Oh, the DOE lawyers are at it again. Throwing the proverbial spaghetti on the wall and seeing what will stick.

Yet another teacher's frivolous 3020-a charges have come across desks of the SBSB news team. We are not in a position to share details of the case nor the teacher as of yet. However, one spec did catch the eye of The Crack Team (click to enlarge):





Just in case anyone is having difficulty reading, this specification reads...

On or about and between September 5, 2018 and May 13, 2019, Respondent yelled at student(s).

We here at SBSB wish to know was the teacher yelling at the students on weekends and days that school wasn't in session or just days that school was in session. Was this one continuous yell for eight months, or was a series of yells?

Which student(s)? Usually, in the specs it gives Student A, Student B, and so on. There is nothing. In fact, it might be one student or more than one student. The dicktards at Legal don't know? Shouldn't they? 

In fact, define yelling. Is it the Tarzan yell perfected by Johnny Weismuller or Carol Burnett? Or more along the line of Lou Costello yelling for Abbott?

There are 250 days from September 5 through May 13. Minus the 72 weekends days, and that comes to 178 days. Let's subtract 28 vacation days, and that comes to 150 days. That's ONE HUNDRED FIFTY TWO instructional days between September 5, 2018, and May 13, 2019 that this teacher MIGHT have yelled at a student(s).

Can you imagine a REAL lawyer asking a witness, "Where were you on the night(s) between September 5 and May 13?" Hilarity would surely ensue in the court.

When you got nothing, better find something, anything, and take it out of context and make it seem something. That's what these so called lawyers at the DOE do. They take anything and use it to destroy a teachers career and their lives. Why, you may ask? It's simple. Because they can. Unimpeded.

And they can't do it alone. If there were enough of a ruckus from the UFT, this could stop. There should have been language in the contract, that was agreed to just less than a year ago, that would have put the brakes on the arbitrariness and capriciousness of charges brought by the DOE "lawyers."

But meanwhile this teacher is now forced to roll the dice with their career.

How much longer?

James Eterno is spearheading a MoveOn petition to repeal New York State Evaluation Laws3012-c and 3012-d. Click here for the MoveOn petition link. Please sign and share!


From James' blog...

Petition to Repeal NYS Teacher Evaluation Laws 3012-c and 3012-d

• Evaluating teachers based on student results on tests and other student assessments that were never designed to rate educators is neither a scientifically or educationally sound way to be used for a Measure of Student Learning portion of a teacher's rating.

•  The Measure of Teacher Practice portion of teacher evaluations is subjective and highly unfair, particularly in NYC where the Danielson Framework has been used not to help teachers grow as professionals but as a weapon to frighten teachers into teaching to score points on arbitrary rubrics in multiple unnecessary classroom observations.

Here we go again with the NYCDOE and attempting to separate teachers from their direct deposits.

Chaz touched on this Thursday in his blog. Math teacher Alan Herz of Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School in Queens was brought up on 3020-a charges. According to the New York Post in 2014 Mr Herz allegedly made a sexist remark as well as an anti-Semitic remark to students; 

 “Oh yeah you don’t get it because you’re a female” and another, “I know how you Jewish people are, and it’s okay because I am Jewish, I know how Jewish people run business”

Now. Let's think for minute. First one needs the context in which the remarks were made, (and that is if they were made). And secondly, why is the DOE spending all these thousands of dollars on going after Mr Herz whilst a simple letter to the file will suffice?

But the Post must throw even more inane and mundane crud at Mr Herz.

According to the cherry picking of the  Post, Mr Herz's

...students and their parents gave him a middling three out of five stars on the website Rate My Teachers.
“The worst teacher my daughter ever had,” said one reviewer in October.
“Not clear and boring,” said another in 2007.

All the while ignoring;

Me.Herz is the kind of teacher who teaches the lesson and gets his point across. Not only, does he teach you the cirriculum; but he gives you life lesssons on the side. His teaching methods were full proof and worked. He would always have a demonstration model for us or an analogy which helped the kids understand.  

Great teacher, helped me sooo much to get accustomed to common core math, has creative ways of teaching

But my favorite part of the Post's story is that (Hold on to your seats!) the NYCDOE is suing both Mr Herz and his arbitrator of his 3020-a, Philip Maier.

