How can you keep those goshdarn employees from unionizing? Once you do that, they want health benefits. Then, they want more money and who knows what else?

Well, it's wise to pay off crooked union officials to prevent any further spread of unions, for one thing. A hundred grand here, a hundred grand there, and you have a bunch of bus drivers who do their jobs, keep their mouths shut, and let you keep all the profits.

In spite of their crooked secretary-treasurer, however, the Amalgamated Transit Workers, who already are unionized, and drive city school buses, reached a tentative settlement with the city for 25 bus companies. Kids will be surely be delighted to know that nothing will impede their merry trips to summer school.

I don't usually write about things like this, but there are multiple absurdities in this story just crying out to me. First of all, I'm amazed to learn that Rupert Murdoch's New York Post has written a story accusing Ann Coulter of plagiarism.

This comes on the heels of news that Murdoch hosted a fund raiser for Hilary Clinton, hardly the darling of the right-wing, or Murdoch's own Fox News. Media genius Murdoch may be sensing a change in the weather, hedging his bets, or both.

In any case, Ms. Coulter delighted in trashing Jayson Blair and the New York Times for having committed plagiarism. What's her response to charges she did the same thing?

How crappy a newspaper is the Post? Let me put it this way: It's New York's second-crappiest paper.

Doubtless that's what influenced her to sit down for an interview with a Post reporter.

Note that Ms. Coulter did not deny the charges of plagiarism (In fact, she didn't even mention them). She's got an interesting approach to making an argument. Why defend yourself? Just loudly condemn someone else, change the subject as quickly as possible, and hope no one notices.

That approach seems to have served Ms. Coulter well. Why should she abandon it now?

Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher works very hard. He's plumb tuckered out after a day of governing. That's why when he's finished, he gets in a limo driven by a State Trooper and has it drive him across the street to the Governor's Residence.

Meanwhile, the state government sponsors ads urging Kentucky residents to bike or walk to work.

It's hard work being Chancellor. After a full day of gala luncheons, it's all you can do to get dressed, take the limo to dinner, and then to yet another cocktail party to discuss your visions (and not the ones from those irritating flashbacks, either). Look at those eyes. Anyone could see how tired you are.

Anyway, here's one of your great success stories, a school that really shines, that the parents have put hundreds of thousands of their own money to fix up, and you can take all the credit. Beautiful.

What's more, it's a perfect chance to dump that charter school you like into a really nice building. But the damn parents raise a fuss. Oh, noooh, they whine, we need space for our kids. We like our school the way it is. Those bastards!

Half of New York City's kids are packed in like sardines, and that oughta be good enough for them, too! Who the hell do they think they are? Don't they know there are sports stadiums that need to be built? Why the hell don't they just shut up and move to Nassau if they want decent schools?

And worse, don't they know the embarrassment they're causing? Didn't the thought of those lowlifes nearly cause you to drop that jumbo shrimp, with cocktail sauce, on that $200 shirt you didn't pay for? Well, so what? You gotta look good, right?

And they have to do this now, right after you've made public statements about how much you value the input of parents. Those morons. Don't they understand this is your career they're talking about? Can't they just keep their mouths shut for one stinking minute?

OK, fine. Give them their stupid school. But we'll need someone to blame.

I know. Let's fire the principal. Then, we'll be in the clear. That oughta at least keep that bastard Silver quiet for a few days. She was gonna retire anyway, so it's all good.

Plus, it puts you one step closer to breaking that damn union. Good thing you held off three years giving them a contract. By the time you get your ass to the table, they'll take anything.

They'll get theirs for staying home on Brooklyn-Queens day. And next year, we'll get those damn teachers too.

They won't know what hit 'em.

Welcome to the 74th edition of the Carnival of Education. Thanks to The Education Wonks for the opportunity to host, and for working so hard to keep it going.

Truth

Ms. Cornelius has an extraordinary post containing some of the very best general advice for prospective teachers I've ever seen. I wish Ms. Cornelius had been my education teacher in college. I'd have far fewer things to attribute to trial-and-error. Go on, read this one.

