The UFT and NYSUT Must Seek Justice for Teachers

I've been thinking.

So many lawsuits by teacher, so many lawyers hired by teachers, so little changing. Why is that?

With all the lawsuits, all the settlements, the court rulings, the discussions amongst the attorneys one would figure that a needle will move in favor of teachers, no?

While it is well and good that teachers that have been wronged continue to pursue outside legal action, individually we can't move the needle. To move the needle we must fight as a collective.

Just an aside but relevant, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post this week how former and current minor league baseball players are bringing a class action suit against MLB to raise their pay. Did you know that most minor leaguers make about $1k a month? I don't know how I feel about that. I would give my left arm to play pro ball. But hold that thought for a moment. Because this will be relevant.

What do we as teachers do and/or need?

First, as every class action lawsuit has there must be a lead plaintiff. But the lead plaintiff must not be someone who is narcissistic, selfish, or has put themselves in a spot where that person his continuously defecated on by life. No, that person must be above reproach. Must be a pillar in the their community, both at home and in their school, and with an unblemished personal file. This person will be our Rosa Parks.

Think about it. Rosa Parks just didn't fall into being the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She was chosen by the local NAACP because she was married, employed, and a pillar of her community. As teachers there must be someone to be our Rosa Parks. Our face. But what should be the cause of action?

There are so many. ATR's. Not how we are treated, but rather there should be a case for age discrimination (which I am sure somewhere in the bowels in the Tweed basement are files among files of thisThe NYCDOE version of the Pentagon Papers which I have written about in the past).

There is also the whack a mole evaluation system or many other wrongs committed. One that gets me is under new 3020-a guidelines the teacher must prove themselves innocent instead of being proven guilty. This in my opinion should be the test case. There is case law about the presumption of innocence.

But how can a low paid teacher afford such high priced attorneys that would be needed for such a case?

This is where our union, the United Federation of Teachers as well as NYSUT come in. It is time for both organizations to show some guts and to grab the bull by the proverbial testes and go out and find that teacher who can be a lead plaintiff, a face against all the crap we have taken for the last 10-15 years. Only the UFT and NYSUT have the financial wherewithal and resources to undertake such an endeavor.

Unions have done such actions all the time. They have gone to the courts for what they can't get in collective bargaining. Look at the story about the minor league baseball players? Who comes to mind? Curt Flood, Andy Messersmith, and Dave McNally. All three battled to eliminate the reserve clause. Curt Flood's case went all the way to the Supreme Court. But all three had the union behind them.

As much as I love baseball, teachers are damn more important than baseball players ever will be. Don't we deserve to be treated just as good as they are?

That Crappy, Crappy Feeling

I remember one point, and this was back in November 2014 a few weeks before my 3020-a hearing had started, that I was obsessing, in a complete swirl about what would happen if I lost my job and had no income, no nothing. My family would be left high and dry.

A friend had told me that I could get a disability retirement at 1/3 of my pay. I thought about it. Since I was on Zerega Ave and the Bronx UFT was a block away I walked over there to meet with the pension guy (I forget his name).

He told me what my pension would be. It wasn't much but it was something. I then asked him about the death benefit. He told me that if anything were to happen to me my family would get $300k. I thought about it for what seemed like a minute or so but actually was a brief second. $300k guaranteed to my family if something happened to me seemed good considering that I and my family would be left for nothing. In fact I shared this with the pension guy. I forgot what he said, but he got me back to reality.

There was another time, I think it was after my hearing started, my wife and I got in an argument, or something happened. It was early in the evening and I drove to my favorite pizzeria in White Plains. I was eating my slice in the car and called a very good friend of mine and I asked him point blank, "If anything ever happened to me I want you to promise that you would take watch out for my wife and son." He really was taken aback. Again, the lapse into this ideation was brief and coming from emotion and not rational. It passed.

So did another time. I forget if it was before or during the hearings but I was walking back to the Rubber Room it was a gray dull day and I just thought to myself if I can just end this my wife and son get $300k. Again, fleeting, it soon too passed.

Why am I sharing this? I don't know. To get this off my chest. To show that all of us in a bad predicament with the DOE can go through something like what I went through.

That is what I had thought before I put fingers to keyboard. I wanted those who put me through this to know what kind of an effect they can have on someone's psyche when they decide to play God and attempt to separate one from one's direct deposit.

