So this dipshit President Assclown, and his lackeys at the NRA, are suggesting that teachers should be armed as well as locked and loaded in case of some crazed demented male with a tiny tallywhacker decides to shoot up a school.

This is not a good idea. Please read Arthur Goldstein's take on why it is stupid. Think about it. We as teachers keep on hearing how we are no good. But, we are to be trusted with handguns and other weapons in case an active shooter comes into our school to destroy the lives of the children we keep on being told we are destroying anyway.

Law enforcement are the only ones with the training and capabilities to protect the children and take down an active shooter. Yeah, dumbass Trump says to train teachers. But law enforcement does not get trained just once, they keep on getting trained and re-trained.

My son's school district has a Harrison police officer at each school. That is who I trust. I also, God forbid, believe that if there is an active shooter in his school that his teachers will shield the students to the best of their abilities. But not all school districts and police departments can afford or have the manpower to have an office in each school.

This is not perfect, but this is what we have until more is done to limit the sales of guns and military style weapons. But in the meantime something needs to be done. The Crack Team got together and came up with some ideas that are better than arming teachers and hopefully will appeal to the Cheeto Face president and his sycophants.

Lightsabers

Yes, lightsabers. Arm all teachers with lightsabers. As Obi Wan told Luke in Star Wars Episode IV...

Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

Yes, each teacher will be assigned a light saber (color of their choice). As Rey has shown in Episodes VII and VIII one does not need to be trained in the ways of the Force to use one. And let's not forget that Finn was proficient with a lightsaber.

Vulcan Nerve Pinch

Each district will send several teachers from each school to the Vulcan Science Academy for intensive instruction on the practice of using the VNP. What's that you say? Only Vulcans have the ability to perform the VNP? I don't think so.

In Star Trek: TOS episode "Omega Glory" after Spock uses the VNP...

Kirk tells Spock "Pity you can't teach me that" (i.e. the Vulcan Nerve Pinch), and Spock replies "I have tried, Captain."

And lest we forget, Mr Data, Odo, Jean-Luc Picard (because he is way more cool than Kirk), Jonathan Archer, and the useless holographic Doctor have all used the VNP. It can be done.

General Order 24

Yes, we more Star Trek: TOS! In "A Taste of Armageddon" Captain Kirk while he and the landing party were being held hostage ordered Mr Scott to implement General Order 24, An order to destroy all life on an entire planet. But Scott was trained well. He did not want to follow in the footsteps as Captain Garth did on Antos IV. Scott had the Enterprise wipe out all power and weapons systems on EminiarVII.

Trump can commission, or use his billions, to build a star ship orbiting the earth. When an active shooter situation happens in a school the local principal can give General Order 24.

Batman Style

No, come on. Let's be real. There is no such thing as Batman. But, we can train teachers, one teacher per school, in the style of Batman.

Each summer every school district selects one teacher (of course by seniority) to travel to Bhutan and be trained by The League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul. After an intensive 8 week session the teachers travels back to their schools and are in essence each school's Dark Knight. When an active shooter (hopefully never) situation arises that teacher can take care of the shooter Batman style.

The Crack Team worked hard at coming up with these inane ideas. Much harder than Trump and the NRA did coming up with their dumbassity. It's time to be realistic. Want to end the Active Shooter curse. Don't give them something to shoot with.

Oh, and get rid of Trump and all the blooducking NRA Republicans.

Everything is over. Done. Kaput. Finis.

The lawsuits are done. We settled both suits (I believe last time I discussed this, one suit had been settled). A tremendous weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I can't say enough about my wife who unconditionally stood by my side through all this craziness the last, almost, 5 years and showed me such strength when I was at my lowest. She turned out, as I would tell her, to be my Yoko Ono.

Enough also can't be said for my brilliant lawyer Bryan Glass as well as his partner Jordan Harlow. Both Bryan and Jordan are beyond honorable men and lawyers and both complement each other in very unique ways. If you are in trouble with the DOE and need a lawyer you can not go wrong at all with either. Just don't bring up the Red Sox with Jordan. He for some reason thinks they are going to win the World Series this year.

Anyway, it is time for me to move on. 

I'm thinking this today for some things I have read about this week.

