- THIS WAS A FB POST TOO LONG TO POST, SO HERE IT IS IN MY BLOG...I hear you, I believe from where you stand you do not see the whole picture... just as I did not see the whole picture from where I stood before I was a union leader. The legislature specifically targets teacher unions creating statutes that are unconstitutional and tie our hands at the bargaining table. They make laws about how much our raises can be and how much we have to give the highly effective teachers. They don’t do this to police. They fabricate the idea to use unworthy and meaningless tests to compare us to one another and Pit us against each other and to create a value for what we do in our classroom based on these meaningless tests written and graded by non-educators who make me a lot of money by preparing in selling those tests to the state of Florida as if teaching were a competitive sport with a race horse ..YOU... and YOUR STUDENTS... to the finish! It’s disrespectful, ineffective and simply absurd!Then they tell us to apply VAM, a pseudo mathematical equation, to it that is nothing short of ridiculously erroneous in its very mathematical preposterousness. A voodoo math that cannot possibly bring about a true judgement of anything, especially not for a student test or a series of tests that are meaningless to begin with because the number of variables are impossible to control for that equation, or any other math equation for that matter. It would be like applying a pseudo-mathematical equation to a crime scene in order to rate the effectiveness of a police force. Who in the world would think that that makes sense? No one. But they do it to us and we keep telling the man! So from the beginning they have placed teachers behind the eight ball in ways that they do not place police.They make our contracts annual contracts so we can”t even be certain that we have a career with a future. They do not do this to police and it’s not because their unions are stronger it’s because they do not want to do this to police or firefighters. Not yet anyway! They want to do this to teachers.Because within the education tax coffers of the United States of America is far, far more money to siphon off.. and billionaires know this. Billionaires know that the easiest place to grab money is from the government and they are grabbing our money! Teacher and school and student money. They are grabbing YOUR taxes and playing games!! And they know that we are not going to the voting box to stop them so they just keep on doing it. And how do they know this? Because they look at past elections and they see the numbers of teachers who are voting. Simple. Look at this last election. Our state voted in another Republican who is already siphoning money to charter schools and voucher programs in clearly unconstitutional ways and throwing ridiculous bonuses at us that we cannot even figure out in our paychecks.All over the state the best and brightest bonus has a different amount in every teachers paycheck and all of us are very angry and frustrated and we feel disrespected once again! The fact that we are mostly women doesn’t help. The fact that we only vote in a “important” election, like the last one in numbers ranging around 40% ... and in a minor election 12% to 20% doesn’t help either. They know this about us and they kick us over and over because of it!! The fact that we don’t go out in exhuberently large numbers when we call rally’s doesn’t help! Many are working second jobs and helping the children with homework and cooking dinner and doing the things that women and other heads of households have to do so they cannot attend the Saturday event or an evening event, so they know our crowds will not reach the thousands. I’m not making excuses I’m just telling you the reality of what I see and deal with daily from where I stand.None of it looked this way when I was a classroom teacher and the only way I see what I see now is because I am a union leader, so I know it looks different if you’re not standing in my own shoes and seeing what I’m seeing. What the legislature and the statutes dictate for police and firefighters is very different than what They dictate for teachers. And what They dictate is what each district must follow for their schools. What they dictate via law making and statues (they who have never set foot in the classroom but want to profit by making laws that benefit those who give election donations and the causes they are often unethically invested in) is often wrong and harmful and costs us our respect and causes us to lose faith and morale. If there was a System for testing officers and evaluating them and watching them on the job and going by with a pencil and writing how they do when they do their jobs I guarantee you they would be leaving that profession also and I guarantee you it would be harder for them to do their jobs while being observed as we are observed and evaluated and they would feel very disrespected.That goes for any profession. It’s the laws that are being made by the politicians that are killing us. And the politicians are picked by voters! And the voters can say pay our teachers! . And if every teacher could vote-his or her job and paycheck how far we could go! But that is not always the case because we have other values that we bring into the voting booth with us. This year our union, the Broward teachers union