Why the arbitrator? Apparently it appears that Mr Maier follows the law.

(Meier) never even heard the merits of the case because he determined that education officials blew a 90-day deadline to issue written findings following an investigation.  

So the DOE screws up and sues the arbitrator and Mr Herz?

We here at SBSB are praying, hoping beyond hope that this case is seen through. Think about it. The DOE in its chutzpah and stupidity is doing everything it can to set a precedent for each and every arbitrator to be sued by whichever side does not like an arbitrator's decision. I even mentioned to Über lawyer Bryan Glass if we could have sued the arbitrator in my case. Bryan, and rightly so at the time, demurred and did not think anything can happen. Maybe now, any teacher that does not like an arbitrator's decision will be able to sue.

Yes, this also means that the DOE will be able to sue, but think if this. Would anyone want to be an arbitrator for 3020-a's if they risked themselves to civil litigation? This just might blow up the entire system.

As for suing Mr Herz, what is the DOE going to get from him? Blood? Again, Mr Herz is sitting in the catbird seat. Where is the standing the DOE has to go after Mr Herz for his comments? Mr Herz is not responsible for the arbitrator doing his job as well as the DOE not doing theirs. We here at SBSB look forward to both defendants having fun with the discovery that they will receive from the DOE. Mr Herz's case is in state court and this leaves one to wonder if he can seek court costs.

As for the Post feeling the need to use Rate My Teachers and the be all and end all of the type of teacher Mr Herz is, remember this. The ratings are subjective!!! In my house none of us cared for my son's baseball travel team coach last year. He knew his baseball, but he did not click with my son. Other parents liked him. Other parents were in the middle. Doesn't make him a horrible coach or that he doesn't know baseball. It was all subjective.

The DOE again is pissing away monies that are better spent on the learning process and the New York Post is once again the New York Post.

So it is official. Betsy DeVos is the new Secretary of Education. God help us all.

I'm not shocked. Out with Duncan/King in with DeVos. It's all the same. Except the crazy God stuff that DeVos bring as well as her hatred of the LGBTQ community.

There are so many people to blame. Public education and the teaching profession have been under attack for 15 years now. Too many ignorant rich people and politicians have been doing everything they can to delegitimize us. Tell a lie enough it becomes truth.

One person I am going to put this is on is our old friend Whitney Tilson. Why Whitney? Simple, Whitney is whining about DeVos' nomination as well as Trump (YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW!)

Yeah, I know, I know. There are so many others to toss the blame at for DeVos, but Whitney just gets under everyone's skin.

Whitney was born with a silver spoon stuck up his ass and it will continue to be there for the rest of his life.

Whitney like DeVos has never attended a public school. Whitney like DeVos never sent his children to public school. Whitney like DeVos donates money to do what he can to destroy public education.

How dare Whitney complain about DeVos. Read this post from April 2010, (Of all the blog posts I've written about Whitney this stands out the most to me) almost seven years ago, in which I wrote about how Whitney completely disparaged a public school which is co-located with a charter. Whitney without any context, without any other information decided to see what he wanted to see. And lie about it as well. Kind of like our current president.

Whitney has spent years delegitimizing teachers. teachers unions, public schools, and worse, the families and communities of the NYC public schools.


Whitney can just delegitimize without offering any real solutions or worse, getting his hands actually dirty and seeing what is really happening.

Whitney just believes that everyone can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and live in the kind of fantasy life he is safely ensconced in.

But when Whitney is whining and kvetching has he ever experienced what children and families of the South Bronx, in particular District 7, go through daily?

Whitney is Trump. Whitney is DeVos.

Whitney has no right to complain about either.

So yesterday the "Bear Whisperer" Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos had her hearing share
her "credentials" on why she should be Secretary of Education. Naturally, there would be a lot of talk radio talk (On both the left and right) concerning this scary, scary woman.

On my way home I turned on SiriusXM channel 127 to listen to Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile on Twitter) . The timing could not have been better. He was talking about the DeVos nomination as well and that Randi Weingarten was to call in about 4:30. The moment was perfect for me to call in.

So about 4:15 PM I called and I got the screener. I told him that as a teacher in NYC I (And I am sure quite a few others!) feel that DeVos is going to be just a continuation of the eight dreadful years of Obama-Duncan-King and that this war on education had been aided, abetted, and enabled by the famed troika we have had to deal with all these many years. Screener said good points and told me to hold on.