But as I wrote I discovered another reason.

I know there are many others in or who were in my shoes. Many are hurting mentally and emotionally right now or have. I want to let you all know that you can battle back from this morass of fecal matter brought on by the DOE. That you can't give up the fight. That you if you come to a wall in your battle know that there are other ways around that wall.

I am so concerned, so caring about others who are going through 3020-a and other crap that what is most important is your mental health, your spiritual health, your family's health. Yeah, sometimes coming off as the loudest, nastiest, loudmouth on the playground is a good way to battle back, but there is no there there with that kind of mentality.

You need to know nuance. You need to know when and where to do what you need to do. But most important of all is your mental and physical health and your loved ones. Don't let anyone fool you into doing otherwise. Don't let anyone fool you into false promises.

If you are in the situation I or hundreds of others have been or currently in it is OK, it is natural, to have the same feelings that I wrote about. I had a great support system and that is one thing you need.

Do not go through this alone!!

Fixing the Blog and Teaching Summer School

For those that hadn't noticed, nor cared, the blog had been down for a while. On July 31 I logged on and got nothing. I had forgotten to pony up the $10 that was due the day before for a unique domain name and couldn't figure how to pay up.

Then a few days later my wife fell on the stairs, landed face first and not only broker her nose but dislocated her hip. She has been having equilibrium issues for some time and this was the worst outcome of those. She spent almost two weeks in the hospital being probed and tested for the cause of these episodes but she finally came home this past Tuesday, the day I fixed the blog.

So on to other matters.

I had a great summer. I taught summer school, phys. ed. in fact at a District 75 school in Manhattan and I must say it was one of the greatest experiences I ever had as a teacher.

The school was small and made up of autistic students and standardized students. It was kind of like a summer day camp I worked at in the mid-90's up in Dobbs Ferry. In fact, I was the sports director at that camp.

First, and this needs to be on the record. Not only were the teachers at the school some of the friendliest colleagues I have ever encountered, but the level of dedication from the entire staff, from teachers to paras to administration is amazing (mind you this is not taking away from any others teachers in the city). How dare anyone on the outside ever again knock teachers when I saw amazing work, dedication, and love day in and day out. This is what teachers and education is and should be about. Not being judged by some set of made up algorithm.

The students were phenomenal. Yeah, there were some moments. But they were minor and and handled easily.

I was able to be myself for the first time in years and the students saw that. I literally couldn't wait to arrive in the morning and was saddened when the last day came. The students grew on me. They really did.

There was one 3 year old pre-K student who would never take his nap (my coverage for his class always coincided with the teacher's lunch so I was there for nap time) and was wound up as heck and wouldn't sit down. But he pronounced Zucker as "Shujker" and would just say, "Hi Shujker!" when he saw me.

Other students just called me "coach," and that was fine as well. I got a lot of "Are we having you today?" and when I said no, I got a look of disappointment.

I'm going to take the good feelings I got this summer and what I learned about myself and do my darnedest to incorporate it in whatever I do this school year.

Jennifer Rogers Former PS 29 Principal in Queens Fails Yet Again to Ruin a Teachers Life!!!

Today is an anniversary. Two years ago I shared that Jennifer Rogers, former principal of PS 29 in College Point had high tailed it out of New York after being removed as principal and had set up her own faux education consulting business. We have an update. Not on Jennifer, but on one of the teachers whose live she had attempted to ruin.

According the the EdLawsFaq Blog, a termination of a probationary teacher who had been a target of Rogers had her termination overturned. Über education lawyer Bryan Glass is the teachers attorney.

You can read the judges decision here, or if you wish, here are some of the highlights of the decision. 

At the meeting, petitioner opposed the position taken by the school’s special education coordinator and sided with the student’s mother, who had asked that her son be removed from the “Alternate Assessment” program favored by Principal Jennifer Jones ­Rogers .

Now why would a principal go pressure a parent such as Rogers had?  

The very next day, November 21, 2012, the principal conducted the first formal observation of petitioner for the 2012­-2013 school year. On November 26, 2012, after a post-­observation conference, the principal issued an observation report that found petitioner’s math lesson unsatisfactory because...

The next day she decides to target the teacher?  Rogers doesn't even of the brains to leave herself sme plausible deniability.

