November 30, 2007

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Graphing Attention

Filed under: New Teacher Diaries by Ms. H @ 6:26 pm

[Editor’s note: Ms. H is the pseudonym for a second-year special education high school teacher in Manhattan.]

I work on a daily basis with teenagers with ADD and ADHD. They show the common traits characteristic of these disabilities - restlessness, inattentiveness, activeness.

Last year, I quickly noticed that the special education students in my Collaborative Team Teaching (CTT) classes were not completing assignments as quickly and efficiently as their general education counterparts.

In an effort to bridge this gap, I started an active research project that has had phenomenal results in my classroom over the past 1 ½ years. (more…)

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Don’t Tell the Funders

Filed under: Charter School by Steve Perez @ 2:37 pm

Ed at the AFT calls out the disingenuous reaction of Peter Murphy from NYCSA to the news that educators at Merrick Academy-Queens Public Charter School overwhelmingly petitioned for representation by the UFT. From the Sun article:

A policy director at the New York Charter School Association, Peter Murphy, said he supports teachers’ right to join a union, provided they are not lured under false promises a charter school’s tight budget might not allow.

I guess that an artful way to put it. Though in light of past statements it’s a little hard to believe.

Murphy had NYCSA spend how much to hire the union busters at Jackson Lewis? Their seminars are $1,595 a seat. Maybe Jackson Lewis has some sort of revolutionary new teaching method Murphy really wanted to see in action. Tell the funders that Peter, it’ll make them happier than letting your pro-union sympathies finally shine through.

November 29, 2007

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Disney and Me: On Being Erased From Official Corporate History [Updated]

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 1:54 pm

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On the Disney Company’s corporate website, the reader will find a honor roll of teachers from across the United States who have been recognized by the American Teacher Awards, starting with the first class of 1990 and concluding with the last class of 2006. A close examination will reveal that there is no teacher listed as the 1992 honoree in the category of Social Studies. Two of the three Social Studies finalists are listed, but the teacher who was actually named Social Studies Teacher of the Year is missing.*

I am that missing teacher. My name disappeared some time after I organized a public letter, signed by twenty-five American Teacher Award honorees, protesting Disney’s sponsorship of John Stossel’s Stupid in America, an ideological broadside against public education and the teachers who labor in our public schools. (more…)

November 28, 2007

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“That kid”

Filed under: New Teacher Diaries by miss brave @ 6:17 pm

[Editor’s note: Miss Brave is the pseudonym for a first-year elementary school writing teacher.]

Kyle is one of the most challenging second graders I work with. He makes obnoxious clicking noises throughout my mini lessons, smirks when the class behavior stoplight changes from green to yellow, crawls under desks when he’s asked to come to the meeting area, and spins around in chairs that he’s expressly been forbidden to sit in when he should be working independently. And because Kyle functions at a low level academically and his personality switch is set permanently to “troublemaker,” the only thing I’ve really gotten to know about him is that he likes to draw. (more…)

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Respect Teachers

Filed under: Events Labor by DeidreM @ 1:26 pm

Holding candles aloft, several hundred UFT-represented educators gathered outside the Department of Education’s Tweed headquarters on Nov. 26 for a somber vigil to protest the establishment of a Teacher Performance Unit made up of lawyers and retired principals and led by a former prosecutor.

(more…)

November 27, 2007

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Teacher News of the Day

Filed under: Roundup by Steve Perez @ 7:00 pm

UFT President Randi Weingarten on the candlelight vigil protesting the teacher gotcha squad.

Controversy continues over school progress reports . . .

. . . with Hillcrest High serving as another example . . .

. . . as letters to the editor keep coming in.

A look at teaching backgrounds at the Khalil Gibran International Academy.

David Scott Pecoraro challenges the Post’s ed board.

November 26, 2007

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Merrick Academy: Union Yes!

Filed under: Charter School Labor by Jonathan Gyurko @ 6:10 pm

As reported in last week’s New York Teacher, educators at Merrick Academy-Queens Public Charter School overwhelmingly petitioned for representation by the UFT, and we’re moving quickly to make this a reality. Their action follows the recent decision by charter educators in Buffalo and Yonkers to unionize.

We often write about the original intent of charters, describing Al Shanker’s proposal for accountable schools of choice in which educators are free to innovate and exercise professional judgment. But as the teachers at Merrick found, their voice was muted without the legitimacy afforded by a “seat at the table.” This group of first-rate educators concluded that responsibility must be shared throughout the school community in order to generate a broad sense of ownership and high achievement. Out of a deep commitment to their students, they acted to make Merrick a better school instead of simply seeking employment elsewhere. These are the hallmarks of professionalism and we welcome Merrick’s employees to the UFT’s growing family.

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New York Teacher

Filed under: Roundup by Steve Perez @ 12:32 pm

Read the latest New York Teacher online. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find:

A look at school progress reports . . .

. . . UFT President Randi Weingarten shares her thoughts.

A look at rubber rooms . . .

. . . the UFT proposals given to the DOE . . .

. . . and efforts to improve conditions.

Teachers at the Merrick Academy - Queens Public Charter School have overwhelmingly petitioned for representation by the UFT.

How collaboration is working at MS 45 in Manhattan.

More on collaboration and the UFT growing to over 2000,000 members at the 2007 Teacher Union Day.

November 22, 2007

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TUDA and the DOE Response – Part II

Filed under: Education Testing by Jackie Bennett @ 1:50 pm

On Tuesday, Joel Klein sent a letter to every teacher in New York.

The letter was about the TUDA-NAEP results and it built upon the misleading statements he had already made to the public when the scores came out last week. Klein rarely writes to teachers, but who knows - maybe he sensed that his press release would not be enough to stifle the city’s dismay over the flat scores in 4th and 8th grade reading, and 8th grade math. Or maybe he was worried that his corporate sponsors would begin to second guess their investment. Whatever the reason, he got busy and released a Rumplestilsken letter, making fool’s gold from scores that are embarrassingly flat.
(more…)

November 21, 2007

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Teacher News of the Day

Filed under: Roundup by Steve Perez @ 5:20 pm

Chancellor Klein keeps spinning . . .

. . . while the NAEP scores are called into question.

The U.S. Department of Education reports (pdf) on state and local implementation of No Child Left Behind . . .

. . . the AFT shares a few quick thoughts.

Save the Date: the UFT is holding a 5.pm. candlelight vigil outside DOE headquarters (52 Chambers St.) on Monday, Nov. 26., to protest the “teacher gotcha squad” . . .

. . . two days later, on Nov. 28, Teachers Network is hosting a New Teacher Orientation from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture (10 Grand Army Plaza) . . .

. . . find more events in the UFT Event Calendar.

And enjoy the long holiday weekend!

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