Friday, May 17th marked another dark day for Emperor Rahm and his patrons. Karen Lewis and her CORE Caucus have emerged victorious in a landslide victory (80%) over the Rahm/CPS-backed Whatsername Caucus (Sorry but their names still escape me).Lewis and the CTU have been leading the charge against the mayor's massive school closing plan and have organi […]
Senator John Cullerton filed Senate Amendment 002 to Senate Bill 2404 on May 8, 2013.“…Eligible Tier I employees and eligible Tier I retirees may be required to make contributions toward the cost of coverage under a program of health benefits. The vested and enforceable contractual right to a program of health benefits is NOT offered as, and shall NOT be con […]
Simple Similes & SB2404Yesterday on the Mag Mile, in broad daylight and heavy foot traffic, an elderly lady was robbed by a group of young thugs who demanded her money and her jewelry. Perhaps you’ve read or heard about it. She estimated her loss in jewelry at approximately $100,000. The media is aghast at either the inattentiveness or callousness of […]
It's good to see UFT President Michael Mulgrew talking of mayoral dictatorship. Clearly, with 8 of 13 votes on the PEP, our fake school board, what Bloomberg wants, Bloomberg gets. Of course, this was apparent when mayoral control was established in 2002. At that time, the UFT supported it, perhaps even enabling it. As if that weren't enough, we su […]
I have no doubt that CORE is going to win the CTU election tomorrow. I don’t say this as a supporter, but I say this as somebody who believes in the teachers of this city and believes they will do what’s best for themselves and the students in their care. However, winning isn’t really enough. […]
For the next installment of our "Chiefs For Change Fail" series, let's head up north to Maine, where the very reformy Steven Bowen has had to confront the reality that his push for virtual learning is hardly universally popular: A group of digital-education experts is recommending that Maine create an online directory to help school districts […]
John Cullerton, Democratic Senate President, wrote Amendment 002 to his own “shared sacrifice compromise” pension bill, SB2404, on May 8. Two past-presidents and the present president of IEA have endorsed the bill while IEA robocalled and emailed all active teachers … Continue reading →
Notes by Donald March, chapter leader of Christopher Columbus HS Bronx Mayoral Forum. May 8, 2013. Christine Quinn, Bill DeBlasio, Bill Thompson, John Liu As has been the case at these forums or late, Christine Quinn arrives ahead of the pack and is allowed to speak and take questions first. She is a rather forceful […]
I have heard repeatedly in the past few years that teachers don’t want student teachers in their classrooms. The teachers are so focused on raising test scores that they can’t take the time to mentor the younger generation, and they are afraid to lose ground if they let a student teacher try a practice class. […]