At about 4:20 Signorile took my call and I basically said what I told the screener, but I added;

"Obama and Duncan have done much damage to education in this country."

At this point Signorile yelled;

"YOU'RE A FAKE CALLER!"

And he hung up on me. I listened to the rest of his tirade on the radio has he shouted;

"Obama and Duncan have done more for LGBQT students and opening access for all students in the country than any other have."

This is where his ignorance slip is showing.

By the way, I have always voted Democrat. Except in 2012 and 2014. Just couldn't bring myself to vote for Obama or Cuomo. My whole family, immediate and extended, are Democrats. My grandfather was part of the Tweed machine. So there!

Yes, DeVos is an abomination that will make life miserable for both LGBQT students and teachers, and even parents.  Yes, Obama has been wonderful for the LGBQT community. But that is not the point I was making and if any other teacher had called in I don't think that would be the point they would be making either.

Now one thing gets me wondering, Signorile's quote about opening access for all students. Because that sounds like code for "school choice." Which just happens to be something that Herr Trump and DeVos seem to want. And guess who else wanted it Michelangelo? Yeah, Arne and Barack did too!

Signorile needs to understand that thanks to Obama/Duncan that we are inundated with charter schools supported by the 1% so that the 1% can get their tax write-offs and photo ops or that are a cash cow for them and their buddies.

We have testing, testing, that has betrayed families and children across the country of being properly educated.

We have cuts in financial aid to school districts nation wide thanks to Obama/Duncan.

We have over crowded classrooms thanks to Obama/Duncan.

We have sham graduation rates thanks to Obama/Duncan.

We have the Common Core thanks to Obama/Duncan.

We have states being held hostage to federal monies and forced to implement inane, obtuse curricula thanks to Obama/Duncan.

We have a teacher shortage in New York State thanks to Obama/Duncan.

SUNY schools are experiencing a enrollment drop in education programs of up to 40% the last five years because of Obama/Duncan.

Teachers unions across the country are under attack thanks to Obama/Duncan.

Teachers are under attack across the country thanks to Obama/Duncan.

Parents are fighting back finally thanks to Obama/Duncan.

Corporations have profited quite handsomely on the backs of children thanks to Obama/Duncan.

Dang, I can go on and on and on and on. I know I am leaving a lot of things out. But suffice it to say, Obama/Duncan have destroyed public education in this country and they were enabled by DEMOCRATS. Yeah, starting with Ted Kennedy and chumming up to George W. back in 2001.

So maybe it is time that Mr Signorile speak and listen to teachers and find out what is really going on. Go and fight DeVos Mike but 95% of the policies that she will be advocating are basically just regurgitated from Obama/Duncan.

I guess I need to go back to listening to Francessa on the way home. 

So Chapter Leaders and I guess administrators are being trained on the new evaluation system.
Everything being crammed into a short time frame. I guess sooner or later teachers will be trained  as well.

But I've been thinking lately.

Think about this. Say you are a teacher and up until now, January 11, 2017 you have had say 2 observations in which were complete disasters. You have to ineffectives and on your way to end of year rating hell. And let's just say for arugments sake that the new evaluation system kicks in on February 1.

Do you get a mulligan? A do over? Like in Galaxy Quest when you get to use the Omega 13 and rearrange matter and get to go back in time redeem a mistake?  Or do the ineffectives get combined with the new method?

One should be able to get a do over. It is only fair. But we have yet to hear from anyone with knowledge to share this with us.

In fact, what about the four observations? Are the observation pro-rated to two observations are will the four observations be jammed into the last few months of the school year?

And one more thing.

Keeping the beginning date of the new evaluation system as February 1in place shouldn't all teachers observations/evaluations be then based on the old S/U system? Think about it for a moment.

Back in November when I was at the Bronx UFT ATR meeting it was shared with us that if we got a permanent position at that time we will be under the auspices of the, at the time, current APPR system. However, if we got a permanent position in the second semester will fall under the S/U nothing to do with Danielson system. Heck, this is even true for new hires if they started that late in the year that they would be under S/U as well.

Will new teachers that are hired in March or later be part of the newest evaluation system or will they fall under the older old version of evaluations/observations the S/U?

