Archives for category: Teacher Tenure
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Is Ms. McLaughlin “Grossly Ineffective” or “Teacher of the Year”?

By dianeravitch
June 29, 2014 //
125

At the Vergara trial, a student identified one of her teachers as undeserving of tenure. She named Christine McLaughlin of Blair Middle School. Ms. McLaughlin had been selected as Pasadena Teacher of the Year. So which is she?

This reader writes:

“Here’s a video of one of the “grossly ineffective teachers” and “2013 Pasadena Teacher of the Year” named in this lawsuit (by her former student and plaintiff Raylene Monterroza):

Mind you, this above video was played during court, and Ms. Monterroza was questioned about how it felt to watch the video of students praising her “grossly ineffective teacher” (starting at 00:49). She replied that watching it was upsetting, and that those students must have been lying as that wasn’t Ms. Monterroza’s experience.

Hmmm…

Watch the “teacher of the year” video again, starting at 00:49, where the students give their opinion of the teachers.

Do these kids sound like they’re lying? Do the kids’ description of their teacher Ms. McLaughlin align with the criteria of the stereotypical “grossly ineffective teacher” that the Vergara legal team claims that Ms. McLaughlin is?

Again, this is a video portrait, as you see, celebrating and profiling Ms. McLaughlin’s award-winning teaching, as the “Rotary’s Pasadena 2013 Teacher of the Year.”

The student plaintiff, Ms. Raylene Monterroza, claimed in her testimony that those students in the video can’t be telling the truth, as it conflicts with her own experience. She said that watching that video prior to her testimony, “upset” her… as it included countless students contradicting her and the entire Vergara team’s claims that Ms. McLaughlin is… again… “a grossly ineffective teacher.”

Again, watch the video portrait of Ms. McLaughlin (who was also won the Pasadena NAACP’s “2008 Star of Education” award, by the way) and ask yourself…

So which is Ms. McLaughlin?

a deserving, multi-award-winning “Teacher of the Year”, praised to the hilt by countless students in the video?

OR

“a grossly ineffective teacher” according to JUST ONE student, and a teacher who taught the (Vergara plaintiff) Ms. Monterroza “nothing,” and thus destroyed Ms. Monterroza’s education?

“Indeed, this whole Vergara trial was like something out of Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” in China during the 1960′s. For those not acquainted with this, here’s primer: zealous students, under party leaders’ directions, would persecute their teachers. Kids would get their jollies as they put their teachers on a stage, put dunce caps on them, then screamed at them while forcing their teachers to bow their heads, kneel down, and confess their “crimes” and on and on…

These kids—appointed and empowered as “Red Guards” by Mao’s henchmen— would parade their former teachers through the streets…

Hey wait… there’s a scene from THE LAST EMPEROR that shows this way better than I could describe it…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVznw-KtQx0

Watch from: 01:19 – 04:19

(at which point—04:19—some female Red Guard students start performing an inane Commie “line dance” of sorts… creepy…)

At 02:45, watch “Pu Yi”—the former-Chinese-emperor-now-gardener—as he tries to stand up for his former teacher (for clarification: years ago, while Pu Yi’s was imprisoned, his teacher was referred to as “governor.”)

In response to Pu Yi, a teenage “Red Guard” zealot screams in his face:

“Join us (in the persecution of teachers), Comrade, or f— off!”

Next, the students force Pu Yi’s former teacher to his knees and demand that he “confess his crimes.” Amazingly, he refuses.

Pu Yi then chimes in, shouting:

“But he is a teacher! A good teacher! You cannot do this to him!”

… before Pu Yi is violently subdued by the student fanatics.

Anyway, this scene is all happening AGAIN, and it’s happening HERE in the Vergara case courtroom, and soon will in countless more “Vergara” courtrooms to come. It’s a less intense version, to be sure, but THE overall situation is the same:

we know we have kids—directed by and empowered by evil adults with an evil agenda—enthusiastically persecuting their innocent teachers.”

