Leo responds to my RttT post.
Leo Casey, Vice President of Academic High Schools for the United Federation of Teachers in NY thinks I assumed too much from his EdWize post.
And perhaps I did.
He writes:
Fred,
It was not my intention in that post to take a position on how teacher
unions should respond to the issues surrounding RttT. Rather, I wanted
to point out how, for the New York Charter School Association, right
wing ideology trumps its ostensible support for charter schools. NYCSA
and the Charter School Center in NYC are constantly claiming that
teacher unions support cuts of charter school funding, simply because we
take that the position that all schools — charter and district –
should be in the same fiscal boat in tough budgetary times. They do this
in an effort to pit charter school teachers against district school
teachers, in the worst sort of narrow single interest group politics.
And when charter school and district school interests are aligned, such
as around the Campaign for Fiscal Equity and the RttT funds, they are
prepared to harm charters to get at district schools and pursue their
ideology.
The question of how to handle the challenges of the RttT funds is a
complicated and difficult one. If I was to take it on, I would do it
directly.
Thanks,
Leo
I look forward to hearing from Leo when or if he decides to take on the union response to RttT directly. The hour is getting late.