had an 85% voter turn out for our members. That is phenomenal and kudos to President Anna Fusco and the team she inspired... it was an astonishing turn out and we worked extremely hard to get that but that is rare, and what can we do in every county and every city to get a turn out like that, not just from members of unions, but from ALL our teachers and education staff?If you can figure that one out and make it happen across the state, I’m sure we will have the respect that you seek and the money that you seek and I work every day to try to achieve this and it is an uphill battle. It takes thousands of calls and hundreds of volunteers just in our county alone. And even with those efforts as a VP, I still get egg on my face because laws are blocking us, new ones by the day... and I go out with my sword and my shield to fight the dragon and it’s not enough!! Why? Why isn’t it enough?. Union leaders across the country in teacher unions are doing this. But We need thousands of teachers to say it’s enough and to be willing to say it from high places and that is being prevented by many things, not the least of which is annual contracts which helps to silence those with an opinion and an ingenious idea. And it sometimes keeps home those who might be willing to come out and say what needs to be said in the streets and on camera. And I can’t blame or judge them. This Florida legislation shows me they hate teachers and teacher unions in ways they do not target or hate police and those are just the facts. We have our strong defenders in Tallahassee, warriors who fight for us, but they are in the Minority. That’s what has to change.You can research the statutes. New ones are written every day. If you pay attention in Tallahassee as every union leader must, you will see that they are rigging everything against us and some of them are even invested in charter school, testing and privatization. I do not see massive money fueled campaigns by greed corporations going after police to privatize and test them and throw highly effective bogus bonuses at them that teat at the fabric of their profession with the impetus and zeal they do ours! The factors affecting teachers are extremely complex and they are not as simple as “let’s get our union to be as strong as the police union.” Our unions are very strong and very large and that is precisely why they are coming after us! They make laws to shit us down. They do t do that to police.They come after us because our unions are strong and they fear us!! They want to privatize and charterize and voucherize public education so they can pay the education workers less, have un certified teachers in the classrooms supervising children and pretending to be teachers, they want to take away money securities and tenure and professional autonomy and they want to go after our pensions simply because they can. If you read the statutes and you understand how they have been crippling teachers and our unions, the strongest and biggest in the land, systematically so that they can take money from the massive education coffers so that they can open charter schools and invest in testing so the billionaires can get more money... If each voter understood all this they... WE... would know that it is far, far bigger than making a stronger union. Our unions are very strong but what we are up against is the money of billionaires fighting to push down and purposely targeting teachers with the education secretary and all the lawmakers nodding their heads. I wish it were simple, but I’ve found out in the battlefield of daily union work that it isn’t simple at all and it takes ALL of us being outraged, informed and engaged. Let’s do it! I’m ready! So is every union leader I know!Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Monday, May 28, 2018
An Educators Personal Reflection - on Trayvon Martin and those who sadly followed
An Educators Personal Reflection - on Trayvon Martin... and those who sadly followed
for Broward's Equity Liasons
In order to understand the Framework of Building Culturally
Responsive Schools we must first build, an understanding of the numbers and the
data. This is essential.
This, however, often ruffles some feathers. I think
this is the biggest hurdle we must overcome.
The numbers and the comparative date tell a story. This can’t be denied. I’m happy Broward is painting it and doing
something about it.
Often individuals are so unaware of the issues that affect
people of color and people in poverty.
Analyzing our own biases is a difficult endeavor.
Most people believe they are NOT racist. Even if they know they are, they
do not believe racism affects the progress of people of color as much as it does.
They also are unaware of just how racist they are. Exploring this is our
charge and helping others explore this within themselves is what I think this
course is about.
I’m personally involved in the national dialogue about this
very issue through my membership in two very powerful online teacher advocacy
groups, over 100,00 strong. In these
groups the issue of race and racism and how it affects education has been
ardently discussed. But nothing prepared me for the turn of events and
the intensification of this dialogue after Trayvon Martin, and those who
quickly and sadly followed, racially charging America, our classrooms and our
homes in ways none of us were expecting..
