Sunday, September 29

 

   I haven’t written in awhile. I guess I don’t have much to say these days, other than for the first time in many years I’m content. I’m up in Albany this weekend visiting my son and opened my Post app this morning https://nypost.com/2019/09/28/de-blasio-knew-of-maspeth-hs-alleged-grade-fixing-but-failed-to-act-queens-councilman/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons  The Post is reporting some of what has been going in public schools. The same things that have been going on for at least twenty years, and much that was initiated by Bloomberg. Strange the Post never reported any of it back then. What could be the possible result of all this?

    There is a good chance mayoral control will be lifted from Mayor Bill. A mayor, who’s in charge of the schools, can’t ignore compelling complaints and verifiable proof of rampant academic fraud, while touting just the opposite. If deBlasio’s control is lifted, the charter school cap will be lifted as well. DeBlasio has completely thwarted the charter school vampires. This is the true reason the Post has involved itself, and major reason why the UFT and CSA support deBlasio.  Carranza is irrelevant - he is deBlasio’s employee. The UFT has entwined themselves with the CSA in more ways than just this. It has refused to stand up to or publicly address corrupt principals. These DOE, UFT and CSA  maneuvers remind me of the evil elegance of capitalism’s triangular trade during our country’s long slave eras.

    That the UFT, CSA and DOE embrace this type of business model and all its inherent atrocities is indicative of what they have all become - incredibly corrupt, self serving entities that have betrayed their constituents - students, teachers, parents, union members and tax payers of NYC. One of the major components of their shared business model is Fair Student Funding. FSF creates an artificial incentive for individual schools to hire the least expensive and thus least experienced teacher. The double dues - one from the displaced teacher and the other from the new hire stops the UFT from fighting FSF and all that goes with it - the ATR pool, teaching as a transitory job and the ideals of real education - which is very much at odds with the school as business model. All this will cause a large uptick in teachers refusing to pay dues next June. Many, including myself, see the UFT for what it is - a complete sham. Many want and need a separate union - separate from the UFT. We see the UFT as corrupt, undemocratic and increasingly putting its own idiosyncratic self interests ahead of the rank and file and of the students that rely on us as teachers and as de facto part time parents. How many teachers have continually reported outrages for years to a deaf UFT? When the charter cap is lifted and attendance drops to half, what’s going to happen? It will be too late then for teachers to demand an honest and responsive union. The ship will sink fast and all the Mulgrews and Weingartens will jump off very quickly.

P.S. DeBlasio’s current embracing of corporate deformers https://nypost.com/2019/10/03/bill-de-blasio-will-tap-private-donors-to-help-create-new-schools-expand-20-more/?utm_source=url_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttonsis a play to stop the schools from being lifted out of his control. This goes against everything he has publicly stated and denigrates his message and leadership. It also seems desperate.