Yesterday, in celebration of National Poetry Month, some New York City Public Schools participated in the 8th annual Poem In Your Pocket Day. Students were encouraged to write or find their favorite poem and recite them to their teachers and fellow classmates.
Mayor Bloomberg joined in the celebration by reading his poem which was inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem.
"Hope" NYC By Mike Bloomberg
"Hope" is the thing with feathers That makes our City soar It will take us to the future As it's carried us before Hope is the thing with feathers That travels all our streets It sings in every language It sometimes even tweets And though we may not see it It perches everywhere In new shops and small businesses In every schoolroom chair It could be our famous pigeon Or fabled red-tailed hawk Hope is the thing with feathers That flies throughout New YAWK
Some students found out that they were a poet and didn't even know it!
Yesterday, I was subbing a Universal Pre-K class, where my students actually taught me about the new craze of “silly bandz.” Usually up to date with the new trends, I was bombarded by students with silicone bracelets going up their arms. When removed they reverted back to their original shape of animals, foods and other objects. I asked one student where she got them. She responded so innocently saying, “I broke my piggy bank to get money to buy them….”
A distraction at first for many became a learning device and show and tell for them. This week’s theme was patterns and at first my students had trouble with the concept and concentrating. We all know once we replace numbers with oranges and apples everything become easier. Using the different shapes and colors of the “bandz,” my students quickly picked up the concept and found fun out of learning. Years ago when “Power Rangers” were famous, the action figures weren’t permitted at first in my brother’s preschool because they promoted violence. Once the teacher realized of the shows success, she used the “Power Rangers” as a learning device to teach colors.
In some schools (such as the girls I baby-sit), “silly bandz” were banned from the classrooms. Kids abused the trend causing a stir throughout the school. They brought them to school, trading them which caused fights and/or money being exchanged through the children. There was also a safety concern brought up by their principal. Students who wore multiple bracelets began to lose circulation and experience tingling in their fingers. “Bullies” would also shoot them across the classroom hitting classmates and their teachers.
Like other fads, this one turned viral and will shortly dwindle, making room for others. I wonder what our next trend or “learning device” may be. A teacher must grab and keep the students attention by drawing connections with things that interest them. It makes learning fun on a whole new level.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, School Chancellor Joel Klein and United Federation of Teacher President Michael Mulgrew signed an agreement on Thursday, April 15, 2010 to end all “rubber rooms,” where teachers under investigation of misconduct and incompetence are assigned, pending their cases within the five boroughs.
This past year, roughly 550 teachers were under investigation for misconduct. Some teachers spend months or even years doing futile things such as reading, surfing the web, playing cards, sleeping and creating their own businesses, while still collecting full salaries ranging from $70,000- $100,000 a year plus full benefits from the Board of Education. Their “work schedule” even follows the school calendar.
“I have always felt that teachers under investigation should receive full pay and benefits. Many cases of misconduct are often unfounded. Teachers need protection and due process. The tactics of the rubber room has hurt the teacher’s union credibility and integrity. One spiteful accusation can ruin a career. All a student has to do is accuse a teacher of some sort of crime,” says Ms. G*, an elementary school teacher with the Board of Education for over 15 years.
On the other hand, Ms. N*, also a New York City elementary school teacher for 10 years feels “with due process, which is mandated by the law, claims of wrong doings should be addressed in a timely manner with no pay during the interim.” She believes that those then found innocent of charges can be paid retroactively, while those found guilty should receive nothing. As for benefits, Ms. N* believes that “teachers need to start contributing to health benefits they receive like everyone else in America.”
While their cases are pending, teachers will now be assigned to administrative or clerical positions in their schools which do not involve interaction with children. “The city is paying for them. There is no reason why they shouldn’t do a days work…all city employees do,” stated Mayor Bloomberg during his press conference Thursday morning.
