In the last issue of NYTeacher, an ATR wrote a letter telling how it feels to be treated like a 2nd-class citizen. This teacher also listed her impressive background in technology.
Instead of offering a sympathetic response, the Editor's Note reminded her that she is still getting paid and that the DoE covers part of that cost thanks to a UFT agreement.
Well, if I was a principal, and the deal was as short-lived as this one,
would I want to one day have to pay the full cost of this teacher out of my own budget (especially with the new cuts)? I think not!
Shame on the Unity Hacks for such a caustic response to a heart-felt letter.
A clear-cut case of too little, too late. Shame on Randi and her whole gang.
nyc educator, I couldn't have said it better. Only the young, lower paid teachers find the transfer list useful. While the older, higher paid teacher can find few principals who want to add them on their budget.
As for the ATR system, it's a disgrace and the union should demand that the ATR's be placed before a principal can hire a newbie teacher.
I didn't even realize that hardship transfers went the way of the dinosaurs. It's an abomination.
How about a piece on 55-27 where the UFT has sold out the unborn, forcing them all to pay 1.85% in pension contributions for their entire career but only a few can take advantage of the new provision? The ICE blog is reporting how Randi was outwitted by Bloomberg once again. We also got school-wide merit pay in the deal.
I have written about that:
http://nyceducator.com/2008/02/m...-her-
style.html
and may have more to say about it in the future.
It's a shame that teachers with many years in the classroom are watching inexperienced newbies take jobs in which the more experienced teachers could not only teach better, but also serve as an example to other young teachers. But a system in which principals, one way or the other, eat the cost of salaries is guaranteed to reward principals who hire youngsters.
Research does show that, particularly among students already struggling, inexperienced teachers actually hurt student achievement levels in their first and second years!
Not to say that all new teachers are bad (or all experienced teachers are good), but some of the new ones are SO young, my colleagues and are going to ask for additional prep time to diaper some of them.
Seriously though- most of them are just passing through on their way to another career. Without a true commitment to the profession, how much do their really care about their impact on the kids?
At Packeminanscrewem High School, "newbies" get one or two rooms and maybe two preps while "seniors" can have 3 rooms and 4 preps and won't file grievances since the motto is "You win the battle but lose the war". This is what the "U"FT has done for us especially in the past 3 years. Thanks Randi and henchmen...you are so not representative of what labor should be,but you don't care.
Most of the Newbies are not passing through - maybe half are. I was in the draft influx of men in the last 60's and most of them passed through too, but many of us did stay. I would bet it's the same % or better. I'm meeting lots of newbies who are sticking with it and are also getting more conscious of their rights when they hit the 4th year or so. I'm even meeting some of the newbies who post on this blog at the DA as chapter leaders already. If they don't fall into the Unity machine, they will hopefully keep up the struggle.
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