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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Buffalo Teachers Ferderation - Union Strong


A quick note today.

The Buffalo Teacher's union has been working without a contract since 2004.
2015-2004 = 11 years.

Evidently there's “no money.”

Where did they find the money for the new superintendent? BTW – he makes almost the same amount in salary as the Chancellor of the NYC Schools.
And then add in his bonuses, etc. For a man with a sketchy & questionable record.
That money came from where?

What does that say to teachers that spend long hours writing lessons & grading papers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights? And constantly take professional development to improve their skills. And at the same time try to figure out how to teach students what they really need to know and, at the same time,  prepare them for the common core tests. Tests that tell us nothing about the students' abilities. (Can anyone provide a study that shows otherwise? I haven't seen one.  Yet.)

What does that say to new teachers in the district that are looking at their salaries and apply to suburban districts where they can make more money for the same exact work?

How many quality and experienced teachers have left the district for better pay and benefits?

What does that say to parents that are seeing their schools closed or teachers laid off? The ideal class size is 15 students per teacher. Some classes have 25 – 30 students. What are students learning? And how?

What does that say to students who are in decrepit, crowded classrooms, with old textbooks that they can't take home to do work from? Students that don't have libraries or books to read that interest them. What message are they hearing from the Buffalo School Board?

Do students matter?

Then settle the contract.

Stand strong Buffalo Teachers Federation.
Their acronym is BTF.
I've had many excellent teachers when I was a student.
To those teachers, I think BTF meant Brighten Their Future.
That was their attitude towards their students.

Sad to say, that isn't the Buffalo School Board's attitude towards the teachers that make everything possible.


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