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Monday, September 17, 2012

"Teacher" is Not a Four-Letter Word

Professor is not a four-letter word, either.  Yet, for some reason, as I go about my humble, quite often thankless job in recent days, I tend to feel as though I should be hiding behind a shroud that simultaneously makes me invisible to anyone aware of my too-often-maligned profession and also projects in Las Vegas-style neon the success stories of my former students, and has maybe a scrolling marquee of positive student evaluations and classroom observations.  I feel as though I have to apologize for who I am AND prove to everyone that I've done a good job.  It is no accident that teachers and professors feel this way.  We are right behind Catholic priests in terms of public insults.  Even before the media backlash against religious leaders grew into a  tsunami wave of consensus, Charles Schulz was already reducing the classroom lecture to a horrid drone (the sound is the last one on the page, titled "Teacher speaking sound effect") that everyone found droll and understood immediately.  The New York Times Magazine dedicated its most recent issue to education and this article provides a fairly comprehensive view of the media backlash against teachers, explaining how we went from the noble educator imagery of the 50s and 60s, to the sleazy, incompetent concept of teachers we are so familiar with today, a la shows like "South Park" and "Breaking Bad."

When there is such a constant pile of information portraying members of our civil servants a certain way, I tend to believe that it is no accident.  Noam Chomsky explains that when we are given a point of view in the media, and no other point of view is represented in the media, it is done in order to manufacture consent with the idea that is being promoted.  That is, if we insult teachers enough in the media, everyone will begin to agree that teachers/professors are incompetent fools.  A simple Google search on teachers will bring up cartoons like this one and nifty teacher insult generators like this one.  Unfortunately, everyone has probably had a teacher or professor that he/she thought was either boring or insensitive.  However, I am certain that the majority of teachers and/or professors that folks encounter actually do their jobs.  Interestingly, we don't often remember the names of the teachers who did their jobs unless they appealed to us in some sort of special way.  We only remember teachers at the top and bottom of the spectrum, and too often we remember the ones at the bottom because it was so miserable to be around them, even though they were definitely in the minority.  Thus, it becomes quite easy to insult educators because when they do their jobs, we forget them, but when they are poor at their jobs, we definitely remember them and we hold a grudge.  Furthermore, we resent teachers who might make a mistake; if an educator flubs a date or fact - which could very well be because he/she is overworked or simply having an off day - we assume that the educator is entirely incompetent and should, most likely, be fired.  We are merciless with educators.

And that is where we find ourselves today.  Instead of accepting that education is an art form that has to be adjusted for every student that walks in the classroom and that is practiced in an infinite number of ways by different teachers, we want to standardize teaching to conform to a business model.  This section of The New York Times Magazine issue on education describes how University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan was ousted by a primarily corporate-influenced Board of Trustees; fortunately, we learn that the faculty and students defended her and had her reappointed, but one wonders if such an action would happen at other schools where the faculty does not feel as empowered to fight back.  Indeed, in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel has felt no qualms about saying that the teachers on strike do not care about their students and that they are selfish individuals.  As someone who has taught nearly 20 years, I can tell you that you cannot be an educator in the United States and be a selfish individual.

Not even the "bad" teachers can be selfish.  There are too many things to do!  Interestingly, someone who was accused of a selfish act in a song by the band System of a Down recently changed his tune when he bravely decided to try and teach for a year.  Tony Danza, of all people, tried to teach 10th grade English, and the result is this book, where he chronicles his exposure to the incredibly committed educators dedicated to an incredibly difficult profession.  As a result, he wants to apologize to all educators he has ever encountered.  It seems that, finally, some people are starting to realize that we should not degrade teachers anymore, that they deserve more.  In fact, this blog on the CNN website implores the people of New York City to treat teachers with more respect and not subject them to degrading public profiles of their supposed success, purely based on test scores.  That means, for example, that an educator (like me) who decides to work with populations who do not know the English language very well will inevitably receive a lower rating than someone who works in an area where kids are siphoned into a magnet school, for example.

