Translate

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Elia Cashes In


The hammer, or more likely axe, has come down on the Buffalo School System. New York Education Commissioner Elia has given her (this side of handpicked) crony the power and authority to ignore the Buffalo Teacher Federation's Union Contract and do as he pleases with positioning staff in the district.

Five schools are in receivership – basically doing so poorly on mandated tests that show nothing of what a student knows or is capable of. And there is no proof that students derive any personal value from these tests either. Under GW Bush's No Child Left Behind and Obama's Race to the Top laws, that is inconsequential.

Now Superintendent Kriner Cash is going to drag teachers around and put them in environments where their abilities most likely will not bring about the desired change. (Much like the aforementioned laws.)

What do I mean?

What are the conditions of these schools? Are they old and decrepit or sleek and modern? Do they have up to date textbooks? Is the Library modern and up to date with quality materials and computers? Are the halls long tomb like structures or are they bright, warm, and welcoming? Are the rooms warm in winter and cool in summer? Or can you guess the temperature of the room by the weather outside? What does the gym look like? Is it a school you would want to go to? Or does it look like something out of the Walking Dead?

Those factors are controllable – The district can do something about that.

What about the random variables? Things that the school can not control and do very little about because the system is so overwhelmed that children are almost pouring through the cracks at times.

What of the students? Are they well rested or exhausted. I had a student come in yesterday that went to bed at 5 am after playing video games all night. School starts at 7:55 am. He was there. Was he really going to learn anything? And why did his parents allow that?

Or the student that was up all night because their parents were arguing, having a party, blasting the TV, or creating other environmental disturbances that deny a person the rest they need?

If they oversleep can they get to school in a reasonable amount of time? Or after they go through all the buses and transfers have they missed too much of the school day for it to be of any value? I remember when Buffalo had neighbourhood schools (Grades K - 8) that could be walked to. Now kids are bussed all over the place. Long bus rides are tiresome and can diminish learning.

Did they have breakfast? Not some greasy garbage from the local fast food joint but a good healthy breakfast that you or I would eat? (Or want to, depending upon your income.) Fresh fruit, some cereal or maybe pancakes or a waffle, (Blueberry please.) Some juice (not the sugar water bomb stuff – fresh squeezed or something reasonably close.)

Will they have the opportunity to eat lunch? Do they have the money to pay for it? Or will they get that PB& J sandwich & some milk (or whatever state law says a student has to be given if they have no money?) No free or reduced lunch because their parents forgot to file the paperwork. Again.

Or did they eat dinner last night? Or is what they eat in school going to be their food for the day. Weekends means pizza. No veggies.

Do they get to bathe? Regularly? Have clean clothes? Access to medical care when they need it? A student in my district was out with whooping cough. He was coughing so hard he broke ribs, dislocated “a few,” and has pulled muscles in his chest. Early treatment would have prevented those injuries. His parents thought he had “a cold” and didn't get him to the hospital until it was (obviously) too late.

Are they more fascinated with social media than with school work? The previous student was out over a week and is that much (and more) behind in his work because he could not be tutored. He does not seem to have time to do homework, but his Pinterest(TM) wall is plenty stocked. And he's up on all the Facebook drama.

And do they know where home will be tonight? In my student teaching days we visited a school (I can't remember the name) where the principal told us about how he had students (elementary) that had placement files a half inch thick because that is how much the student moved around. One student was in a different school each week almost. Home is where ...?

And I hear all the time about Stand and Deliver and how that one teacher did amazing things with the students. And other amazing and heart touching made for TV movies. Those are fictionalized accounts of what happened.  Emphasis on the fictionalized. Step into reality. Please. Now.

What of the teachers that are moved around and did so well in their old school but are not making the miracles happen in their new placement? What will become of them? Will they be unfairly punished because of the variables that they can not control?

I will make an exception (pointed at that) for the English Language Learners in Lafayette HS. They are being unfairly judged because of their limited English skills. The only thing that should (but won't) be done for Lafayette is more teachers that can speak the immigrants' native tongues. I am told there are approximately 40 different languages being spoken by the students. They need translators and educators that can meet them where they are and help them develop their skills.

The Buffalo Teacher's Federation is correct to fight the Commissioner's decision and work to get it overturned. This is a blatant power grab by those that want to transform Buffalo into a two-tier education system. A series of private and privatized schools that cater to the needs of corporate America,  local industry and the upper classes, not to the dreams of all our children.

And that is something that the parents of Buffalo school children and the union should not let Elia Cash in on.


Update (Nov 11, 2015)

A few more pieces of information that we need to know about Elia's actions.

1. Receivership allows the person put in control to ignore the union contract and the school board. Please note – The BTF has been without a contract since 2004 .

2. Receivership is a step towards privatization. The receiver has a limited amount of time to get the school in shape before turning it over to a private organization. This removes the school board and the public from any voice in what happens to the school or the students.
3. This law was created by Governor Status Cuomo – Wall Street's best friend. Anything he can do to help them secure a profit, he will. At our cost.

As socialists we demand -

1. No to receivership. This plan does not address the underlying problems that exist outside of the school. Without looking at all the possible causes of the problem, no solution is possible.

2. Respect the Union contract and negotiate a new contract in good faith. By failing to have a contract in place, how many highly qualified teachers are leaving the district or are not even applying to be hired? Fix the contract now and respect it.

3. Funding for schools to be increased so that they are places that students want to go.

4. Social workers and programs to work with the families that are struggling to get their students to school.

If the Buffalo leadership cannot meet these demands – then we need Elia to cash Kriner out.

No comments:

Post a Comment