around the uft

Sun shines at Dial-A-Teacher

Apr 24, 2008 9:00 PM

Mr. G the weatherman made another appearance at the UFT on April 8, this time to support Dial-A-Teacher, the UFT’s homework helpline. The erstwhile meteorologist, a former UFT member whose real name is Irv Gikofsky, brought his TV crew with him along with WCBS radio personality Dan Taylor. Taylor, who has a morning show on the radio, also wrote a jingle specifically for Dial-A-Teacher which is played on WCBS and has resulted in a spike in the number of calls to the program. At one point during the visit, Gikofsky asked Taylor to take a phone call from a student to see if he could answer the question. When the student had a tough problem to solve, Taylor tried to answer but then said, “Hold on one minute, let me put you on with someone who can help you,” eliciting guffaws from Mr. G and his crew. “This is an amazing program,” Taylor said. “I wish I had this when I was in high school.” Gikofsky was told that the number of calls this year exceeded 66,000, an increase from last year. “It’s important that we keep this going,” he told the teachers answering the phones. “You are all doing important work.” His goal, he added, is to help Dial-A-Teacher receive 100,000 phone calls per year. Dial-A-Teacher Project Coordinator Karen Butler-Brock told Gikofsky and Taylor that the program has gotten 6,000 more calls when compared to the same period last year, which she attributed to the radio coverage. “The parents are thrilled with the jingle,” she said. The program was featured on Channel 11 that night.