Inquiring minds want to know. Inquiring minds want to hear from someone, anyone.

THE NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM IS HERE! THE NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM IS HERE!

Oh oh. As usual the devil is in the details and the devil ain't looking too good at first glance.

We all got the email from Mike Mulgrew espousing the latest ($5 bet we are going through this again in 2 years) evaluation system. As usual it seems that Mike pulled a George Steinbrenner. He was negotiating against himself.

The Crack Team and I went over Mulgrew's email with a fine tooth comb, but several things raised (and upon further reading I am sure more will) our eyebrows here at SBSB and our raised eyebrows raised our BS perception.

The new system, when fully implemented, will include more authentic student learning measures — from essays and projects to demonstrations of proficiency in physical education and the arts — that genuinely demonstrate what we do as teachers and what our students are learning.

When I was reading this email at lunch today I just happened to be sitting with the gym and music teachers at my school. Fate.

Anyway, proficiency is defined as;

noun

1. the state of being proficient; skill; expertness:

So students must become experts in a sport or physical skill? How do we in the schools, many of whom are athletically spastic decide what is or isn't? How do we decide what is proficient when it comes to the arts? 

I can't sing a note. I can't play an instrument. There is no amount of instruction that will get me to be able to be proficient in either. Now, I do enjoy listening to music. For those that have read my blog you know how much of a Rush fan I am. But does that make me proficient in the arts? Will appreciating a painting make me proficient? 

Same with sports and I will use my son as an example. Since he has been 6 he has been in baseball training. He has been lucky enough to play travel and school baseball. He's a good catcher but he has some things to work on. He has a bit of a long swing that we've been trying to correct for years and he likes to pull the ball. With all the training he's been through, and could it be the instructors fault, should he not be able to overcome those hitches in his swing? Or does he have a mental thing going? Baseball is 90% mental, no? 

But again, to put the onus on the impossible is just wrong. Yes, anyone can throw a baseball or play the riff from "Smoke on the Water," (I can!) but not everyone can pitch like Koufax or sing like Freddie Mercury.

We went into those negotiations saying that any agreement must reduce the impact of standardized test scores

Reduce the impact? I'm so confused here so I checked out ICEUFT Blog for further clarification...

As for the rest of the agreement, it looks (like) test scores will count for half of teacher ratings instead of the current 40%.

I'd like to know more about what James meant, but here is the thing. Aren't we, and I mean we by teachers, parents, educators, grown-ups, etc... holding all the cards here? The opt-out movement is still gaining steam. The public sees through the charade now. Why are we folding when everyone at the table just has a pair and we have a flush?

Under the new system, there will still be four observation options, but we’ve expanded the choices for teachers rated Effective or Highly Effective in the prior year.  Starting in the 2017–18 school year, teachers rated Effective — in addition to those rated Highly Effective — may choose Observation Options 3, which includes a minimum of four informal, unannounced observations plus teachers agree to open their classrooms to colleagues for at least two non-evaluative classroom visits. Highly Effective teachers may also now choose Observation Option 4, which includes a minimum of three informal, unannounced observations plus three times when teachers open their classrooms for a visiting colleague to observe and learn from their teaching.

Isn't the deal of negotiating is to reduce onerous crap that the rank and file doesn't want not to increase it? Here is an example. I own a restaurant in the Bronx. The law requires one (or it can be two) health inspections a year. Now do I as a Bronx restaurant owner go to the city and ask for more inspections a year? NO! But in UFT world more 9pardon the pun) is good and less is very, very bad.

By the way, I am leading the charge to change the law regarding car inspections in New York State. I can't live with myself knowing that my car is inspected only once a year. I insist that my car is inspected bi-monthly.

Seriously, who thinks up this shit that more observations is a good thing and a win?

What is most disturbing is this. The timing of the announcement. Two days before Christmas break, two days right after an executive board meeting in which the high school seats are controlled by MORE. Something stinks and it ain't coming from New Jersey.

Right before vacation so there is no real time for teachers to get together in their schools to discuss what they really think about the new evaluation system and to learn more and to contact the UFT to share what they think. Remember, UFT offices are conveniently closed next week.

This news could have also been shared at exec board meeting this pat Monday but wasn't Heck, at the very least it could have been shared at the very least that an agreement was near and give all members parameters of the agreement. I guarantee you this...

