I believe in loyalty. I can be very loyal to a friend, someone I know, my colleagues, teachers in
general. And for those that have stuck out there necks for me, who have taken their time to listen to me, to cheer me up, to let me vent, they have every right to expect loyalty from me and if I disagree with them to be man enough to say what is own my mind and not run behind their backs stabbing them in the back, besmirching their beliefs or worse, jumping ship.

So it pains me when I see a story in the Daily News today about Leader Mona Davids of the NYC Parents Union threatening a Vergara type lawsuit here in New York State. Dang, I thought she was on our side.

I mean did she forget how she was defended when Anthony Krisnky was threatening her, accusing her of backing the UFT?

Did Mona forget the defense of her from disparaging remarks of Carl Campanile of the New York Post?

Did Mona forget her support in the face of her dispute with Gotham Schools?

Did Mona forget the forum she had when she went up against charter school hack Peter Murphy? 

Or forgetting about the special relationship between Joel Klein and Eva Moskowitz?

Did she forget going up against failed comedian Bill Grundfest about the special funding charter get, deformers, Uncle Mike, and Joel Klein?

Did she forget her p3wnge of Michael Benjamin, her Twitter BFF?

Or did she forget defending us against the film, "Won't Back Down," or supporting "The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman?"

With whom does Mona actually stand and for what? I think that is a fair question. To paraphrase Luke Skywalker in "Return of the Jedi,"

"Mona, your thoughts betray you. I feel the good in you, the conflict"

Come back to the five and dime Mona.

But in the meantime, just a few things I wish to comment on from today's article in the News.

Mona said; “There is going to be a lawsuit. The question is which attorney is going to do it for us,”


And one more thing Mona said; "Most of the city’s ineffective teachers are in minority schools and we can’t get rid of them.” 

Excuse me whilst my throat is cleared.

Just two words are needed to rebut this.

Prove. It. 

'Nough said. 

Can she? 

I really wish to thank Peter Murphy of the NYCSA for appearing last night. He was a good sport about it, and in my opinion did the beast he could probably knowing he was going into enemy territory. But one thing sticks out, the "pat" answer he kept giving.

Several callers called in sharing their unhappiness with the charter schools their children are or were enrolled in. There waas a mother with a special needs child that lost a year academically due to incompetence, a parent that called in complaining that there is no learning, that the school is filthy, a parent that called in to explain how the Ross Charter school is failing. But the answer Peter gave the callers was, "if you don't like the school, you have every right to move them out."

Hey, he is 100% correct. To a point. Yes, if you don't like the school, according to the market philosophy espoused by the charter advocates, you can up and leave. But this can be problematic.

If done in the middle of the year, of course you can enroll your child in the locally zoned school. But what if you don't wish to? I would assume that to enroll your child mid-year in a charter school can be difficult if not impossible.

Also, from the student's viewpoint, this can be a somewhat traumatic experience. Especially if the student has special needs. Change can be tough for kids. Tough when you are changing schools mid-stream.

But why should the parents change schools? Shouldn't the charter schools change to satisfy the parents? The parent, the student are the customers. They are always right.

Parents, even in traditional schools, forge bonds with the teachers, the parents, the students, the entire school community. To say, "just leave," is not what they should have heard, and not the answer.

A school is not a movie you don't like and you can walk out anytime. Being part of a school community is akin to a marriage. You wouldn't tell a husband or a wife they can just up and leave after six months of marriage just because the partner farts in their sleep.

Now, I will admit there is a certain amount if glee hearing these stories, hearing first hand how the shine is coming off the charter school apple. But, what I find so peculiar is the lack of accountability in general about charter schools. It is as if the schools and the people who run them feel they are above the law.