One, is the articles in the Post earlier this week (I refuse to even link to them) about the Renewal Schools. Someone, I shan't say who, tried to rope me into commenting for the articles. I didn't want to. That chapter in my life is over. It is time to move on. I don't need the attention. I don't need to be the center of the teacher universe.

Another article is from one minor NYC newspaper about a teacher suing the DOE.

I wish this teacher the best. But sometimes, and I learned this, there is a time to say enough is enough. As a lawyer who is a close personal friend of mine once shared with me, "Our system is not about justice, it is about how money I can get for you." And, "You never know what a jury will do."

There are two kinds of justice. First is Revenge, and if this is your aim, your soul and katra will wither and die. Then, there is True Justice, in which a wrong is righted, but it must be for the correct reasons.

Let God or whatever deity or spiritual power you believe in, take care of the "Revenge" (I don't even like using that word).

I didn't want my lawsuit to consume me nor define me. Yes, there were times that I wanted blood (figuratively). There were also times through this lawsuit,  that I got very down, that I said "FUCK IT!", and just wanted to quit.

But I could let it define me, or give up. There are much more important things in my life. One, is my peace of mind, my mental state. The others are right here in my house. My wife and my son.

My marriage was at times strained due to the lawsuit. But my wife was very involved in my case. Coming to court. Reassuring me. Strengthening my resolve.

My son needed me too. In fact, I needed him more. He will be 16 this June and entering college in two years. I can't, could not, and would not, neglect my role as his father for this lawsuit. He needs a father full time. If anything good came out of this I believe he has a better understanding of how to stand up for himself, and for those who need help the most.

I see how some have become so consumed with their own lawsuits. One person I know, and I won't share his name, has continuously taken bad advice from the wrong person (time
after time) and has practically lost his mind wallowing and chasing every windmill both real and imagined.

Nor do I have any inclination that my lawsuit was going to deliver teachers to the promised land of freedom. I'm not that full of myself. I am happy with who I am.

Not every teacher can fight back like I, or others have. That is something that some just can't wrap their brains around. All I can do, and I have reached out and been reached out to, is give any teacher in distress what their options are, everything and anything they can do, and let them make the choice that is best for them. And at that point, support them unconditionally, in anyway that is required.

And another thing I have realized. For all the crap I have been through, there have been teachers that are much worse off than I can even fathom. I know I might have my moments, but there but for the grace of God go I. How can I truly grow and move on as a person and a teacher if I think I had it bad ,when so many of my brethren are hurting and in deep, deep pain?

I am not giving up the struggle for our schools, our communities, and our educators. But the wise thing  to know is when to use the chisel instead of a hammer and to remember the difference.

The following comes as no surprise to us here at SBSB. The rumors were flying for over a year, but we have confirmed that UFT Solidarity met with AFT president Rand Weingarten early in 2014 seeking employment in the UFT, ostensibly becoming a member of the Unity Caucus. The same caucus that has brought us Mike Mulgrew.

For some time, and we knew here at SBSB, UFT Solidarity met with Randi in Manhattan but were never given a reason why. Rumors abounded. The biggest rumor was that UFT Solidarity was asked to start a stalking horse caucus as a way to siphon off votes from MORE which would entail a a splitting of the opposition vote giving Unity yet another victory.

Lately The Crack Team had heard some rumors that the above was untrue, that the meeting was initiated by UFT Solidarity. The Crack Team was sent out into the field to find out more (Pardon the pun).

Bur suddenly yesterday in the comments section of this blog post, "UFT Solidarity Fanboi Love Letter," a comment was made;

"You miss the point. Unity is laughing at the Portelos spectacle - they know he is nuts but are happy to be using him to divide the opposition. They even brag privately how Solidarity is doing their work for them - and they also spill the beans that Portelos was asking Unity for a job and when he didn't get it he figured he could win favor by creating a caucus that could prevent MORE from winning executive board seats. Is that what the meeting with Randi was about? Play the tape."

 Yes, interesting, but even more interesting was trying to curry favor with Unity by splitting the vote and this must explain the near schoolgirl crush that UFT Solidarity laid on New Action.

