Sunday, December 8, 2013

Don’t Let the S-T Scare You…… Submitted by a Member


Bob Unger and his good old boys down at the S-T are at it again.  They are trying to intimidate NBEA members into rolling over and playing dead while Pia Durkin, Mayor Mitchell, and our misguided School Committee lead our district down the road to ruin.


Sunday’s editorial uses the words “insurrection” and “mutiny” about Friday’s scheduled meeting at New Bedford High School.  During a mutiny on board a ship, the captain is taken prisoner and/or killed.  I’m quite sure that Dr. Durkin will be alive and well after our meeting.  I’m also confident that any organized protests would be peaceful, hardly the full-scale revolt that the paper is saying could happen.  Further, the repeated references to a possible stake takeover of our schools if Durkin is ousted are a thinly-veiled attempt to silence us.  To date, Commissioner Chester has only placed one district in receivership.  The Lawrence Public Schools was designated as Level 5 after MayorLantigua invited Chester to assume control.


I’m still laughing at the headline “Stay the Course on School Reform.”  We are being led by a woman who has been an abject failure in Narragansett, Rhode Island and Attleboro.  Further, all of Durkin’s initiatives have been repudiated by Attleboro’s new school chief.  It appears that the S-T wants to see more bullying/harassment of staff, a total breakdown of student discipline, and focus on false goals that are unattainable.


I look forward to seeing all of my colleagues on Friday, December 13 for our 3:15 P.M. General meeting at New Bedford High School.  


Your attendance will send a message to Dr. Durkin, Mayor Mitchell, Education Roundtable, UIA, Standard-Times, and other proponents of false education reform. 


 We can lead the way to a vibrant school district that truly serves our children.  None of this will happen if we remain passive and silent.


I’ll see you Friday.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

STAY STRONG AND UNITED!!

Anonymous said...

STAY STRONG AND UNITED!!

Anonymous said...

This is the most important RSVP of my life.....YES, I WILL attend!

Deborah L Borden said...

I will proudly be in attendance at this meeting, joining my colleagues as we support one another and discuss positive , constructive measures to accomplish our goals and improve the school climate and insure safety and a productive learning environment for all students and all staff in our system. This meeting is not about mutiny; it is about our concerns being heard, about being respected, and about finding a common ground in which we can work together. Teachers are not the enemies of change; teachers are, by the nature of the job and the various needs of the children we joyfully work with, are strong proponents of exploring new ideas to find which ones serve which students best. Instead of ignoring all that we have to offer the process, instead of assuming we are to blame for everything, how about inviting us to the table with open minds and listening to our concerns with respect. No one wants our schools to succeed more than we do; we work in the schools every day, and our students are a part of our lives. We want what is best for them and work to provide them with what they need. This is not just a job... It is a calling. I am proud to be a teacher in the New Bedford Public Schools. I am proud to meet with my colleagues on December 13, and I pray that my colleagues and I will find a way for our concerns and our ideas to be HEARD, to be UNDERSTOOD , and to be RESPECTED. Welcome us and our input to the process of improving our schools, and God Bless Us, Every One.
Deborah L Borden

Anonymous said...

Stay the course. Isn't that the slogan from Iraq and Vietnam?

Anonymous said...

I will be there will bells on. We MUST send the message that we will not put up with the disrespect and abuse from the administration and students any longer.

Anonymous said...

^Well said!

Anonymous said...

I was infuriated after reading
today's editorial page. That was by far the most disrespectful piece that has been written in the Standard-Times to date. I can assure your that if a teacher or supporter of teachers had written those kinds of remarks about Durkin the letter would NOT have been printed. I have sent 4 letters to the S-T which have never been printed. Pia Durkin is NOT the savior of the NBPS as the S-T is making her out to be. I would like to be the one who sweeps up the pieces after she falls head-first off her pedestal. Regardless of what she's been led to believe,she is not going to clean up or control the politics of New Bedford. Every teacher in New Bedford should attend the meeting on Friday - speak your mind, air your concerns. Also be mindful of the "spies among you!"

Anonymous said...

Attending!

Anonymous said...

The spies that kiss butt...

Anonymous said...

I will attend the meeting on 12/13 to stand together with my coworkers. We need to RISE UP and GRAB HOLD of our rights as employees. We are NOT the problem that the ST, SC and The Durkinator make us out to be! We are hard working, dedicated workers who are tired of being pulled apart by the media. Our city is riddled with gangs, drugs and poverty. Yet our city government chooses to ignore there is a problem. How come crime is not down 40%? How come voting is not up 40%? How come the mayor has not increase jobs in the city by 40%? Yet, our mandate is to increase student performance by 40% in the same year that they have made class sizes much larger and provided us with no other new resources. Do you know that some schools have as few as 16 students per classroom while other schools have 30? Why are we being held to the fire? Are we really all such poor teachers? Most of us have a higher level of education that any of the others holding office in this city. We have trained in our profession and despite the adverse working conditions, we are still producing top students. The excuse that Durkin used about parents not wanting to come into schools is just an excuse. Those same parents will not want teachers into their homes either. Going into the homes of parents is not going to solve student learning problems. A quote from a Parker parent that we do not understand how hard it is to be a parent. Does she realize that most of us ARE parents? That we have students in THIS school system and we hold our own children accountable. That is our job as parents. Raise your children! Stop putting your own needs before the needs of the children you have. If our parents truly partnered with us by just completing the basics like homework, we would be in good shape. Too bad we can't compile and print a book with all the parent letters we receive. I think if the general public saw some of the nasty letters that parent write, it would be an eye opener!. December 13th is an important meeting, let's hope our union members show up in droves. Please note that if you do not attend, you really have nothing to complain about. If you hang back out of fear, you get what you deserve. Stand with us or Stand alone!! You decide!

Anonymous said...

Fill the parking lot up, fill every spot on the street. Overflow parking available at Keith right across the street. December the 13th will be a PROUD moment for us...our chance to RISE up and let the bullies know that we are done. We will hold our heads high in hopes that we can get some sense back into this school system. United we stand..divided we fall. See you there!!!!

Anonymous said...

Fill the parking lot up, fill every spot on the street. Overflow parking available at Keith right across the street. December the 13th will be a PROUD moment for us...our chance to RISE up and let the bullies know that we are done. We will hold our heads high in hopes that we can get some sense back into this school system. United we stand..divided we fall. See you there!!!!

Anonymous said...

This is for the parent at Parker who stated that, " we don't know how hard it is to be a parent". Well lady I do. I was a single parent of two kids who worked all day and got my master's degree at night while making sure they were prepared for school, homework was done, and they performed well in school. I didn't get any government help along the way and managed to get these kids through high school and college. It took hard work and determination and no excuses for failure. Become responsible and your kids will succeed. The schools can't do all the work for you.

Anonymous said...

Durkin is going to find out that New Bedford is not Attleboro. We are a large urban city with many societal issues. Compared to us, Attleboro is a large suburb. She's in over her head. The teachers here are not going to put up with her micro-management, bullying, and threats any longer.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, someone in my household still reads the S-T. But forgive him, he's still kind of new to this area, he's retired, and likes to read the paper. I won't even let my dog poop on it. I did find a purpose for it yesterday though. I had to wrap some dishes for the thrift shop at my church. Lou, I stand with you and my fellow teachers.