New Haven Independent

Posted by: TheVin | October 12, 2009 4:54 PM

Some of that federal money is MY money,,,and NO you cant have anymore,,, try me....

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 12, 2009 8:22 PM

If you vote for this contract,This will be you next.
http://thewashingtonteacher.blogspot.com/2009/10/rhees-legacy-of-no-accountability.html

Posted by: Teacher | October 13, 2009 7:23 AM

The evaluation piece of this contract is most worrying. I'm a good teacher whose students often exceed local and national performance levels on standardized tests, but I know that the first is not the sole cause of the latter. I'm lucky to have students who were well-prepared by their teachers before me, and who sometimes have grown up in environments that increase their ability to take advantage of the education offered them. Other teachers are not as lucky. That doesn't mean they are any less skilled as teachers as I am.

Additionally, what test scores will be used? After 8th grade, the only standardized test students MUST take is the CAPT. They take it in 10th grade. What scores will be used to evaluate 9th grade teachers (or 11th or 12th for that matter)? The CAPT assesses students' abilities in reading, writing, math, and science. What test scores will be used to evaluate teachers of foreign language, or art, or physical education?

While I support the use of student performance on a variety of tests (in high school - CAPT, AP, SATs, national foreign language exam competitions) to evaluate a school as a whole, disaggregating those scores in order to evaluate performance teacher-by-teacher seems to target unfairly teachers whose disciplines and grade levels are directly related to a test. I wonder if it's simply a tactic designed to divide teachers against teachers.

Posted by: Concerned Union Member | October 13, 2009 7:39 AM

I always hear the union president telling us we are professionals and should be treated as such. "You don't have to clock in. You're a teacher not a factory worker," he says. If this is the case, then why would our union leadership prevent the membership from reviewing this complex document? We have been told that everything's peachy keen, just come on down and "ratify" the contract. If the contract is so great, then why didn't we get access to it over the weekend, to prepare for the union vote that is planned for today. Why aren't teachers trusted? Does anyone sense the irony? Our jobs require us to teach critical thinking skills to young people, yet when it comes time for us to use these skills ourselves, our leadership, our mayor and our Board of Education all deny us the opportunity. I encourage all Union Members to think long and hard before going along for the ride. They need us a lot more than they're willing to show. And if the vote has to wait a week, so be it. What other profession would be treated this way?

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | October 13, 2009 5:06 PM

TEACHER, If you think that good teachers before you helped your students achieve, isn't that measureable? Similarly, you will continue to help your students progress and their future teachers will thank you.

The train has left the yard on the focus on outcomes. Instead of griping about tests, you should be helping the district to design a robust accountability plan that rewards what you believe are the right teacher behaviors.

CONCERNED UNION MEMBER:

I do sense the irony. You teach critical thinking skills to students which provides them with the ability to make all kinds of independent choices in their lives. And yet YOU choose to belong to a professional organization which wants nothing to do with independent critical thought!

You ask what other kind of profession "would be treated this way". Let me ask you, what other kind of knowedge-based profession with such an important role in our society relies on collective bargaining? Unions are organizations that are helpful to individuals who have made the decision that they are better off negotiating in a group instead of on their own. They were important when our country had masses of factory workers with little formal education or even literacy. Does that sound like what a teacher is supposed to be in 2009?

Since the 1960s teacher unions, through their politcal dominance, have caused irreparable damage to generations of urban school children. And now it seems the union isn't working for thoughtful and critical teachers like you!

So why don't you start thinking critically for yourself and step up and burn your union card? Then provide your students a civics lesson by testifying before the CT. legislature about why its terrible policy to be a forced unionism state.

Teacher unions have no place in public education.

Posted by: Cross Teacher | October 13, 2009 6:55 PM

Fix the Schools: Here are some knowledge-based professions with important roles in our society who rely on collective bargaining: nurses, other hospital personnel, college professors, and librarians. There are probably others, but these are just off the top of my head.

Posted by: JOSIAHBROWNFORMAYOR | October 13, 2009 8:24 PM

Yeah great Union President Dave C. gets a seat at the Mayor's table at the Lawn Club...

The city is maintaining (decreased) salary increases and increased employee benefit contributions at what expense? Carte blanche on reform in the teachers' contract??? I am not suggesting that the NHFT should not be a "partner" in reform, but is it necessary to include it in the labor contract and to totally undermine the CBA in order to do so?

