Did you read
Stuyvesant High School's noted sycophant
Matt Polazzo's op-ed piece in
today's Daily News? I did, and we have yet another
UFT member, and teacher suckling at the sphincter of administration just like Ariel Sacks. Unfortunately, Matt distorts facts just as bad as Ariel Sacks. Matt wants the
UFT contract torn up.Taking apart his ramblings seems so unfair. Like shooting fish in a barrel. So what does Matt have to say?
"Even hotter is the buzz about what to do with teachers who get paid for staying outside the classroom."
Explain yourself Matt. You mean the literacy coach? The math coach? These people are integral parts of the school community. They work with, especially new teachers, on setting up curriculum, letting all teachers know the latest in their fields and are a vital part of the school community. Surely you don't mean reading specialists, or ESL teachers. Aren't they vital to the school community as well?
But what makes one wonder is why are you contradicting yourself Matt? The crack
SBSB investigation team has uncovered this from the
New York Times, February 19, 2006:"It’s a huge phenomenon,” said Matt Polazzo, the coordinator of student affairs at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, referring to the compulsive habit of teenagers to snap everything in their lives, especially self-portraits. “Just yesterday I had a girl sitting on the couch in my office...."
Curious, you had an out of classroom position, and with an office no less. Matt, you are contradicting yourself here aren't you?
"The controversy was stirred up by Stephen Brill's article "The Rubber Room," featured in the Aug. 31 New Yorker. It shows the incredible lengths the United Federation of Teachers has gone to protect bad teachers."
Yeah, incredible lengths the
UFT goes through. Yes, I agree there are bad teachers out there, there are teachers that physically and have sexually abused children. But, they are all allowed due process. But Matty, what about the teachers who are there because the blew the whistle? Who just didn't get along with the principal? It is so, so, so easy for a principal, if she or he doesn't like you, to get you in the Rubber Room. Perhaps you should check out
rubberroomovie.com.
Oh, and as far as quoting and taking anything Stephen Brill has to say, remember this is the man who wanted to show students commercials in class. Consider the source.
"On top of that, a giant pool of educators who have lost their jobs due to budget cuts and incompetence are paid full salaries not to teach - and this separate reserve pool contains over 1,100 members."
Define incompetence. Please. Or better yet, define why you think you are so wonderful.
"In my 11 years in the system, I have seen a teacher drag a boy down the stairs by his ankles, seen a teacher break down and start weeping when asked a basic question about chemistry and seen far more who do an absolutely minimal amount of work and dole out high grades to keep students content."
Do you know the context in which the boy was dragged by the ankles? If you know this did you report it? As far as the chemistry teacher weeping, what was the question Matt? Are you one hundred percent sure his license was chemistry? Do you know that principals have had the tendency in the past to have teachers teach out of license. Do you have all the facts? As for as doing a minimal amount of work, define minimal? How do you know this? As far as teachers doling out high grades I suggest you look at the credit recovery so espoused by Tweed and the controversy going on at Lehman High School now. Isn't that more shocking Matt?
"It is the gigantic and ridiculous 165-page UFT contract, which is relentlessly defended by union leaders. The contract expired Saturday; negotiations are underway to replace it."
Hey Matt make you a deal. If and ever you are brought into your
principal's office, or are investigated, do not take any advantage of your chapter chair, or any legal services the
UFT might offer you. But you won't. You will be the first to whine and beg for the
UFT to take care of you.
"Then he told me that I should grade student work based solely on how neat the penmanship was. I looked at the work he had evaluated in this manner and saw that he had given a 100 to a student who claimed that Abraham Lincoln had won the Revolutionary War. This teacher got three times my salary."
If true, wrong, but again you do not supply the context. As far as making 3X your salary,
SBSB has done some math. You have been teaching about 9-10 year so your salary is somewhere around 65K. So for this teacher to be making 3X your salary the teacher must be raking in.....HOLY SHIT!!!! That teacher is making $195,000!!!! Psst, Matt, does
Bloomy know this????
"If you are a New York City teacher, your pay is still determined almost entirely by the number of years you teach as well as your education level."
It is alike this all over the country, even in
Scarsdale.
"The contract mentions only two year-end ratings for a teacher: Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory. No other ranking is covered and thus allowed for."
Wrong!!! There is also N/A. Dang, Matt read the contract!!!
"An assistant principal once told me that she got in trouble with the union for suggesting that the principal rate a teacher Excellent. "No such rating," said the union rep."
Oh Matt, there is room on the year end evaluation for the principal to write in comments. But, you must want a "kisses ass so freaking well, and asks how high when asked to jump" rating.
"We must insist that a new contract contain three key provisions. The contract must allow administrators to fire bad teachers, give them the power to hire any teacher they want, and give administrators flexibility in setting the pay of their teachers."
In closing Matt, you really know how to make friends. You need, and will want the contract there for you if you are ever in a jam. You are a blatant hypocrite of the worse kind. Go slither back to the rock you crawled out under.