New York TeacherMarch 6, 2014
Volume LV, Number 8
Cover Stories
Teacher exodus must be stopped
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As we negotiate a new contract with the Department of Education, the question is not whether the city can afford to give raises, but whether it can afford not to. And the answer is simple — it can’t.
If New York is serious about rebuilding a first-class school system, then the DOE must sign a fair contract that takes into consideration the years during which we worked without an agreement, that will allow us to recruit and retain the talented educators that our students need, and that recognizes and respects the hard work we do.
We give it our all every day in our classrooms and schools to see that our students …
Welcome mission
Two Federation of Nurses/UFT members who work at Brooklyn’s Lutheran Medical Center were among those who responded to the appeal for medical volunteers to help in the relief effort. The two young nurses used their vacation time for the two-week mission, where they treated the sick and injured at makeshift health clinics.
The elements of quality pre-K
Good pre-K teachers are like magicians to the rest of us, not just keeping kids safe, but teaching them how to feel safe. Not just showing them how the world works but giving them a role in creating it.
Latest News
World needs well-trained teachers
At least 250 million of the world’s 650 million primary school–age children can’t read, write or do basic mathematics, according to a report released by the United Nations on Jan. 29.
Portland teachers strike averted
Narrowly avoiding a teachers strike in Oregon’s largest school district, Portland school officials and the Portland Association of Teachers on Feb. 18 signed a tentative contract agreement that will see the district hire 150 new teachers in an effort to reduce class sizes and teacher workloads.
Political interference in union drive
Around 1,600 Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted Feb. 14 against joining the United Auto Workers, delivering the union a stinging defeat in what was arguably its most important organizing drive in years.
Frosted Flakes not so grrreat
Kellogg’s is the maker of Frosted Flakes with its well-known advertising slogan, “They’re grrrreat!” The company has long been considered a fair employer where blue-collar workers could earn a middle-class living.
De Blasio vetoes 9 of 49 pending co-locations
In a long-awaited decision, the de Blasio administration on Feb. 27 nixed nine of the 49 co-locations hurriedly approved in the waning days of the Bloomberg era.
More in News Stories
Feature Stories
The proteges
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Amid the cacophony of clattering pins at the Shell Lanes bowling center in Gravesend, Brooklyn, it’s not easy to stay focused. But the teenage boy is resolute: Gently but confidently, he grasps the younger boy’s shoulders and guides him to the lane’s foul line.
“Slow down,” he says in a low voice. The younger boy nods, then winds up and lets the bowling ball fly.
They are an unlikely pair. Mike Khalifeh, a high school senior, is tall and self-assured, his expression deadpan as he casually lobs the ball down the lane. Adam, a 6th-grader, is animated and expressive, pumping his fist or grimacing exaggeratedly after each throw.
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Adam, who has Down syndrome, wears hearing aids and does not always communicate clearly. But he and Mike have developed their own special shorthand, including a vigorous high-five sequence that culminates in enthusiastic hollering whenever Adam…
Read all about it!
Nestled close to his 5th-grade mentor Timothy, 1st-grader Noah concentrates hard as he sounds out the words in his book, “Blackbird’s Nest.” The pair is part of PS/IS 206's Reading Mentors program, created by literacy coach Ali Giordano.
Lessons to build on
In Helen Chan’s full-day prekindergarten classroom at the Children’s Workshop School in the East Village, as in any high-quality pre-K program, learning and play are deeply intertwined. Through a curriculum that combines early academic skills with social, emotional and physical learning activities, pre-K helps children build the knowledge they’ll need for kindergarten.
Member Spotlight
What I Do
What I Do: Peri Lyman, teacher in nonpublic schools
Peri Lyman, a member of the non-public schools chapter, has worked as a reading teacher for the Department of Education in non-public schools for 22 years. She currently serves two Catholic schools in Queens.
Around the UFT
Social Workers and Psychologists Chapter’s Clinical Professional Development program
Some 450 members of the Social Workers and Psychologists Chapter met at union headquarters on Jan. 27 for their eighth annual Clinical Professional Development program.
Career and Technical Education Summit
Some 400 local and regional educators gathered with business, higher-education and union leaders at a Career and Technical Education Summit at UFT headquarters on Feb. 3, exploring ways for schools to build high-quality CTE programs to meet the needs of the city’s future labor force.
Anti-bullying event at PS 24, Brooklyn
After the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey 4-foot-10-inch acrobat tossed the 6-foot-5-inch circus ringmaster over his shoulder and spun him around on the auditorium stage of PS 24 in Sunset Park, students learned an anti-bullying lesson like none they had ever heard before.
UFT Welfare Fund Medical Learning Series
Kathleen Wesa, a practicing physician from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Integrative Medicine Service, lectured on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce the risks of disease using mind-body therapies and nutritional supplements at a Welfare Fund Medical Learning Series seminar on Jan. 16.
UFT African Heritage Committee’s 11th annual awards dinner
More than 270 friends and members of the UFT’s African Heritage Committee kicked off Black History Month with a bang at the committee’s 11th annual dinner dance and awards ceremony on Feb. 7.
You Should Know
You Should Know
Conference for educators of students with disabilities
Educators who work with students with disabilities are invited to attend Everyone Reading’s Annual Conference, which focuses on building success for students with dyslexia and learning disabilities.
Secure Your Future
How investments fared in 2013
Investment results for 2013 were mixed. Returns for U.S stocks were excellent, international returns were not as high and bond returns were dismal. Includes a tribute to Joe Shannon, a former Teachers' Retirement Board member who passed away in January 2014.
Opinions
VPerspective
Teaching students to become learners
Teachers instinctively know that helping students develop noncognitive skills — such as self-confidence, perseverance, grit and persistence — contributes to their academic success. New research confirms the vital importance of these skills.
Opinion
Run! Jump! Learn!
We know that physical education can help to combat childhood obesity, improve students’ health and build good exercise habits. But research is now making it clear that gym class can also boost children’s academic achievement.
Opinion
Unprepared and knowing it
Would you want a doctor who had completed one year of medical school instead of four? A lawyer who had finished only one semester of law school?
Editorial Cartoons
Teaching Resources
Research shows
Aerobic fitness linked to higher test scores
Two new studies indicate that physical education can help to boost academic achievement. Aerobically fit students in two states were more than twice as likely to pass math and reading tests than students who were not aerobically fit.
Teacher to Teacher
When students pose the questions
Teachers are always looking for compelling ways to spark students’ interest and engage them in meaningful discussions. One strategy that works is small-group Socratic symposiums on questions developed by students.
Building Your Career
Building Your Career
New Teacher Profiles
‘Researcher and teacher’ helps students learn, grow
What’s a new teacher to do when an existing curriculum doesn’t tell the whole story? Fayette Colon, an ambitious social studies teacher at Harvest Collegiate HS in Manhattan, had a solution: She created her own.
Retired Teachers News
Reporting TRS distributions on your local income tax
If you received one or more of the distributions listed below during 2013, you are required to report the total gross amount of the distribution on line 16a and the taxable amount of the distribution on line 16b on your 2013 federal income tax form 1040.
The gross amount of distributions can be found in box 1 and the taxable amount of deductions can be found in box 2a of your 1099-R, which was mailed to you in January 2…
2013 sales tax break for New York, Florida and residents of other states
Federal tax law allows taxpayers who elect to itemize deductions to deduct their state and local income taxes or state and local general sales taxes to reduce their federal income tax.
No time to stop marching
Here's an important message sent to all of us via the Alliance for Retired Americans from Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, one of our staunchest supporters.