Holding Back Tenure from Teachers

The city is so happy that more teachers are being denied tenure. What will this accomplish? More people will exit from this decaying system. Since the city is so happy to list this, how about listing the number of suspensions of unruly pupils this year as well as the number of students going to alternative schools ?. It's because of the lack of student behavior that teachers can't teach. Let's be fair on all accounts.

Mayor B on Education

Mayor Bloomberg testified in Washington today.
He spoke about the great strides made in education in N.Y.C. and attributed these improvements to the gains that the city made in their recent contracts with the Principals' Union and UFT.
The principals gave up tenure to get a hefty raise. Why did they do this? Many voted for this as they knew they were retiring. As a result, they left their colleagues holding the bag. The mayor and Mr. Klein would love to do the same with teachers.
As for the UFT, they gave up plenty in the 2005 contract which I have discussed in a previous blog. Suffice to say that the teaching staff in the city is and will always be suffering from the contract gains that the city made in '05.

Where the 29% Comes From

N.Y.C. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a 71% favorable rating in the latest polls conducted. Believe me, the 29% who don't think this way are definitely members of the New York City school sytem.

Don't Take Me Out to the Baseball Game

Anyone paying to see the outrageous prices at the all-star game deserve to be labeled suckers of the year. Why pay for men to stand with a stick and hit the ball?
As far as the nostalgia being created by the demise of Yankee Stadium,the taxpayers are paying for this new stadium whether you like it or not. Why glorify George Steinbrenner? Didn't President Nixon pardon him? No wonder Mr. S donated plenty when Nixon ran for the presidency.
The Congressional area where the stadium is located is one of the poorest in the nation. In reality, will the people living there benefit from a new stadium? Methinks not. Ditto for the demise of Shea Stadium.

The New Allies

How interesting. Al Sharpton and Joel Klein are going to team up to try to improve inner city schools. I couldn't think of 2 people who know less about our schools than these 2 jokers.
I've heard that Al was quite a character in his days at Tilden H.S. Everyone at the school knew to give him a 65 in their course so as just to pass him on.
As for the current chancellor, what he has done in his years in the system, Gen. Sherman did not accomplish with his march through Georgia.
If you really want to see improvements in these so called schools, it's time to restore the 600 school concept for the unruly. Longer days and longer years? For what? The current student population is literally bouncing off the walls by the middle of the day. There is no discipline in far too many of our schools. Children run amok through the halls. The best part of this battered system is that it is being run by people who never taught one day.
Our schools will never improve until we allow corporal punishment for the unruly, and that teachers are given the upperhand. Teachers are on the front lines. Give them the needed respect they so richly deserve. Teachers must be allowed to suspended the chronically disruptive recalcitrants.
Of course, this nonsense that school is for everyone needs to stop. Attending school must be regarded as a privilege, not a right.
You know who the people are who know about this city? Police, fireman and teachers. Teachers in this town have a lot in common with the sanitation department. While we have some great children out there, teachers are also dealing with plenty of garbage each day.
By the way, what has been the productivity of our uniformed service members? It's the teachers in this town who have been scapegoated by working longer for more pay. Ms. Weingarten, that's not a raise!
Has Chancellor Klein ordered his principals to bring up the parents of the chronically disruptive child and read to them the riot act before school begins?
No, we'll just have another year of full test preparation as children run wild, teachers retire or quit en masse and those in the classroom pray for another June to come as quickly as possible.

A Trade to Forget

Imagine, Israel had to give up 5 animals to get back two deceased soldiers. The "chaledias" from Hezbollah certainly pulled off a fast one. One of the animals that Israel gave back to them killed a man 29 years ago in front of his small child. The animal then killed the girl by crushing her skull.
How could eretz Yisroel conclude such a trade? Something is terribly wrong with Olmert to allow this. Was Olmert pressured into such an agreement?
The Horrible Hezbollah should be wiped from the face of the earth. They should only join Hitler in hell. I'd love to hear our presidential candidates comment on this swap. How can anyone justify this? Sad day for sure in Israel.

A New Thought for Education

I knew a doctor who almost didn't become one because of the foreign language requirement that he had to face. This physician was brilliant and a terrific doctor as well. Had he not been able to practice medicine, the profession would have really suffered. Dr. Max was my doctor for many years. When he told me the story, I was shocked. Of course, having excelled in foreign languages in high school and college, I found this hard to fathom.
My weakness was in chemistry. To put it mildly folks, I was a chemical retardant. The teacher that I had for chemistry at Erasmus Hall High School was a nightmare for me. She spoke way above my head and I knew little of what she was talking about. Instead of having some compassion for me, she went after yours truly and others who were weak in her discipline. This is what she accomplished. I walked out of chemistry despising her as well as the subject. Luckily, I had a more normal person the following term and in college I had the chemistry instructor of my dreams. He brought the material down to my level.
This is what is basically wrong with education in this country. You can be ruined by being weak in one particular subject. This is wrong. I wound up teaching English and social studies for 32 years prior to my 2001 retirement. Of course, there are people out there who shall answer me by saying that you need to have a well-rounded education. Nonsense! Not everyone is excellent in all subjects. I proved that so many years ago.
The horrible teacher I had won all kinds of accolades at Columbia University for excellence in teaching chemistry. What excellence? Lord only knows the damage she did to others as well as the potential careers she may have ruined.