VP’s Soapbox

A Review Lesson On High School Overcrowding

In more than four decades of teaching I have worked with many students for whom learning did not come easily. But I can honestly say that I have never had students who had more difficulty grasping the obvious than the current crew in charge of the Department of Education. Read more...

DOE Hides The True Extent Of High School Overcrowding

It does not take a statistician to know that New York City’s public high schools are seriously overcrowded. There are scores of schools on multiple sessions, or back-to-back sessions, where half of the school attends a morning session, while the other half attends an afternoon session. In many schools, halls are so crowded that it is a real challenge for teachers and students to make it to class before the late bell. Read More

The Insights of Tweed

Listen up, all you cynical high school teachers. We know that you think that the legions of MBAs which now populate Tweed don’t know thing one about real schools and real students, just because they never spent one day in front of a class teaching. Read More

Bloomberg, Klein Recognize Science Teacher —Then Cut His Funding

Ask veteran science teacher Steven Kaye what he thinks about Bloomberg’s and Klein’s “remaking” of New York City public schools, and you will get an earful. Read More

Spotlight on Murrow HS

At Brooklyn’s Edward R. Murrow HS, UFT members have worked hard to build a successful chapter. Chapter leader Frieda Jones has always been involved in the union and stepped in as chapter leader seven years ago. Representing close to 400 members, she focuses on three main areas: helping her members get information they need, building a sense of community within the school, and increasing participation in a variety of union events. Read More