Thursday, April 13, 2006
LA Mayor Plans Schools Takeover
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to take over his city's public school system just the way Mayor Moneybags took over New York City's school system . The LA Times has some proposed changes to the system Villaraigosa and his people are mulling over after the mayor takes control:
If you're a teacher in a public school system, you should read the whole article because it indicates where many urban public school system are heading in the near future (if they haven't already gotten there):
1. More and more charter schools
2. Smaller schools over bigger schools
3. Extended school days (8 AM - 5 PM)
4. Extended academic year (10 and 1/2 months - 11 months)
5. Gutted central bureaucracies
We'll see what the final plan Villaraigosa decides to go with looks like, but if I were an LA public school teacher and my job suddenly became a nine hour a day, all year round position, I would leave the LA public school system faster than you can say "Villaraigosa."
Teaching is difficult enough now, without having to work a nine hour day (that's before going home to mark papers/tests and plan lessons, btw) all year round.
I could not do it.
I would not do it.
As a teacher who cherishes creativity and connections to my students, I know that the time I currently have off from my job helps me do my job better.
Teaching is unlike any other job you can do.
Teaching requires a person to make connections with 170 students every semester, learn each student's strengths, weaknesses, and needs, teach each student valuable, original lessons, and make sure they can pass whatever standardized tests they are currently scheduled to take.
Along the way we have to make children laugh, think, explore, and learn, among other things.
Teaching is not easy under the current circumstances.
Make it a nine hour a day, year round job and it will become impossible.
I would leave the profession without thinking twice. I bet lots of other veteran teachers would as well.
So Mayor Villaraigosa should think twice before he institutes his "reform plan". Sometimes reforms have unintended consequences, and while I am sure the mayor's heart is in the right place, he may not realize that his proposed reforms may undercut the benefits he wants to bring to LA's school children.
POSTSCRIPT: The LA teachers union helped elect Villaraigosa, of course, so it's really nice that he plans on taking them to the mattresses in a war over the system.
How far the mighty teachers unions have fallen.
As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pursues control of the Los Angeles school system, his advisors are considering wide-ranging changes that could gut the central bureaucracy, sell the district's headquarters, keep students in class until 5 p.m. and extend the academic year to 10 1/2 months.
Those details and dozens of others are contained in a draft district takeover proposal, obtained by The Times, that Villaraigosa's office has circulated to interested parties outside City Hall.
The mayor's chief of staff, Robin Kramer, emphasized that Villaraigosa had not yet reviewed any of several drafts under consideration, which she described as a tentative collection of ideas that would probably change before he unveils a plan in the coming week
...
In a meeting with Times editors and reporters Wednesday, Villaraigosa also would not discuss his takeover plans but said he was "undeterred and absolutely committed" to his initiative — one that has provoked the ire of the district's elected school board and teachers union, the mayor's longtime ally.
"It's going to be an absolute war here," he said. "They're going to go nuts when [we] do it. I think we've got a shot at it. I'm going to use my capital."
If you're a teacher in a public school system, you should read the whole article because it indicates where many urban public school system are heading in the near future (if they haven't already gotten there):
1. More and more charter schools
2. Smaller schools over bigger schools
3. Extended school days (8 AM - 5 PM)
4. Extended academic year (10 and 1/2 months - 11 months)
5. Gutted central bureaucracies
We'll see what the final plan Villaraigosa decides to go with looks like, but if I were an LA public school teacher and my job suddenly became a nine hour a day, all year round position, I would leave the LA public school system faster than you can say "Villaraigosa."
Teaching is difficult enough now, without having to work a nine hour day (that's before going home to mark papers/tests and plan lessons, btw) all year round.
I could not do it.
I would not do it.
As a teacher who cherishes creativity and connections to my students, I know that the time I currently have off from my job helps me do my job better.
Teaching is unlike any other job you can do.
Teaching requires a person to make connections with 170 students every semester, learn each student's strengths, weaknesses, and needs, teach each student valuable, original lessons, and make sure they can pass whatever standardized tests they are currently scheduled to take.
Along the way we have to make children laugh, think, explore, and learn, among other things.
Teaching is not easy under the current circumstances.
Make it a nine hour a day, year round job and it will become impossible.
I would leave the profession without thinking twice. I bet lots of other veteran teachers would as well.
So Mayor Villaraigosa should think twice before he institutes his "reform plan". Sometimes reforms have unintended consequences, and while I am sure the mayor's heart is in the right place, he may not realize that his proposed reforms may undercut the benefits he wants to bring to LA's school children.
POSTSCRIPT: The LA teachers union helped elect Villaraigosa, of course, so it's really nice that he plans on taking them to the mattresses in a war over the system.
How far the mighty teachers unions have fallen.
Comments:
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It's comforting to know we can always attribute every educational problem to the inherent laziness of our teachers.
Which brings up a good point, NYC Educator.
What are you doing blogging at 12:25 PM on Thursday afternoon?
Shouldn't you be marking papers/tutoring students/preparing lessons?
So what if it's Passover?
You should be working!
Work! Work! Work!
How do you think Mayor Mike made all his money?
Heck, even Yahweh only rested on the seventh day.
Which is kinda where we're heading in the American economy (i.e., back to a six day work week.)
What are you doing blogging at 12:25 PM on Thursday afternoon?
Shouldn't you be marking papers/tutoring students/preparing lessons?
So what if it's Passover?
You should be working!
Work! Work! Work!
How do you think Mayor Mike made all his money?
Heck, even Yahweh only rested on the seventh day.
Which is kinda where we're heading in the American economy (i.e., back to a six day work week.)