UFT Solidarity replied to this comment that left many scratching their heads;

Randi asked me "Are you interested in building a bridge back to the UFT? " I told her the UFT won't take me in, like you said above, so "I'm building my own bridge." At that point I sent her the link for Solidarity.

Her response was actually "Wait, let me try one more thing and have a convo with Mike."

Randi sought out UFT Solidarity without clearing this with Mulgrew? Seems strange.

Stranger is why would Randi seek out UFT Solidarity and not anyone from MORE (Not that they would have gone to the meeting) like anyone of at least 50 people I can think of.

Also interesting is that since this meeting occurred in early in 2014 how could Randi have seen the Solidarity website if the website came online in April of this year (According to whois.net) and the Solidarity Facebook page came online in September 2014.

Norm brought up a fine point as well in the comments section of "UFT Solildarity Says It Won't Help All Teachers....And Other Funny Stuff;"

"Remember how you asked me why you couldn't run in their slate in addition to the more slate in 2013 and I told you you had to choose? So there you were ready to run on a slate with mulgrew at the head of the ticket just 2 years ago. You were hoping you could grab one of those unity new action exec be seats even if it meant selling out to mulgrew. But neither unity or new action wanted you for the exec bd and I pushed for you for the more exec bd slate. And you got on the ballot without bringing in any signatures on the petition"

So is it not natural to question the motives behind UFT Solidarity? Is this so called caucus for the teachers and by the teachers, or is it someone's way to get back at all those who have scorned UFT Solidarity. It is starting to look like the latter, as if a boyfriend had been dumped by a girl and this is just nothing more than a tantrum? 

Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few at UFT Solidarity or is it about one person in the ultimate con job leading people off the cliff?

The followers of UFT Solidarity need to snap out of it and really start asking questions.

Earlier this morning, the SBSB news team received an email with something quite interesting regarding UFT Solidarity. The email was turned over to The Crack Team for analysis and confirmation.

This blog post would have been posted much earlier in the day if two things did not happen. One, several members of The Crack Team laughed so hard that they became completely incontinent and had to be rushed to the Westchester Medical Center ER. They are back to work now after being thoroughly cleaned up, checked for injuries, and their clothes sent to the dry cleaners.

Second, when fed the information in the email, the SBSB computers completely went on the fritz and since our IT person was at the ER as well (For attempting to gouge his eyes out) we had to turn to our IT intern, Zippy the Brain Damaged Chimp, to get the computers up and running again.

Before we share with the SBSB readership, our legal intern, Zippy the Brain Damaged Chimp (Zippy wears many hats), has suggested that we blur out any images in which our readers might find offensive and to warn those with weak constitutions, heart conditions, small children, the elderly, to avert their eyes or wear the protective visor that Spock wore when greeting the Medusan ambassador Kollos.

Are you ready? Last chance. OK, here we go.

There you have it. And just in case anyone thinks The Crack Team created this, you are wrong so go here.

As usual the autocratic nature of UFT Solidarity allows room for only one voice, one face, one opinion, one idea.

A caucus or even a union us more than just one person, it is many people contributing many ideas, opinions, voices, faces, that when meshed together join and make one larger and more importantly, stronger voice that everyone will not only listen to but hear as well.

When you run a caucus in the UFT election you are part of a team, a slate. Why anyone would want to focus all the attention on just themselves is beyond reproach.

The community, the students, the education process needs to be emphasized in any campaign poster. As written about here, just focusing on teachers is counter productive to the cause.

Besides, is this not putting the cart before the horse? Would one not have to be on the ballot first?

From an aesthetic point of view this is a mess. My dad was in advertising, my wife an artist and graphic designer. The background color is a mess, along with the matted colors of the fonts. The fonts are a mess, all out of place, some bigger than others. There is nothing to catch your eye and there are just way too many words and promises that there is nothing that stands out and there is no substance. Too many promises that are just generic or no way to keep.

But this is reminiscent of a child that decides in November he is going to be Batman for Halloween the following year. By November 2, the child already is pestering mommy and daddy if he can be Batman, watching Batman to learn how to move and speak like him.

