In recent days, the NBEA Blog has become the fodder for much criticism. In my opinion, much of this is undeserved.
The Blog allows people to express their opinions about the school system, its personalities, and what is happening in our city. It gives a voice to people that otherwise do not command the attention of political leaders and the media. The anonymity of most posts only serves to enrich the Blog. Forcing everyone to sign their names would only serve to stifle the free exchange of ideas. That is an essential ingredient to ensure the health and vitality of our Republic.
Anonymous postings and/or the use of pseudonyms is a rich part of our nation’s history. A young Benjamin Franklin published letters under the name “Silence Dogood.” Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote essays promoting the ratification of the U.S. Constitution as “Publius.” These essays are known collectively as The Federalist Papers.
I prefer to think of the blog as a marketplace for ideas, similar to a retail store. There are some ideas/products that you buy into. Others you cast aside. People don’t castigate WBSM because they disagree with a particular caller. In other words, you can disagree with the message. Shooting the messenger is counterproductive.
Democracy isn’t always pretty. There is debate, discussion, and even sometimes a little name calling. I don’t agree with everything I read here, but I will always defend the right to express your views.
31 comments:
"Open Line" moderators do have the option of hanging up on callers who get nasty....it seems to me that the blog itself isn't being criticized, rather the folks who are using it for immature name-calling, snide remarks and imiplications.
Freedom of speech is a beautiful thing. God bless America.
Posters should be allowed to post anonymously. However, calling students names only serves to embarrass New Bedford Public Schools teachers and administrators. It doesn't solve the problem and makes the teachers look like jerks. Justin and his committee have a right to share their paper with the school committee. While many of us may disagree with the paper, it is below us to resort to name calling. I for one am embarrassed by this, and frankly, can't see one single justification for the derogatory name-calling that has occurred on this blog. It's shameful.
If you are insulted by the postings... reread the narrative on the site... you do not have to proceed...
I am saddened to think that professionals in this district would discount the hard work of our students, regardless if whether or not they agree with them. Certainly, we all should strive for improvement in our professional and personal lives. I for one am very proud that Mr. Braga and Ms. Jaikes have taken the time to try and be agents of change. I wish them the very best of luck in their future endeavors and I hope they look back on their years at NBPS with fondness, regardless of the immaturity they may have encountered along the way.
Sarah Dury
There is a difference between the "debate" you speak of and calling people "egotists" and "brainwashed" without sufficient evidence as to why. Those students stood up there last night and presented a report chock-full of ideas that puts the NBEA to shame. They saw something wrong with education in New Bedford, and they did something about it. They are leaders, unlike this union which whines and laments but never provides initiatives. I look forward to what these kids will be doing in the future.
I have a problem with how Mr. Braga and his committee have misrepresented and distorted provisions in our contract. Some of you that are praising him need to wake-up. He is allied with people that do not support teachers.
By the way, Where is it written that teachers always have to be "nice?" We are not in our classrooms. This is the public arena. There are forces in this city that wish to enslave teachers. We would work for low pay and be subject to the whims of the administration. Some of our principals aren't exactly moral.
New Bedford's teachers are at war. The mayor doesn't support us and the same can be said for the school committee. The UIA, Roundtable, and Mr. Braga are all working against you.
Wise up, before it's too late.
The role of the NBEA is to advocate for its members and ensure that all are treated fairly/receive due process. It is not the job of the leadership to propose initiatives. However, many of our individual members have taken an active role in that process. Unfortunately, the administration has turned a deaf ear to a plethora of suggestions.
People, listen to the watchdog!
It is quite obvious that some people including the students are unaware of what unions do. Unions protect their membership from issues created by management. Unions fight for fair wages and working conditions. When people go against the contract they are breaking what our union has been fighting for for generations. You need to remember our union membership who went to jail to protect our rights. We need to continue to fight unfair management and conditions. It might not be PC in this time of history to support unions, but where would we be without them.
Does anyone remember whom the New Bedford Schools exist to serve? I became a teacher because it's all about the students, not about the mayor, not the school committee or a bunch of politicians, not even about the teachers or our union, not about competing with other schools in the state. I think some people are losing sight of what and who should come first here -- THE STUDENTS!! It's never about who wins if the kids are the losers.
The reformers don't come out and say it but the reality of it is that they want to destroy teacher unions. If you truly support children then you should be supporting teacher unions. The reformers forget our children's working conditions are our working conditions.
Justin Braga has already joined the Brown Republicans...working conditions for his former teachers might not be a big concern for him. (If you can read this thank a teacher.)
