The MORE Caucus is Dead

The Brooklyn Nets have had a great year (I even predicted that the Nets would be better
before the Knicks. More on my abilities later). Even though they are down 3-1 against the Sixers in the playoffs,, they have something to build on for next year and future years.

So what to do? Keep the core and attract a few free agents. If you were Kevin Durant where would you rather go? Knicks or the Nets? Give coach Kenny Atkinson and draft well. The Eastern Conference is wide open, even with the Greek Freak in Milwaukee.

But let's make believe the MORE Caucus took over the Nets. Ready?

First to go will be Kenny Atkinson. He will be replaced with a the coach from Leon Trotsky Middle School in Ithaca, NY. This coach actually doesn't know much basketball but rather he qualifies as a coach because he cares deeply about an indigenous tribe, called the Aswartere, of 15 members in the Brazilian rain forest. Their way of life and all 24 acres are being encroached upon by capitalists.   

Atkinson's firing will soon be followed by the jettisoning of D'Angelo Russell to Milwaukee for a 2028 2nd round draft choice. Russell fan afoul of new Nets Президент и генеральный директор (President and General Manager) Dermott Myrie and Peter Lamphere. They found out that D'Angelo is a capitalist.

Heck, both of them cut the entire team. In a press conference both Myrie and Lamphere claim they are not interested in winning and have signed the entire Washington Generals roster to replace the former Nets players. They even bring back Red Klotz from the dead to be an assistant coach. 

When asked from New York Post Nets beat writer Brian Lewis whether or not they want to win and if they are concerned about attendance and TV ratings Lamphere replied...

 "We really don't want to win. Wanting to win brings too much pressure. As for attendance and TV ratings, we only want the diehards. Only those that will believe blindly in whatever we do.  I don't care if 50 people show up at the Barclay's Center every night. Those are our parishioners; the Barclay's Center is our chapel, Myrie is their prophet and I am their God."

This is what the MORE Caucus has turned into. In 2016 the MORE Caucus received over 10k votes. This year, about 2,500. Pathetic (Read better analysis here and here).

WTF? How does a caucus that made a HUGE inroad three years ago completely muck it up? Because they wanted to. To be a member of the MORE Caucus, you had to be pure. You have to pray to the statues of Lamphere and Myrie. Both of them are delighted now. They have 2500 (give or take a few) people who they know will pucker up when they both bare their asses to be kissed. 

One last thing. I predicted that the MORE Caucus would receive no more than 5k votes (Last paragraph). I was ridiculed and mocked. But I was right. I am not claiming to be a soothsayer, just have very good intuition. Some people need to realize it. 

The MORE Caucus is nothing other than a charred pile of fecal matter now. It's time that Lamphere and Myrie look in the mirror and around them and see what they have wrought.

The only way to fix the MORE Caucus is to get rid of who is in charge and let the grown ups back. 

A Teacher Dies Yet Lives On in New Paltz

I turned 55 two weeks ago today. Along with the receding hairline comes a lot of thinking.
Thinking of one's mortality, where one has been and where one is going. Trying to eliminate the phrase "should have," and thinking of all the people that have come and gone from our lives.

Too often I want to re-connect with people who for lack of a better phrase have made up the story of my life. One regret I have always had came right came in late 1982. I was 18 and I reached out to the speech therapist I had seen from the age of four until I was in 3rd grade. I had wanted to show him the fruits of his hard work and that except for the slight lisp (the braces were what really curtailed it) that I talked fine.

Sadly, my mother died about a week before I was supposed to see him and I never even to notify him that I wasn't coming. I never called back. Never changed the date. He died in 2001.

About a month ago I found out that my 1st grade girlfriend had passed away. She was my age. Heart attack. We were friends on Facebook; we communicated, but she wasn't at any of the last two reunions nor did we see nor speak on the phone or whatever. The last time I saw her was over 30 years ago at the Fountain Diner in Hartsdale, NY.

Having said all this, I was saddened to hear about another long lost friend who died last week at the age of 53. Trish Rukeyser Lewis I knew as a camper and a counselor at Camp Sloane in Lakeville, CT, between 1977 and 1984. I was closer to her sister Jill (who was only there as a camper), and in fact Jill and I stayed in touch. Maybe until the mid 80's thereabouts.

I had heard that Trish was a teacher over the years from mutual friends and even recall hearing that she was battling cancer in the 90's. But I did not know the extent of the type of teacher she was. And you know what? I wasn't surprised.

