Just realized that Michelle Rhee not only fired 5% of the D.C. teaching corps yesterday (241 teachers), she gets to withhold salary increases from another 730 teachers (17% of the teaching corps) because they were rated "minimally effective."
Next year, if they are still rated "minimally effective," they too will be fired.
Wow - this is the contract the union agreed to?
Within five years, Rhee will have a whole new teaching corps.
She can basically fire EVERY teacher by making sure the classes they have result in stagnant or dropping test scores in the next five years.
And she saves on all those salary increases and pension costs by having 20% or 25% declared "minimally effective" every year.
No wonder Michelle Rhee says NYC needs a contract like the D.C. contract.
You know who ought to be fired as a consequence of this mess?
George Parker, the head of the D.C. union, and Randi Weingarten, the AFT chief who helped "negotiate" this "innovative" contract.
Incredible. It is obvious teachers are now under tremendous attack. Not only by the oligarchs and union-busting politicians, but by teachers' own unions, also. I still say protests should soon begin at union leadership's doorstep.
ReplyDeleteWhat is go great about teachers' salary, the only thing holding teachers in NYC is the "Pension" and half worth health insurance.
ReplyDeleteAs it is most teachers have relocated to Long Island for better salary and to other states.
They are conscantly under the gun, get no respect, constantly having the teaching methods changed. These are not their children, maybe the parents should start taking responsibility for THEIR childrens' behavior and grades.
Stop the politics!
Well I'm not sure if it was a typo or not, RBE. But it's kinda funny to call Parker "Packer".
ReplyDeleteIt's a typo, Estaban. I type really fast when I'm mad and make some mistakes! And lately there is an awful lot to get mad at. Thanks for correcting me.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear what Fighting Smart means - pulling the wool over your own union members' eyes.
ReplyDeleteFighting smart means surrendering the framing of the issues to the other side.
ReplyDeleteUnions are bad.
Unionized teachers are bad.
Bad teachers need to be fired.
Test scores will show which teachers are bad and in need of firing.
I dispute ALL of these points.
But our unions do not - they let the ed deformers frame the issues the way they want to and thus lose the argument time and time again.
It would be depressing, but it's summer and I refuse to be depressed.
Besides, I long ago gave up the ghost that I will get to where you are, Norm. I have too long to go in this business to make it to retirement. I'll be one of those teachers tossed on the heap in a few years, labeled "bad" by some thirty-something TFA alumnus with Rhee/Klein morals.