Wow! I must say that I am loving some of the responses given in this blog post. I was heartened by the fact that someone had the insight to mention that unions are not the arbiters of initiatives, but that they exist to ensure fair wages and working conditions for whomever they serve. It has become clear to me that some people are having a difficult time seeing the "big picture" when it comes to the roles each party has been playing recently in the NBPS debate. To clarify: UIA and Education Roundtable, despite their ongoing initiative (there's that word again) to change the school system, are NOT educators. They are persons with an agenda to undermine union support and strength. Stand for Children, an organization fed monies from big corporations and businesses, has an agenda to also strip unions of their power, and run all of our schools like big businesses. Well, we see where that has gotten America in the last several years...School committee members are basically politicians in that they need to court votes from their constituents just as any other political pundit needs to, and they are the ones driving the car, along with the Mayor. They should be listening to their biggest audience--the parents, teachers, and students for whom they serve, and NOT organizations who will simply help get them elected again.
And as far as administration is concerned, frankly, I'm tired of them whining about everything being the Union's fault and holding them back from performing their jobs well. That is simply not the case. Principals have the right to hire new personnel. They have the right to terminate (in the first three years of employment) any person who does not seem to be a "good match" for the district. And contrary to popular belief, they can also terminate the employment of veteran teachers -- IF they can prove that they are unfit for their position, or that they have committed an egregious act. This policy was set in place for a reason. The Ed Reform Act accounts for it, and the unions fought for this to protect teachers from unwarranted terminations because of, say, a personality clash between the administrator and the teacher, or a principal who comes in and simply wants to "clean house" and put in place who they choose to work with (sometimes this turns out to be their friends and relatives!). People forget that there is a reason why the Union was created, and why it still exists. Unions are not the bane of our existence as educators, they are the monitors of proper working conditions for those who educate our children and supporters of the underdogs (which today is certainly the case among teachers who are being used as fodder for everything in the media and by big business.)
That being said, I am truly happy about the evaluation process for administrators. Now it is their turn to step up to the plate and put forth their best efforts to show what they're made of, not simply judge the teachers on their merits and failures. My biggest hope is that they will need to do more than just submit data that can be mishandled and misinterpreted, but that they will have to be observed in their school settings as well. In the past few years in New Bedford, there have been no real evaluations of principals in the district, despite the fact that they are the ones who push initiatives set forth by the district (for good or bad), and they are the ones who oversee everything in their own buildings at salaries that can be in the six figure realm. Change needs to start at the top, administration needs to begin working with, instead of against the union, and overall, students need their wonderful, all-supportive hard-working teachers!
I so agree with the last poster! Admin does have the right to terminate bad teachers. Yes it is much easier to do it in the first 3 years but even after that it can be done with the proper documentation. I saw many new teachers that should've gotten terminated at the end of the year and were not. I have witnessed an admin write a false evaluation on a 1st year teacher that they had never observed and gave them satisfactory marks on every category. I discussed the issue with a trusted friend in the district and I was told to keep quiet because that particular admin was very well connected in the district and there was nothing anyone could do to get rid of them. This teacher still works in my building and is still ineffective as a teacher and thanks to that lousy admin, now believes that they are a great teacher. The truly sad thing is the district still could've gotten rid of them last month and of course didn't. This is clearly not the union's fault. Unions do not protect bad teachers, bad administrators do.
Many thanks to you "sick and tired"....well said.
"Sick and Tired:"
Thanks for your input!
It is becoming increasingly evident that the S-T, Justin Braga, UIA, and Education Roundtable are out to destroy the NBEA. The school committee and NBPS administration don't support us. We only have one another. United WE stand, divided WE fall.
I am a teacher that is not afraid to go along with change. I consired myself to be a positive person and always willing to listen to others even if I don't agree with them. However, I have to share something that happen to me. I try to voice my opinion to make things better for our students and also teachers. It did not go very well, Admin don't want to hear what teachers have to say if it does not go along with their plan. Where do I turn when I know more then some directors, admin and sometimes principlas. How can this continue to go on, people that are so ineffective are in charge of making decisons that are not beneficial for our students. As a parent that have children atteding NBPS it makes me so angry to know that many admintrators don't care for the kids, and if theyy do they have a funny way of showing it. So difficult to be able to express concerns to admintrators when they tell you in confedential but somehow other administrators find out. I know I need to do something, but still struggle to find out exctaly what to do and how, without being afraid of being punished. I feel that I lack the support and I know is diifficult to do things alone. I don't want to be one of those teachers that just complains but does not have a plan on how to take action. I am willing to take advise from this blog. I don't want to come out as a negative person but. I am trying to analyze this whole mess that NBPS is in, and really try to be part of a solution. After all is the children that are loosing out.