Again, a caucus is for the people, by the people, and of the people of the caucus. Of course this is discounting Unity. Egos and personal vendettas must be checked at the door and the common good is what must be the goal. Being president of the UFT is a democratic process not a coronation.

Where is Snowball when we need him?

On May 6, 2015 I shared on these pages about my arbitration hearing of May 5, 2015 battling the city
over $76.12 owed me by the DOE.

Some quick background. September 3, 2013, the first day back, was the day I was served 3020-a papers. I had already sat though about 2 hours and 15 minutes of PD that day when I was summoned to the office. There waiting for me was a process server and two of the biggest and meanest looking school safety agents I had ever seen.

I was barely allowed to get my stuff, speak to my colleague who had given me a ride, and was shown the door rather quickly. I was in shock and embarrassed.

As explained on May 6, I never made it down to the Rubber Room Intake Center on Chambers St for various reasons. But no matter what, I was in the school and working for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The DOE argued that I am not entitled to the pay of being at my school for that time because I failed to go to my next assignment. They feel that since I did not go, I do not get paid for anything.

The UFT argued that the DOE's argument was nowhere to be found in the contract and they cited Articles 3, 6, 20 and Appendix A of the contract.

Under testimony for the DOE it was shared that if I had only called the school I would have been given money for the subway. Wonder why that wasn't shared during the Step II hearing over a year ago.

But no matter what, it was never denied that I was in the building participating in PD and was there for about 2 1/2 hours. With that as a fact and being able to cite the contract we all thought it was quite winnable.

It wasn't. We lost.

The arbitrator found my story so fantastical that he denied me my $76.12. He said that since I had a cell phone I could have called someone. Yes, as reported before my ride has yet to enter the 21st Century and did not have mobile technology as of 2015 and the only other person I could have called (My wife) was 25 miles away without a car. Heck, the arbitrator never even asked me why I hadn't called anyone.

This was a non-precedent setting hearing. The DOE spent more money defending this than it would have cost to pay me the money. Heck, I would have even accepted a ticket for the then upcoming Who concert at the Nassau Coliseum.

I really wish I had the ability to make this stuff up. I just can't.

Twenty days (Instructional days) so far. One hundred and sixty days to go. At least for this year.

They really spread out the teachers who are in the Rubber Room. No more mass warehousing them,
like 100 to a room. Why let anyone talk to one another and give each other ideas.

That's why I am all alone at 4360 Broadway between 186th St and 187 St in Manhattan. I am the only one there. I could have been sent to Zerega Ave, but no, they claim there is no room there. I call bullocks.

I am all alone. No one to commiserate with, no one to eat lunch with. I do have the Daily News and the Post and becoming quite adept at Wonderword. Thankfully, I have a great book, "Team of Rivals" to read.

My belt and my shoe laces have yet to be confiscated. I feel as if I am a political prisoner. A prisoner in solitary confinement. A prisoner of conscience.

Death is all around me today. As I left PS 48 for lunch a sparrow had flown headfirst into a window. The poor little bugger didn't stand a chance. His neck snapped and he plummeted to the Earth. There he was, on his back, feet up, dead. Does this fate await me by the NYCDOE? Must I have my wife start the car up in the morning?

Today I decided to create my own friends. I looked around and found two dolls, a toy table and toy tea cups and a pot and set up a tea party with my new friends who are pictured above.

On the left is Mrs Nussbaum, and on the right is Mrs McGillicudy. They are my new friends.

Today we had several discussion between sips of tea.

Our first discussion was who did we think was the better captain. Kirk or Picard? I argued for Kirk. He was tougher, more of a man's man, and really knew how to land a punch. Mrs McGillicuddy agreed with me, but she said that, "Kirk is sweeter on the eyes than Picard."

Mrs Nussbaum was upset with me that I did not include Captain Janeway, "Why couldn;t a woman have been included?" she asked. She was right, a woman should have been included. Even though I never cared for Janeway.

We also discussed how it took three characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation to replace Mr Spock. Seriously, think about it. Commander Riker, Lt Data, and Troi (I never cared for Troi. I always found her annoying and pretentious). I don't want to get too deep into this subject, but looking forward to comments about why it took three characters to replace Spock. Mrs Nussbaum and Mrs McGillicuddy are looking forward to the comments as well. Though Mrs Nussbaum added that Worf was an extension of Spock as well for he was an alien. I countered that Troi was an alien too. Half Betazoid and half Human.

