UFTers rally at ABC Headquarters to demand fairness

Mar 8, 2006 2:46 PM

Weingarten calls on Stossel to teach in NYC HS for a week

More than 1,000 UFT educators rallied March 8th in front of ABC Television headquarters in Manhatttan to protest a recent biased report slamming public school teachers on ABC’s 20/20 program.

"We are here for a teachable moment,” UFT President Randi Weingarten told the crowd in front of ABC’s offices on Columbus Avenue in Manhattan. “We are here seeking fairness — not just for the nearly 160,000 members of the UFT, but for the millions of hard-working, dedicated educators across the country that John Stossel and 20/20 portrayed as the root of all that ails public education. If a classroom teacher presented such a biased and inaccurate lesson, he or she would receive an unsatisfactory rating.”

Weingarten presented ABC officials with petitions signed by more than 45,000 educators denouncing Stossel’s January report, “Stupid in America,” demanding an apology and urging ABC to enforce journalistic standards that ensure fair and accurate reporting of education issues.

“Twice we tried to have 20/20 executives read on the air a letter we sent them to set the record straight — and they refused. Other programs do that. Why won’t 20/20? Is that good journalism? Is that fair and unbiased reporting?” Weingarten asked.

“In the more than seven months Mr. Stossel spent putting together his report, couldn’t he have found and broadcast an interview with one hard-working, dedicated teacher? Couldn’t he have found one student who liked his or her teachers? Couldn’t he have found one parent who appreciated what his or her child’s teachers have done? Thousands of parents and students appreciate teachers. But Mr. Stossel’s report included only negative comments from a few disgruntled students. Is that good journalism? Is that fair and accurate reporting?”

Weingarten also called on Stossel to teach for a week at a mutually selected New York City high school. “Do you really want to understand something you so quickly criticize?” Weingarten asked. “Then stand in our shoes for as while. I’ll even co-teach with you for a day so you can feel supported and prepared.”

While UFTers were raising their concerns at ABC’s world headquarters in New York, Weingarten noted that educators from all over the country were rallying in front of major ABC network affiliate sites in five states across the country.

She also noted that 24 winners of the Disney Teacher of the Year awards (Disney is ABC’s parent company) signed a letter to Disney CEO Robert Iger protesting the way educators were treated in the 20/20 piece. Here in New York, the Association of Teachers of Social Studies was so upset with the broadcast that it rescinded an invitation asking Stossel to speak at a conference.

Other speakers at the New York rally included: student Stephan Koustoubardis, the senior class president at Fort Hamilton High School and the student representative on the Chancellor’s Educational Priorities Panel; Marge Kolb, a parent from District 24 in Queens; Tina DeAngelo, a teacher from P.S. 153 in Brooklyn; Jay Futterman, a paraprofessional from P.S. 102 in Brooklyn; Dick Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers; Ed Ott, representing the New York City Central Labor Council; Janella Hinds of the New York State AFL-CIO; Leo Casey, a New York City teacher and Disney Award winner, and the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, a New York City minister and community activist.

Weingarten noted that there are hundreds of prominent graduates of the New York City public school system, including Colin Powell, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Larry King, designer Ralph Lauren, the Rev. Al Sharpton, playwright Neil Simon, filmmaker Spike Lee, singer Alicia Keys and actors Jimmy Smits, Ving Rhames, Marisa Tomei, Jennifer Aniston and Barbra Streisand.

“Again, couldn’t one of them have been included to show that some pretty good people got a pretty good education in New York public schools?” Weingarten asked.