Black students in Ohio are graduating at a lower rate than their white counterparts. Scott Elliot of Get on the Bus points out that in Dayton, that trend is reversed, and it's the white kids being left behind.

The truth is, boys are having far more trouble with school than girls. Or maybe they aren't. This Week in Education documents the perplexingly even-handed research. Not only that, but they reveal why The Donald fears teachers.

April May reveals the hideous truth about camping.

If you interview Laura Huertero for a teaching postion, don't ask what her worst quality is. She can't decide between procrastination, disorganization, and masochism. Consider hiring her for her unflinching honesty.

Justice

There's a very interesting story about charter schools and unions this week. Nicole Byrne Lau, by most accounts an exemplary teacher, was fired after it was discovered she'd been distributing a chart revealing public teacher salaries.

The school's CEO, Eddie Calderon-Melendez, had a sudden attack of loquaciousness, telling the NY Daily News she was a child-hating racist. Three Standard Deviations suggests Calderon-Melendez should be fired himself.

I first read about this on the NYCSA blog The Chalkboard, written (excellently!) by Joe Williams. Joe asks whether she's Norma Rae or David Duke. We at NYC Educator concluded Norma Rae was a lot closer to the reality. School of Blog wonders whether this incident implies mandatory unions are necessary in charters. Eduwonk says charter workers should have the option of unionization but doesn't feel this situation reflects all charters.

The AFT's blog, Let's Get it Right, discusses the difficulties of unionizing charters. In my humble opinion, the best and most complete account, better than the one in the NY Times, was written by Leo Casey in Edwize, and points to a Disney-style ending--Ms. Lau quickly landed a job as an English teacher in Brooklyn Tech, one of NYC's very best schools, with a big raise and a union contract.

The American Way

Where else but here would you find a Shroud of Turin-Mobile? And why, asks Mamacita, are teachers who know little or nothing about sports supposed to supervise them?

High school student Schuyler Hall says every man, woman, and child in America owes a $27,905 share of the US National Debt.

What new delights does RJ Reynolds have for our youngsters? Watermelon-flavored cigarettes, according to NYC's own reality-based educator.

Mike in Texas points out yet another disadvantage of working a non-union job at Wal-Mart. And he includes, for my money, one of the coolest graphics ever. Check it out.

The Education Wonks present the latest in a continuing series of Wonkitorials, and this week's topic is Secretary Spellings' Spanish Fly-in. EdWonk is quickly becoming the edusphere's leading expert on Spellings' exploits and adventures.

Summer Vacation

Jules at Mildly Melancholy eagerly awaits her summer-long weekend.

Miss Malarkey is saying adios to the Sunday night blues.

Nani from Se hace camino al andar is at the Cape, anticipating a summer of further travel.

It's all Greek to JD2718.

Sadly, not everyone is doing a happy dance this summer. Chaz has a very biting and real description of what it entails to teach summer school here in fun city.

La Maestra, however, also finds some things to like about teaching summer school.

Is there a summer absence dividend? Well, Mr. Lawrence left town, and won an award.

Mrs. T. (no relation to Rocky's nemesis) from Chucheria is headed for Disney World. Before she leaves, she has some very funny comments about the DaVinci Code film.

Puzzling Dilemmas

Do teachers need tattoos? If so what kind? One of my favorite new reads, Happychyck Wonders, examines the various ramifications of this issue.

Graycie, at Today's Homework, is growing weary of teaching Of Mice and Men. Can you suggest some new literary possibilities to motivate her kids? Maybe AphrikaNYC can help get her started.

New York City kids are encouraged (if not coerced) to pay hundreds of dollars in senior dues. After they pay, is it fair to keep their money, but turn them away from graduation ceremonies for missing one credit?

The LA Times' School Me wonders, with the help of educational reformer Milton Friedman, whether public schools are worth the effort. Don't be upset. Apparently, the devil made them do it.