Instead of praising educators for taking on work that, let's face it, very few people want to do or know how to do, we consistently insult them for not doing their jobs well enough and regularly threaten them with instability  by way of low salaries and department cuts.  Instead of finding ways to mentor educators into long and stable careers, we strike fear into their hearts by creating an atmosphere that implies that they could lose their jobs at any moment if they don't create magic in their classrooms at all times or succumb to standardization that has been created by people who are not in the field of education. You can find one of the latest threats here.

Classrooms are often places where magic happens.  It is incredibly exciting to hear a student share an insight that the entire class is inspired by; it is priceless to see a student go from timid and tentative to creative and proud; and it is absolutely wonderful to feel as though all your planning and hard work created an excellent lesson that everyone enjoyed and learned from.  But classrooms are also places where new lessons can flop, or where one student in a bad mood or even a faulty air conditioner can offset learning, or where monotonous memorization or skill drills must take place.  Students often don't realize until many years later that their very serious teacher or their very boring teacher had their very interests in mind.  And administrators, who prefer to be outside of the classroom and who work, oftentimes, with numbers alone, often don't realize that the figures they are collecting do not necessarily reflect the reality.

Teachers are flexible, and I hope everyone who has their eye on us can learn to be flexible, too.  Even though our counterparts in other countries work with 10-15 students in a classroom, we in the U.S. work with 25 or more students in our classrooms.  We work in classrooms that often do not reflect the current technology.  We work with students who cannot afford to purchase the books we assign.  We work with students who are in and out of class because of financial aid issues.  We work with standards that are given to us from folks who have never stepped foot into our classrooms.  We've done all of this for years and years.  Maybe, just maybe, someone might consider listening to our wisdom and insight, since we've managed to educate people under pretty much any condition given to us.  It would be even more incredible if we were allowed to determine, as a collective, what we believe makes a good teacher (instead of being told what makes a good teacher by people who do not teach) or a good classroom.

But the most incredible thing would be for people to respect teachers and professors.  A good friend of mine once told me that when he taught in another country, when he walked into a classroom, all of his students were standing and they did not sit down until he asked them to.  None of them thought to make an excuse if they missed an assignment because they knew, no matter what, it was their fault.  Parents sent gift baskets to his apartment and encouraged him to play an after-school game of pool with their kids, in order to create a better rapport.  He was, in general, seen as a professional and as someone to be trusted by the students, the parents, and the administration.  As someone who has a master's degree in education and a doctoral degree in English literature, and as someone who sees how much she and her colleagues give and give and give every day to their students and institutions, I don't think that kind of respect is too much to ask for.  Why, please tell me why, do other people think it is?

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Con Ed Monopoly in NYC Cripples Urban Professionals, Elderly, Everyone

When I first moved back to New York in August of 2011, I thought it was really cool that I could choose a "greener" way of receiving my energy.  The form to apply for energy service included various options that allowed me to reduce my carbon footprint and I was more than happy to choose service that included such an option.  Initially, it was much cheaper, too.  That is, until I received a bill in February of 2012 that said all those cheap charges I initially received had to be adjusted and that I would owe upwards of $700 those months.  What??  We barely use our lights and I don't have time to cook, I said when I called Con Ed.  At that point, they had adjusted even more and figured that I would owe another $500 or so.  Fuming, I demanded to understand what had happened and through lots of convoluted talk, I found out that our service had been changed without our knowledge.  When I changed our service back to a "greener" service, the charges were much cheaper...EXCEPT for the fact that Con Ed owns the infrastructure that delivers the service.  So I might be charged $9 for the gas I use, but over $30 for the DELIVERY of the gas.  A $100 electric bill might have a $200 delivery bill, for example.


