How fitting that you recommended a book by Steven Greenhouse. His father, Mortimer, was a Social Studies teacher at my high school on Long Island (Lindenhurst). I can see where he got his sensibilities.
I was an English teacher at Martin Van Buren HS who also team taught some ESL classes, and I always hated how we just taught the kids how to take the test, not really learn or enjoy literature. A high point of grading the English Regents one year was when a kid cited "Captain Underpants." We all really enjoyed that.
Wow. I had no idea his dad was a teacher! So maybe a teacher helped his POV come about. And maybe we can do that again.
Using Captain Underpants would absolutely have worked, I suppose. I haven't read it, but there was no restriction against using children's books. I have been able to teach literature classes to advanced ESL students, and I had a lot of success teaching books like The Joy Luck Club. The newer Regents exam kind of hates literature, as well as student voice, a very unfortunate remnant from Common Core.
I think his father was the advisor for, and probably started, the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society, for those too young to remember) organization in our school during the Vietnam war, so I'm sure he had an effect on Steven's POV.
I very much like the contrast you showed in this article between the care for other people - the basis of real unionism - and the Mulgrew version - selfish profiteering. More and more the name Michael Mulgrew has come to stand for union leaders who like to think they are in partnerships with the bosses (who are secretly sneering at them) and all the deceit involved in pretending to be otherwise. It is as the great Eugene Debs said - unions are very powerful and they are not done in by the bosses but by leaders and members who sell out.
Thanks for your kind words Alan. I agree that sellout partnerships with bosses are toxic, and sadly, our union has just such a relationship with Mulgrew these days. He ought to be a leader, not a boss. I've just gotten a note about an employee who was warned not to criticize Unity during election season. The whole sit down and shut up thing they do is antithetical to union.
Arthur, ARISE supporters are pointing out Amy’s support of Mulgrew’s Medicare Advantage plan back in 2022. Specifically, her informational session where she informed UFT members that the Aetna plan was a better plan than traditional Medicare, and that change was needed to Administrative Code 12–126.
I see that she walked that back in the Daily News by stating that UFT leadership either lied to her or misled her. I know that you can’t answer for Amy. That said, that’s the elephant in the room that perhaps someone with your talent can address.
Thanks for your kind words. I said things three years ago that I'm not proud of today. We all change our minds. I just left a Zoom meeting with Amy and others. She can speak quite well for herself. She will do so tomorrow night, and I very much hope you will join us. I am very proud to be running with her, and with this team. Amy is the very best person to lead our United Federation of Teachers. I will certainly have more to say about this.
How fitting that you recommended a book by Steven Greenhouse. His father, Mortimer, was a Social Studies teacher at my high school on Long Island (Lindenhurst). I can see where he got his sensibilities.
I was an English teacher at Martin Van Buren HS who also team taught some ESL classes, and I always hated how we just taught the kids how to take the test, not really learn or enjoy literature. A high point of grading the English Regents one year was when a kid cited "Captain Underpants." We all really enjoyed that.
Wow. I had no idea his dad was a teacher! So maybe a teacher helped his POV come about. And maybe we can do that again.
Using Captain Underpants would absolutely have worked, I suppose. I haven't read it, but there was no restriction against using children's books. I have been able to teach literature classes to advanced ESL students, and I had a lot of success teaching books like The Joy Luck Club. The newer Regents exam kind of hates literature, as well as student voice, a very unfortunate remnant from Common Core.
I think his father was the advisor for, and probably started, the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society, for those too young to remember) organization in our school during the Vietnam war, so I'm sure he had an effect on Steven's POV.
In a high school. Wow, I remember that being a college thing. Steven learned activism young, evidently.
I very much like the contrast you showed in this article between the care for other people - the basis of real unionism - and the Mulgrew version - selfish profiteering. More and more the name Michael Mulgrew has come to stand for union leaders who like to think they are in partnerships with the bosses (who are secretly sneering at them) and all the deceit involved in pretending to be otherwise. It is as the great Eugene Debs said - unions are very powerful and they are not done in by the bosses but by leaders and members who sell out.
Thanks for your kind words Alan. I agree that sellout partnerships with bosses are toxic, and sadly, our union has just such a relationship with Mulgrew these days. He ought to be a leader, not a boss. I've just gotten a note about an employee who was warned not to criticize Unity during election season. The whole sit down and shut up thing they do is antithetical to union.
Arthur, ARISE supporters are pointing out Amy’s support of Mulgrew’s Medicare Advantage plan back in 2022. Specifically, her informational session where she informed UFT members that the Aetna plan was a better plan than traditional Medicare, and that change was needed to Administrative Code 12–126.
I see that she walked that back in the Daily News by stating that UFT leadership either lied to her or misled her. I know that you can’t answer for Amy. That said, that’s the elephant in the room that perhaps someone with your talent can address.
Thanks for your kind words. I said things three years ago that I'm not proud of today. We all change our minds. I just left a Zoom meeting with Amy and others. She can speak quite well for herself. She will do so tomorrow night, and I very much hope you will join us. I am very proud to be running with her, and with this team. Amy is the very best person to lead our United Federation of Teachers. I will certainly have more to say about this.