Homeland Stupidity wants to know why "highly qualifed" doesn't measure classroom effectiveness instead of certification requirements.

Puzzling Dilemmas, Part 2

Assorted Stuff asks whether we're promoting literacy at the expense of creativity.

Math teacher Darren wonders whether bias, faulty math skills or possibly both are to blame for a questionable report on education spending.

Dr, Homeslice poses this very tough question--how do you explain a layoff? He then gives a very thoughtful answer.

How do you use that goshdarn Noah Webster spelling book anyway?

Why doesn't No Child Left Behind take parental involvement into account? While we're on the subject, Homeschool Blogger offer a handbook for precisely that.

How can you succeed in middle school without really trying? Kitchen Table Math offers a two part response here and here.

Capitalism and High Finance

Anonymous Educator has found a site where teachers can buy and sell lesson plans. How's that for a way to supplement that pittance they laughingly call your salary? For more on this story, see Joanne Jacobs. And if that ain't enough, check out The Education Wonks.

Eduwonk, considering Warren Buffet's remarkable gift to Bill Gates' foundation, contemplates whether it's time to revisit the tax-code regulation that requires foundations to donate five percent of their endowments every year.

Andrew Pass stresses the importance of funding pre-schools.

Teacher Barry says Ann Arbor public schools are on an austerity budget, and administration is to blame for failing to make any changes to the budget proposal before resubmitting to the same voters who rejected it the first time.

The Roanoke Times' brand-new blog Campus Watch reports that the Radford University department of music is requiring its new students to bring Apple iPods with them. Is that deductable for Mom and Dad?

Sex Education

Teacher Lady, of the snarky and provocative Sex Ed, in Higher Ed., is flabbergasted that her college students not only fail to turn off their cell phones, but see fit to bring their young children to her Human Sexuality class. While I'd like to take that class, my kid will just have to learn on the street like the rest of us.

Over at Why Homeschool, they're questioning the value of sex education.

The Village People meet Goeffrey Chaucer at Kibbles n' Whine. Why under sex education? You'll hafta read The Canterbury Tales for that.

Big Apple's Loyal Opposition

The Delegate's Chair, one of very few chairs that can type, finds little to love about NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.

The United Teachers Party questions the effectiveness of the labor coalition organized by UFT President Randi Weingarten.

The ICE-UFT Blog wonders why teachers gave the sun, the moon and the stars, while union employees get the same raise simply for keeping the office open one extra hour a week.

Remarkable Discoveries

Chemjerk says teacher quality is crucial for quality education, more crucial than course content in Now for Something Completely Obvious.

Strausser is back from Education Space Academy, which amazed him. He amazed me too, by convincing me that professional development can be interesting.

Over at Discourse about Discourse they say changing a language arts department may be tougher than it seems.

Mister Teacher at Learn Me Good suggests cheaters never win, but they just might get paid.

At Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred, they're contemplating the power of prayer.

Spunky Home School tells of a valedictorian in NJ who used his speech to describe his education as hollow and wasteful.

Dave, of Friends of Dave, points to--you won't believe it--a school district fudging the figures to make itself look better. If that doesn't shock you, check it out anyway for the great Mark Twain quote, and Dave's dogged insistence you hum Dueling Banjos as you read..

Where Have All the Teachers Gone?

Soreheads like Tom at I Who Can't (and me) worry a lot about the number of teachers we lose. Here's one, however, who's coming back.

Teacher Sol says we're not the only country losing teachers.

GuusejeM has some great thoughts on what makes a good teacher and why we need more of them.

I told Chance at Sapient Sutler he'd ace his teaching competency exam and waddya know? He did. Welcome to a new, smart teacher, and congratulations.

Me-Ander, all the way from Israel, says things are so tough the government's resorted to importing English teachers (I wonder if they borrowed that idea from New York City).

The Fine Art of Assigning Blame

Ms. Dennis at Your Mama's Mad Tedious, writes I'm Insubordinate Part 1, the saga of how, rather than make necessary improvements, Principal Puffschmuck has chosen to spend much of his energy assigning blame. Ms. Dennis, unfortunately, is on the receiving end. I can't wait to see what happens in Part 2.