The last bill I paid out to Con Ed, sent just days ago, was for $377.  I live in a very small two-bedroom apartment, mind you, and we never use much electricity and I maybe cook two to three times a week.  This morning, I received another bill from Con Ed for the same time period I just paid for, demanding another $150 or so.  I've paid for the same time periods about three times.  I've paid for the time period between August 2011 and December 2011 about five times.  There are always new adjustments they are finding.  In the last month, I've received about eight different bills with different amounts owed and different due dates all within a week or so of each other.  When I called Con Ed to ask for one simple bill a month, they said they could not do that.


I know this story sounds hard to believe, but what is even harder to believe is that I am not the only person this has happened to and NO ONE is doing anything about it.  If you look at the consumer complaints on this website, you will find many similar stories.
Rory of New York City writes, "As a non-US citizen, I wasn't really sure how much an electric bill should be and swallowed the $120/month average bill they were sending me. Bear in mind, I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, I have no TV, no aircon, no heaters and all of my light fixtures even have energy saving light bulbs! I try to be green.


Towards the end of last summer, this bill started rising to close to $200/month at which stage, I really started to question the numbers. My next door neighbor, with basically the same sized apartment told me that they pay around $50/month. When I was finally able to get a meter reading, Con Ed then sent me a new bill claiming that I owed them an extra $830! This would mean I have been using close to $200/month of electricity in my tiny apartment over 4 years."


Gozalo of Whitestone writes, "Con Edison is charging 150% more of the value of the gas and electricity provided in a continued scam that nobody controls. Our electricity supply of 360 KWh costs $23.72, total charges: $93.18. Our gas supply of 146 therms is $66.35, total charges: $230.44. Total supply cost is $90.07, total charges: $323.62. Who is controlling this scam?"
Erica of Dobbs Ferry writes, "For using $9 of electric, I'm being billed $43.65 for delivery charges. For using $55 worth of gas, I'm being billed $115.08 for delivery. Everyone keeps telling me they can charge what they want but there's no way this can be legal."
Katalina of Yonkers, after looking at her bills, realized she paid over $5,400 to ConEd in a year.  "An 82 year old that stays at home does not use so much gas or electricity," she writes...and I agree.
Earlier during the spring semester at the community college I teach at, a student brought up this issue during one of our headlines sessions.  Every Friday, the class would go over important headlines and this particular student brought up her work at the district office in Queens, in relation to headlines about our economy.  She shared that the district office where she works is currently putting together a class action suit against ConEd for exactly the issues described here.  She said that 80 year-old women were coming to her office with $400 bills for studio apartments.  I remember her saying, "What the heck can an 80 year-old woman be doing to rack up such a bill - it's impossible!"
I filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection and I have reached out to my district's council person, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, but I am very doubtful that anything will happen. I truly believe that because Con Edison has been an unchecked monopoly for so long, there must be many powerful people who are benefiting from its monopoly status and who will allow it to remain one for as long as possible.  ConEd CEO Kevin Burke, for example, will want to make sure he continues making millions off of the disabled and elderly people he scams.  His buddy William G. Longhi, also a ConEd exec and millionaire, probably feels the same way.
If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say that this is another way folks are trying to drive the middle class out of New York, or another way of destroying the middle class of New York altogether.  If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say that ConEd is penalizing customers who are choosing greener energy by charging them exorbitant fees to deliver said green energy and, in turn, encouraging the destruction of the planet by doing so.
But I'm not.  I am a scholar and as such, I believe in the word, and the word today is: anti-trust.  ConEd is a monopoly and as such, it is fixing prices.  We have laws against that and I will do everything in my power to make sure those laws are upheld.  I just hope someone is with me.


