January 2007
I am taking this time to
reiterate what I had outlined in an earlier e-mail after the second mediation
session. I am sorry to say that mediation was unsuccessful.
Negotiations have broken down, but not because of differences over economic
issues. Rather, the District refuses to budge from demands that interfere
with our professional judgment and ability to do our jobs, impair the
education of our students, and discriminate against our elementary
colleagues. We hope that in the coming months, with your help, we will be
able to enlist the support of the parents and concerned citizens of our
community to convince the District to withdraw these misguided demands. The
primary issues in dispute are the
following:
Secondary teachers would be assigned an unpaid sixth teaching period for
three days a week for 13 weeks During this period, teachers would be
assigned such tasks as acting as teaching assistants in the classrooms of
colleagues, and running writing and math centers without compensation. The
activities that teachers currently engage in during these periods - preparing
for instruction, meeting with students, conferring with parents and
colleagues, etc. - would be eliminated, or would have to be conducted after
school.
Elementary teachers would be required to give up 30 minutes per week for such
unpaid instruction. While the elementary day does not currently
allow for more time to be taken from teachers, this inroad is certainly only
the beginning of an effort by the District to cut back on teacher's
discretionary preparation time in the elementary schools.
Finally, the District's refusal to reduce after-school staff development time
for elementary teachers, while agreeing to eliminate five hours from the time
required of secondary teachers, discriminates against our elementary
teachers. The current excessive meeting time is no less onerous for
elementary teachers than for their secondary colleagues.
Ultimately, the District's demands would degrade our educational program
by not allowing teachers to exercise their professional judgment in
determining the best use of their time to prepare for the education of our
students. We will not stand by as the District attempts to turn our schools
into factories, where teachers are good only for taking orders, and where
initiative, collegiality and cooperation are pushed to the margins. Our mettle
will be tested in the upcoming months. I believe we are engaging in the good
and necessary struggle both for our students and for our professional
integrity. I know that you feel as I do that the principles we are seeking
to uphold are worthy of the efforts it will take to make our case. Thank you
for your support, your encouragement, and your professionalism.
December
2006
“At the twilight of our days we will be judged on how much we
loved.”
It must be the commencement
of the holiday season and the approach of yet another new year that fix my
gaze inward. Early in my teaching career, I was told by a wise administrator,
who had spent over twenty years in the classroom, that all good teachers bring
two loves with them into a classroom, a love of children and a love of
learning. I believe that observation to be true, and I hold that truth close
to my heart when I am confronted by the hypocrisy and shallowness of those who
pretend to understand what teachers do.
We demonstrate those loves
every day we teach. We demonstrate them in so many ways and on so many
levels. Our attention to each student’s needs is evident in that
demonstration. It is what makes our work so essential and so meaningful.
I believe we are leading
lives of meaning and expressing the quintessential element of our shared
humanity – love. I am thankful for that opportunity, and I am thankful for
all of the friends who have come into my life in the course of doing that
work. May we continue to share that gift of those loves with our students and
with each other for many years to come.
November 2006
“Friendship,
according to Proust, is the negation of that irremediable solitude to which
every human being is condemned.”-
Samuel Beckett
Of all the blessings I have
received in the course of my life, my most valued has been the love of my
family and friends. As I grew up in the Bronx, the first lesson I learned
with striking clarity was to always stand with your family and friends, no
matter what the circumstances or consequences. In the neighborhood, it soon
became known who were the people who could be counted on and who were the
people most likely to abandon you. The former group garnered loyalty,
admiration and love.
As we move into contract
mediation, it has become even more important to present a strong, unified face
to the BOE and central administration. I know the morning walks can be
tedious. I know that, with our time at such a premium, all of us could be
doing more productive work. The fact remains, however, that the morning walks
are our most public demonstration of our dissatisfaction. When community
members do not see certain teachers walking the line, they are free to assume
that those teachers do not support their colleagues. Those assumptions are
reinforced by those in the community who believe the remaining contractual
issues do not merit our refusal to compromise.
Recently, a high school
teacher asked me what she could do to support the GCTA’s efforts. The answer
is simple. Be visible to the community any morning you can and attend the BOE
meetings. If we could get teachers to commit to just two mornings a week, we
would have the kind of numbers walking that would force the community to take
notice.
I know and appreciate the
many responsibilities each of us has and for that reason, I would never ask
you to commit to every morning or every BOE meeting. Two mornings a week are
all I am asking for. Let us be both colleagues and friends to one another!