One thing the three of us agreed on is our hatred of Wesley Crusher. We all felt that he was a loathsome, whiny, ass kissing little ****. He served no purpose on the Enterprise and Captain Picard should have left him to rot on Farpoint when he had the chance. Mrs Nussbaum had both Mrs McGillicuddy and myself in stitches when she shared this YouTube video she created of Wesley's "unfortunate" death.


One can only wish.

It's late now and it is time to go to bed. I hope that Mrs Nussbaum and Mrs McGillicuddy aren't staying up too late. I am excited to see them in the morning. Tomorrow's discussion topic will be, how come Gilligan never met with an unfortunate accident?

Juan Gonzalez wrote a great piece in yesterday's Daily News on how the Young Leaders Elementary School, a school opened up by Uncle Mike in 2008, is now on the list of possible closures. 

Funny thing is, Young Leaders Elementary School replaced another closed school, PS 220 back in 2008. PS 220 was run by one of the classiest principals ever to work for the DOE, Michelle Kahn. I know Michelle is up above having the last laugh. She should.

Again, students and their families education is going to again be uprooted and thrown into disarray. Will another school be a community school, or will be a magnet school attracting students from all over the neighborhood. Teachers that have built up some modicum of trust within the community will be thrown away like bathwater. Then again, since this school opened up in 2008, I am sure there are plenty of new, malleable teachers to keep around.

But why is this happening, and what does it portend for PS 154, which is on the closure list as well? In the Young Leaders Elementary School most recent (2011-2012) quality review, this stood out;

Due to the high number of inexperienced teachers, school leaders are cognizant of the importance of ensuring that the decisions around professional development support the individual needs of teachers

Yes, a high number of inexperienced teachers. Inexperienced teachers, which if 154 closes, will be tasked with righting the ship. But yet, when the most recent accountability and review report was released (2010-2011) the turnover rate of teachers with less than 5 years experience was 39%. In fact the school started out with 64% of teachers with less than 3 years experience. Heck, just look at the rate of ELL's in this school.

But this is Uncle Mike's way. Instead of improving, let's destroy. As Mr Spock said in Wrath of Khan when Dr McCoy question what would happen if Genesis was let loose on an inhabited planet;

"It is easier to destroy, than to create."

But why must the students, the families, the community and the staff of the Young Leaders Elementary School, PS 154, and MS 203, another school in District 7 that is on the closure list and led by a class act in Bill Hewitt, suffer?

Who should be held responsible for this mess? We should begin with Yolanda Torres, Superintendent of District 7. If the Yankees don't perform, Joe Girardi is the one responsible, as is Brian Cashman. Right now The Crack Team is researching other schools in District 7 that have closed and/or failing under the watch of Yolanda Torres. We here at SBSB call for the immediate removal of Yolanda Torres as District 7 superintendent.

Also, the network leaders of these schools. Yes, we have pilloried Varleton McDonald, but what about Dan Feigelson, network leader of CFN 203 for the Young Leaders Elementary School and his undying devotion to Teacher's College? And let's not forget Robert Cohen, network leader of MS 203 CFN 104. What would the folks think at NYU for his abject failure?

No one cares. Everyone, except the teachers, are out for themselves. I brought up a very good point to a person of power in my district last week;

"Why wait for them to close us down? We all know that whatever side of the bed Uncle Mike wakes up on that's what the decision is based on. We need to not be reactive, but proactive. We need to fight back. We need to muster the parents, the community, and more importantly, the politicians together and fight, fight, fight for this school, the students, and the community."

My plan was met with derision.

"They don't want us to do that or anything. Just sit back and wait."

Those 14 words sum up so clearly at what is coming down the pike. In my opinion, the decision has been made. Time to pack up and start saying your goodbyes.

But it does not have to be that way. The parents of these schools need to rise up, need to speak as one voice, to go to Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo's office, to go to Councilwoman Arroyo's office and get them involved. Get the other parents involved. NOW!