Among my very favorite serious blogs on public education is Schools Matter. See their take on lack of accountability in charter schools right here.

Right Wing Nation has had it with teachers whining and pointing fingers, and further says the NEA should be disbanded, just like PATCO was back in the eighties. The Right-Wing Prof. is feeling poorly but writing with as much fire as ever, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The Rain, from one of my favorite new blogs, I Thought a Think, questions the wisdom of placing quotes from Mein Kampf under your high school yearbook photos. Can such gaffes be attributed to the innocence of youth?

Next week's carnival will be hosted by the LA Times' School Me blog. Please send your contributions to janine.kahnATlatimesDOTcom by 7 PM California time, next Tuesday July 11th.

Bring on the fireworks.

Also, have a very happy 4th of July, and a great summer--from the entire staff here at NYC Educator!

PS--The Carnival of Education is visiting our fair city tomorrow. If you'd like to share something, please email by 6 PM tonight, as the staff cannot reasonably assure sobriety thereafter.

There will be severe consequences for tardiness, up to and including phone calls home.

Can self-love end conflicts?

Today, we're all getting ready to celebrate Independence Day. Perhaps, as President Bush suggests, there are those who hate freedom, but I'm not among them.

That's why I vehemently oppose efforts to weaken the free press via the absurd but very dangerous vilification of the New York Times. If the Times, often guilty of timidity rather than audacity, were to go down (God forbid), the rest of the fourth estate would fall like so many dominoes. Without a free press, there can be no democracy.

Another hallmark of any successful democracy is a vibrant middle class. I'm afraid that huge, unnecessary, and unconscionable tax cuts for Paris Hilton promote no such thing, nor do the staggering debts we're passing on to our children (in order to fund those cuts). Even folks like Ben Stein are beginning to question such policies.

Also worthy of attention is this--the systematic decline in unions (not to mention the abysmal and shameful minimum wage), bodes ill for teachers, as well as the overwhelming majority of working Americans.

One way to promote unionism in this country is through neutral card checks. Rather than going through the grueling and personally risky process of organizing a vote, employees could simply and anonymously indicate their preferences for or against unionization. Such a process may have precluded the ordeal of Nicole Byrne Lau, fired from a charter for having the temerity to tell her colleagues how much UFT teachers earned.

There's some controversy about whether forced unionization is a good idea for charters. Personally, I think it is. However, I think an agreement to run neutral anonymous card checks would be a great compromise. Such an agreement would be an excellent prerequisite to raising the cap on charters.

If the charter supporters opposed such a step, it would be a simple conclusion they opposed unions. If opponents failed to accept it, it would clearly indicate a reflexive opposition to charters. Let's see who blinks first.

Personally, I think any individual voting against unionization is too stupid to teach, but while I wouldn't put my kid in a non-union school, I'd be willing to live with the results of any free and fair election.

Eva Moskowitz, who still thinks NYC teachers are contractually prohibited from doing lunch duty (!), would not be pleased. Clearly Mistress Eva does not regard keeping informed as a worthwhile pastime for self-styled educators. Eva, dead-set on avenging her recent loss at the polls, is talking up her yet-to-open charter, and positioning herself to be the next Republican candidate for NYC Mayor. She plans to make union-busting job number one, with the UFT her first and foremost target.

Eva supported the 8-page contract cooked up by Chancellor Klein which eviscerated every right gained by the UFT since its inception, and proudly composed a single-page contract for her charter employees that would subject them to the same abuse and indignity suffered by Ms. Lau.

Teachers are one of the last bastions of unionism in this country. We must stand up for ourselves. Rather than allowing demagogues like Moskowitz to weaken us, we must become stronger, lending our strength and resolve to all who work in our country.

Let's have workers, rather than the likes of Eva Moskowitz, decide whether they want unions. Let's give our children more, rather than fewer options. Let's give them the means to support themselves, let's give them access to health care, let's make their lives better than ours, and let's stop the lunacy of mortgaging their future to comfort the comfortable.