October 2006
I struggle to find words to
describe my mood besides disheartened, disheartened to discover that our
educational system is directed by managers not educators, and those managers
do not have any real sense of what it is that we do, day in and day out. It
is an inescapable reality that those who have the best perspective from which
to lead, teachers, are given the fewest opportunities to do so. Their voices
are, most times, only patronizingly heeded by those in authority. Their
positions only superficially supported.
It remains up to us to
listen to and support each other. I spoke to a colleague recently who had
experienced tragic loss in his family, and he recounted to me how his and his
family’s spirits were buoyed by the outpouring of support expressed by his
fellow teachers. It remains for us to continue to offer that support to each
other so that we can continue to profoundly affect the lives of our students.
September 2006
The
year begins anew, and with it our collective hope that it will bring with it
moments of revelation and the emotional and intellectual growth of our
students. As I look forward to my own teaching this year, my 25th,
I am thankful that I have lost little of the joy and excitement I first
brought into my classroom. My personal goal is not to allow all of the
peripheral distractions affect my classroom.
My goal
as president is to continue to represent you with energy and passion to help
to ensure that all of you can do what you do best – teach! If that means
reminding administrators that they are supposed to be facilitators not
obstructionists, so be it. If it means continuing to “rage against the dying
of the light,” to reach an agreement that honors the professionalism of our
faculty, so be it.
The
executive council and I remain committed to those ends. With your help and
support, we can reach those goals. May our reach always exceed our grasp, so
we will not lose our vision of heaven!
June
2006
Thinkst thou existence doth depend on time? It doth; but
actions
are our
epochs.”
Manfred. Act
II. Scene i, Lord Byron
I used
this quote at the end of last year. It is still apt today. Psychologically,
this past year feels like a decade. So much has happened; so much yet remains
to be resolved. We all know, however, that we have served our students well,
and that “this too shall pass.”
Summer
has arrived, and we can all renew and reenergize. We are uncertain of what
next year will bring. We must remain united in our shared belief of the value
and importance of our work. “Let us be true to one another.”
As for
me, I once again thank you for all your assistance and concern. I look
forward to meeting the challenges that next year will bring. I will be
working in the district during the month of July and can be reached through
the GCTA office, 742-1894. During the month of August, you can reach me on
the GCTA cell phone, 524-7315.
Please
enjoy your richly deserved respite, and dream sweet dreams “on summer eves by
haunted stream.”
May
2006
"A
teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
--
Henry Adams
I overheard a conversation
at last week’s Board of Education meeting. It focused on a teacher’s
impending move from the classroom to an administrative position. One person
commented that the teacher in that administrative role would have the
opportunity to impact a greater number of students. That thought occupied my
mind for the rest of the evening.
It has always been my feeling that one of the great ironies of education is
that if a person has an ambition to raise his income, he must move further and
further away from the classroom and students. The question I addressed was,
does that change truly afford an individual more opportunities to impact
children? The typical teacher sees anywhere from 100 to 125 students a day
for forty two minutes at a time. She may also interact with that student as
an athletic coach or club adviser.
In that time, meaningful relationships are forged; important habits of mind
are modeled; valuable thinking and problem solving skills are learned. There
is no more essential work that is carried out on any other level of
education. That powerful impact has been acknowledged and appreciated by
generations of students.
It is not my intent here to devalue what administrators do, but I will say
that the administrators who earn the respect of students, parents, and
teachers are those who remain teachers at heart. They are the ones who never
lose their love of the classroom environment. They think like teachers. They
are not the ones who sought to escape the “boredom” of the classroom teacher,
nor are they the ones who see the teacher’s life as one filled with “creature
comforts.”
The education of a child begins with a simple yet sacred relationship, the one
between student and teacher. The profound possibilities for intellectual and
emotional growth start there. I speak of that relationship, as all teachers
do, with reverence because I, like all of my colleagues, believe in the
inherent value of teaching. If that belief can be kept at the heart of all
conversations between administrators and teachers, all things are possible for
our students and our schools.
April 2006
As some of you know, besides
being fascinated by physics, I am equally fascinated by music. Given those
fascinations, I consider myself quite fortunate to be working beside people
who are so expert and talented in those fields of study. I know that among
our colleagues countless other talents and abilities abound as well.
I would like to develop
some way of highlighting those gifts not only for ourselves but also for the
Garden City community. Teachers are reluctant to place themselves in the
spotlight and would rather let their work speak for itself. In today’s
political climate, however, where teachers are being blamed for almost
everything from high property taxes to the exodus of Long Islanders from New
York, we must demonstrate what we already know to be true; that is, that the
what we instill in our students is not only the ability to think critically,
problem solve and express themselves effectively and creatively but also the
habits of mind that include self reflection, an appreciation of human
expression in its infinite forms and variations, and a respect for the power
of the individual to achieve.