Petitioner submitted a written rebuttal in which she stated that she had conducted the lesson in the exact manner that the principal had outlined in their pre-­observation conference and that the post-­observation conference focused more on the principal’s dissatisfaction with the position petitioner had taken...

Again, Rogers using pure emotion, not logic, and too dumb to cover her tracks. 

So what does Rogers do? She sends in her lackey, AP Scott Wolfson, who is now principal of PS 314 in District 12 to hammer her.

On February 21, 2013, Assistant Principal (AP) Scott Wolfson conducted a formal observation of another of petitioner’s math lessons . The post­-observation conference was not held until April 16, 2013, at which time petitioner was given an observation report that rated the lesson unsatisfactory because: (1) “[w]hile the children within your group were able to solve the problems that [she] presented to them, it was evident that their solutions indicated algorithmic solution strategies rather than a deeper conceptual understanding of the problems”

Dang Scott these students are special ed!!!!!!!!! That the teacher was able to bring them to this level should speak wonders!!!!!!

“Mr. Wolfson wanted to concentrate on the fact [that] the students struggled with conceptualizing their understanding of mathematics , which was not the goal for my lesson plan for that day.” Petitioner added that “Mr. Wolfson and I also planned my lesson together two days before and [he] never mentioned that he wanted to observe how the students conceptualize math.”

 Oops, Scotty. You pulled a boner here. 

There's more, but the best part is the judge wrote in the decision;

“Two months before her resignation, parents, teachers, students and a state senator had held a rally to protest Principal Jones-Rogers’ policies, which allegedly included retaliating against teachers who disagreed with her and cramming students into special education classes without parental consent”

And this is the Jennifer Rogers who wants to help the parents of Georgia?????  

Listen up parents of Georgia, have nothing whatsoever to do with Jennifer Rogers and her Parent Education and Advocacy Empowerment Project.That's if it's still around.

Jennifer Rogers aka Jennifer Jones has left a trail of trying to ruin the lives of educators across the City of New York. Disagree with Jennifer Rogers and one should high tail it away from her.

What is worse, and I feel so dirty knowing this is that Jennifer Rogers grew up in the same small town as I did. Thankfully, the town has survived her.

And thankfully this teacher in this decision has survived the wrath of Jennifer Rogers.

UFT Solidarity Must Cut Bait With Hateful and Intolerant Joe Concannon

Oh Joe Concannon, your true colors just keep showing.

Friday's post, "Why Does UFT Solidarity Work With Anti-Black Lives, Pro-Trump, Tea Bagger and Pro Rudy Joe Concannon?" still leaves open the question as to why any "caucus" such as UFT Solidarity claims it is, or in fact any teacher, would associate with Joe. What The Crack Team has learned in the last 48 hours brings up more questions and more reasons why UFT Solidarity should do the honorable thing and disassociate itself from such a person like Joe Concannnon and why teachers all over NYC should have nothing to do with him.  Just read the comments written by some of Joe's sycophants.

In this video here with super right winger Steve Malzberg on super right wing Newsmax TV Concannon whines that shootings of black are up in Chicago, Baltimore, and New York. While wrong and not acceptable Concannon does not understand the difference is that those being shot in those cities are not being shot because they are black.

How about this Joe, how do you explain a cop putting a choke hold on Eric Garner for selling loosies? There were not better ways to handle this? As an NYPD inspector shared with me once on what makes a good cop, he told me, "A good cop is someone who walks into a bad situation and calms the matter down." Did we see this in the Eric Garner video?

What is also distressing about Joe is the people he associates with. As mentioned on Friday, Joe comes across as a supporter of police and when he was running for city council had several rallies in Queens and Brooklyn. Guess who liked that idea?

Everyone's favorite meshuga New Yorker (No silly, it's not Governor Andy)

#SupportTheShield pic.twitter.com/kde0s9B4B6

— Carl Paladino (@CarlPaladino) January 7, 2015

Yeah, Uncle Carl Paladino. Carl has said lot's of crazy things. One of his craziest is...

"The Tea-Party backed candidate reportedly sent an e-mail depicting a horse having sex with a woman and another that included a pornographic video and the headline "Miss France 2008 F[***]ing." He also reportedly sent out an e-mail depicting President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as a pimp and prostitute and one showing an airplane landing near black men with the caption "Holy Sh*t. run ni**ers, run!"

Way to go Carl! And kudos to Joe Concannon for being his pal.