“I do think that teachers under investigation for misconduct should be allowed to work in some capacity. I feel very strongly that all teachers need the protection of the teachers union. This is true now more than ever. It seems that principals coming out of The Leadership Academy are taught intimidation tactics. They no longer know how to play nicely in the sandbox. So while the teachers union is absolutely necessary and all teachers should have due process, the process can and should take place at a quicker place,” said Ms. G*.
To move the cases along, the number of arbitrators who hear teachers’ cases has increased from 23 to 39 so “multiple cases can be heard simultaneously,” said Mayor Bloomberg. United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said, “We want a faster, fairer process. That is the way this process should work and that is what this agreement does.”
Ms. N*, stated “the funds that were previously used to pay these teachers to sit around in a room doing nothing need to go to hiring a small group of legal administrators that could expedite all these cases in a matter of months. The United Federation of Teachers is too cushy with their teachers. Bad teachers need to get the boot.”
According to officials, the rubber rooms will not be closed until September and they intend on resolving all pending cases by the end of 2010.
Under the new agreement, the Department of Education has 60 days to investigate charges of misconduct and 10 days for incompetence, after removal from the classroom. If the Department of Education fails to complete the investigation during this time period, teachers are allowed to return to the classroom. Previous to this new agreement, the city had 6 months to issue charges.
I strongly believe that the city and the United Federation of Teachers are taking a step in the right direction. Like other New York City employees, such as the Fire Department and the Police Department, teachers should be assigned to “desk duties.” A firefighter and/or police officer who violates the “Oath of Office,” on or off the job, has severe disciplinary actions that are executed. Once one is accused, firefighters and police officers are taken out of the field and assigned desk work under strict supervision. However, they are innocent until proven guilty.
There is no doubt in my mind that the rubber rooms should have been the first thing to go. Instead of terminating the rubber rooms, Mayor Bloomberg thought it was more effective to lay off 8,500 teachers this year and close New York City Public schools on top of that. A comment Mayor Bloomberg said that I thought was the most absurd thing a person of his prominence and intelligence can say is, “There’s never been any pressure to do so [referring to the closing of the rubber rooms]…We can’t afford to do that anymore.”
These rubber rooms are costing the city $30 million each year, which does not include substitute teachers for the accused teachers, renting space for the rubber rooms and hiring security guards to keep peace. Mayor Bloomberg said the $30 million that will be saved from salaries, will be going back into the classroom where it belongs. “I think over time we should be able to recapture a significant sum of that and put it back in the classroom,” Chancellor Joel Klein stated. Ms. G* says, “I also hope that the $30 million saved will go back into the classroom…but that remains to be seen.”
Still to this day, the words #2 pencil, scantron, standardized testing, multiple choice, short answer questions make me cringe and recall those torturous days of testing during my adolescent years. Day in and day out, teachers were and still are devoted in preparing their students to succeed by improving their test taking skills. Standardized tests are used to measure students’ academic performance indicating where students would be placed in the upcoming school year and which students would need additional help outside the classroom. Nowadays due to the budget cuts, our children’s test scores decide which schools are sufficient enough to stay open. Unfortunately, standardized testing is not the most effective way to test today’s students. It does not actually reveal the child’s understanding of a topic, it just establishes how well he/she does on a generic test. Students become frustrated and nervous upon taking these exams and do not perform on their optimal level.
Although a nuisance to teachers, parents and students, these standardized tests are here to stay. Let’s make the best of it and help our children do the best they can.
Test day is as stressful to parents as it is for students. Parents can prepare themselves and help guide their child in the right direction using Kaplan’s Parent’s Guide to the New York State 4th Grade Tests, Second Edition. Using the tools provided in this book can benefit your child’s test score. It is proven when the parent sits down with the student and explains what will be on the test, the student experiences a confidence boost.