Categories Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure, Teachers

Atlanta: Edward Johnson Denounces Vergara Decision

By dianeravitch
June 26, 2014 //
2

Ed Johnson is a longtime critic of test mania in Atlanta and in the nation. He was one of the few people who was not surprised when Atlanta’s nationally acclaimed superintendent Beverly Hall was ensnared in a cheating scandal. When test scores become the measure of everything, they assume far too much importance.

In this letter by Ed Johnson (posted on Audrey Beardsley’s blog VAMboozled), Johnson rips into Raj Chetty and his much-hyped touting of testing and VAM.

Categories Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure

Adam Bessie: How the Vergara Advocates Framed The Narrative

By dianeravitch
June 25, 2014 //
45

Adam Bessie, who teaches in California, writes here about the neat rhetorical trick of the people and groups behind the Vergara case. Although they were spending millions of dollars to attack the rights of teachers and workers, they cleverly positioned themselves as part of a campaign for civil rights. Even the decision was written in that frame. Bessie says that teachers must reframe the debate–or lose public education.

He writes:

“As angry and frightened as teachers are of more scapegoating, we must refuse to be cast as villains in a very well produced fictional drama staged by the elites, one that distracts us from looking at the very real causes of inequality of opportunity, of broken dreams, and lost chances. The Vergara verdict must push teachers to make stars of themselves, by reclaiming their role as public servants working on behalf of social justice, working on behalf of students, working on behalf of communities and the country for the public good, working towards civil rights, and better opportunities for all students – or, it will signal the concluding act in public education, and a shot at the American Dream for all students.”

Categories California, Teacher Tenure

Former Obama Spokesmen Join Attack on Teacher Tenure and Seniority

By dianeravitch
June 24, 2014 //
67

Stephanie Simon reports at politico.com that former high-level Obama advisors will help the fight against teacher unions and due process rights. Campbell Brown, a former CNN anchor who is highly antagonistic to teachers’ unions, is creating an organization to pursue a Vergara-style lawsuit in New York against teachers’ job protections. Her campaign will have the public relations support of an agency led by Robert Gibbs, former Obama Press Secretary, and Ben LaBolt, former Obama campaign spokesman.

Simon writes:

“Teachers unions are girding for a tough fight to defend tenure laws against a coming blitz of lawsuits — and an all-out public relations campaign led by former aides to President Barack Obama.

“The Incite Agency, founded by former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and former Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt, will lead a national public relations drive to support a series of lawsuits aimed at challenging tenure, seniority and other job protections that teachers unions have defended ferociously. LaBolt and another former Obama aide, Jon Jones — the first digital strategist of the 2008 campaign — will take the lead role in the public relations initiative.”

Campbell Brown achieved a certain notoriety or renown for articles she wrote in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere insisting that the unions were protecting “sexual predators” in the classroom.

Categories New York, Obama, Teacher Evaluations, Teacher Tenure

Belleville, N.J.: Why Teachers Need Tenure

By dianeravitch
June 24, 2014 //
71

Belleville, New Jersey, is the scene of a major battle between a heavy-handed supervisor and the district’s teachers. Although the district has a financial deficit, and many classes lack up-to-date technology and textbooks, the administration spent $2 million to install a state-of-the-art surveillance system for students and teachers.

Jersey Jazzman writes:

“Perhaps the worst decision the district made over the last few years was to install a state-of-the-art surveillance system in all of its buildings; yes, a “surveillance” system, not a security system. Every classroom in every building is wired for both video and sound — including the teachers lounges! That’s right, my fellow teachers: in Belleville, a camera and microphone monitor every word uttered in the teachers break room! But that’s not all: all Belleville faculty, high school students, and middle school students must have special ID cards with them at all times. These ID’s include “RF-tags,” which are radio frequency devices similar to what you’d find in an EZ-Pass. They were originally used to track cattle: now, they track the positions of all staff and all students at all times. That’s right, my fellow teachers and parents: in Belleville, the movements of students and faculty are tracked at all times! Big Brother better not find out if you snuck off to the bathroom before the bell…”

Teachers were angry about the new surveillance system. Their union leader spoke up. “Mike Mignone, as president of the union, started speaking out. A 13-year veteran math teacher with a spotless record, beloved by his students and fellow teachers, Mignone wasn’t going to just sit by and watch his members continue to be harassed and intimidated. He demanded that the board and the superintendent explain themselves: where did they get the funds for the surveillance system? Why was the time between the advertisement of the bid and the final decision less than two weeks? Why did the entire bidding process stink of nepotism?”