It's the American Way.

Update: Eduwonk has finally weighed in on the charter from hell that fired Nicole Byrne Lau. He endorses the option of unionization but feels charters are no different from other businesses. I couldn't agree more, and that's why we need more to stop union-busting everywhere.

First of all, I'd like to sincerely thank ace NYC Educator tipster and correspondent Schoolgal for reading the New York Post so I don't have to.

Schoolgal recently sent me a vicious editorial that appeared in those pages, suggesting the NYC supervisors' union was Marxist, and which further advocated breaking "the back of the union." I thought it was too outlandish to merit a response. But union president Jill Levy had no such problem, and shot back a pithy letter I'll reprint in its entirety below:

July 2, 2006 -- I want to thank The Post's editorial board for putting me on the same level as Karl Marx, a great thinker and philosopher, and Roger Toussaint, a strong labor leader who is not afraid to stand up for workers' rights ("Principal Principles," Editorial, June 26).

I am only surprised you didn't throw in the word liberal, a label I would have been equally proud to wear.

Thank you for validating and verifying what we believe the empowerment plan is truly all about.


It is a union-busting endeavor that The Post applauds by writing, "we hope Klein and the mayor are trying to 'break the back of the union'," - it has nothing do with children.

Jill S. Levy
President Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, Brooklyn

Here's a school that teaches what folks really need to know--witchcraft.

What's the point of endlessly kissing up to your boss when you could just turn him into a frog?

Why work 200 hours a week when you can simply wave your wand and create a roomful of gold?

Here's an added bonus--frequent NYC Educator contributor Schoolgal promises to teach a summer class. So what are you waiting for? Get off your keester and sign up.

Make it summer vacation all year round. Your students will thank you, if they ever see you again.

They don't care anymore. Fail a class? So what?

Didn't study? Big deal. What's the worst that could happen? If they go to summer school, they not only get a free Metro-cards, so they can cruise around the city and visit all the other miscreants, but also a yummy free school breakfast, courtesy of Mayor Bloomberg. Who pays for that? Me, that's who.

That's how they think, these kids.

Did we think like that when we were kids? Nah. Of course not. We had to walk to school. Every day. Even in the snow.

We were serious, goldarn it. Now why can't they be more like those Asian kids? Look at this here story. Why, this Japanese boy got so upset about taking a test that he burned down his house so his parents wouldn't find out about it.

Now why can't our kids be more like that? What we need is more testing, by cracky, till they get the hang of it. Where's my fountain pen? I'm gonna write me a letter...

This was not at all what Richard had in mind. After repeated requests that Jennifer go out with him, the best she would do was lunch. And at the Pizza Pit, no less. The slices were dried out and the Coke was watery. Why the kids came here he had no idea.

And the kids were all over the place, leering at the both of them, and interrupting them at the oddest moments. They’d have gotten more privacy in the filthy, wretched school cafeteria (It suddenly occurred to him why the kids came here). But when Jennifer looked at him he tried not to show his disappointment.

It didn’t matter because she read his mind.

“I’m sorry, Richard,” she said.

“No, no, it’s fine,” he lied, trying to put on a convincing smile.

“Look, you have to understand—things are a little complicated for me,” she said.

“Complicated? Are you married or something?” Richard asked. “Do you have a crazy boyfriend who’s an axe murderer?”

“No it’s nothing like that. I live in a house with my Tia Dolly, and she’s very …mmm…traditional.”

“You’re all grown up,” answered Richard. “This is a free country. She can’t keep you prisoner.”

“Well, actually, she’s a little crazy. She had a daughter when she was very young, and her daughter did too, and she’s always thinking I’m gonna do the same thing. You have to understand, that’s just the way she is.”

Richard had never heard of anything like this. He looked at her.

“No, I’m not gonna make the same mistake,” Jennifer said. “There are ways to avoid them, you know.”