There is only so much a child can learn through test prepping such as test taking skills and time management skills. Their knowledge of a subject should be learned on a day to day basis. “Test prepping gives student confidence in acing their exams,” says a New York City Public School 4th Grade teacher. “I encourage test prep inside and outside the classroom. I highly recommend Spectrum Test Prep. It is a practice and review book for Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science providing students with practice tests, answer keys and important skills needed to do well on an exam. Each topic is divided into section allowing students to focus on a certain area.” There are multiple choice questions, short answers as well as charts to see how one had progressed.
Another test prep book I came across was Flash Forward Test Prep Grade 4. It is a very colorful book with multiple choice answer questions, which captured my eye and can help students stay engaged. Unit 1 is the English Language focusing on reading and written and oral language conventions to develop comprehension skills. Unit 2 focuses on Math reviewing number sense, algebra and functions, measurement and geometry, mathematical reasoning etc. to excel in problem solving. After each section is a test reiterating what students learned in previous sections.
Children who need more help outside the classroom, I extremely recommend Kaplan’s Test Prep and Admission courses. They can be quite pricey but money worth spending. They offer private tutoring as well as high school admissions test prep, regent reviews, SAT prep classes and so much more. (http://www.kaptest.com/)
Prepare your child for all tests, even if it is a spelling test. They will fill more confident and ace the exam.
I hope you did your homework assignment by filling out the 2010 Census form. It wasn’t extra credit, it was a mandatory assignment assigned by the U.S. Census Bureau. Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau takes a census to assess the population in the United States. Not only does filling out this Census determine the number of seats occupied in the United States House of Representatives, it determines how federal funding is spent each year in areas such as education. Your child’s school funding depends on the responses of the 2010 Census questionnaires. The US Census Bureau has put together a program called 2010 Census: It’s About Us. They created appropriate lesson plans for all age groups for teachers to enforce the importance of the Census to their students and their families. Students in grades K-5 learn about the Census through song, worksheets, and games. Grades 6-12 learn the importance of continuing their education after graduating high school through worksheets. (http://www.census.gov/schools/)
If you had failed to complete your "homework assignment," a Census Taker will be paying you a visit to your home asking you the questions on the form in person. These Census Takers are people of our communities hired by the Census Bureau to make sure we are all accounted for. If you feel speaking to a person in your community invades your privacy, well then you should have filled it out and mailed it in on your own. Fortunate for you, according to 2010census.gov, Census Takers are sworn to life under Federal Law Title 13. If violated they can receive a costly fine and/or time in prison.
As an aspiring teacher, I am very concerned and interested about the freeze that is taking place with New York City Department of Education. After finishing my degree in about 2 years, I hope the freeze will have subsided and I am able to get a job with the Board of Ed doing what I love---teaching and working with children. I, as well as others are very passionate and work extremely hard to be successful in their field of work and to get to where they are today. Teachers with their degrees and credentials are still out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Maybe the best thing for me is to stay in school. I was influenced by family and friends that getting a degree in Education is the way to go. They would say "There are always going to be job opportunities in education as well as in the medical field because people need to go to school and people will always be getting sick." Guess this freeze has proven them wrong.
Besides following the hiring freeze, I plan on blogging about other things that fit under the category of education. So raise your hands and feel free to ask any questions. Class has begun!
I am currently a senior in College graduating in May and applying to Childhood Education Master programs. As I am getting my degree, I am an assistant teacher in a private preschool, which the salary is horrible and there are no benefits. I do it because I love working with children. They bring a smile to my face, making everyday I go to work enjoyable. I first created this blog to learn more about the hiring freeze and the New York City Public School system. However, I feel that there is so much more to talk about that can be helpful to my fellow classmates, teachers and parents such as testing, funding, layoffs, closing of schools, tips for parents and teachers inside and outside the classroom etc.
I will be going under the pseudonym of Miss Dee. As I blog I will not be exposing the name of the school I work in, as well as the teachers and parents I interview. I do not want our opinions to jeopardize our jobs and our future plans.