If MORE was not in control of the high school seats this would news would have been out on Monday.

But now comes the hard part for the UFT. Let this process be open and fair! Let there be true debate and feedback in the chapters. Let the DA be a source for free and fair debate. Share all information with all members of each and every executive board. And one more thing.

After a sufficient amount of time (one month?) with the rank and file having access to all sides of the debate allow us, the teachers, the ones closest to the action to vote up or down on this evaluation system. We know what is best for us not 52 Broadway.

It used to be that on my way home I would turn on WFAN and listen to the bloviating of His
Popeness, Mike Francesa. Hasn't been that way for a few months now.

I have found a new voice to listen to, that of Michelangelo Signorile on SiriusXM Progressive Channel 127. I have to tell you, I am hooked. Heck, I don't even listen to Sternthology in the afternoon.

Michelangelo has had me mesmerized with his take on the entire 2016 election and it's aftermath. The way he has deconstructed Trump's petty excuse of living has me on the edge of my seat as I drive up the Major Deegan in the afternoon. His progressive agenda, his realistic look at the world has let know that I, and others who feel the same, or not alone in the screwed up, messed up, crazy country we live in nowadays.

Michelangelo is a true defender of those who need defending. Whether they be of the LGBTQ community, African-American, Hispanic, Asian-Americans, Jews, women, or just anyone in need, and anyone being shat upon by those with the privilege to be in power. Death

Listening to him mock Steve Bannon, the Alt-Right, Trump, Christie, Palin, Guiliani, and all the other Trump hangers on and sycophants have left me in stitches so often I have almost driven off the Sprain!

But, and I say this with a heavy heart, Michelangelo has disappointed me in one regard. His silence and lack of understanding on Herr Trump's stance on education.

Right after the election I got a phone call from a friend of The Crack Team who happened to be in a panic. She was convinced that Reichsführer Trump will annihilate education in this country, sending billions of dollars away from public education and in the process putting the final nail in the coffin of teachers unions and urban education.

I did my best to reassure her that it won't happen, that Trump is all talk and he will never shut down the Department of Education and besides she, as well as myself, have just over 4 years till retirement and hopefully we'll be out before the proverbial doody hits the proverbial fan.

So back on November 10 I decided to call into Michelangelo's show and share with him what teachers are thinking and how horrible a Trump presidency will be to education in this country. I felt the need to do this due to the fact that of all the things that Trump is for not once had I heard Michelangelo bring up Trump's threat to education.

So Mike, I hope you are reading this. You took my call during the 5 o'clock hour. I told you I was Pete from White Plains and that I am a NYC teacher. I told you about Trump's plan and how teachers are scared. I told you how he will be wanting to take monies away from public education and put those monies into charter schools and vouchers for parochial and private schools as well as into homeschooling. Oh, and I shared how with being able to fill Scalia's seat teachers run the risk of Friedrich's being reheard and losing our right to organize. I will give you credit. You heard me. But you did not listen.

All I got from you Mike was, and I am paraphrasing, "Don't worry, your unions are too strong to allow this to happen." Say what? I tried to get in a word but you just kept talking over me.

Guess what? Our unions are not strong enough to fight back. Have you seen what has happened alone in New York State with education? With the testing, the BS evaluations, junk science, etc...? Who do we have to thank for this? The United Federation of Teachers. OUR UNION!!! That of course acts this way due to the directing of the AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS!!!

Have you noticed a trend across the country? In Wisconsin, North Carolina, California? Where have you been?

Where were you when Eva Moskowitz's name was being floated as Education Secretary? Do you know about Eva? Just in case you don't, check this out! Were you appalled that Princess Trump visited her Success Academy 1 School to tout her as an innovative educator  whilst ignoring the GREAT WORK of the teachers in the same building who teach our most needy students?

Where were you when Michelle Rhee was floated as Education Secretary? Yeah, that Michelle Rhee who I wrote about on the Huff Post in 2010, you know, about duct taping her student's mouths shut.

And guess who enabled the Moskowitz's, the Rhees, and the countless education deformers of the world? The DEMOCRATS! Yeah, without the Democrats, we never get NCLB and Race to the Top. If Democrats can't stop Republicans, or at the very least roll over for the Republicans, how can Trump be stopped?