Everyone be aware as this is just the beginning of a rough and rocky road with monster boulders on it. I fear that we, like so many other school districts across the country, are in for a full frontal attack which is already beginning to happen.
Look at what has transpired so far: constant put downs on the NBPS, you’re included, by the paper, UIA, the recent students’ report, and Education Roundtable. UNITE! We are being split apart, splintered, and criticized. DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN!
Why aren't these groups going after the root causes of attendance, poor scores, high dropout rate, and low graduation rate by students and their parents who just don’t care? Not one report has addressed how they will change those issues. You can't force someone to study or take a test. The old saying: "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."
How are they going to accomplish this?
read "The Jungle" if you want a refresher as to why unions were created and still need to exist today
Some principals, directors, etc. haven't been evaluated in over ten years... reread the DESE report on NBPS
The students DID offer recommendations on how "attendance, poor scores, high dropout rate, and low graduation rate". Did you read their report?
What it comes down to is respect. Respect that everyone has an opinion whether you agree with it or not.
Is a same that some principals and ********* have not been evaluated in ten years. How can this happen? Is it evfen legal? I know some directors are horrible and have no clue how to run their deparments. But yet they are the ones doing the walk through and evfaluate teachers. That is a joke. I am all for being evaluated, but please don't insult me by sending someone that know less than me.
All the recommendations in the world aren't going to change the mind set of the students who do not wish to abide by the rules and policies. How are you going to change that issue? HOW?
Yes, the students need to abide by the rules and regulations, but the key element is parent involvement, which, for some, will never happen. If the parents don't enforce rules at home, how are the students expected to respect them at school?
I wanted to address the comments made by Steve Urbon in his S-T column on 7/12/12. Mr. Urbon discussed the recent blog posts on the NBEA blog, and how some of the comments made by teachers were immature and even bullying in nature. I would like to point out that this blog is open to the public, and that not all of the comments on the NBEA blog are necessarily made by teachers or other educators. Mr. Urbon is making an assumption in this regard, and a good journalist should always get the facts straight before publishing them for all to see.
There appears to be a coordinated attempt to silence the position of teachers across the nation, and over the past few years that political hot potato has been all too warmly received here in our fair city.
However not all things are created equal, people would like to paint the picture that the NBEA are obstructionists to the education of the students we work with every day. The NBEA has had a history that has been many times congenial with the city of New Bedford in such matters as renegotiating our health care coverage: in developing the engineering academy; in advocating the evaluation and accountability of individuals in positions of leadership not to bully but to assist in moving forward the educational process of those that are the providers of serving the children of the city of New Bedford.
Many people think the union’s mission is to protect the bad teachers; this statement is so far from the truth that it is a direct attack on that which we stand for. We are an organization that stands and advocates for education. We work diligently both individually and collectively to move the system forward for our students by assisting those who provide the services on a day in day out basis, our teachers. We do this by operating within a set of parameters established by a contract, the result of long tedious work whereby both sides come to a meeting of the minds that bridges the gap with reasonable resolutions that are held jointly by all participating members.
The contract does provide a remedy to protect our children from bad teachers. Teachers have three years to obtain professional teacher status. These teachers must be certified in the area they are teaching and serve in that respective position for three consecutive years. That teacher is to receive a mentor, professional development, and monitoring on a regular basis by an administrator who has to do two written evaluations per year for the first three years. Should the administrator of the building deemed the person somewhat lacking they can be relieve that person from one’s position, first within the first 91 days of school or secondly at the end of any of the first three years. Even after this point it can be done, however it is more difficult but not impossible.
The problem behind all of this drama is that there are hidden agendas. The only agenda that is necessary to move things forward is for all parties to have an agenda for the youth of the city of New Bedford, all of the youth. Integrity is a key component here, without it we have the malaise that presently exists.
On a final note for those who have these hidden agendas, have you ever considered how much time is wasted when dealing with these matters when it can be better utilized in resolving the issues that face the youth of this city and their education. Let us work collectively with those who genuinely are concerned with the future of this city, its youth.
To the last poster......Well said.
because this is a public site and WE know the ST is reading it... has anyone thought that the ST employees could be posting to stir the pot so they can try to sell some papers? Do you think the ST could be trying to pit us against each other? I know, I wouldn't think them that bright, but they may have some student interns working withthem....
A Marion resident wrote a union-busting letter in the ST today. He used this blog as an excuse for his union hating piece. I think this blog is essential...we are clearing the air and identifying those who wish to steal our intellectual property and resources. The only thing "innovative" about these proposals, is how they have bewitched the media. We have NOTHING to apologize for.
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