Author Archives: Peter Goodman

Over 100,000 teachers, paraprofessionals and other titles represented by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) will be receiving mail ballots in the triennial union elections. Union elections are frequently contentious and in the midst of COVID especially so. The UFT is the collective bargaining agent in New York City, in other words they negotiate theContinue reading “The Teachers Union (UFT) Election:  Making a Decision in Perilous Times”

One of the wonders of New York City is the New York Historical Society, a museum, a library and the host of dozens of presentations by the nation’s leading historians, researchers and thought leaders. I attend the sessions that suit my tastes. Earlier in the week I listened to Richard Haas, the president of theContinue reading “Civics Education: Can Teachers Pass the Baton and Save Democracy?”

UPDATED (April 1, 11 am) State lawmakers were sent home yesterday, with a budget vote possibly coming on Monday. If the budget is not signed into law before 4 p.m. on Monday, the state comptroller’s office is prohibited from distributing paychecks to state workers. Bail reform remains the big issue separating Gov. Kathy Hochul, Assembly SpeakerContinue reading “The “Three Men in a Room” Rule Albany, Can Mayor Adams Get a Seat at the Table?”

It was the early nineties, and my school was held up as an example of school turnaround, more kids graduating; more Advanced Placement classes, all the metrics were increasing. The principal praised the staff, talked about curriculum changes, and somehow failed to mention he had hired a bi-lingual Russian guidance counselor and the resulting influxContinue reading “Searching for the Golden Ring: The Merry-Go-Round of Education Policy Initiatives”

(Snarling) “It’s all politics!” If you ask the average person to define “politics” you’ll probably hear, “underhanded,” “deceptive,” “dishonest” as synonyms. How many would respond “the democratic process by which you achieve policies?” Libraries are devoted to political science, from Plato to Aristotle to Machiavelli to Locke and Hobbes to our founding fathers.   Machiavellian isContinue reading “The Race for Governor and Mayoral Control: The Intersection of Policy and Politics”

On Wednesday Chancellor David Banks stepped up to the podium for his first substantive speech, the technology failed, Banks muttered, “This is what we get in a $38 billion budget.” … not the best symbolism The chancellor has been dropping hints, a thinner bureaucracy; his predecessor added a layer, executive superintendents, pushing the chancellor furtherContinue reading “Cleaning Out the Augean Stables and Restocking the Shelves: Chancellor Brooks Lays Out His Agenda ,,,, (Sort Of)”

My name is Peter Goodman, I author a weekly blog, Ed in the Apple, the Intersection of Education and Politics, and I am the President of the Education Affiliate of the CCNY Alumni Association, although my current musings are my own. In a former life I was a teacher at James Madison High School andContinue reading “Testimony before Joint Assembly and Senate Education Committees: Recommended Changes to the Current Mayoral Control Law”

In December, 1998, a month after the general election Governor Pataki called the legislature back into session. The New York State legislature meets from January until mid June. Sessions after an election are called “lame duck” sessions; the legislators who lost their election or chose not to run are in office until the end ofContinue reading “Will the Governor/Legislature Remove SUNY from Any Role in the Creation/Supervision of Charter Schools?”

The Manhattan Institute is a conservative think tank and the publisher of City Journal, The Institute serves as a leading voice of free-market ideas, shaping political culture …. Ideas that have changed the United States and its urban areas for the better—welfare reform, tort reform, proactive policing, and supply-side tax policies, among others—are the heartContinue reading “Why is the Manhattan Institute Supporting Lowering High Graduation Measures in NYS?”

  Why are we killing each other? At the height of the crack epidemic (1990) there were 2262 homicides in New York City; in 2019 there were 295 homicides.  From Dinkins to Giuliani to Bloomberg to de Blasio, from “broken windows” to “stop and frisk” to a “tale of two cities” the homicide rates continuedContinue reading “Why are homicide rates skyrocketing? Can Mayor Adams stem surging violent crime?”