“Good point, but that’s not what I was thinking,” he said. Why don’t you just move out?”

“I want to. I plan to,” she said. “But it’s very expensive. I send my family in Colombia money each month. And I save money too. I want to buy a co-op or something, but the only way I can save anything is by staying with my aunt.”

“Can’t you even go out to dinner sometime?” he asked.

“I go to school two nights a week, and I teach two others. It’s a lot of work for me to get out. You could come to our house for dinner. She doesn’t speak much English, and she won’t like you because you aren’t Colombian, but you can come anyway.”

“That’s not the best invitation I’ve ever gotten,” he said.

Jennifer bowed her head in thought for a moment. Then she leaned close to Richard. She looked him straight in the eye and said quietly, “Maybe…you could forget about dinner and just come visit me.”

Richard asked, just as quietly. “How could we work that out? I don't think your aunt would go for it in a big way.”

Jennifer took a pen and pad from her bag and wrote her address for Richard. “Once she's asleep, she's asleep. I live upstairs, in the room in the dormer. You could climb up the side of the house, where there’s a window. Then, pull yourself up and over, knock on my window, and I’ll let you in. Really, you can do it. You can climb trees, can’t you? Anyway, I’ve done it.”

Richard wondered why a person might have to climb into her own home. Then he wondered if he could climb half as well as Jennifer. She was in great shape. Probably from all that compulsory clean living.

“Okay,” he said, hoping for the best.

Test-drive a Suzuki Grand Vitara, and get a $50 Shell gas card.

There's a proposal to sell liquor near an elementary school! That's right, old demon alcohol. With a capitol D and that rhymes with P and that stands for polygamy.

Where? No place other than our nation's capital, Washington DC, that den of iniquity. It's widely believed that former president Bill Clinton had oral sex in that town.

Where in this evil town is this evil place? Well, it's in a vegetarian restaurant. That's right. A place where no one even eats steak. It's well-known that tofu and falafel do not constutute acceptable dietary fare for real Americans. So who eats there? Bolshviks and terrorists, probably.

Do you want your children eating that stuff? Do you want to see them drunk, running around vegetarian restaurants with communists?

Of course not. What's next? Opium dens? We must, in the name of all that's right and good in this country, put an immediate stop to this.

Massachusetts children will not be restricted from buying Fluffernutters at lunchtime. In case you don't know, Fluffernutters are sandwiches of peanut butter and some gooey marshmallow-flavored chemical and high-fructose corn syrup-based substance with on wholesome white bread, and there is no conclusive evidence they make you sterile

The kids can now eat them every day if they want to, enabling them to grow into fine, strapping Americans.

I'm certainly glad to see politicians are not restricting our precious constitutional freedoms. I was on the verge of calling the ACLU.

...to the LA Times' School Me for considering NYC Educator in its Highly Coveted Teablog Awards. Though we're second place, we promise to try harder.

Thanks also to Get on the Bus, written by Scott Elliot of the Dayton Daily News, who rated NYC Educator among the best teacher blogs.

On behalf of all the Get on the Bus picks, we, the entire staff here at NYC Educator, would like to humbly request that Mr. Elliot come up with a cool graphic like the LA Times did, so that the beneficiaries of his excellent judgment can display it on their blogs (and point back to his, of course).

Well, we’ve gotten through another year, and it’s been a great one. What? Well, yes, except for that. But still, let’s not dwell on that.

Now let’s not spend all of our energy listening to the whiners, the moaners and the complainers. Yes, there was that thing that happened in April, and who knew it was gonna happen again in May, but we have some very encouraging things to report. What? Well of course I’m going to tell you what they are.

For example, last year the math figures were not all that great, I know. This year, our passing rate has increased by four percent. I think that represents a turning point. Over at Warren G. Harding High School, they actually went down by 2 percent. We’re catching up.

I was at a symposium last week with the chancellor, and he said to me—would you please stop booing? No I think that’s very rude. Would you like it if your students did that to you? Well, yes, I know they do, but that’s not the point. No, I wouldn’t. If your students treat you like that, write it up and send it to the dean, and we’ll—no we can’t just suspend everyone.

