Courting Votes

It seems Mulgrew is doing what he does best.  That is, he is keeping retired teachers happy.  He wants to make sure when election time comes around they will be in his court and give him their votes.

Mulgrew loves his retired teachers.  They sing his praises at meetings and, since they are not working  they ask nothing in return.  He doesn't have to waste time defending them or answering their questions.

Mulgrew might be in for a rude awakening.  The new bunch of retired teachers don't remember or care about the union Shanker created.  They and their colleagues have long been neglected and abused by the union of today.  They will be smart enough to give their support to union leaders who care about teachers.  No longer will they vote UNITY without any thought to consequences.

Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to get my retro money.  I just wish it wasn't on the backs of working teachers.

Mulgrew'sThoughtfulness

My Thanksgiving is now perfect.

I just opened an e-mail from Mulgrew thanking me for all that I do.

His sweet message mentions nothing about the $$$ I was supposed to receive by Thanksgiving but his good wishes mean so much more than a few bucks.

Get The Message To Retirees

 



At my retired teacher class today we all complimented our instructor and then someone said it is a good thing she doesn't have Bloomberg as a boss because her stats, based on our class would be horrendous.  Everyone laughed.  I used this as a good time to tell everyone to vote MORE.

The majority of the people in the room had no idea what MORE was and what principles MORE stood for.  Most had no idea that UNITY and New Action were kissing cousins.  Some had no idea who Mulgrew was and those that did had little to know understanding of how he has sold out the rank and file.

I hope my little speech got MORE a few extra votes.  MORE needs to reach out to the retired teachers and let them know what is really going on.

Steamy Side Of Teaching



When I first started teaching I worked in a wild place.  I'm not talking about the kids (although they were a handful), I'm talking about the teachers.  We were a young, enthusiastic group who gave all for those students, but oh, did this group like to party.

The phys ed AP had a liquor cabinet in his bottom desk draw for after school parties, the drama director hosted the most exciting parties.  He emptied the furniture from his small brownstone apartment and invited the entire school, along with all his acting friends and gay friends from outside the school.  Everyone intermingled.  It was a blast.  The school was full of heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals.  My favorite was O.  He was so sexual nothing breathing was safe in his vicinity but he never forced his interests on anyone else.  There were several husband and wife teachers as well as teachers married to former students.  Everyone stayed away from room 223 in the morning because we all knew the bible teacher was involved in some pretty heavy stuff with the baseball coach.  They were both married to other people.  Special after school parties always involved lots of drinking, most often led by the APO who looked like he walked around with a stick up his butt during school hours.  After, he was a hoot.

None of these activities affected our teaching or our interaction with the students.  In fact,our camaraderie after school hours helped us work together better and in turn we did more for our students.  We ran student-faculty basketball games, put on faculty shows to raise money and were always available to give our students extra help and encouragement.  We worked together and knew what kids were doing in classes outside of our own.

Reading about Mulgrew and the guidance counselor doing it on the work table reminded me of the coach and bible teacher which brought back all the other memories of the school I began teaching in.  I don't know if the story about Mulgrew is true and, unless he sold out the union to protect himself, I don't care.  He didn't do anything countless other individuals have been doing for years.  As for the cushy job at the union for the guidance counselor, almost everyone with a cushy job knew someone or did something to get it.  That's life.  It might not be fair, but it is what it is.

Michael Mulgrew At Rally

The Celebration Cathie and Michael Missed

I was glad I went to the Saturday session of the Celebration of Teaching and Learning.  I got lots of great freebees--enough hand sanitizers, pens, pencils and erasers to last until the end of my career.  I got tee shirts and post-its, key chains and notebooks.  Best of all, I got a flashmaster, a little hand held computer that drills basic arithmetic facts in a really fun way.  You might think, teaching high school, I don't need this, but you are wrong.

I didn't bother going to most of the workshops and lectures.  Spending my weekend listening to that stuff held no appeal.  I did go to the Town Hall meeting with Michael Mulgrew (got my ticket though a UFT contest writing an essay about effective teaching) and I got to speak!  I got to speak out about how Value-added evaluation will pit teacher against teacher and how I am a 36 year veteran teacher, still going strong.  The crowd seemed to love my comments, but I don't have much faith in any difference they will make.  The only other session I went to was one with Dr. Oz.  I refused to wait on line to see him, so I sat all the way on the side.  I didn't mind watching on the big screen since I'm not a fan.  (I never saw him before.)

I didn't notice Cathie Black or Michael Bloomberg anywhere on the progam, which seemed kind of strange to me.  You would think, the Education Mayor and the Chancellor would definitely be key note speakers at a conference hosted in the city they represent.  Could it be that people who celebrate learning see how education has been harmed under their leadership?  It is probably a good thing they didn't show up.  I bet they would have grabbed all the samples and left none for the people who need them.

Mulgrew's Propoganda

From Mulgrew's latest e-mail:

We reached a landmark agreement with the city to shut down the so-called "rubber rooms" and put a faster, fairer hearing process in place.

Go visit Fidgety or Moriah and get the facts from people who have been there.

Mulgrew and company are feeding us some pretty heavy propaganda. For teachers like the two mentioned above, nothing has changed.