Yes Pal. You see, Joe Concannon is 1st Vice-President of the Queens Village Republican Club. Now knowing this, would it not be safe to assume that Joe has some say in whom the QVRC invites to break bread with? Let's have a looksee.

 Guess who?????? He kinda looks like Gomez Addams without the mustache. But Gomez was wayyyyy cooler. And crazy in a cool way.

So with all this information today and on Friday one must ask themselves, why does UFT Solidarity, a "caucus" that purports to fight for teachers so we can better able to educate those who are being most damaged by the education deform movement, those children who are a vast majority immigrants, of color, support someone who believes in and associates with all what we as teachers are fighting for?

@SoBronxSchool @realDonaldTrump @NYCRepublicans @Thanks2Police On the economy, immigration, schools, National defense, Law and Order, etc...

— Joe Concannon (@Joe_4_NY) July 22, 2016

We here are calling on UFT Solidarity to cut it's ties with Joe Concannon and repudiate his message of hate and intolerance. It is time to step up to the plate.

Why Does UFT Solidarity Work With Anti-Black Lives, Pro-Trump, Tea Bagger and Pro Rudy Joe Concannon?

Black lives matter!

For those who like to claim that BLM is racist, or not caring of other lives, that's bullshit. If we say, "Save the Whales," does this mean that all other sea creatures do not matter? Does promoting breast cancer awareness mean that other cancer do not matter? Of courts not!

Better, where and how does wanting to save black lives, lives that are disproportionately being  snuffed out, be anti-cop? When too many black citizens are being shot and killed for driving while black, for walking while black, or just being black, what should a people do?

I am not anti-cop, anti-law enforcement, etc... There are just some f***** things happening of late. Can one be pro- cop and pro-black. It's simple.

But I won't paint all cops with one broad brush. As teachers we must not. We hate it when we are painted with that broad brush and to do so to any other profession is just morally wrong. The vast, vast majority of cops are good, are hard working, and are there to serve honorably. They don't deserve to be lumped in with the shoot first mentality of those cops that are besmirching the profession.

Say what you will about MORE, but you can know without any shadow of a doubt that MORE is aware that it not only serves it's members but the communities in which we teach in. Both go hand in hand. I differ on some of the tactics, some of the time spent on some of the social issue causes but at not time would I ever doubt anybody at MORE in what they feel in their heart about doing the right thing.

On the other hand we are still stuck with UFT Solidarity "caucus" and it's tone deafness to reality. You see, UFT Solidarity has a new patrón, NYC Council failedf candidate from Queens for the 23rd district, Joe Concannon.

From: Bozo T Clown
Date: July 12, 2016 at 9:12:14 AM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [DTOE] Send school corruption issues to Joe Concannon

Joe Concannon, who is running for City Council in Queens, is collecting school corruption stories. You will remain anonymous and he will take the info to try and remedy from the political angle. See message below.

Just who, or what, is Joe Concannon?  Let's find out. 

Joe Concannon, a failed Republican State Senate candidate and current president of the Tea Party-aligned Queens Village Republican Club, is the main organizer of the burgeoning anti-de Blasio protest effort. The retired NYPD captain and former Giuliani advisor is a close ally of Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch. Lynch generated national headlines — and cheers from rank and file cops — when he claimed that de Blasio “has blood on [his] hands” just hours after Ismaaiyl Brinsley murdered Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

Joe is a Tea Bagger? While the murders of Ramos and Liu were horrific and reprehensible, let's be clear, Concannon is blowing the dog whistle. 

Ah, another dog whistle from Joe....

Anarchy on the march in the deep south as the black panthers join with Black lives matter.  Fueled by POTUS n others https://t.co/e34ew0c8qW

— Joe Concannon (@Joe_4_NY) July 10, 2016

Wow Joe, you take hte word of Jeanine Piro, former Westchester County District Attorney that covered up a homicide because here kid was at a party (Full disclosure. I am childhood friends with the aunt of the boy that was killed)?

By the way, Joe is a retired NYPD captain, and who was the Deputy Director for Public Safety under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. One can be certain that not only must Joe agree with Rudy on issues but that one must suck up to Rudy to have such a position ***Cough*** Bernie Kerik ***Cough***.

What does Rudy think of black lives? Joe is this cool with you?

And who else does Joe have a man crush on?