It reminds me of the foot-in-the-door technique. If someone came to your door asking for a $5 donation, most would say no. But if they asked for $50, then said, "Ok, how about $5?", you'd get more often.
By asking for 11 months, he'll get a few more days. By saying 5 p.m., he'll get 3:30 - 4.
Now I don't know LA schools well, but why does this guy think this is going to work? Do people outside NYC really think Bloomberg is getting it done?
How about initiatives that can increase the quality of education, not the quantity?
By asking for 11 months, he'll get a few more days. By saying 5 p.m., he'll get 3:30 - 4.
Now I don't know LA schools well, but why does this guy think this is going to work? Do people outside NYC really think Bloomberg is getting it done?
How about initiatives that can increase the quality of education, not the quantity?
# posted by 
: 9:31 PM
: 9:31 PM
The short answer is, many people outside of New York City do think Bloomberg's reforms are working. Frankly, lots of people IN New York City who don't have kids in school or any connections to the school system also think Bloomberg's reforms are working.
Why?
Because Bloomberg SAYS they're working and backs himself up with his bullshit stats from his bullshit tests (no methodolgies ever released for the tests, of course.) And the major dailies dutifully print the stats (e.g., Fourth Grade Reading Scores Up Blah Blah%, Most Ever)
So people say, "Oh, test scores are up. The mayor sounds like he knows what he's doing. All must be well with the schools."
But of course if you're paying attention to what's happening in the school system, you know that Klein and Bloomberg have no fucking idea what they're doing, which is why they are re-reorganizing the system, firing half of Tweed, bringing in the Education expert from Britain, etc.
Villaraigosa, btw, is using Bloomberg as a model for his own takeover of the LA public school system. Villaraigosa sent people to talk to Klein, Bloomberg and others at Tweed about the New York City takeover, what worked, what didn't, etc. I suspect Villiaraigosa has swllowed the conventional wisdom that Bloomberg's reforms are a smashing success and decided this is how he plans to approach his own schools takeover.
As for increasing the quality as opposed to the quantity of education, many people on both the right and left are convinced education qaulity increases simply by increased the qauntity of it.
The soon to be ex-governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, posted a piece about education reform on The daily Kos where he emphasized the "Seat Time Doctrine" (the more time kids spend in their seats in classrooms, the more they learn) as an excellent way to increase the quality of American public education. Vilsack even promised to bring the "Seat Time Doctrine" to a school near you if he was ever elected president.
These are scary times if you're a public school teacher. We are being blamed for nearly all the ills that plague society and yet, every time a state or municipality needs to cut "waste," they look immediately to the schools and libraries for their budget cuts.
Why?
Because Bloomberg SAYS they're working and backs himself up with his bullshit stats from his bullshit tests (no methodolgies ever released for the tests, of course.) And the major dailies dutifully print the stats (e.g., Fourth Grade Reading Scores Up Blah Blah%, Most Ever)
So people say, "Oh, test scores are up. The mayor sounds like he knows what he's doing. All must be well with the schools."
But of course if you're paying attention to what's happening in the school system, you know that Klein and Bloomberg have no fucking idea what they're doing, which is why they are re-reorganizing the system, firing half of Tweed, bringing in the Education expert from Britain, etc.
Villaraigosa, btw, is using Bloomberg as a model for his own takeover of the LA public school system. Villaraigosa sent people to talk to Klein, Bloomberg and others at Tweed about the New York City takeover, what worked, what didn't, etc. I suspect Villiaraigosa has swllowed the conventional wisdom that Bloomberg's reforms are a smashing success and decided this is how he plans to approach his own schools takeover.
As for increasing the quality as opposed to the quantity of education, many people on both the right and left are convinced education qaulity increases simply by increased the qauntity of it.
The soon to be ex-governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack, posted a piece about education reform on The daily Kos where he emphasized the "Seat Time Doctrine" (the more time kids spend in their seats in classrooms, the more they learn) as an excellent way to increase the quality of American public education. Vilsack even promised to bring the "Seat Time Doctrine" to a school near you if he was ever elected president.
These are scary times if you're a public school teacher. We are being blamed for nearly all the ills that plague society and yet, every time a state or municipality needs to cut "waste," they look immediately to the schools and libraries for their budget cuts.
Scarier still is the willingness of once great unions like the UFT to swallow lock, stock, and barrel whatever the mayor dishes out.
Perhaps even scarier is how few of our members know what they do.
We gotta work on that.
Perhaps even scarier is how few of our members know what they do.
We gotta work on that.
reality-based educator:
You are right that both the right and left want more classroom time as the solution for student improvement. However, they both rarely mention the real solutions to student success. Low class sizes, strict disciplinary practices, and teacher quality. Why don't they mention them? Well that costs money!
nyc educator:
We have discussed this before. The UFT seems not to care about doing a media blitz on the DOE polices that hurt the classroom (both students and teachers). Further, they seem to have partially bought into the DOE charter/small schools policy at the expense of the traditional large comprehensive high schools.
its a pity that the UFT no longer seems to care about the classroom teacher.
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You are right that both the right and left want more classroom time as the solution for student improvement. However, they both rarely mention the real solutions to student success. Low class sizes, strict disciplinary practices, and teacher quality. Why don't they mention them? Well that costs money!
nyc educator:
We have discussed this before. The UFT seems not to care about doing a media blitz on the DOE polices that hurt the classroom (both students and teachers). Further, they seem to have partially bought into the DOE charter/small schools policy at the expense of the traditional large comprehensive high schools.
its a pity that the UFT no longer seems to care about the classroom teacher.
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