Everyone was talking for more than a year… still are
talking… about Police Brutality and a Black Man’s fate in the hands of the law,
and how this affects the students we teach, either directly, or through their
parents, who often feel the sting of institutionalized racism.
During this time, EVERYONE’S
emotions were heightened, EVERYONE’S!!
I was an online administrator for one of the groups,
servicing 70,000 members at the time. Because of this, I was involved in
many of the “backroom discussions” among administrators deciding which comments
were appropriate to advance the discussion and which ones were going to have to
be deleted because they did not represent the culturally responsive and
racially sensitive social justice stand of the group. These very unique
and privileged experiences and insights from being a behind the scenes administrator
dealing with what sometimes became UGLY RACISM are what led me to become so
much more passionate about the issues of race that affect us all.
What I realized through these insights is I found that
often, even the most well-meaning individual can have trouble expressing
themselves about race in just the right
way. And what is the right way? I quickly found out there is NO
RIGHT WAY!! Chances are no matter how you feel or what you believe or how
well you explain yourself when it comes to issues of race… someone will
be offended! Is that a bad thing? I say no! I think
it is just part of the process. That is why our online course is
called “Courageous Conversations About Race.” It takes courage to
share your feelings, knowing someone will most probably be offended. I
believe the reason for this is because there is no “RIGHT ANSWER!”
We are all affected by our race, our culture, our family upbringing. We all can
only analyze what we believe “reality” to be through the prism of our own understanding.
And… that understanding is absolutely colored by our culture and race.
So.. if we have a multiplicity of ethnicities in Broward…
which we do… if we have hundreds of languages and thousands of unique cultural
morays represented among us… how can we possibly have a RIGHT solution for
every one? We can’t! And…. All of that ethnicity and “culturality”
(new word) comes into play long before we even touch on the meanings and plurality
of race among each of those cultures and ethnic groups.
We are mostly all
intermingled and co-combined and have been for thousands of years, so what is
race, really? And why do we have to be talking about it so much right
now, especially if it offends people?
The answer to that is that if we don’t allow people to get
offended, how can we grow? It is by understanding our differences that we
realize our sameness. It is by posing the tough questions and having the
awkward discussions that we learn and grow and can possibly become sensitive to
the realities others experience.
These are realities the rest of us do not even know
exist. I have to mention my book, Voices
in the Hall, Amazon, because
it was by understanding that the reality my students experienced every day was
a reality I was totally blind about… BLIND…! that I KNEW I had to write this
book to give them a VOICE, or be their
VOICE.
As an educator I could not afford to be blind about the
harsh troubled world my students inhabited. Coming from an in-tact middle
class Cuban nuclear family… how in the world was I ever to understand that when
I said something as benign as, “Take home your reading log and have your parent
sign it,” that I was insulting and assaulting students in my class on very deep
and penetrating levels. I did not
know it!! But by THEM reading their journals to ME about their
lives… I learned!
I learned that it
was arrogant of me to expect them to have a home or a parent, or anyone at home
for that matter, to sign anything… much less a reading log to be signed NIGHTLY!
I learned that asking some kids to have something signed
was a nearly impossible feat since some of them went home to no supervision at
all. Just who did I think would be
signing?
Reading my students’ journals taught me that I DIDN’T HAVE
A CLUE! It taught me that what I thought was the world, wasn’t. It
taught me that it was arrogant of me to think I knew anything at all.
Quite frankly, I realized I KNEW NOTHING!
Finding out you know nothing is a tough lesson to learn
when you have already been teaching over a decade. Finding out most of my
colleagues also know nothing was another striking awakening. All this
time all us teachers ran around thinking we knew “stuff,” and we were ALL
wrong. We were arrogant in believing we knew something. This
epiphany brought me to my knees! My students taught me the greatest
lesson of my life. They taught me to expect the unexpected, to understand
that which seems impossible to understand and to love unconditionally!