At Trump/Pence announcement #leadright2016 #Trump #TrumpPence16 pic.twitter.com/XsJr26U3P6

— Joe Concannon (@Joe_4_NY) July 16, 2016

Way to go Joe!

So why then would a "caucus" that supposedly wants to represent a union that has scores and scores of immigrants and people of color get in bed with someone that purportedly sees #blacklivesmatter as racist and divisive? Why would a "caucus" that supposedly wants to change the lives of students of color with make up the vast majority of NYC public school students be in bed with such a person as Joe Concannon? Why would a caucus that was an afterthought shoot itself in the foot time after time with insensitivity to others?

Joe, let's let you in on a little secret....

#blacklivesmatter

We Have Whitney Tilson (And His Ilk) to Thank for Donald Trump

STOP THE PRESSES!!!! WHITNEY TILSON AND HIS ILK ARE CULPABLE FOR GIVING US DONALD TRUMP BEING THISCLOSE TO THE PRESIDENCY.

Wait, I will make the case.

I have been thinking about this for awhile. I guess I am finally sharing what is on my mind for a few reasons. One, the blog post by Norm Scott about Neo-liberalism, the anti-Semetism of Donald Trump, and Whitney's whining of Trump.

 "I understand you fighting to maintain the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, but are you seriously still supporting Trump – even after what he’s said in the past two weeks?"

 "Trump was deeply associated with, “Cambridge Who’s Who, a vanity publisher promising ‘branding services’…” This led me to take a stab at compiling a list of all of Trump’s failed/scummy/predatory businesses and business practices."

Shall we show look at the failed/scummy/predatory practices of Whitney? But I am digressing.

What has happened since the Ed Deformers had come out of the woodwork in the last 15 years or so is that experience and knowledge mean squat bupkus anymore. Don't we see that from Trump? No experience and certainly no knowledge.

We have seen how Whitney and his ilk support the greatest lack of experience and knowledge with Teach for America. Sure, anyone can teach if they take a course for 5 weeks for a total of 50 hours.

Don't we hear this from the Trump cabal. "He has no experience in politics, it's a good thing!"

That remind me. I had this conversation with Dmitri Melhorn a few years ago in which we were talking about need for experience

@sms1016 @SoBronxSchool @MindyRosier @Kuhio_Kane @gailDrich Should teachers only be allowed to comment on pedagogy and curriculum?

— Dmitri Mehlhorn (@DmitriMehlhorn) July 18, 2014

I actually like Dmitri. At least he is not a giant p**** like Whitney.

I remember once asking Dmitri since I coached Little League successfully should I then be qualified to coach. Dmitri was like, "Why not?"

Look at what has become of principals and assistant principals. Where once these were leaders of schools with a wealth of background in education those positions have been dumbed down as well. Just cut a check to Touro or somewhere else and PRESTO! You are an administrator. Why have any knowledge in the field you have chosen. Whitney and his ilk believes ANYONE can do it.

Accountability for those in charge? Nope. It's the peons fault. Do we see Donald ever taking responsibility? Who does he blame? The Mexicans, the Muslims, the Jews, the foreigners are the new targets such as the teachers to hide how f***** up those that want to be in control are. Every hear Whitney and his ilk blame a non-teacher?

Want to scam those with promises of grandeur, get smart quick, graduate quick. We see it in Donald with all his scams, etc... as Whitney mentioned above. Whitney and his ilk wrote the playbook for what we are seeing now with Donald.

Whitney Tilson and his ilk have begat us Donald Trump. Whitney and his ilk have begat us ignorance, fraud, scapegoating, and scams.

Donald Trump one way or the other is going to wind up benefiting himself big time. Who has benefited the most from the Ed Deformity of the last 15 years? Whitney Tilson and his ilk.


Whitney Tilson and his ilk believe that they has the "GREAT WHITE PROTECTOR" see themselves as the knowledge of what those of color need to do even though before the Deform movement they did jack for them and will never allow them in the front door.

Donald Trump has never before lifted a finger for those who are supporting him and never would allow himself to be seen with them before and certainly won't ask them over to Mar-A-Largo to shoot the shit. See any difference?

Whitney Tilson and his ilk and Donald Trump believe that complex problems can be solved with simple answers. One in the same.

For both Whitney and his ilk and Donald Trump, knowldge is not power. In fact, it is quite a dangerous thing to possess.