Andrew Cuomo to New York State: Your Teachers Stink. I Will Fire Them. I will Break Their Union.
How dare he! The comments of this man are offensive and detrimental to the low morale that already exists in the school system of the city of New York.
Like Bloomberg before him, I invite you, Mr, Cuomo to take a week, if you can last that long teaching in one of our public schools. Choose anywhere: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens... I want to see how long you will last trying to reach every single student regardless of reading level, new to the city with no English and some having received no formal education from the country they come.
I would love to see you constantly going to new professional developments where the only thing we are learning is to follow an impossible Danielson rubric and are being ripped apart because of it.
No development to help with those needy students that require special attention and cannot receive it because there is one teacher to 30, all of whom have learning styles that differ from one another.
Our measly paychecks go into professional courses that actually help in finding new solutions to reach every student, The DOE nor the state Department do not facilitate this for us. It comes from our pockets. And, guess what, I have two children a mortgage and a car note. I also have to feed and clothe them.
Yet, I still take online courses devoted to the Common Core, differentiation, and Danielson. Whoever found her to be the end all be all is insane and not an educated person.
Let me continue with the fact that I sponsor underprivileged students who cannot even afford a notebook or a pen. This year, I am sponsoring a graduating student who not only hasn't got the means but who lives in a shelter. I had never spent so much money since my own two girls graduated.
Don't get me started on Teacher's choice. Every year it dwindles. Last year was a joke; this year we received $77. This is meant to supplement the hundreds we already spend on our students.
My favorite line form the article was:
"Governor Cuomo’s teacher evaluation plan is set to punish teachers for not graduating vastly more students ready to succeed in college, as measured by one test score, than currently attend college."
Not all students want to go to college. Do you want to do the right thing: bring back specialized schools that allow students to earn certificates and upon graduation enter the work force. I had a great student several years ago with a 3.50 GPA. Guess what was her dream? She wanted to be a mechanic!
My next point of contention shows how little you know about the inner city:
"Following Governor Cuomo’s logic it is not that these schools and their teachers struggle with the long established deprivations of poverty upon their student population and would benefit from aggressive plans of economic renewal and integration; it is that their teachers are ineffective and need to be fired.
Have you ever heard of gaps? Gaps that need to be closed so that Black and Latinos can catch up to their suburban counterparts. Even in the suburbs you will find these disparities!
You are so out of touch, Mr. Cuomo, You really need a reality check! I am personally inviting you to my high school; if you dare. Come in as a visitor, not as the Governor of the State of New York. Maybe then you will see how hard we work reaching every student and giving the best of ourselves.
For the full article, follow the link: http://danielskatz.net/
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