Supporting Teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day

I have been blogging for a little over 10 1/2 years now. I didn't expect to be blogging this
long nor did I expect all the good and bad that came with blogging. I just started out thinking I had an original idea (found out after about 24 hours many others had the same idea) and it took off. And here I still am.

One thing that has been constant is that I truly want to help those teachers that feel so alone and helpless in their struggles. I was quite fortunate that I had a fantastic support system during the time of my 3020-a and I want to pay it forward and do whatever I can to help those teachers who feel so alone and abused by the system.

Back in February at the last (Last ever?) ICE meeting, I gave an impassioned plea for ICE to rally around and do whatever it can to help out a teacher. But Norm was right, ICE as presently configured was not set up for that. And that I understand. The MORE Caucus was never truly interested in rolling up its sleeves and getting down on the dirt to help teachers in need. Solidarity? Yeah, they really are passionate about the same thing, and they got a set of balls (I say that in a good way) but I am not crazy about some of their tactics and the "one size fits all" method of help. And of course there are other things.

But I will continue to do whatever I can. And if I don't know the answer, I will find out or do what is necessary. If it warrants an attorney, I will send a teacher to Bryan Glass or Jordan Harlow.

I know how painful and stressful going through a 3020-a is. I learned from Norm Scott and (I don't think I have ever mentioned this name) Patrick Walsh. They talked me off the precipice several times.

The teachers I have talked to, or helped, I have taken , I don't know how to say this. A personal (I am trying hard not to make this seem about me) stake? Living vicariously? Something or other, in their cases, in the outcomes. My support is 100% unconditional. Sometimes it might not have seemed it. There were times, I put myself first (not in a horrible way) and it was not right. But one thing I always thought of, besides giving support, is that I want that teacher protected and to know that God will always see what is right and karma will come and bite those on that wronged them right on their ass.

I have learned much from  these teachers I have supported. Each and every single one of them means something to me.

I don't think I dropped the ball ever, but might have lost a grip for a split second, and for that I am sorry.

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.

Paul Egan Misuses UFT Issued Equipment

I went into the deli this morning to get breakfast and there right in front of me was the headline on today's Daily News about a sex scandal that has roiled the UFT. And sadly I was not surprised. Norm Scott had a feeling something was up earlier last week. Little did he know that wasn't the only thing "up."

Paul Egan, the UFT's political leader and director of chapter something or other who had been being paid over $190k a year was fired for using UFT issued cell phones and computers to sext and presumably other stuff with his a female UFT lawyer who according to the Daily News is a subordinate.

Frankly I do not care who he was banging. I don't care whether or not Egan or his babe have spouses. Yes, there are issues being involved with a subordinate, but what happens between two consenting adults is their business.

What I do take umbrage with his using dues monies to text photos of his junk using phones and computers paid for by the rank and file. Again, be as filthy and naughty as you want. Just use your cell and your computer.

I take offense that this man is paid, according to the Daily News...

...a salary of $192,102 in 2018 plus $25,757 in expenses, according to union filing

And what did he do to earn such a top flight salary within the UFT? I guess it all started when he was a teacher at PS 113 in the Bronx and he told he 7th graders before a standardized test to sharpen their pencils and just by an amazing coincidence the answers for the first 11 questions were next to the sharpener! And then to be sure to cover his tracks his brain kicked into high gear and blabbered to the students...

“Don’t tell anyone that I helped you or you’ll be the ones who get into trouble.”

Hey, we're all allowed our Homer Simpson moments, right? Why would the UFT hire such a person?

I am wondering about this incident that Egan was involved in...

...his next brush with notoriety occurred in an alcohol-fueled banquet at Albany’s posh Marché bistro in 2011. Big-eater Egan got rowdy while ringing up nearly $2,000 on dinner and drinks at the posh restaurant, which is now closed.

Why did Egan get upset?  He whined that the portions of his prix fixe meal were too small. This was his complaint. So big deal? When you leave, find a Burger King and have a post dinner Whopper. Heck, have a Double Whopper.

The main course of his meal was quail. WTF?? Who eats quail? I guess that is something one eats when you aren't the one paying for it. Why some fancy joint? There is not a IHOP, Denny's, TGIF, on Wolf Rd in Albany where the UFT can dine. Egan looks like a pancake guy. IHOP routinely has all you can eat pancakes.

Why oh why on the day this comes out that the UFT is spending thousands of dollars for a Functional Chapter retreat at the Hilton in Rye Brook NY? Would it not be more cost effective to have such a retreat or whatever it is be at 52 Broadway?

