The Ruins

It is very sad that I have lost the writings of my former blog. When I shut "hammering on cold iron" down, I was hurried enough to not save my posts:

"A Brownstone Divided": Commentary on the class divide between administrators and teachers. When a principal makes a salary of 130,000 and is able to live in exclusive areas while those that do the real work are priced out, what message does this send regarding the value of teachers both in society and to the school community?

"Teaching is Traumatic": A response to a nation-wide study on teachers experiencing PTSD as a result of their career. Teachers make up a large portion of anti-depressant users and yet changes are not being made to the practices and structures that have caused so much grief.

"Graduation Rates and the Big Credit Lie": Exposing how my school inflates graduation rates by providing excessive credit recovery work that does not meet state standards or resembles work that causes real thinking and development of skills.

"Head Down and Mouth Shut?": An observation on young teachers who do not know how to use the UFT contract to protect their labor rights. More troublesome are the young teachers who do not understand the purpose and value of a contract and are neglecting the tradition of fighting for labor rights.

"Are Principals Necessary?": Offering an alternative to the hegemony that remains in the school system. A criticism of the centralized power of a principal.

Never again will I allow administrative bullying to result in this kind of loss!