My colleagues inspire me by
the masterful way they educate our students and the wide range of intellectual
interests they pursue. Because of their example, I am challenged each day to
be a better educator. It is that positive peer pressure that makes us the
outstanding staff that we are. Let us continue to set high expectations for
ourselves and our students, and let us continue to provide the support and
encouragement necessary to ensure that those expectations are met by all.
March
2006
It is
that time again, when spring returns and along with the song of birds and
extended daylight come rumors of change. It is a seemingly unavoidable
condition that people when uncertain about the future will propose theories
that take on a realty of their own. My advice is to ask.
The
perpetuation of the rumor confuses the issue and leaves people considering
scenarios that will never come to fruition. The best source to consult is
your GCTA representative. If there is any validity to the rumor, you will be
told; if not, you will not be left uncertain about it.
Clearly, each year brings unforeseen changes, but it serves no one’s interests
to engage in conjecture that generates rumors. People can be adversely
affected. It’s a matter of fairness and common courtesy. So next time you
hear a rumor, go to the source, and if it has no basis dispel it as quickly as
you heard it.
By the
way, there is no truth to the rumor that I am leaving teaching to pursue a
career as a hip-hop impresario!
February 2006
It is
that time again, when spring returns and along with the song of birds and
extended daylight come rumors of change. It is a seemingly unavoidable
condition that people when uncertain about the future will propose theories
that take on a realty of their own. My advice is to ask.
The
perpetuation of the rumor confuses the issue and leaves people considering
scenarios that will never come to fruition. The best source to consult is
your GCTA representative. If there is any validity to the rumor, you will be
told; if not, you will not be left uncertain about it.
Clearly, each year brings unforeseen changes, but it serves no one’s interests
to engage in conjecture that generates rumors. People can be adversely
affected. It’s a matter of fairness and common courtesy. So next time you
hear a rumor, go to the source, and if it has no basis dispel it as quickly as
you heard it.
By the
way, there is no truth to the rumor that I am leaving teaching to pursue a
career as a hip-hop impresario!
“We
must not always judge of the generality of the opinion by the noise of the
acclamation.”
Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
As
I reviewed my messages from previous months, I realized that last
February I wrote a message similar to the one I am about to share. That
message discussed the importance of remaining united by resisting the
temptation to speak ill of colleagues especially to parents or students. I
recognized then as I do now that such behavior is limited to rare instances.
Those instances, however, have the potential of being extremely detrimental to
all of us.
At a high school GCTA
meeting, issues which focused on teacher attendance and use of the fitness
center were raised. While the rationale for raising those issues was sound, I
am concerned about how they came to the attention of our building
representatives. We must all be aware of how our actions are interpreted by
administration and residents especially in a negotiations year. My concern,
however, is that the people judging us are our own colleagues.
I do not think any of us is
in a position to know how our colleagues use their time in school or outside
of school. To complain of a colleague’s use of time or his or her failure to
meet responsibilities is unfair. Unless a person is in a position regularly
to monitor another’s schedule, he should not pass judgment. I do not want
gossip to become the basis for our agenda items. Again, if a problem is
chronic or a situation arises which places students in danger, a teacher must
be diligent in reporting such conditions. If that is not the case, no teacher
should be the focus of criticism for his or her perceived performance.
January 2006
“These
are the times that try men’s souls.”
Thomas Paine
These
words were written by Thomas Paine at the time of the Revolution to rally
those colonists who remained uninvolved and uncommitted. While I certainly do
not anticipate revolution, recent events have left me unsettled. Change is
coming, but I have not seen as of yet an attempt, on the part of central
administration, to seek out genuine input. That trend is especially troubling
given the emphasis that was placed on that need during discussions with the
two finalists for the position of superintendent. It has forced the GCTA to
be reactive instead of collaborative. Consensus is made more difficult to
reach under those circumstances.
Certainly, I acknowledge the prerogative of central administration to
establish and set curricular direction and policy; however, leadership must
invite all the participants to a discussion before, not after the fact. To do
otherwise is to invite failure and to set a tone that contributes to
adversarial debate rather than productive discourse. It is my sincerest hope
that type of leadership style is not manifesting itself, and that our input
will be sought, appreciated and included in the ongoing process of evaluation
and change.
It is
of vital importance, therefore, that we as an association remain steadfast in
our efforts, not only to maintain the fine academic reputation Garden City
Schools enjoy, but also to improve on it. We all have dedicated so much
emotional and intellectual energy to that endeavor. If our voices are to be
heard, we must speak as one and not allow ourselves to be polarized. Let us
be true to one another; let us support each other, and let us remain united!