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 13, 2009 8:31 PM

Fix the schools
Teacher unions have no place in public education.

All a union does is to protect the rights of there workers. Teachers like every one else should have the right to a union.If unions are so bad in education then why do most college professors belong to a union.

http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/bargaining/aaup-unionism.htm

Also people talk about teachers have tenure. there is a reason for tenure.

http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?ID=2696

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenure
Bottom line this is about unionbusting and corporate take over of the schools.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm

http://www.counterpunch.org/macaray03202009.html

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=a_world_without_teacher_unions

Posted by: Tom Burns | October 14, 2009 1:07 AM

Hey Fix,
You have gone overboard, which I thought was impossible as you were already in the water, with your cockeymamy thoughts. The courageous NHFT is taking a chance on a real reform movement and you stoop to this at this time. Now I know for sure that your motives are simply not real. Corporate America has targeted education as their next conquest and I'm sure you're a beneficiary in some way, but this is where it ends. Our staff is the best, and given the ability to determine how to educate our children I am more than sure we are up to the task. Get out of our way and we will allow you to copy our methods in other urban districts. This is our moment in time and we plan on making it something for others to emulate. Time for you to back off with the garbage you spew and watch how it is done by true professionals.. Tom Burns
I'd like to thank all my colleagues for taking a brave stand today at our ratification meeting. Your courage is commendable and I want you to know that I am so proud to be able to say that I work with you.

Posted by: Vidar Simpson | October 14, 2009 6:43 AM

FIX - Union bashing isn't helpful to this discussion. As my young daughter learned in school "teasing isn't pleasing." Neither is union bashing. You now have all the ducks lined up to complete the insidious coupe you've been planning for years for New Haven's youngsters. Let's see what you do with Cross high school (omitting the upper track which no doubt will secede from the new school regime plan). Teach for America, young people with lots of enthusiasm, no experience and no credentials are not the answer for New Haven's comprehensive high schools. By the way, when do you begin on the health care issue. Do you believe there should be no unions for Yale workers? Are you against all unions?

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | October 14, 2009 1:26 PM

Unions are generally not great for America's competitiveness and long term economic health. Unionism promotes principles like mediocrity, group thinking, and abhors individual incentives to produce stellar results. The movement is provider focused at the expense of being customer focused. However, if unions want to ruin U.S. industry then that is their right. God bless the GM retirees. I think in a free market and a free country, you should be free to start or join a union. (Unlike Connecticut where every public school teacher is FORCED to join the union). Similarly, opponents of unions should be free to bash them.

But here is the rub: In industry, there are unions, management, and shareholders which all negotiate with each other for a piece of the profit pie. Strong unions can deliver strong contracts which benefit their members economically. The only thing that the three constituencies are fighting for are a split of the profits. So what happens to the customers? Their experience is “regulated” by competition. In other words, if the company over-rewards any of its three internal constituencies at the expense of customer quality or which results in a high product price, the free market will punish that company (See GM again) and they will ultimately go out of business.

In public education, there are no profits to fight over (Nor SHOULD there be, Tom and 3/5). The constituencies that give up benefits are the taxpayers and the students. The taxpayer gets screwed in CT. because the union has fought at every turn to defeat any real competition to their monopoly on the public education system. So the taxpayer customer cannot “vote with their feet”. They are trapped into accepting mediocre to horrific outcomes which the system delivers reliably every year. Because of the political power of the union, CT. has very poor charter funding laws and doesn’t have a voucher law. The unions have effectively prevented any real competition from springing up.

Which brings us to the students. It’s bad enough that taxpayers are getting screwed because they can’t demand better results for their money. But for the students, their very lives are at stake. Everything that the union receives typically comes at the expense of children. And in urban poverty areas, children generally don’t have powerful advocates even in their parents. (See: Lack of parent involvement). As a result, we have a 6 ½ hour school day, summers off with full pay, the highest teacher salaries in the country, the least amount of teacher accountability, - and all this comes together to produce, voila’ - the country’s largest achievement gap.

A Caveat: The politically controlled administration is as worthy of historic blame as is the union. So why aren’t I bashing them? They WERE bashed – for years. However, that is precisely what is changing now under DeStefano. Because of the mayor’s 180 degree turn, and the willingness to be held accountable for the outcomes, the political leadership is no longer the problem. The unions are now front and center.

