Peter Goodman

The Portrait of a Teacher

In the fall of 2019, I attended an SED/Board of Regents regional meeting that began the discussion of Graduation Measures followed by COVID, a blue-ribbon commission, endless Zooms, finally Regents Exams optional replaced by the Portrait of a Graduate competencies assessed by a range of tasks, the tasks to be determined. What is the PortraitContinue reading “The Portrait of a Teacher”

City and State Education Summit: Lauding the Present and an Uncertain Future

City and State is a wonderful source of local and state news, every morning brief summaries with links pop up, flip through, links into what you’re interested in, for a news nerd like me a nice way to begin the day, City and State also runs what they call summits, the leading voices in a range ofContinue reading “City and State Education Summit: Lauding the Present and an Uncertain Future”

Is Teaching an Art or a Science?

If I use the same brand of golf clubs as Scottie Scheffler or use the same tennis racket as Novak Djokovic will it improve my game? Obviously, nonsense. How about if my parents were superb athletes? Maybe. How can I assure my children will be successful athletes? or musicians, or dancers? Maybe gene splicing, CRISPR Continue reading “Is Teaching an Art or a Science?”

The Futile Search for the Magic Bullet: Why Big City School Districts Fail, and Perhaps, A New Pathway

A new superintendent, a new mayor, a new governor declares with the blaring of trumpets, the “new thing,” a phonics curriculum, a new way of teaching math, new graduation requirements, press releases, and the measures fail to impact the “truly disadvantaged.” The underlying problem, generational poverty, is rarely addressed, if you’re nerdy, I raise myContinue reading “The Futile Search for the Magic Bullet: Why Big City School Districts Fail, and Perhaps, A New Pathway”

Should the “Portrait of a Graduate” Soft Skills Replace the Regents Exams?

The US Department of Education is gone! Half the employees have been fired with the remaining probably on their way out. According to Trump we don’t need a USDoE, states can run our education system, of course, states have always run our education system, every state has a department of education, a governing board, usuallyContinue reading “Should the “Portrait of a Graduate” Soft Skills Replace the Regents Exams?”

Who Will Be More Effective in Fixing Tier 6? Mamdani, Cuomo or Adams

Tier 6 became law in 2010, currently 50,000 teachers are Tier 6 members in NYC and each year all new teachers become Tier 6 members, read summary of Tier 6 here (fixtier6.org), at the top of the Fix Tier 6 list is reducing retirement age with full benefits from 63 to 55, matching Tier 4.Continue reading “Who Will Be More Effective in Fixing Tier 6? Mamdani, Cuomo or Adams”

The UFT Mamdani Mayoral Endorsement

On November 4th registered voters in New York City will go to the polls to elect a mayor, a public advocate, a comptroller and fifty-one members of the city council. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 6:1 and 20% of registered voters are not registered in a party. Although NYC has been overwhelmingly Democratic for 20Continue reading “The UFT Mamdani Mayoral Endorsement”

How Will the Big (not so) Beautiful Budget Bill Impact NYS and NYC Budgets?

The thousand-page bill squeaked through the House and the Senate and signed into law by the president. See the details of the law here. Estimates are the bill will substantially impact NYS, … a big financial impact for New York and its health care system. State officials estimated the House bill would cost the state and itsContinue reading “How Will the Big (not so) Beautiful Budget Bill Impact NYS and NYC Budgets?”

Mamdani and Mayoral Control

As Cuomo continues to waffle over whether he’ll campaign on his independent ballot line the losing candidates are beginning to line up with Zohan, the UFT is holding meetings to consider his endorsement, other powerful unions have jumped on board, unless the Republican party intends to drop their current candidate, Curtis Sliwa and replace him withContinue reading “Mamdani and Mayoral Control”

The Game is On: Mamdani v Cuomo v Adams v Sliwa

The exaltation, the partying, the backslapping lasted for about two days! An in-depth interview in the N.Y. An in-depth interview in the NY Times, Brian Lehrer on Public Radio, and off and running … The November General Election beckons. Micheal Lange, an early Mamdani supporters, writes, Taken for granted by the political establishment, deeply dissatisfiedContinue reading “The Game is On: Mamdani v Cuomo v Adams v Sliwa”