Leading the charge for safe staffing
UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, writes that city hospitals are not required to have adequate staffing. The game of health is allowed to proceed knowingly shorthanded, without economic penalty and at risk to...
Building our power through activism
We are at a stronger place as a union than we were a year ago. We are using the muscle of activism. We have engaged our communities in a conversation about what is important to us as a profession. We have used our superpower — the power to educate —...
Prep to trim classes
The state's new class-size law designated the 2022-23 school year as a planning year, but there is little evidence the city Department of Education has done any planning to implement it. In fact, the city’s recent budget proposal and co-location...
Don’t defund schools
It is a crucial year for New York City public schools as educators continue to help students recover from pandemic learning loss and isolation while welcoming some 14,000 newly arrived migrant children. But for the second year in a row, Mayor Eric...
Paras: a key part of the team
In my career, I have shared my classroom with the most wonderful assistants imaginable.
Guns and schools
Why are kids bringing guns to school? According to Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, kids are bringing guns to school because they are afraid and want to protect themselves.
Buried under paperwork
We work all day and night. The paperwork and administrative duties are out of control — all while we are trying to teach and control 32 8-year-olds in one class. It’s sad the kids suffer from that.
The trouble with charter schools
I attended my first UFT Lobby Day on March 13, and it was quite the experience. Our District 75 group, alongside members from District 79, met with a politician’s aide. We let him know our thoughts regarding charter schools, among other topics. I...