They changed my life, influenced my teaching practice forevermore, and made me
a different kind of person and thinker. I am so grateful to them.
I think these misunderstandings we have about one another
is what these courses are about and what the Equity Liason position is meant to
help bridge. We will be the leaders who now know HOW to talk about these
tough issues. We will make it okay to have the conversations no one wants
to have. We will know how to
have these conversations. We will know we might get pushback, but it is
only through the pushback that the learning occurs.
In my online position as an admin the Trayvon Martin story
and how to deal with the racial disparity among us became an important issue we
dealt with as administrators. It became quite clear to me that white
people became very insulted when the possibility of IMPLICIT OR EXPLICIT
RACISIM was mentioned. Frankly, they often didn’t know the difference, and some
also didn’t understand about white entitlement. This conversation made us
develop guidelines and policy about who we were going to be going forward and
how we were going to discuss race. There were disagreements and
dissentions, arguments and misunderstandings as the 63 national administrators
worked to resolve the differences we saw brewing in the over 70,000 member
group. It was an eye-opening experience and led me to the passion I now
have in discussing the topic of race and institutionalized racism.
I’ve now learned more quantitatively what exactly EXPLICIT
bias is and how IMPLICIT bias can be so misunderstood and ignored. Many
are so BLIND to it. There really is no way to bring us together in an
awareness other than talking about it. We have to pull up our sleeves and
say the unspeakable. We have to hurt people’s feelings. We have to
know the facts and the data and know how to explain why they are important and
how they affect education… each school… each child… our communities.
Until we are able to do this, we will remain BLIND.
Thinking as I once did that I “knew stuff” when in reality, I knew nothing.
Helping people who do not believe they are racist to
understand that they are is challenging. Helping a society understand
what institutionalized racism is and how it has affected America for hundreds
of years, and does today… this minute… is a hurdle we all must be ready to jump
so that we can get to the other side and hopefully UNDERSTAND one another and
how race and culture and the placement of our birth, be it fortunate or
unfortunate, affects everything.
We have to have these Courageous Conversations About Race and
I for one am ready to learn as much as I can and apply all the awakenings and
learnings to my position in the union, as an equity liason with the district, and
as a leader in my community.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Supporting Marjory Stoneman Douglas #NeverAgain student uprising
Being on the ground with these brave young people on April 20, Day is Action with my union brothers and sisters supporting these kids’ fight was awe inspiring. They are born leaders. The map for needed change in America and how to achieve it is etched in their hearts. No doubt of that!
Bowing my head In silence with them at Stoneman Douglas, seeing their young leaders take charge, walking out with them, standing hours in a local park, hearing their speeches, impressed by how they fielded questions from every national and international media outlet gave me a sense of knowing.
Change is on the horizon.
Our future is in good hands.
I believe in their will to make this happen. Their VOICES will resonate with humanity!
They are fearless and furious and focused.
Nothing and nobody can stop them. Mark my words! I see it in their eyes.
Now.... how can we, as an education community, support their courageous leadership???
Let’s figure that out and make it happen.
Our unions... BTU, AFT, NEA, FEA are with them. Badass Teachers are with them. Many local and national groups are with them!
Who else? What will each of us do to help them?
We unite NOW to see future change! How can each one of us do our part?? Let’s think about that and “Pay it Forward” in their honor!
So grateful for these brave young souls and that I get to be part of it by watching them take courageous actions that will bring lasting changes in how we think and how we do things in our lives and in government!
https://www.local10.com/news/national/national-school-walkout-renews-calls-for-gun-safety?utm_content=12944295&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Headlines%20%2809:00%20EST%29%202018-04-20&utm_term=wplg_0900est
Sunday, August 13, 2017
BTU Contract Index - By Jim Gard
So I had some time while watching the PGA tournament and noticed that our contract does not have an index at the end. That's fine as the table of contents lists the articles. However, I figured I'd make this index. It's not of every possible subject, but lists quite a few "popular" ones. The formatting here is a bit different as it's just a cut and paste from going from a Works database, to an Excel, to a PDF, and then to a Word doc (I've saved it in all the forms). You could cut and paste into a word doc then reformat. Hopefully there are no errors...correct as necessary. 
