Told ya they'll be more. Not too long after listening to nothing as explained by E4E's Eric Cartman, The Crack Team came across this figuratively emasculated gentleman who showed up in support of his wife who happens to be a teacher in the South Bronx. He cracked us up in the first video with such myths as;

That there needs to be evaluations

He's a construction worker
 
He is not in a union, however is employed by a union shop. C'mon, really?
 
He works with many union guys. Wait a minute, the same union guys that have a giant inflatable rat in front of non-union construction sites? The same union guys that shit things bigger than this guy in the video?
 
It's not his call on how to evaluate cops, firefighters, etc... but has no problem on how to evaluate teachers.
 
Says he is not an educator, but still can speak for educators.
 
And has worked for the Board of Ed. 


In the next video with this person, he decries a teachers rights to due process.

Love this line of this, "I'm for due process, but if you get fired, you fired, you get fired."

Didn't believe that there has been a teacher sent to Rubber Room for carrying a Coke in their hand.



What a dingus. What a dearth of independent thought.

Back in my single days, long before I met my wife, I had many rules on dating. Not all were hard and true, most were guidelines, but there were some rules that I felt that were non negotiable.

One of these rules that I always adhered to was concerning the first date. The first date, if dinner was involved, never at any time was to take place at a pricey, high falutin' restaurant. Nothing more than, well I am going back to the early 90's, $40. And even at that price, it was expensive.

Now mind you, I did not do this because I was cheap, but rather it was all about expectations. If I took my date to some expensive, fancy place, what would happen if on the next date we went to the Ground Round? You see, you would start as near the bottom as possible. For instance, TGIF's, where I am sure that are many a date that would be pleased with that and which just happens to be the perfect place.

When starting from the bottom, and not the top, you deny the date the expectation that big bucks would always be spent on her. When starting at the bottom, or at least near the bottom, you have no expectations to live up to. Which would make me look so much better when the nice dinner, like the Chart House, was our place to dine.

Now why do I bring this up? I'll tell you why.

We just got my son's state scores in. We are quite proud of him, even though I do not need to know these scores to know what a good student he is and how smart he is. But rather, I am bringing this up for I am concerned about his future teachers. Yes, the value added crap.

Last year, when he was in 3rd grade, he scored a perfect 4. His scale score was a 770. He got every single question correct. Now, I am not bragging, but just stating a fact.

This year, or rather in 4th grade, he still got a 4, but the scale score was a 737. He didn't get every question correct. Statistically, he had no place else to go but down. That's just a fact. Not a low expectation.

But what about his 4th grade teacher? If we base her performance on VAA, and just using my son's score and the fact that he actually went down, does this mean that she was ineffective, that she missed something, or did something wrong?

This year he is in 5th grade. If he misses another question, yet stays a 4, that will show he has not made progress 2 years in a row. This unfortunately can reflect poorly on his teacher.

To be honest, and I am going to be quite frank here, who gives a shit? he gets a 4, so what where it falls on the scale? Same with ELA. He got a high 3 this year, which in fact was higher than last year, but really, who cares?

Worse, they keep on changing the tests, the scoring, the strategy, etc... how can you keep up and use VAA? Hell, this years tests will be a month earlier than last years. That means the students have one less months knowledge than they did the previous two years. So how can you compare, contrast, and value add any tests?

What needs to be done? Every student in America should get a zero on their first ever standardized test. That way, the only place to go is up. How is that for value added?

Sad news today. In an unanimous edict, the state appeals court ruled that the city can turn over Teacher Data Reports of teachers in grades 4-8 to the media. Rupert Murdoch and the New York Post are said to be quite overwhelmed with joy right now.

So it is not enough that teachers as a whole, as a group are being disparaged continuously by the press further sinking the degree in which this once proud profession was held, not they must go after individual teachers. Worse, teachers will be targeted, outed, and shamed using an unreliable method of assessment.

If and when Uncle Mike runs for a 4th term or decides to throw his hat in the ring for God, just what would he say when polls show him trailing and the margin of error is 35%? Would he not dismiss the polling data? Would he not tell us pay no attention to the poll, for polls are notoriously skewed and incorrect? Yes, this person and his sock puppet Dennis Walcott are having the New York media do its dirty work and file FOILs on the city's behalf for no other reason to chip away another brick, another layer in one of the most endearing professions there are. Teaching children.

Imagine, you are a teacher. Not only have you had an exemplary career, but in addition to never receiving an unsatisfactory rating, you have had former students return year after year to visit you, to thank you for being their teacher, to tell you that you have made a difference in their life. That they would not be what they are today but for you. Then some peon of a reporter for the New York Post, a reporter unable of critical thinking skills, a reporter that does as his editors command him to, labels you a ineffective teacher due some algorithm that the reporter doesn't and will never understand.

What is this teacher to do? What course of action does this teacher, or any teacher take? Can you measure the time a teacher has spent on their own working and preparing? Can you measure the kindness, the caring, the love this teacher this teacher has exhibited all throughout their career?

How do you measure a smile a teacher gives to a student, a smile that the teacher will not remember, but years later that student will remember when faced against adversity? How do you measure something as simple as a pat on the back when a student is sad or needs some encouragement and that student remembers and uses as a model when they are a parent?

Teachers and education are more than numbers, more than some hack with a bunch of numbers or worse, some business person trying to tie education to a business model. You can't! Education is not a business, never will be a business. You can't fit the peg of education into the hole of business.

But maybe it is time we fight back. Maybe it is time to turn the tables? Should we, and I mean our union, or even ourselves as teachers, file FOILs to obtain the arrest records, fitness records, and discipline records of NYPD officers? What about the records of the effectiveness of FDNY firefighters and paramedics? New York City runs many hospitals. Let's find out how many patients have died on each doctor. How many doctors have successfully cured a disease?

I mentioned this in an email to a friend. The reply was, and I partly agree, is that we should not go after others. But, just filing a FOIL, just getting the process going will not only show we are serious, but will unlayer the hypocrisy of media, Uncle Mike, and Sock Puppet Dennis.

The UFT really needs to come through on this. I would hate to see what happened in Los Angeles, we all would hate to see it. However, sadly I think it will happen.