When we got back to where we were staying in Brooklyn after going to Occupy Wall Street on Sunday, I blogged a short post about the grade-in that was scheduled across the street from Liberty Park.
Teachers have been organizing these activities to demonstrate in a public way the work they do long after the dismissal bell rings at the end of the day. The conventional wisdom is that teachers work six hours and have summers off. As one Tea Party activist told my board, “Teachers have a cush job.”
Right. That’s why most teachers don’t last more than five years.
Liberty Square is packed. It gets more packed as each day goes by. So the group of teachers met across Broadway by a big red sculpture in a large open plaza. A few sat in folding chairs. Others sat on the ground. A few of the ubiquitous hand made signs were leaning against the fence surrounding the red sculpture. And they had tests to grade, papers to correct and school forms to fill out.
It was all very mellow.
So it was a bit surprising when the police made them leave.
What was more surprising was the response to the post.
Greg Toppo, national education reporter for USA Today, tweeted that maybe it was because the teachers were in violation of FERPA, a federal law that protects student’s confidential records.
I myself am doubtful that street cops in New York are too familiar with FERPA.
I tweeted Toppo back, “You’re kidding. Right.”
Other readers suggested it was because of the chairs. The police might have been concerned that they were blocking traffic.
They weren’t blocking traffic. And this all occurred across the street from Occupy Wall Street, which has been effectively blocking traffic for a month.
No. I think it was petty harassment.
Even more surprising was that so far the post has received 7,000 page views since Sunday afternoon. I have received well over a hundred comments. Whole threads have developed in the comment section. They have come from England, India, Canada and Australia.
This is a huge response for a blog like mine This is a bigger response than I got over the same time to the Jonah Edelman posts.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that the post was picked up and featured by WordPress on their Fresh Press list.
It mirrors the surprising response to Occupy Wall Street itself.
I’m telling you. Something is going on
Fred Klonsky 
Its nothing more than petty harassment, and the NYPD should get a life.
It’s about to get bigger, too. Gird yourself … good job!