Look, it is a good thing that a new contract has been signed. It’s better than the old one. But I’ve never been an incrementalist on this issue and the union seems to be ok with slow reform. Seems to me like we have to keep pushing.

Tom, I’d stop bashing the teacher union leadership if it stopped cloaking itself in rhetoric about being student focused. You’re not.

“I’ll start representing the interests of school children when school children start paying union dues” – Albert Shanker, Founder of the United Federation of Teachers.

Posted by: Tom Burns | October 14, 2009 3:40 PM

Fix,
Albert Shanker does not speak for me. Our teachers union represents the interests of everyone, foremost the students. Don't worry about incremental change, we are in whole hog. It sounds like you are a bit worried we might get this right and stop your wish for a corporate take over of schools. You state there are no profits to fight over in education---Did you ever hear of the Edison Schools? Your true colors are showing now. Why don't you just jump on this train and support us in this important endeavour---Tom

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | October 14, 2009 4:49 PM

Tom, I appreciate that you love the kids. But in your role as a union representative, you have a legal and fiduciary obligation to represent the interests of your dues-paying members, all of whom happen to be adults. It is simply ridiculous to claim that your union represents the students foremost.

I hope that the way to interpret last night's vote is that the vast majority of teachers are excited to be part of this reform plan. If that is the case, then I take no issue with the rank and file. I also think it is to be expected that the teachers want to watch how the administrators embrace their OWN standards of accountability. On that we agree.

But the fact is that unions have nothing to do with better outcomes for kids. Great teachers do. And because you have always wanted to group the bad teachers in with the good teachers, your union has kept great teachers from realizing their potential in terms of professional aspirations and compensation.

At best, the union is a side show. At worst it is a serious impediment to getting more kids prepared for college. The very philosophy of your organization is completely at odds with lifting the teaching profession up from a 20th century assembly line model and into a new era of highly skilled, highly effective, highly accountable, and yes highly compensated professionals.

Let me surprise you here, Tom. Edison schools have done some good things for kids. But it is a model that has not succeeded because it is a for profit model. While they may get good results in some cases, the very appearance of returning money to investors which wasn't spent on children renders the concept fundamentally misguided. For-profit K-12 operators are politically radioactive and so in my mind just another side show.

Also, since I don't believe in a for-profit school model, I wouldn't know what a "corporate takeover" would accomplish. Perhaps you, 3/5, or some other conspiracy theorist could explain what "corporatists" like Bloomberg want with owning the system in the first place.

What I do believe in is the power of competition in the form of charters and vouchers, parent choice, clear accountability at all levels, differentiated pay for performance, an appointed school board, and the right for individual teachers to negotiate their own contract if they want to opt out of collective bargaining.

Lastly, VIDAR..."insidious coupe"? I can't wait to hear how you think that insisting on bringing the quality of education for urban minorities up to levels enjoyed by suburban whites is insidious. You think poverty born out of a lack of a college education has to plague our community forever?

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 14, 2009 5:36 PM

FixTheSchools

I�ll start representing the interests of school children when school children start paying union dues� � Albert Shanker, Founder of the United Federation of Teachers.

Yes Albert Shanker did say the above statement. But He also said this.

P.S. This could be you next.

http://normsnotes2.blogspot.com/2009/10/marx-and-lenin-for-nobel-

Shanker stressed that the battle went beyond the certain loss of thousands of public school jobs. He urged the nation to consider what would happen to public schools should Congress approve tax credits. "Eventually the public schools will be left with only with those students who cannot be accepted by any private schools, or those expelled from private schools or those too poor to pay tuition," he warned. More than any other leader, Shanker brought a wider perspective to the fight against tax credits and, later, to vouchers. At stake was more than turf and vested interests, he believed. At stake was the nation's commitment to universal public education�a theme he would stress repeatedly as AFT president.

"The tuition tax credits fight brought him, I believe, to take up myriad questions that now include not only tax credits but vouchers and charter schools, academic standards, the teacher quality issues of preparation and professional development, how schools should be managed, staffed and organized, how big they should be and what kinds of curriculum they should use," says Eugenia Kemble, who worked closely with Shanker on education issues for nearly 30 years and directs a new AFT institute. "When this serious threat to the future of public education hit, he realized the union's response to what was wrong with schools had to be comprehensive."

