to use any of this in your blog, of course, feel free.


burntoutteacher

Editiorial Comment



Bloomberg's plan to close A rated Maxwell H.S. and others like it because the city scores don't reflect the state standards is just another indication of how flawed this rating system is and how clueless Bloomberg is when it comes to education.

Bloomberg is a mean, vindictive ego maniac who cares about his agenda and his agenda only.  And the media that sucks up and buys into it is just as bad.

No matter what he says Bloomberg wants to keep the lower and middle class of NYC down.  He wants to create a class of workers who will be fit for no more than doing his bidding.  He wants to keep his ruling class elite.  It would be a stretch to put him in this group, but if there was a list of the ten most evil government officials, he would be on top.

DOE Hot Shots

Saw this sign and thought of all the people running the DOE right now.

Footprints In The Snow

I keep telling my two little rescue cats how lucky they are to be indoors and not out in the ice and cold where they would have to scrounge for food.  I showed them these prints in the snow from the poor little ones that no one has saved.  I know they don't get it but that's okay.  They remind me of the Bloomberg and his cronies and the media.  They don't get education.  I just figured out why--they have cat sized brains!