UFT On the Record Podcast: prodding the DOE to enact the small class-size law

 See my comments on this UFT podcast about the Department of Education's evident disinterest in planning for the class size reduction which is required by the new state law.  More on this here.

Talk out of School: Our most listened to podcasts in 2021

One of the best things that happened to me in 2021 was finding a collaborator who share hosting responsibilities on Talk out of School, my WBAI radio show and podcast.  Daniel Alicea is a special education teacher and the founder of the organization Educators of NYC.  

Below are the episodes most listened this year, half of them hosted by Daniel.  But there are many more that are worth hearing on the podcast website.  Please subscribe!  And if you enjoy our show, please also contribute to WBAI, the only purely listener-supported radio station in NYC that doesn't accept any advertising.

September 4, 2021   Council Member Mark Levine on his concerns with the health and safety protocols in the NYC school reopening plan 

August 28, 2021: Keeping our Children and Schools Safe: Discussing School Reopening with Tajh Sutton and Dr. Kaliris Salas-Ramirez

July 17, 2021: Inside UFT Politics and History (Part 1) : How the Nation’s Most Powerful Teachers Union Impacted NYC Public Schools

July 10, 2021: The Creation, Implementation, and Failure of Common Core Standards with Tom Loveless

Why the DOE should cancel the unfair, unreliable and invalid "gifted" test now and forever & podcast on need to cancel all high-stakes testing this year

 Please read my piece published today at Gotham Gazette.  It explains why the DOE should cancel the "gifted" tests immediately; now and forever.  It makes no sense to continue this invalid, unreliable and biased exam, especially in the midst of a pandemic and the prospect of steep budget cuts to schools.  The contract will cost $1.7M and this doesn't even include the considerable but undisclosed DOE costs of administering this test to kids as young as four-year-old, one on one.  

My piece also deals with the horrific record of Pearson, who produces the test.  The renewal of the Pearson contract will be voted on next Wed., January 27 by the New York City Panel for Educational Policy.  Those who would like to speak on the proposal can register here, starting at 5:30 PM.  You can also email PEP members with your views.  Here are their emails: vleung@schools.nyc.gov; SWaite3@schools.nyc.gov; lpodvesker@schools.nyc.gov; PCalandrella@schools.nyc.gov; ICarmignani@schools.nyc.gov; GChacon@schools.nyc.gov; MKraft2@schools.nyc.gov; GLinnen@schools.nyc.gov; Achapman7@schools.nyc.gov; NGreenGiles@schools.nyc.gov; DDillingham@schools.nyc.gov; kparkprice@schools.nyc.gov; tomcsheppard@yahoo.com; ehenry16@schools.nyc.gov

Below is my podcast from Wednesday on the need to cancel all high-stakes testing this spring, including the gifted tests, the state 3rd-8th grade exams, and the Regents high school exit exams, with guests Akil Bello of FairTest, Lisa Rudley of NY State Allies for Public Education, and Jeanette Deutermann of LI Opt out.

 

As discussed on the podcast, here is the NYSAPE petition urging the State Commissioner to cancel the Regents high school exit exams and to ask the US Department of Education for a waiver from having to administer the 3rd-8th grade exams this spring; also the FairTest petition to the US Department of Education and state education policymakers to suspend all high stakes testing this year. Finally, blog post and fact sheet on what’s wrong with the Regents graduation exit exams.

My Interview with AFT President Randi Weingarten

This morning on my WBAI radio show, "Talk out of School",  I spoke to Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, about what’s happening to schools, teachers and families during the coronavirus crisis, and Randi’s proposal that students should be engaging in completing a meaningful “capstone” project.

A link to her essay describing her idea in more detail is below. 

We also discussed the threat to schools from looming budget cuts, the risk to student privacy by the rapid adoption of unvetted ed tech programs, the Governor’s elimination of spring break in New York state, and more.  You can download the episode here.

Some of the resources that we mentioned are below.

AFT links:
Randi Weingarten’s essay,  On how teachers and students should cap this unprecedented school year
Share My Lesson with teacher resources.
Colorín Colorado! A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners

Privacy links:
The Educator Toolkit for Student and Teacher Privacy – written by the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and Badass Teachers Association (with support from the AFT )
The ACLU recommendations on what should be demanded of ed tech companies at this critical time
Advice to parents from the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy on maximizing privacy and minimizing screen time
A model privacy-protective Google contract negotiated by  NYS administrators  that other districts could adopt

Interview with Diane Ravitch and Talk out of School is now a podcast!

Today on WBAI, I interviewed Diane Ravitch on Talk out of School.  We discussed her new book, Battling Goliath, to be released in January, about the resistance to privatization, about Mayoral control, and what to pay attention to during Saturday’s education forum of the Presidential candidates on MSNBC.

You can hear our conversation here.   Earlier Talk out of School shows can be downloaded here.

You can also subscribe to the podcast via Apple or Spotify or Google.