It's Time To Fire "Bad" Union Leaders Like Randi Weingarten

[Smarmie Doofus]

A reasonable response to Ms. Weingarten's inane speech last week. Good god, is she unaware that she's supposed to represent the people whose dues pay her extravagant salary and pay for her extravagant perks?

From Perdido Street Blog:


TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2013

It's Time To Fire "Bad" Union Leaders Like Randi Weingarten
Randi Weingarten led the attack on firing "bad teachers" yesterday, giving more ammunition to the "Bash Teachers" movement by saying that teachers who are ineffective at their craft do not deserve to be defended and should be fired.

She said teachers should turn on each other in schools and hound out the "bad" educators, further helping the "Bash Teachers" movement by setting up a divide and conquer atmosphere in public education.

And yet, as NYC Educator points out here, the new teacher accountability mechanisms Weingarten champions are error-riddled garbage, so essentially any teacher can be labeled "bad" or "ineffective" under these systems.

Theoretically, this is the kind of thing the head of a teachers union ought to be protecting her teachers from, but instead Randi Weingarten has fully embraced not only the frame of the "Bash Teachers" movement on this issue but also the rigged accountability mechanisms the movement plans to use to fire as many teachers as they can as fast as they can.
The rest: http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2013/07/its-time-to-fire-bad-union-leaders-like.html

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I was there. That isn't what she said.

But I'm sure the failure to comprehend her speech will be evident on more than one blog.

[Squinch]

2. So what did she say?

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. Here's 8 minutes of selected hi-lites from AFT's website:

>>.>>http://www.aft.org/>>>>

Evidently Ms Weingarten is " a graduate of the Copacabana School of Dramatic Arts". ( It's a quote from a movie.)

Holy Williams Jennings Bryant!

Here's how msm generally reported it:

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/2013/07/teachers_chief_bad_teachers_should_find_new_jobs

School deform talking points and cliches edited back * IN *.

As usual... the president is all over the place.

"Friends, Romans, and Countrymen.... lend me your ears."

[Squinch]

5. Meh. She's happy with the evaluation system, which sucks, and there wasn't anything

practical to say, "here is what we will do and what you need to do to fight to make schools sane again."

Pretty fluffy, with some very suspect phrases tossed in.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. She did NOT say teachers should turn on each other and hound out the bad educators

[Squinch]

10. No, I did not hear that in the excerpts. But I didn't hear anything very helpful, either.

Education is in crisis. How are they mobilizing information, and teachers, and students to fight back against this corporate and misinformation onslaught? They are not doing anything to combat it.

It sounded like a nice rah rah. That's just not enough right now.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. From the linked blog:

"She said teachers should turn on each other in schools and hound out the "bad" educators"

I stopped reading that blog months ago because of similar misrepresentations.

AFT has come out against high stakes testing and just a few weeks ago, asked members to contact Arne Duncan to express their concerns about testing. 37,000 teachers contacted Arne and he then released a statement telling states to hold off on testing and any plans to tie test scores to teacher evaluations.

That's a lot more than a rah rah.

[Squinch]

12. But Randy herself has made supportive statements about it. Even here, she makes

positive comments about testing.

Arne told states to postpone testing. Testing is still going to happen.

Rah.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Randi supports peer evaluation.

Peer evaluation is NOT "teachers turning on each other". I've participated in peer evaluation and loved it. It's definitely better than the stupid state mandated program we have now. A group of my peers came in my room, watched my lesson and then sat down with me and gave me feedback. It was a very positive experience. Their observations were added to my formal evaluation, which was a portfolio rather than a number like it is now. It was much more comprehensive.

Randi supports a halt to high stakes testing. Arne called for a postponement the DAY AFTER he was contacted by AFT members. Gee, that sort of proves activism works.

Of course testing is going to happen. Testing is part of education. We're never going to get rid of it. How silly to think it will ever go away.

[Squinch]

14. How silly to think we might go back to a system where children performed better and learned more.

OK, I guess in this world that is silly.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Which I never said

[duffyduff]

15. "Peer evaluation" is a bunch of junk

I can just see this being used as a "mobbing" tool used against unwanted teachers. BTW, what works for one teacher may not work for another.

That's the whole problem with trying to "evaluate" teachers--it isn't an objective process. It's pure opinion on the part of the observer, typically a principal, who can kill a teacher's career on a whim.

Randi Weingarten has been exposed and debunked as a mole who goes way back with the privatizer mob. She's an attorney by trade, which means she has NO business whatsoever heading a teachers' union.

If she wants to be a "leader," she can run to head her local bar association.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Have you participated in a peer evaluation system?

Please share your experience.

[duffyduff]

18. I am WELL aware of the filthy politics that goes on in schools

I don't trust peers as far as I can throw them.

Never, EVER trust co-workers in public education. NEVER.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. You didn't answer my question.

Have you participated in a peer evaluation system? If you don't like it, please share your reasons.

Thank you.

[Starry Messenger]

3. I was following on twitter.

It seemed very well received.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. It was.

Last edited Sun Jul 28, 2013, 09:38 AM - Edit history (1)

She gave several speeches over the 3 day conference. All were very well received. She wants a halt to high stakes testing, she's pushing for wrap around services, and she wants a halt to school closings.

Those are all issues I support. I took notes and didn't hear her say anything I don't agree with. She just has a very dedicated base of members who despise her.

The conference itself was very good. One night they had a tribute to teachers. Ed Schultz and Tony Danza were there, talking about their favorite teachers. Tony Danza was hilarious. I also was in several excellent workshops. One was about how much testing is costing us and another gave us factual info about those PISA scores.

My local participated in collaborative training at TEACH as a team with a group of our administrators. It was excellent and we came home with administrators who were very impressed with AFT. They want to bring some of the AFT reps they worked with here to our district for more training. I think that's a good thing. So I'm grateful for the opportunity to attend TEACH.

[Starry Messenger]

9. Great report! I'm excited it's going to be in LA next year.

That collaborative training sounds terrific, and having the admin see what the union does and come away impressed is cool.

I've been a fan of Tony Danza's since I saw his interview with Tavis Smiley on the book he wrote about teaching, which reminds me I still need to read that. I'll see if the library has it this week.

I got to see Randi speak at Netroots and it was the first time I'd ever seen her in person. You could tell she was very highly respected by the other speakers there and her thoughts on gun violence in schools were very heartfelt.

[erodriguez]

20. Randi is duplicitous

I've had a few occasions to speak to Randi when I was a UFT rep in NYC. She talks a good game but she definitely has her own agenda. The way she ran the UFT was pretty simple. If you didn't agree with her she was dismissive. She shut down and locked people out of discussions and decision-making in the delegate assembly. The result in NYC is the ATR mess, and continued mayoral control. Watch what she does not what she says.

[duffyduff]

6. Get rid of moles who cut deals with the enemy because they are one of them.

Randi Weingarten is the Cory Booker of teachers' unions.