SUBJECT ARTICLE
ACADEMIC FREEDOM 13-A
ADMISSION TO EVENTS 19-L
ADVANCED DEGREE STIPENDS APPENDIX A
ADVANCED INCENTIVE 21-B
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT 6-L
BASIC INCENTIVE AWARD 21-A
BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES 5-R
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE 23-A
BLOCK SCHEDULE 10-D
BrIDGES 18-E
BULLYING/HARASSMENT 6-K
CELL PHONE REIMBURSEMENT 19-T
CHANGE IN TEACHING STATIONS 10-F
CHANGING GRADES 8-G
COVERING CLASSES 6-C
CREDIT FOR TEACHING EXPERIENCE 19-E
DISCIPLINE PLAN 11-F
DISCIPLINE PLAN 11-E
DONATION OF SICK LEAVE TO A FAMILY MEMBER 23-V
DRUG FREE WORKPLACE 24-F
DUTY-FREE LUNCH 5-D
EARLY RELEASE TIME 5-U
ELECTRONIC GRADE BOOKS 6-O
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 18-B
ERRORS IN PAYCHECK 19-Q
EXAMINING STUDENTS 7-E
FACULTY COUNCILS 17-A
FACULTY MEETINGS 5-K
FACULTY MEETINGS 5-K
FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE 23-S
FIELD TRIPS 11-O
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 34-D
INSURANCE WHILE ON LEAVE 23-L
INTERRUPTIONS TO TEACHING 5-O
INVOLUNTARY ASSIGNMENTS 4-D
LENGTH OF LEAVE 23-M
LESSON PLANS 5-S
MATERIALS 8-B
MATERNITY LEAVE 23-K
MILEAGE/PARKING/TOLLS REIMBURSEMENT 19-I
MILITARY LEAVE 23 H, I
NATIONAL BOARDS 15-J
PERSONALIZATION PERIOD 15-K.3
PERSONNEL FILE 18-D
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS 6-A
ADMISSION TO EVENTS 19-L
ADVANCED DEGREE STIPENDS APPENDIX A
ADVANCED INCENTIVE 21-B
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT 6-L
BASIC INCENTIVE AWARD 21-A
BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES 5-R
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE 23-A
BLOCK SCHEDULE 10-D
BrIDGES 18-E
BULLYING/HARASSMENT 6-K
CELL PHONE REIMBURSEMENT 19-T
CHANGE IN TEACHING STATIONS 10-F
CHANGING GRADES 8-G
COVERING CLASSES 6-C
CREDIT FOR TEACHING EXPERIENCE 19-E
DISCIPLINE PLAN 11-F
DISCIPLINE PLAN 11-E
DONATION OF SICK LEAVE TO A FAMILY MEMBER 23-V
DRUG FREE WORKPLACE 24-F
DUTY-FREE LUNCH 5-D
EARLY RELEASE TIME 5-U
ELECTRONIC GRADE BOOKS 6-O
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS 18-B
ERRORS IN PAYCHECK 19-Q
EXAMINING STUDENTS 7-E
FACULTY COUNCILS 17-A
FACULTY MEETINGS 5-K
FACULTY MEETINGS 5-K
FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE 23-S
FIELD TRIPS 11-O
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 34-D
INSURANCE WHILE ON LEAVE 23-L
INTERRUPTIONS TO TEACHING 5-O
INVOLUNTARY ASSIGNMENTS 4-D
LENGTH OF LEAVE 23-M
LESSON PLANS 5-S
MATERIALS 8-B
MATERNITY LEAVE 23-K
MILEAGE/PARKING/TOLLS REIMBURSEMENT 19-I
MILITARY LEAVE 23 H, I
NATIONAL BOARDS 15-J
PERSONALIZATION PERIOD 15-K.3
PERSONNEL FILE 18-D
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS 6-A
PLANNING DAYS 5-L