How can Trump and the Republican controlled Congress be stopped when our unions have been rolling over, throwing teachers under the bus for 15 years?

Hey Mike, how about putting up that same fight for our children, the communities, our unions, and teachers that you put up for everyone else?

I know you can, and I know you are a good person that can make a change.

The following comes to you from the files of, "This Shit Can't Be Made Up!"

A disturbing story came across the news desk of The Crack Team recently. It is so disturbing, so vile, so inane, we didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, or to spew chunks.

An ATR shared with us about their school which is being run by, as we were told, "nitpicking micro-managers (Administrators) who are up your ass everyday and in your room 2-3 times looking for something to provide 'actionable feedback."

Eventually one of these micro-managers found something so abhorrent, so revolting what this ATR had been doing it necessitated a quick "strategy conference."

The AP informed the ATR that handouts were being passed out the wrong way!

OH MY GOD!!!! THE HORROR OF IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!

Wrong way? Does this mean with the wrong hand? I'm left-handed living in a right-handed world. When I pass out handouts (rexos) I hold the papers in my right hand and use my left hand to pass them out. Surely, this is a disciplinary offense?

Could it be the ATR did not flick the wrist properly? Or maybe did not center the handout correctly on the desk? Dear Lord, maybe a morning of PD on Election Day can rectify this problem.

So what really was the issue?

The ATR was chastised because it had taken 75 seconds to pass out the handouts. One minute and 15 seconds.

The AP shared with the ATR that these 75 seconds resulted in a lost of "quality learning" time that which over a year can result in the loss of several periods of learning.

The ATR was corrected. Kinda like in the manner in which The Shining when the Jack Nicholson was told to correct his wife.

The ATR was told to have handouts in piles per table groups and have the table captains walk up to pick them out and then hand them out at their tables. 

So here's the deal. How do we shave off the time and help this ATR pass out the handout in a quicker, more efficient manner that not only makes sense but is much more efficient?

This does not seem very efficient. What will that save, 3.75 seconds (Don't laugh. The Crack Team has tested out this scenario at The Crack Team's Educational Research Labs in Yonkers)?

The ATR can get one of those cannon things that shoot T-shirts at sporting events. Nah, can only do one at a time and will waste time loading it.

The ATR can stand in the middle of the class, or rather at this school the "Learning Environment," and throw the handouts up in the air and hope the all float to each student. Nah.

The Crack Team invested many hours on this one and came up with a solution. It is so simple and so plausible.

We have instructed the ATR to go to the science lab during the next thunderstorm and stand by many different chemicals. To ensure a lightning strike on the aforementioned chemicals the ATR, along with help from the school's science teacher, will build a lightning rod from the chemicals, out the window, and up to the roof of the school. During the storm lightning will hit the rod, come down through it to the chemicals which then will spill all over the ATR. At this moment the ATR will soon be blessed with speed as fast as light. Either that or wind up in 1955.

Or the ATR can go back in time to before Krypton exploded, knock out Jor-El and Lora and throw Kal-El out of the ship and blast off towards earth and have the true effects of the yellow Sun. Yeah, I know. This idea is kind of silly and unrealistic. The first idea is better.

Let's see the UFT come up with this kind of out of the box thinking.

It's funny how the mind works. People hear or believe what they want to even when clear cut
empirical evidence tells us otherwise. Logic goes out the window.

For too long all we have been hearing during this UFT election season;

"Jia knows nothing about ATR's"

"Jia doesn't care about ATR's"

"Jia won't fight for ATR's"

Hogwash, hogwash, and triple hogwash.

They great unwashed masses of ignorance are enjoying pointing to this Facebook post by Jia a few weeks ago;
Jia came to the right place. As any qualified leader would do, she decided to seek out the people for information rather than telling those what they want to hear. Jia knows what is going on with ATR (LISTEN TO JIA HERE). But is it wrong with wanting to continually grow your knowledge of any subject. To hear different perspectives and idea? Of course not.

 But for those who are still having difficulty understanding Jia, here we go again.

Jia wanted to get thoughts on an ATR that had never met their field supervisor and had received an email. Being someone who does not fly off the handle Jia did as anyone would and do their due diligence, much as any qualified leader would. 

What are getting some others knickers all knotted up is this line from that FB post;

"Is this happening to anyone else" 

THIS means referring to said unfamiliar supervisor emailing and observing aforementioned teacher.

