The Race to a NYS Budget (with sharp elbows!)
The 26-27 State Budget is due today, the legislatures passed “continuing resolutions” to keep the state afloat and the members left for the Easter/Passover break, leaving a number of contentious issues unresolved. The governor continues to push for the authority to override local zoning regulations to build more “affordable” housing, suburban legislators pushing back. The…
A Civics Primer: Fixing Tier 6
“No one’s life, liberty or property are safe while the NYS legislature is in session,” Judge Gideon Tucker With the signing of the Declaration of Independence the thirteen colonies became self governing states and each set about writing their own constitutions and governing structures The constitutions and structures varied widely from state to state. New Hampshire…
Do You Want the Recipe for the Secret Sauce?
Why was Socrates sentenced to death by the rulers of Athens? Socrates was viewed as a threat to Athenian society because his relentless questioning challenged traditional religious beliefs, political structures, and democratic authority. By making influential figures appear foolish and encouraging young people to think critically, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth,…
Why Has Mamdani Pushed Education to the Bottom of his Priority List?
It was a well-crafted targeted campaign. “Freeze the Rent,” “Fast, Free Buses,” “Free Childcare,” added up to:: “affordability.” Young voters, absent for years, jumped on board, an army of door knockers fanning out across the city. Opposition to mayoral control and including parents and teachers in the policy-making process, another winner. In the primary a prediction:…
Being “.. in the room where it happens” requires political skill
As a UFT District Rep I serviced the needs of 2.000 plus union members, from answering questions, to resolving payroll and certification issues, to representing the views of teachers at the district level. I rapidly realized I had to develop relationships: to bring Kelly, the Personnel Director’s secretary a cup of her favorite coffee. she’d smile, “What…
Vote for Tom Brown for Trustee of the Teachers Retirement System
I first met Tom when I was the UFT District Rep and Tom was a JHS Chapter Leader, he’d pull me into his classroom, he was a master teacher and his room looked like a travel advertisement for Spain! Tom invited me to attend a School Leadership Team meeting, the Home Ec teacher baked chocolate chip cookies,…
Can Hochul, Mamdani and Menin Become a Polyamorous Throuple?
Running for office is exciting, rallies, crowds shouting your name, and, if you win: ecstatic! After winning, managing is tough, constant decisions, frequently no “right” answer, crowds applauding as well as calling for your head! Everything you inherit becomes your fault, blizzards, 5 degree weather, your fault. Friends working in your campaign become enemies when you make a decision…
The Failure of Leadership: Ineffective School, School District and School System Leadership is a Pandemic
For me the key to effective classrooms, schools and school districts is leadership. As SCOTUS Judge Potter Stewart said in a decision, “It’s hard to define but I know it when I see it, (he was referring to pornography) can also be used to define leadership. From sports coaches at the highest levels to restaurant…
Exploring the Pluses and Minuses of the Proposed NYS Heath Act
The SF Teacher Strike ended with a tentative settlement, the major issue was the cost of health plan; teachers in SF pay $1500 a month for family coverage. “San Francisco teachers cheered the tentative agreement — especially its coverage of 100% of premiums on family health plans, which run about $1,500 per month, beginning next January” See…
The Polar Vortex, Spinning the News and Confronting Generational Poverty
Woke this morning, 5 degrees, I never want to hear the words “polar vortex” again, face mask, three layers, ski mittens, life goes on. Maybe Springsteen and Big Bunny have turned the tide, if there’s anyone left to write the history of our era it will be fascinating, in my darker moments I see us…
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Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 