Editorials
Pushing the right buttons
Apr 2, 2007 1:43 PM
'Hey, who changed my buttons?'
It is, of course, an important message so it’s good that so many UFT members participated in Button Day earlier this month. It is also good that they were able to do so with verve, good humor and creativity. By spicing up the message, “Have You Listened To A Teacher (or Para) Today?” UFTers gave the message wings. (You can see photos of some of the creative efforts on pages 3 and 4 and many more on the UFT Web site, www.uft.org — click on the link in the Action Center on the home page.)
Based on Tweed’s sorry track record, we are not exactly convinced that Tweed educrats will take the message to heart. But the message has great resonance with parents. Parents know that they and their kids should listen to teachers and that Tweed should, too, because teachers — not Tweed — know how best to help children achieve their potential in school.
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Parents, and the rest of the public, are increasingly aware of — how do we say this delicately? — what a lousy job Tweed is doing. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that by 58 percent to 31 percent the public prefers a system of the schools being run by an independent board. Parents of children who attend the city’s schools are even more unhappy. They favor an independent board by 61 percent to 29 percent. And the approval rating of Chancellor Joel Klein is at a new low, with only 33 percent approving of the job he is doing.
So maybe in the waning years of the current Tweed administration, some people will begin to see the light and change course. Maybe. We hope UFT members keep sending their message and keep making it, well, a hot-button issue.
