I taught high school Social Studies and like to think of myself as an historian, I completed all my PhD coursework and began my dissertation, “life” intervened. I read as much as I can; enjoyment and expanding knowledge. I keep promising myself I’ll finish that dissertation, maybe.
I’ve been writing my blog (Ed in the Apple) for a dozen years, 1500 posts, for a pre COVID decade I traveled to Albany once a month to attend the monthly Board of Regents meetings, I blogged, researched issues before the Board, worked with a Board member, I felt it was meaningful work.
I’m increasingly concerned with the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the teaching profession and, workers in general, an existential threat. Will teachers be replaced by virtual tutors, will each kid have their own “virtual” teacher?
The UAW, the union, went on strike demanding higher salary, eliminating a tiered pension system, increased retiree benefits and job security. Electric vehicles (EV) are far simpler than gasoline powered vehicles and factories require fewer employees and as EV production increases and gasoline driven cars decrease the UAW workforce will decrease. The UAW may (or may not) be able to protect current employees, the future workforce will be far smaller.
The ILA, the longshoremans’ union, is on strike, the major issue: protecting jobs. Loading and unloading ships is increasingly automated, the union is seeking job protections, and as with the UAW they may be able to protect current employees, the future is fewer and fewer longshoremen.
For the UAW and the ILA striking is a viable strategy, teacher strikes are not a viable strategy. Only a few states allow teacher strikes, New York State has harsh penalties, and public schools face increasing competition from Charter Schools and Vouchers.
In 2023 Governor Hochul tried to eliminate the New York City charter school cap in her budget, the legislative leadership held up the budget passage for three weeks until Hochul relented; UFT President Mulgrew deftly negotiated the enigmatic alleys of Albany politics.
When I ask members of the UFT opposition caucuses for their platform, they have a long list, a list all caucuses agree on, the difference: how do you achieve the aims?
The opposition caucuses answer: prepare to strike, and, use personal, Trump-like attacks against Mulgrew and the union staff.
Maybe I’m overly concerned, I see Trump as a Hitleraian figure and the upcoming election eerily like the election that brought Hitler to power.
Waiting in the wings in the upcoming mayoral race Cuomo, Bloomberg, Renee Moskowitz, the privateers and Trumpers, who plan to give every parent a voucher and let the cards fall wherever.
Last night Vance and Walz conducted a civil debate, agreed on a range of issues, at least it sounded civil.
I have urged the opposition caucuses to work together with Mulgrew, so far to no avail.
We’re not working on an assembly line or unloading ships, hopefully we are shaping the minds of future generations, we must expand the role of teacher unions, from fighting to “fix tier 6” and salary and working conditions to “ownership of practice,” to being at the core of the determining what is best for our students, to creating a collaborative decision-making structure not the current hierarchical structures.
Threatening “to go on strike” is suicidal.
The UFT is part of Education International, teacher unions from around the world who recently held a conference. One of the topics was “teacher led assessments,”
... teachers from Malaysia and Korea met at a cross-regional workshop in Incheon. It was a great opportunity for us to share our classroom practices with fellow teachers from another country. We agreed that ‘teacher-led assessment is essential to support students’ growth. It was a great moment for us to think about teacher leadership and the empowerment of teachers. I drew a lot of strength and encouragement from the international workshop in Incheon because I saw that we were walking together and working together. Read the full discussion here
A teacher in the Netherlands reflects on the role of teachers in assessing colleague performance,
Not too long ago I had a formal lesson observation as part of my yearly performance review. It’s meant as a basis for professional growth and as such it succeeded. I enjoyed the reflection. In my view it should be a regular part of a teacher’s job, not just a yearly one-off which has no impact. Reflection and growth are ongoing and long-term processes. Therefore as part of our daily routine in school we have many informal peer-observations in the classroom and we start and end each day together in agile 15-minute whiteboard sessions where we reflect on the day and our practice. It helps us grow as teachers.
Ownership of practice extends to teachers playing a major role in the setting of standards,
According to the OECD, professionalism“is the level of autonomy and internal regulation exercised by members of an occupation in providing services to society“. The problem is that professional standards are often seen as problematic by many teachers. However standards themselves aren’t the problem – in its simplest definition, standards are“ a level of quality or attainment” it is how they are used. During the 20th and early 21st Centuries, standards were used as a reform approach, standardising curricula, but also enforcing practice through externally imposed accountability, a ‘prescribed professionalism’. As I myself have experienced, this has wreaked havoc on our professional collective autonomy in schools … evidence is increasingly showing that ownership, practice and networking are key to developing teachers’ practice. And this requires a system based on a high level of trust and the collective autonomy of teachers Standards that are developed with this in mind can strengthen ‘enacted professionalism’ in the teaching profession. Read entire essay here.
Teachers, through their unions, are moving to change the paradigm, to play leadership roles in determining what is best for our students and the profession
Artificial Intelligence is a tool, rather than replacing us we should use AI to make our instruction and student learning more effective, and we can do this by working together, all caucuses, collaboration makes all of us stronger, bickering, rolling in the mud weakens all of us.
One of my opposition caucus commenters wrote I’m just trying to scare readers, he was absolutely right, If “preparing to strike” is an election platform we should be scared. Elom Musk is probably already working on robot teachers to replace us.
Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 