But those with just the linear ability of thought can't or just won't can't see it that way. Some are just so infatuated with their thought process they just need to find any thing, such as the tiniest little tree branch to save them from drowning in their own misthoughts. 

Jia knows damn well what is happening to the ATR's. She sees it and I agree with her why Mulgrew has allowed it (LISTEN TO JIA HERE). Our very own union wants to be rid of the ATR problem and the only way they feel they can do it and still smell like a rose is to force ATR's to quit or retire. 

But (LISTEN TO JIA HERE) as sh explains that there is just more (Pardon the pun!) than just stability for the teachers to be in a permanent position. She it's the nail on the head. It is more than just knowing where you are going to teach, more than being fairly observed. It's the sense of being part of something. The sense of being able to start something and seeing it through. A sense of belonging.

Why is so important to be in one school. Jia (LISTEN TO JIA HERE!) hits the nail on the head by comparing what is going on with ATR's and the "Lean Production Model," and/or Efficiency. This is what we need to here. Not someone who claims they can fix the problem without knowing the root of the problem. But rather someone who know the root of the problem, knows where it emanates from, someone who understands the thinking behind it and knows how to best attack it. That is leadership. That is non-linear thought. More importantly, that is the ability to learn, and put into practice, new information.

How can anyone say they promise to fix the ATR issue if they don't understand the antecedent reasons and illogic that has caused issue? Isn't that illogical? 

Too many believe that to fix the ATR problem one must be just reactive. But it can't work that way. Again, this is just linear thinking. To fix the ATR problem one must be proactive and reactive. To know when to use a hammer and when to use the chisel. Each are effective, but a true sign of leadership is to know when  and how to use these tools.

Jia has also taken slack of being a one issue, The Opt-Out movement, leader. This accusation was particularly vociferous when Jia was featured in the New York Post earlier this week. But LISTEN  TO JIA HERE and hear how she again understands what should be the ultimate genesis of the ATR problem.

Jia focuses on the testing because it is the;

"tool being used to perpetuate cultures of competition based on a metric that is completely flawed.."

"...we're using it on a bell curve that a bottom that you have to cut off... you can label those teacher and label those teachers and say that they are bad"

That bottom is the ATR's. I should not be considered, nor any other teacher be considered, as some random obfuscated number or statistic or some hacks bell curve.

The ATR issue cannot be solved without weeding out the bad ideas behind it as well as the bad people implementing it. And by bad people I do not mean those at the UFT or NYCDOE.

We are talking about those that have stolen our education system from our communities, our schools, our students, and ourselves. When we decide as educators and the rank and file that will be consistently fighting for our rights and taking our heads out of the sand and stand up for ourselves, then that will be the time the tide turns.

Empty promises and machismo is not the way to go about this. We need to be able to adapt. Able to change course at a moment's notice. We as ATR's and teachers need to not go with the flow, but be the flow.


This can never work with top down leadership. Only a leadership that is one of the cogs in the wheel.

Principal Deborah Glauner

Oh, we just can't keep making this sh** up now can we?

Sit down, here comes another round of ridiculousness heaped upon a ATR.

But first, a little background.

There are two types of diabetes. Type I in which your pancreas has shut down and no longer produces insulin. You really have to watch what you eat and you need to either inject yourself with insulin several times a day or have a pump attached to you and inserted in you which pumps insulin as needed throughout the day. The most known reason for someone having Type I is that a virus attacks the pancreas and which in turn shuts down the production of insulin.

Then there is Type II. The body does not produce enough insulin. This is caused by heredity, weight, eating habits, etc... I have Type II and have cut out the carbs, the fried foods, the ice cream, etc.. I take Metformin and Glimepiride and have no plans to ever take insulin.

Both types need to have their blood sugar below 150 after meals and their A1c levels at below 6.5 ideally. Mine is currently 7.1 and it is tough. I also need to get my weight down.

But the worse part is testing the blood. Got to carry that darn test kit around all the time and sometimes you have to test when you really need to. So it really boils my britches when I get a story from an ATR who needs to test her blood and gets written up for it.

As the ATR wrote to The Crack Team;

I went to 10 schools as an ATR this year. Just received an S rating and perfect attendance.

