Saturday, October 22, 2005

A Contract Discussion for Newer Teachers

At robotics today, Norm Scott and I talked contract a bit. Not much, though; it's more fun to play with Legos than to engage in political debate. And for those of you asking how I'm going to vote... I think it's best if I don't post my final decision publicly. Since I'm not strongly on either side of the fence, I like being able to talk reasonably to everyone involved without perceptions of my politics muddying the waters. There are many more years of conversations about schools, teachers, and teaching ahead of me in this system. If I start to have strong opinions on this, don't worry, I won't hold back. For now, though, a mysterious and moderate stance seems best! LOL

On a related note, one of my good friends had a cocktail party a couple of weeks ago, and it turns out that her roommate used to be a teacher and is now an organizer, and has strong opinions about the contract. We hit it off and talked a bit about teaching in NYC. Hearing the arguments from someone closer to my own age and experience was great. We talked about how neither the union nor ICE have been particularly effective in reaching those of us who are younger and have less than ten years of experience under our belts. Anyway, she has organized a meeting for newer teachers to hear some of the reasons for voting no (I thought it was going to be a debate but the flyer makes it look a bit less neutral). Anyway, I'm going to try to race down from the Bronx on Tuesday to check this out, and if you're a teacher in the NYC system, I hope I'll see you there. It's always good to meet other teachers and to hear what people are thinking and asking. And if we in the new generation of teachers want people to start talking to us, we have to engage in the conversation. (My school is actually voting before this event, I think...).

Here are the details:

Brooklyn Teachers for a Fair Contract & Teachers Unite
invite you to a discussion about the UFT contract issues that matter to you.

Tuesday, October 25th, 4-5:30 pm
PS 261
314 Pacific St. (between Hoyt & Smith), Brooklyn
Room 317
F to Bergen or A/C to Hoyt-Schermerhorn

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