POLITICAL COERCION 14-C
PREPARTION/CONFERENCE TIME 10-B,C
PROCEDURES TO FILL VACANCIES 25-F
REASSIGNMENT 25-A
REDUCTION IN PAPERWORK 12A-H
REEMPLOYMENT-ANNUAL CONTRACT EMPLOYEES 18-C
REFERRAL FORM 11-G
RELEASE TIME 9-B
RELIEF PERIOD 5-J
RELIEF PERIOD 5-J
SABBATICAL LEAVE 21-C, 23-D, 23-U
SAC 15-F
SALARY ADJUSTMENTS 19-D
SALARY PAYMENTS 19-M
SALARY RATE/EXTRA PAY 19-G
SALARY SCHEDULE APPENDIX E
SCHOOL SCHEDULES 15-K
SELECTION OF CHAIPERSONS/TEAM LEADERS 9-A
SENIORITY 3-E
SICK LEAVE BANK 23-R
SPECIAL (MONTESSORI) TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS 4-F
SPECIAL SUBJECT TEACHERS 10-G
STUDENT REMOVAL 11-P
SUBMISSION OF GRADES 8-E
SUBSTITUTE NOTIFICATION 6-B
SUMMER SCHOOL EMPLOYMENT 6-F
SUPERVISING TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 16-A
SUPERVISORY DUTIES 6-G
SUPPLEMENTARY PAY POSITIONS 19-F
TDIF 23-D.17
TEACHER'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY 5-A
TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS 4-B
TRANSFERS 25-B, C, D
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT 19-J
UNDSFE/HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS 7-A
UNIION CONDUCTING BUSINESS 29-D
UNION ACCESS RIGHTS 29-A
UNION POSTING OF NOTICES 29-C
UNION REPRESENTATION 18-A
VENDING MACHINES 5-P
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION 19-M
WAIVERS 15-G
POLITICAL COERCION 14-C
PREPARTION/CONFERENCE TIME 10-B,C
PROCEDURES TO FILL VACANCIES 25-F
REASSIGNMENT 25-A
REDUCTION IN PAPERWORK 12A-H
REEMPLOYMENT-ANNUAL CONTRACT EMPLOYEES 18-C
REFERRAL FORM 11-G
RELEASE TIME 9-B
RELIEF PERIOD 5-J
RELIEF PERIOD 5-J
SABBATICAL LEAVE 21-C, 23-D, 23-U
SAC 15-F
SALARY ADJUSTMENTS 19-D
SALARY PAYMENTS 19-M
SALARY RATE/EXTRA PAY 19-G
SALARY SCHEDULE APPENDIX E
SCHOOL SCHEDULES 15-K
SELECTION OF CHAIPERSONS/TEAM LEADERS 9-A
SENIORITY 3-E
SICK LEAVE BANK 23-R
SPECIAL (MONTESSORI) TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS 4-F
SPECIAL SUBJECT TEACHERS 10-G
STUDENT REMOVAL 11-P
SUBMISSION OF GRADES 8-E
SUBSTITUTE NOTIFICATION 6-B
SUMMER SCHOOL EMPLOYMENT 6-F
SUPERVISING TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS 16-A
SUPERVISORY DUTIES 6-G
SUPPLEMENTARY PAY POSITIONS 19-F
TDIF 23-D.17
TEACHER'S PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY 5-A
TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS 4-B
TRANSFERS 25-B, C, D
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT 19-J
UNDSFE/HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS 7-A
UNIION CONDUCTING BUSINESS 29-D
UNION ACCESS RIGHTS 29-A
UNION POSTING OF NOTICES 29-C
UNION REPRESENTATION 18-A
VENDING MACHINES 5-P
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION 19-M
WAIVERS 15-G
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