This is from the New Paltz NY school district webpage (click to enlarge)...

One word. Wow! Second word. Amazing!

Talk about leaving a legacy behind. Talk about touching so many lives in which Trish will continue to live on in for decades to come. Is this, not what we want from our educators?

I want to do my best to avoid sounding cynical, but how the heck does one measure of put an algorithm on the type of teacher Trish was? Can an APPR do Trish or any teacher like her justice? There is no data, no professional development, no nothing that can measure her. This is what has happened to education in the last 15 years. We have all become a bunch of data collectors and have had all of our instincts surgical removed so we have become inane data driven drones regurgitating the latest soon to fail fad. The New Paltz community was blessed to have Trish and guess what? I bet her principal was blessed to have her as well.

Meanwhile, in NYC a teacher that questions why a student is in the wrong setting all of the sudden is facing termination. That it for the snark.

One more thing. Don't put off what can be done now. People die. Get to those people you have lost touch with or whatever before either of you die. Or do something that you been meaning to do now. Don't spend the rest of your years saying, "I should have."

Who I Voted for and Why on My UFT Ballot

The new ballots are in!! The new ballots are in!! The new ballots are in!!

And just for the record I can see into the future and know that Unity will win.

This has been the first time since 2007 or so that I haven't voted slate. I picked good people that I know. My vote might not mean anything, but at least I can live with my values. I have yet to vote for Andrew Cuomo (always have used a write in), did the same with Hilary Clinton when she ran for the Senate.

I vote for candidates from Unity, New Action, and even Solidarity. I refused to vote for anyone from MORE. I even noticed that MORE's equivalent to Greg Marmalard (Mike Stivers click here) and Douglas C Neidermeyer (Adam Sanchez click here) are running. PUKE!

So here who is I voted for and why.

President: Lydia Howrilka Solidarity

We have had our issues. We have gotten by that, and I see she has grown. She truly wants to help teachers and education and is not driven by ego.

Assistant Secretary: Mike Sill Unity

Mike is a stand up guy in an impossible job. He has come through other ATRs as well as myself. He works hard.

VP Elementary: Johnathan Hinesley Solidarity

John is a great guy. Very dedicated and very passionate.  He'll make a good VP.

VP Special Ed: Quinn Zannoni

Quinn comes highly recommended. I admired that he showed up, as well as Lydia and John, to ICE meetings in an attempt for reconciliation. That shows guts.

Executive Board at Large: Mindy Rosier-Rayburn Unity, Amy Arundell Unity, Mary Atkinson Unity, Michael Shulman New Action 
 
Does Mindy really need any explaining? She's great. I am honored she considers me a friend. Mindy will be independent and do what is right. Amy, same reason as Mike Sill. Both Mindy and Amy got me through my suspension. Mary Atkinson is very accessible, and I know she will do right by a certain school in District 7. Shulman? I have met him once, and I like him. Impeccable dresser and showed restraint and did not invoke the Castle Doctrine when a crazy person showed up at his house.

Convention Delegates: In addition to the above mentioned who are already running as delegates I am voting for Jonathan Halabi New Action, Bill Woodruff Unity, Arthur Goldstein Unity, Mike Schirtzer Unity, and Jeff Povalitis Unity 

Jonathan is as smart as a whip, and I have seen him in action helping a teacher. He is extremely caring of the teachers in his school and wish he ran for an office position. Bill Woodruff is my district rep and has saved my ass a few times and not just me. This guy really gives a shit.,

As for Arthur and Mike. I can't vote for them for HS exec board, but I can vote for them as delegates. I really wish people will leave them the fuck alone. I do not believe for one iota of a second that power has gone to their head or that they have been seduced. Along with Mindy I believe that they can better affect change from within and will be successful. Think of them as a virus that has been implanted within Unity. Or better yet, there are guaranteed to be three people on exec boards that you know you can go to and they will listen to you and help you unconditionally. Can't beat that.

As for Jeff Povalitis, I like him even though he is Phillies fan. He likes busting principals balls and if memory serves he was behind this getting the UFT involved quite quickly.

One prediction. Going by slate votes from 2016 MORE had over 10k votes. My prediction is that MORE's slate vote will be less than 5k. Which MORE will claim as a victory. Hell, if they got 25 votes for their fruity little caucus MORE will be happy, twenty five sycophantic brainless followers can serve them well.