Regardless, my efforts at school #9 the (I.A.)principal Deborah Glauner (2002 Teaching Fellow) of (Arts & Media Preparatory Academy in Brooklyn) is placing a disciplinary letter on my file. Reason? For checking my blood glucose in front of one student. She assigned me 6 periods per day: first 3, last 3. I had to walk a mile from a parking spot and walk/run 4 floors up, no elevator. There was no place to test BG (Blood glucose) before first 3 periods. The class roster had 4 students but only one student was present. But she wrote students (plural) big difference. At the same school a student threw a calculator at me hitting my shoulder. And my iPhone 6 was stolen in the last day.

Can this be true? Let's have a looksee (Click to enlarge).

Have you read it? OK, let's get past all the gobbledegook about who said what and where who was and concentrate on the part about blood borne pathogens. Principal Glauner states that the teacher in question placed students...

"at risk of exposure of bodily fluids." 

Dear God, where have we heard of this before? This ATR has stole Principal Glauner's essence .


Risk? Look at this video (At about 1:38 in) see the blood gushing everywhere? Take a reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaal close look. It's a pin prick. The strip soaks up 99% of the blood.

In fact one, and I have been guilty of it, one can use the needle for the next test therefore not having to dispose of the needle.

In fact, by checking the NYCDOE Occupational Safety and Health website on blood borne pathogens there is not one single link to anything to do diabetes testing. It all has to do with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and basically what to do if someone is hemorrhaging blood.

A member of The Crack Team spoke with someone today at OSAH and asked if checking for diabetes, whether in front of students, adults, or anywhere can be considered a risk. The gentleman, who was quite kind, replied unequivocally, "NO!! Not at that tiny amount." When asked about proper disposal of the testing strip he said, "A testing strip is safe enough to dispose of in the regular trash."

So why then did Principal Glauner (Or if we won't to go with the bodily fluid theme, "Principal Ripper) have to write up this ATR?

Simple. The teacher is an ATR. Principal Glauner is a Interim Acting principal and feels she show she is tough. The ATR knows more than she. The ATR is nicer. There are a littany of reasons.

What would have been the harm in a) giving a counseling memo or just have an informal conversation with the teacher? Or b) Reach out to someone at Tweed and truly find out if the itty bitty bit of blood is dangerous. It is not.

But here is the main problem. Principal Glauner could have taken this moment and turned it into a true teachable moment. Isn't this what education and being an educator is all about?

Sadly, Principal Glauner is too infatuated with her new found power. She does not feel she is capable and must make others feel bad to build herself up in her mind.

More ATR horror stories direct from the files of "YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SH** UP!"

My advice in dealing with the UFT when you need help and not getting it. Simple. The greasy wheel gets oiled. Be the biggest pain in the ass you can be. Don't just call once. Just keep on calling. And if after a day this doesn't get you what you want go to the next level. Do the "pop-in." Go to your district office and insist on seeing someone and DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER! Or if you have the time go to 52 Broadway and insist that you be taken care of and DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER!

If you go to a restaurant and the service is crappy are you going to just say nothing? Will you accept nothing after you speak to the waiter and he/she is not responsive?

But you have to be your own best advocate. Don't rely on others to do the bidding for you. You need to grab the bull by the balls and make your presence known.

If anyone needs any help, advice, to vent, to have a shoulder to cry on, or whatever, email me. Many of you have since I wrote Part 1 on Thursday and still need to get back to more.

Hang in there!

These stories of ATR horrors come from the files of "YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SH** UP!"

Again, for those who do not know, click here to learn what an ATR(Absent Teacher Reserve) is. 

Reading these stories, what bothers me the most is not the nasty treatment from administrators or secretaries, that's to be expected, but rather the nasty treatment by fellow teachers and union members.

Here's the thing to all teachers who decide to dump on ATR's. It might happen to you one day so don't do stuff that will invite the Karma Fairy to see you.

This will be done in two parts. I have also fixed grammatical and spelling mistakes as opposed to what I had posted the other night. I wanted to keep it real but someone got their knickers in a bunch. Remember, these were received in quickly written emails. As far as upper and lower case letters being where they should and/or punctuation, who cares right now? ;P Any highlighting or italics or whatever has been added by The Crack Team.

If anyone needs any help, advice, to vent, to have a shoulder to cry on, or whatever, email me.