Bad optics. Almost no one at the UFT thinks steps ahead nor what the rank and file truly want.

It would have been nice for Mulgrew to have been quoted in the Daily News article about how appalled he is at the behavior of Paul Egan. I think that would have been good optics. But Mulgrew is rarely about the optics.

Worse, there will be members who will use this to discontinue paying their dues. Some statement by Mulgrew and transparency with this incident might help keep some who are thinking of leaving to stay.

It's Time the UFT Helps Displaced and Indigent Former and Retired Teachers

It never ever stops. That innate ability to teach. That special talent to reach young mind and souls through your own kind of magic. You never ever stop being a teacher. You never ever stop wanting to share your gifts. There are only two things that can stop you.

Dropping dead and the NYCDOE.

Back in 2017 we here at SBSB reported on a teacher that went through hell at his school PS XX with trumped charges that we see time and time again are systemic and the pain and suffering he went through facing the demons of the 3020-a. In March 2019 he is still hurting.

I was at the Meadowlands Fan Duel sports book this past Saturday evening (I bet $10 on the Phoenix Suns -2.5 over New Orleans. Suns won buy 2.) from Aaron Goldstein. He told me that yet again his old lady booted him out of the house as they were arguing over money and his lack of steady work. He was heading into the city to find a subway car to sleep in.

If I had been home or not out with friends I would have picked him up and he could've crashed at my place. But it also got me thinking. He should have some support. Support from his union.

Aaron is nearly destitute. He shouldn't be. If the UFT were smart, it would set up some type of job retraining, job something for teachers that have been discontinued or terminated. Something in which they can learn to transfer their teaching skills into the "real world." You could also add resume and interview skills and even a job bank in which other teaching positions in the charter, parochial, and private schools of NY/NJ/CT are listed. Heck, even give that newly out of work teacher a "career coach." I would donate to such a thing. Better spent for this instead of for COPE.

And what about teachers that are truly destitute? At least Aaron has a roof over his head and he's not eating cat food for dinner. I am sure there are former teachers that have it a lot worse than Aaron.

What a great story I read in yesterday's Daily News how EMS workers are helping keep alive the memory and the spirit of Yadira Arroyo...

...the Daily News launched a fund to help Arroyo’s five sons. EMS members were so inspired by the gesture that they decided to keep the good will going with their own campaign, according to Vincent Variale, president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union, Local 3621. So two years ago, Arroyo’s colleagues launched the EMS FDNY Help Fund to assist needy families of EMS workers.

Better my money goes to something like this than to COPE.

Even Major League Baseball has the Baseball Assistance Team in which indigent former ballplayers are helped with a slew of arrangements that benefit them.

This can be funded very easily. Automatic donations from paychecks in lieu of donations to COPE. Instead of paying for 1,000 people or whatever at the Rye Hilton twice a year how about those monies go to help retired teachers? Maybe a couple of gold tournaments at Winged Foot (or Westchester Country Club?)or some silent auctions? Mulgrew could auction off his US Open seats.

But it's time. We here at SBSB call on the UFT to initiate this plan post haste. It's needed. Hurting teachers need it.

Forest Hills High School Up in Smoke

 Disclaimer: I promised someone no snarkiness nor silliness on this subject but it's late. Serious blog post about FHHS tomorrow.

It appears, according to the New York Post, that stoner principal Ben Sherman now has a baby sitter with him at Forest Hills High School.

So The Crack Team has been hard at work trying to find out what has been happening behind the scenes now with Sherman and his baby sitter. Today they struck gold.

We here at SBSB were blessed enough to hear audio between Sherman and his baby sitter as they discussed the marijuana scandal. Sadly the file format could not be saved as a link and we here at SBSB were forced to transcribe the conversation. 

Babysitter: Man, what is in this shit, man?
Principal Sherman: Mostly Maui Waui man, but it's got some Labrador in it.
Babysitter: What's Labrador?
Principal Sherman: It's dog shit.
Babysitter : What?
Principal Sherman: Yeah, my dog ate my stash, man.
Babysitter: Yeah?
Principal Sherman: I had it on the table and the little m**********r ate it, man. Then I had to follow him around with a little baggie for three days, man, before I got it back. Really blew the dog's mind, ya know?
Babysitter : You mean we're smokin' dog shit, man?
Principal Sherman: Gets ya high, don't it?

Principal Sherman: Uhhh, I wonder what Great Dane tastes like, man.
Babysitter : I think it's even better than before, you know?

What a weird and far out school.