Mignone learned about the surveillance system in October. He spoke out in November. Tenure charges were filed against him in December. He was accused of answering students’ questions about the surveillance system. That was his fireable offense.

Jersey Jazzman writes: “Golly, I wonder how the board knew Mignone had talked to his students about whether someone was listening in on their classroom conversations….If New Jersey didn’t have tenure laws, Mike Mignone would have been fired on the spot — all for the sin of daring to stand up for the taxpayers and teachers of his town. Mignone’s case is the perfect illustration of how tenure not only protects teachers, but also taxpayers.”

Jersey Jazzman was impressed by the turnout at the rally for Mignone: a thousand teachers, firefighters, parents, and students: “Tonight was amazing. Not only was the Belleville community out in full force: there were teachers in their local union shirts from Mahwah, Glen Rock, South Brunswick, Summit, Ramsey, Bergenfield, Mercer County Vo-Tech… everywhere around the state. It was an amazing show of support for one man who has been grievously wronged by trying to do right. This is how we fight back. This is how we make them pay for striking at us. This is how we win. When they go after one of our own, we all have to get together and say: “Enough.” When a good man and a good teacher pays a price for speaking out, we must all demand that justice be done. We simply can’t afford to stand by idly anymore and let others fight for us. We must have each others backs — all of us.”

Categories New Jersey, Teacher Tenure

Law Professor: The Vergara Decision Was Weakly Reasoned

By dianeravitch
June 21, 2014 //
17

In an interview in Salon, UCLA law professor Jonathan Zasloff says that Judge Rolf Treu’s decision against tenure and seniority was weakly reasoned. If it were a paper in one of his law school classes, he would give it a B-.

Among other curiosities, the decision represents an aggressive sort of judicial activism, which conservatives usually deplore. Zasloff says: “When we find a ruling we don’t like, we call it judicial activism; and conservatives banged on this drum for years and years and years, and are staying on it even in the wake of Bush v. Gore … But this is certainly a very, very aggressive decision and an example of judicial activism.”

Another curious aspect to the decision is that it embraces “disparate impact,” which conservatives typically oppose.

Zasloff says: “But as with all of these things, it really depends on whose ox is getting gored. And if this means that the California Supreme Court, [if it upholds the ruling], is now saying that as part of California’s equal protection law is that you can entertain things on a disparate impact theory, that would make California in a lot of ways quite progressive, judicially. Justice Robert Jackson famously talked about an area of law having invisible boomerangs. This could be one of them.

“One of the things, of course, if California uses a disparate impact theory for its equal protection claims, and does some very aggressive, progressive moves on that (if we’re gaming this out several years in the future), you could then see conservatives going to the federal Supreme Court and saying, “California using disparate impact in state equal protection law is itself a violation of federal equal protection law principles.” So there are a lot of moves to be made in the wake of this one.”

The decision is not only poorly reasoned but has a weak factual basis, says Zasloff:

“If [Treu’s] ruling is going to be upheld, and if he’s going to make a case for it, he needs to find a lot of facts. There was a trial here, there was testimony here; but there seemed to be very few facts that the judge explicitly relied on for his decision. So, he says, “Well, we know that there are a lot of grossly inadequate teachers in the system, and we know that at least some of these grossly inadequate teachers are going to go to low-performing schools, so that means that it’s a constitutional violation.” Wait a minute. There are six or seven different steps in there that you’ve got to make. The teachers’ unions argued, “Wait a minute — the reason the teachers might be grossly inadequate is because of the schools that they’re in, not because of the teachers themselves.” You can think that that’s right, you can think that that’s wrong, you can think that that’s true, you can think that that’s false; but it would seem to me that you’ve got to make an argument as to why you think … these teachers are grossly inadequate. What in fact is going on there? What is going on in these schools? That is the kind of thing a trial judge can and should be doing, and the judge here just didn’t do it.”