Yes fix that's right your main man albert shanker
was not for Tax credits vouchers and charter schools, academic standards, the teacher quality issues of preparation and professional development

http://www.ashankerinst.org/AT/teacher1.html

Did you know that him also was for Collective Bargaining for teachers.

http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/files/63.11.pdf

He even said that the teachers should have a union. Even till this day The Albert Shanker Institute says A significant percentage of unorganized professionals would like to be represented in their workplaces by a union or some other type of "employee organization." This conclusion, drawn from two recent studies, comes in spite of the fact that many professionals hold a stereotypical view of unions as overly confrontational.

These findings may help to explain a recent upsurge in union activity among professionals, including last year�s vote by the American Medical Association to form a union for doctors, the decision by the New York State Psychological Association to affiliate with the American Federation of Teachers, the beginnings of an employee organization at Microsoft, the success of a 40-day strike by engineers at Boeing�s Seattle-area facilities this spring, and a successful nurses strike in Washington, D.C., this fall.

The studies, which were commissioned by the Albert Shanker Institute, also indicate that professionals want a workplace organization--whether or not they classify it as a union--which would serve their professional interests, as much as their economic concerns.

http://www.albertshanker.org/Downloads/professionalsurveyrelease.html

AS far as the tax payer geting screwed in ct. It is not from the unions in this country it is the corporate plutocracy that runs this country. Case and ponit Look at The machinists union at pratt and whitney who offered give backs and look what happen,Jos will be going over seas. and this is happing across this country ,Unions are offering give backs and people are still losing there jobs or taking a pay cut.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/business/economy/14income.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1255522304-8a6w8Kuej9iqIpln9cU6Pg
Fix wake up this about union busting and not just about teachers and the students education In fact my friend who has the radio show told me that State and Ctiy run collages are next in line.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 14, 2009 6:12 PM

FixTheSchools
Can you disprove anything that I have wrote about this subject.Can you produce any proof that what I wrote is a conspiracy,Please show me.As far as Bloomberg want to own the system,I never said that,What Bloomberg is doing is set up his corporatist friends to own the system.This is how the corporate plutocracy works. He is a good book to read,Just got finish reading it. And this Writer is not a conspiracy theorist.

http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev173.htm

P.S. How could you have faith in Mayor Blommberg,This is the same corporatist who cut a deal to get rid of term limits after the people voted for term limits so he could run again for office. What happen to the peoples vote.Makes me wonder why he did that, How about you.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 15, 2009 5:38 AM

FixTheScools
Look like you main man klein and Bloomberg have a cover up problem or would you call it a conspiracy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/education/15scores.html?hp

Posted by: teachergal | October 15, 2009 7:01 AM

I have to say i was a bit nervous voting on the contract at last Tuesday's meeting but not as nervous as I would have been if it went into arbitration. Unfortunately, I do not have the same trust in the decisions of arbitrators as I do in union leadership. This new contract gives everyone a raise, insignificant but a raise nonetheless, protects our medical benefits, and keeps class size to 26/27 students per class which is already too large IMHO.

If there is no collective bargaining then how do large groups of employees protect their rights? Should we not have the benefit of yearly raises and medical benefits? The administrators have all of these things and more. Let's talk about their union and what they get. From what I understand, they get to take all sick time monies with them when they retire which is what teachers also did years ago. Now that's an incentive not to be sick when you know you have a bank account of sick days that you will be paid when you retire. Should that be allowed to continue also?

Again, without union support how could we trust the city to support teachers and students? And yes, they do support students, without collective bargaining we would probably have 50 students in a class!

Posted by: Josiah Brown | October 15, 2009 7:31 AM

Readers may be interested in a 2007 biography of Shanker, "Tough Liberal," by Richard D. Kahlenberg.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | October 15, 2009 8:30 AM

I was going to respond, but I'll defer to a professional. so here it is, hot off the press from today's NYT, inked by a longtime DEMOCRAT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/opinion/15kristof.html

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | October 15, 2009 12:19 PM

Fixtheschools
I notice you did not respond to Albert Shanker postion on tax credits,vochers collective bargaining and unions for teachers all in which he believe in and push for. Also I notice you did't respond to Klein and Bloomberg cover up of test scores.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/education/15scores.html?hp

Here is another good friend of mine. Check this out.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/sharptongingrich-traveling-salt-and-pepper-educational-minstrel-show

Last if you want check out a real professional on this subject He was on c-span get you some popcorn
and check this video out.

http://www.booktv.org/Watch/10694/In+Depth+Jonathan+Kozol.aspx

Will wait for your response.