Sunday, February 13, 2011

Independent Voices of New City Public School Parents: Latest Satire on Mayor Bloomberg’s Appointment of Ms. Black as NYC School Chancellor

Here is another satirical writing piece sent to me from what seems to be a clandestine organization that calls itself the, "Independent Voices of New York City Public School Parents". I don't know the organizations secret handshake; however I do know I am not the only one that enjoys reading what they send. Their last piece posted, "South Bronx School Opens a Charter" had great readership.

As most of us know the biggest issue about her appointment is that she has NO EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE. What’s next? Should we get professional clowns to run our banking system???? As a former New York City educator, I have at least two additional questions:

1- If she can not handle the parents and students of the NYC school system, as shown by a recent public forum, what right does she have to blame NYC teachers when they have difficulty controlling their classrooms? Teachers are heavily “graded” on their control of the classroom. Sometimes there is merit to this philosophy, but she had the parents in the room with her, and still could not control the forum. I think its ground for a “U”; “U” for UNSATISFACTORY.

2- What does she know about the specific needs of Bronx students? She knows nothing about their day to day existence or circumstances. She will make mistakes that might seem small or insignificant but will hurt Bronx school children. I was born, raised and educated in the Bronx. I am also a product of the NYC public school system. What I witnessed as a teacher in the Bronx often opened my eyes to the unique needs of Bronx youth. Needs that will be missed to the detriment of our Bronx youth. Times have changed. Needs for Bronx youth have changed as well.

I do not distrust Ms. Black’s intentions, but as far as I am concerned when it comes to the needs of Bronx public school students, we might as well have an alien as NYC School Chancellor. Please note the article sent was written on the 8th. I am glad to hear Mubarak has since then given up his Presidency of Egypt, at the request of the people. Unfortunately it looks like Ms. Black will not due the same.

Gregory

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Bloomberg LP to Acquire Egypt
February 8, 2011 (GBN News): In the second blockbuster corporate takeover of the week, Egypt has agreed to be acquired by NY City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s company, Bloomberg LP. As part of the deal, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will replace Cathie Black as NY City Schools Chancellor, while Ms. Black will relocate to Egypt to replace the Sphinx.

The deal is being seen as a win-win for everyone involved. The Mayor, who already owns NY City, gets to add an entire country to his portfolio, while ridding himself of a major embarrassment in Ms. Black. As Sphynx, Ms. Black will presumably find it more difficult to put her foot in her mouth. And the Egyptian leader manages to honorably extricate himself from a situation that he would otherwise not likely survive.

Reaction in NY City was initially muted, given that Mr. Mubarak’s dictatorial style is seen as somewhat less draconian than that of the previous Chancellor, Joel Klein, or even the Mayor himself. But rioting in Cairo only intensified when Mr. Bloomberg, in an apparent attempt to suppress the democracy movement, announced a ban on cell phones in Tahrir Square.

“They don’t need cell phones,” the Mayor insisted. “They just want them so that they can call home and find out if they’re having shish-kebab or baba ganoush for dinner.” However, demonstrators are predicting a very different fate for this prohibition than for the notorious ban in the NY City schools – an outcome which might yet inspire the pro democracy movement in NY City.
Posted by Gary Babad at 2/08/2011 03:55:00 PM
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another way to look at it....
Maybe the behavior of those parents is an indication of why the schools are failing. What standards of behavior are they modeling for their children? Could the best chancellor control those parents? Could the best teachers control their children? Black may not be the best choice for the job, but obnoxious parents are not the best choice for their job either.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous missed something: "do" not "due."

Boogiedowner said...

Dear Anonymous #1:

I agree with you and I love how you phrased your comment. It's very fair.

Education is a culture that starts at home. The “home” is a cell that is affected by society. It’s a symbiotic relationship. My point is teachers are made responsible for social ills by the administration. Therefore why are they exempt from those same social ills? Education starts with family stability and economic opportunity. I had students who would come into class from a night of riding subway cars because they had no place to rest their head at night. The extra weight on educators in "at risk" communities is a result of societies missteps and teachers have become the “scapegoats”.