Categories California, Teacher Tenure

Pedro Noguera Defends Teacher Tenure in Wall Street Journal

By dianeravitch
June 20, 2014 //
46

Pedro Noguera went to the lions’ den, the Wall Street Journal, to explain why the corporate reformers’ crusade to eliminate teacher tenure is wrong-headed (the article is unfortunately behind a paywall). The WSJ, owned by Rupert Murdoch, is a bastion of anti-teacher, anti-public education thinking, whose writers consistently support vouchers, Teach for America, and anything else that disrupts public education and the teaching profession.

Noguera, a professor at New York University, writes:

“Ideally, tenure helps low-income schools to attract—and retain—good teachers. I’ve studied urban schools for many years, and it’s clear that disparities in teacher quality contribute to unequal academic outcomes among poor students. Students in districts with large minority populations are much more likely to be taught by new, inexperienced teachers who have only a bachelor’s degree and are often not certified in the subjects they teach. These teachers often earn considerably less than their counterparts in white, affluent districts, and frequently work under adverse conditions. Tenure has no bearing on how school districts chose to staff their schools.

“Schools in high-poverty communities are also typically underfunded, as revenues from local property taxes tend to be meager. That makes it difficult for low-income schools to find and keep top teachers. Educators may not be motivated solely, or even primarily, by salary, but it still influences decisions. A highly sought-after teacher would be unlikely to take a job in Oakland that pays $55,000 over a position in nearby Portola Valley that pays $90,000. So we have to make teaching in high-poverty schools more attractive.

“That’s what tenure does. In recent years, tenure has given teachers the job security that allows them to report cheating and call attention to the deplorable conditions in low-income schools. The conditions in the Los Angeles Unified School District are particularly troubling. Some classrooms in the system are among the most overcrowded in the country. Budget cuts have eliminated hundreds of librarians in some of the poorest schools, a loss that “has handicapped” students, as L.A.’s Roy Romer Middle School Principal Cristina Serrano told the L.A. Times in February.”

We should be doing everything possible to recruit and retain the best teachers, as other nations do, he writes. “This is what nations that outperform the U.S. in education—Canada, South Korea, Singapore and Finland—have done. Not only are teachers in these countries unionized with tenure, but teaching is a high-status occupation. We should be enhancing the profession, not undermining it.”

Thank you, Pedro, for writing such good sense and publishing it exactly where it needs to be read.

Categories Teacher Tenure

Shaun Johnson: What’s Behind the Attack on Tenure?

By dianeravitch
June 19, 2014 //
54

Shaun Johnson, an elementary school teacher, explains the attack on tenure and details what reformers would do of they really cared about teachers or children or the quality of education.

He writes:

“Obsessions with teacher tenure, or tenure in any academic profession, is all about union busting, and flipping the teaching profession into an unprofessional, short-term, part-time, scab workforce. It’s also about taking control of a largely “feminized” profession, one that few in the education policy community actually understand. That frightens them.

“Eliminating teacher tenure is education reform on the cheap. It’s a low-cost, no frills, low-brow maneuver. It rearranges the deck chairs without doing anything to the ship. Eliminating tenure shuffles control over who gets to teach, and nothing else. No prior or future investment necessary.”

He lists what teachers and children really need. Read it. It is focused and clear.

“Until then, don’t get cheap on me/us.

“Don’t be cheap with students.

“Until these glaring deficiencies are mitigated, not one single teacher is going to take VAM, testing, merit pay, or any other such nonsense seriously. There will be no buy-in, and all you’ll meet is either outright resistance or malaise. Every time you enter a school or classroom, or invite teachers for professional developments, all you’ll meet dear reformer are folks who check their email when you’re talking, who roll their eyes with every sentence you speak. You’ll meet those who smile and accept your free totes, and then talk viciously behind your back.”