This is not just about your child's education, but your respect as a community. Do not think for one minute that those white males in the blue suits at City Hall and Tweed give one iota about you or your children. It is all about power, all about taking care of their own, and all about paying monies to their friends for incompetent and failing curriculum.

There needs to be a true grass roots advocacy coming from the the bottom up, the parents and the communities. You are the most important people there are to affect change within the NYC DOE.

Tonight's blog welcomes a special guest blogger. We would like to welcome Mr Spock, science officer and first officer aboard the USS Enterprise, representing the United Federation of Planets. Mr Spock is actually not present, but rather on patrol along the Neutral Zone. We have been able to communicate through a temporal rift in the space time continuum. Mr Spock was gracious enough to put aside playing three dimensional chess and share is opinion on the upcoming symposium, "On Education," later next week. We turn the blog over to Mr Spock.

Thank you. Live long and prosper Bronx Teacher and the crack team at SBSB.

I must say that the exclusion of Julie Cavanagh from the symposium is quite illogical. If we were to use logic, logic would dictate that Julie Cavanagh should be on the panel and not Sydney Morris. One only needs to look at Ms Cavanagh's accomplishments;

a special education teacher for more than ten years in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  Julie currently serves children with intellectual disabilities in grades first through third and previously served children with learning differences in grades four and five. Julie received her BS in special education from Indiana University, her MS in curriculum and teaching from Fordham University, where she was an Ennis Cosby Scholar, and her advanced degree in administration and supervision from Brooklyn College. She is a member of Grassroots Education Movement; advocating for equity and real reform in our public education system. Julie is also the co-producer of the documentary The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman.

Now, we shall look at Sydney Morris accomplishments as an educator;

Graduated Tulane University and joined TFA.

When we compare both Ms Cavanagh's and Sydney's accomplishments we see that Sydney has not been a factor in education. At Star Fleet Academy, Sydney would be known as "Captain Dunzel."

Before I go, I must warn all that are reading this. I, and the crew of the Enterprise have faced the Romulans and the Klingons countless times. I must warn the people of NYC that Educators4Excellence is a much more conniving, insidious adversary than the Klingons or Romulans ever were. Remember this about E4E, "Without followers, evil cannot spread." I said that after our encounter on planet Triacus.

Live long and prosper readers of SBSB, and all NYC teachers.


There you have it. We would like to thank Dennis of the crack team in locating the temporal rift and initiating first contact (pardon the pun) with Mr Spock.

There are a few things that have been gnawing at me of late. I have been wanting to put it to music, but deemed it better to blog my thoughts. Of course this will be in my own special, convoluted, logical manner.

Logic. There is the keyword. And not just any logic. All what is happening with this reform, or rather, deform is quite illogical.

The RtTT sell out by our esteemed UFT leader Mike is quite illogical. Basically he is holding all the cards as far as I see it. He is at the table with Klein, Bloomberg, Duncan, Obama, and Tilson. He has a flush. The others have nothing. The others aren't folding, the keep throwing chips into the pot. But who is sweating? It's Mike. When it comes time to make his last best, he folds. Throws the cards down. This is what he has done with the new evaluation system and signing off on the RtTT application. Why? There was no pressure for him to sign. There was no pressure for him to cooperate. Sheldon Silver would have done his bidding for him. Why fold when you have the best hand?

The other thing gnawing at me is the mantra from Klein that education is run like a business. OK, fine. Willing to give the benefit of the doubt. But there is a but. Businesses have competitors. This we learn in Business 101. What is not taught in Business 101 is that a business does not help out its competition. That's what the charters are. Charters compete against the DOE. This is like the Krusty Krab competing against he Chum Bucket. Plankton wants Mr Krabs secret recipe for the Krabby Patty. Does Mr Krabs give it to him? Of course not. Does Plankton covet the recipe and try to get it? Of course, this is the part of doing business. But you will never see Mr Krabs giving part of his restaurant to Plankton. You will never see Mr Krabs fire Spongebob to help out Plankton. So why does Klein help out the competition? Where is the logic in all of this?

As Mr Spock once said, "In an insane DOE, the sane teacher must appear to be insane." I think it is time for the next chancellor to be from Vulcan. Perhaps Sarek?