Anyway the chancellor—Jesus will you stop that already? He’s really not such a bad guy. He personally complimented me on my—yes you have to come back in August. But let’s not get all worked up about it. Look at the good side. Well, you can get your classrooms together. Come on, Ms. Fernandez, you know I can’t give you your own classroom. Well if I did it for you I’d have to do it for everyone, and then..

Mr. Nelson, please stop biting Ms. Jones right now. No I don’t care if she bit you first. Now please, we have just a few things we need to do, and I know Mr. Greenblatz wants to speak to you about the UFT luncheon…no I don’t know if they’re gonna have lox. Can we please get…oh yes, Mrs. Truncheon is going to retire…could you stand up Mrs. Truncheon? Mrs. Truncheon? MRS. TRUNCHEON? WE HEAR YOU’RE GOING TO RETIRE, MRS. TRUNCHEON? COULD YOU PLEASE STAND UP, MRS. TRUNCHEON?

What? You can’t wake her? She isn’t…no? Oh, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, she’s not…no? She isn’t. Oh, thank God, thank God. I’ve gotta stop chewing that nicotine gum.

Oh my gosh, ok then, well, I want to wish you all a happy and healthy summer. You all deserve it. I’ll turn it over now to Mr. Greenblatz...Mr. Greenblatz?

I always read The Chalkboard, a pro-charter blog written by Joe Williams. I have mixed feelings about charters, and each time I lean one way, something pushes me the other.

Today Joe writes about Nicole Byrne Lau, who used to work for Williamsburgh Charter School. Ms. Lau says she was fired for distributing info about how much UFT teachers make. The school claims they let her go because she's a child-hating racist.

That's an odd conclusion for them to have reached. As recently as May, her evaluation stated those kids she purportedly hates so much were "lucky to have you as their teacher."

Joe makes the valid point that charters may pay more than public schools, and that seeing the UFT pay chart might actually turn off some teachers from the notion of unionization. Of course, that being the case, why shouldn't Ms. Lau pass around the chart to her heart's content? Well, that's because the charter (which clearly must pay less than UFT schools) is an "at-will" employer, meaning they can terminate her for any reason, or indeed for no reason.

Too bad her colleagues haven't unionized. They should.

I gotta say the 5K above UFT scale Eva Moskowitz proposes to pay teachers would hardly induce me to work for her. Frankly, the prospect of being at her beck and call makes me want to retch. Aside from the additional time Mistress Eva would undoubtedly require, I also wonder whether or not employees of charters receive health benefits, the value of which far exceeds her apparent largesse.

Now regular readers of this blog may note that I occasionally criticize Unity, the monopoly party that rules the UFT, as its view of democracy and mine do not precisely concur. However, I'm absolutely cognizant of the fact that my 80,000 colleagues and I would be far, far worse off without a union.

All workers benefit from unionization. There's no way that my voice (however beautiful my mother may think it is) competes with that of 80,000 New York City teachers facing down Joel Klein's efforts to Walmartize education. When we work to improve the lots of working people, we work to help our kids too.

Let's take the gag off Ms. Lau and support unions, so as keep such implements far away from our children.

Update: You really ought to read what Leo Casey on Edwize has to say about this. Among other things, Ms. Lau has landed on her feet, with a job at Brooklyn Tech, and swears never to work another non-union job again.

The carnival is in town. Actually, this week, it's over here, at The Lilting House.

Melissa Wiley was lucky enough to have her 11-year-old homeschooled daughter help out (I hope she got extra credit).

Next week, the carnival returns here, and I'd ask that readers of NYC Educator make their submissions before 6 PM on Tuesday, the 4th of July.

You can click at upper-right to email, or send your contributions to nyceducatorATgmailDOTcom.

Thanks in advance.

The Department of Education needs to hire this blogger, an expert in unnecessary instructions.

I'll bet a six-figure salary would provide plenty of inspiration.