Categories Teacher Tenure, Teachers and Teaching

Mother Crusader Follows the Money in Vergara

By dianeravitch
June 17, 2014 //
13

Mother Crusader, written by New Jersey parent Darcie Cimarusti, determined to find out who was putting up the millions to beat teacher tenure and seniority in California. She examined the 990 tax forms for “Students Matter, the organization that led the battle against the California Teachers Union.

Students Matter spent more than $3 million from 2010-2012; the amount spent in 2013-14 has not yet been reported.

“The 990’s also reveal that the money behind the suit wasn’t Welch’s alone. The two largest contributions did indeed come from Welch; $550,000 from “The Welch Trust” and $568,357 from “LRFA, LLC” which is some sort of business entity that links directly back to Welch’s Infinera.

So that’s well over $1M from Welch.

The next biggest dollar amount came from none other than Eli Broad, who kicked in $200,000 to buy the Vergara ruling.”

“The next biggest dollar amount, $100,000, came from “Tammy and Bill Crown.” It took some digging around to figure out that William H. Crown, who seems to split his time between Chicago and Portola Valley, CA, is one of the heirs to Chicago billionaire Lester Crown’s fortune.

“Lester Crown, 80, chairman of Henry Crown & Co., the privately held company that is the vehicle for much of the family’s investments
……

“William H. Crown, 41, general partner in Henry Crown & Co.; president and CEO of another family-run investment company, CC Industries Inc. (son) Bucks: Regulars on Forbes’ billionaires list, Lester Crown and clan ranked 52nd this year with an estimated net worth of $4 billion.”

And then there is this: “A $30,000 donation from the Emerson Education Fund may be one of the most interesting, however. The Managing Director of the Emerson Education Fund is Russlynn Ali, who also just happens to be on the Students Matter Advisory Board.” Ali was at Education Trust before she became Arne Duncan’s Assistant Secretary of Education for civil rights. Recall that school segregation has been soaring in the past decade. Could it be because the U.S. Department of Education believes that tenure is a greater threat to civil rights than segregation?

Darcie likens Vergara to the Parent Trigger, which brings disruption to communities, not much else, and she concludes:

“It’s my greatest hope the Vergara decision does not spread to other states, and is overturned in California on appeal due to pressure from the actual parents, teachers and students who would be affected but this reckless ruling. I don’t know about you, but personally I’m pretty sick and tired of monied interests buying legislation, and now a court decision, that could potentially impact my (and your) kids and their teachers.”

Categories California, Corporate Reformers, Teacher Tenure

Mark Weber: Don’t Mess with Teacher Tenure in New Jersey

By dianeravitch
June 16, 2014 //
77

Mark Weber, also known as blogger Jersey Jazzman, advises New Jersey legislators not to mess with teacher tenure.

New Jersey has tenure laws that work, he says.

For one thing, they keep political patronage–for which the state is infamous–out of the schools.

He writes:

“Over the years, while so many of New Jersey’s public institutions have fallen victim to cronyism, teaching staffs have remained largely immune from the stench of political corruption. Tenure is a big part of the reason why: Thanks to the right of due process, most teachers haven’t felt undue pressure to submit to New Jersey’s political machines to retain their jobs.

“And seniority protections, closely tied to tenure, have helped to make and keep teaching a profession, rather than a job whose workers churn with the rise of each new political regime. So long as senior teachers continue to demonstrate their effectiveness, they need not fear the reprisals of those who would love nothing more than to turn New Jersey’s schools into their personal political fiefdoms.”

The state tenure law was reformed in 2012, and it now takes four years to earn tenure–meaning, due process, the right to a hearing. The process for hearing an appeal by an arbitrator is limited to five months,

Forty percent of teachers in New Jersey never earn tenure.

Weber concludes:

“As a proud New Jersey public school educator, I’ll be the first to say it: Teachers matter. And that’s why we need to keep teachers out of the political muck. Tenure is good for taxpayers and students, and it’s an inexpensive way to keep good teachers in the profession.

“Unless we want another 125,000 patronage jobs in New Jersey, we should keep tenure and seniority for teachers.”

– See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-don-t-tamper-with-teacher-tenure-1.1034638#sthash.Io3TTDWv.dpuf

Categories New Jersey, Teacher Tenure
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