**If you are with me, literally, and have a story of your own about ConEd's evil ways, please reach out to me here on my blog.  Please post your story and let me know if you are willing to be part of a class action suit and/or sign a petition to start an anti-trust investigation of ConEd.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

NYC Dept. of Ed Ban on Words: A Response

Apparently, the New York City Board of Education wants to ban words. These words, they feel, might upset students who see them on standardized tests. Hogwash. Banning words can only have one result. Banning words will dumb down our language in the classroom, and therefore dumb down our students' education. The list of words includes "poverty" and "loss of employment." I guarantee that banning a student's ability to connect his/her life in the classroom to his/her life outside the classroom will leave him/her feeling much worse than seeing the actual words themselves. Therefore, I've decided to "define" all the banned words here. I feel so criminal! Granted, this is just my take on the words - I'm no Webster - but I thought that my definitions might help folks see why these words are up on the chopping block. They aren't offensive to kids or people who actually want to solve problems, but the resulting discussions when such words are brought up might cause the suits to sweat. Here's my definition poem (the chorus is quite jazzy!):

(words/phrases in bold are the words on the list, except for the title of the poem; words/phrases in italics are not said aloud in the poem)


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological) is what some kids on the playground will do

You call them bullies when they try to take things from you

Parents can abuse and sometimes so can your date

The worst abuse involves beatings, torture and rape


Alcohol (beer and liquor), tobacco, and drugs have been placed

All over neighborhoods so that we may disgrace

Communities of color which once were alive

Active in movements where civil rights would thrive


Birthday celebrations (and birthdays) are important to all

They counteract our troubles and let us have a ball

Celebrating life involves food, family and friends

Dancing ‘til the dawn when the party will end


Bodily functions cause lots of giggles and laughs

But it is no joke when you look at stats and graphs

Eat more vegetables to avoid colon cancer

Healthy diet regulates, that is the answer


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Cancer (and other diseases) devastates all communities

We’d live healthier lives if we looked to the trees

Move slowly, a little sun, be active outside

Strive for a long life that fills you with pride


Catastrophes/disasters (tsunamis and hurricanes) will always exist

Facing them is something you cannot resist

If you cultivate your bravery

Then you can face your fears with your community


Celebrities are given way too much attention

Creating such leaders should be done with apprehension

Ask yourself what the values of the person are

If the person is actually great, then make him/her a star


Children dealing with serious issues are all over the world

So many struggles affect every boy and girl

Childhood is rarely innocent or ideal

I think kids would prefer that we treat them like they’re real


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Cigarettes (and other smoking paraphernalia) cause death

It’s fun when you’re young, but as you age you lose your breath

We have to keep telling young people this is true

We don’t want their lungs turning black, purple and blue


Computers in the home (acceptable in a school or library setting) are your right

Sharing few computers at school will only cause a fight

Access to information is a necessary survival tool

We already know we cannot trust our government to put access in school


Crime prevails today with harm done to Kenneth and Trayvon

In the name of helping, the vilest acts were done

The criminals are free, the right are buried and dead

I wish to God for a change in the headlines I’ve read


Death and disease are challenging and sad

But we learn many things from them, not all of it is bad

Caring for an ill friend is something that makes us grow

Losing a loved one does the same thing, I know


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Divorce is promoted as being everywhere

But there is true love all over, don’t be scared

Find good people and keep them in your life

Be honest, fun and devoted, if you’re a husband or a wife


Evolution isn’t a concept that only relates to the past

You evolve in your life, it’s just that it isn’t necessarily so fast

We change and adapt to our surroundings every day

It is not a strange idea, no matter what they say


Expensive gifts, vacations, and prizes are given on TV

Game shows like you to imagine anyone can win, him, you or me

No one ever gives anything away for free

So stop wishing for it and the happier you’ll be


Gambling involving money is a waste of your time

Spend your money on books, food or wine

Money should go to things you can see or use

Games with money attached only invite abuse


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Halloween is often touted as a pagan holiday

Perhaps it started out as that but it changed along the way

Día de los Muertos celebrates the dead

Days that explore our dark side are made to free our heads


Homelessness is a woman, struggling on the street

It is children who have no food or shoes on their feet

We cannot ignore this issue simply by banning the word

The voices are there, the faces are there, we can’t pretend we haven’t heard


Homes with swimming pools perhaps seem unfair

But when the pools are drained, skaters take their share

We can’t keep people from creating fun spaces

But we can let them know we also should have access to these places


Hunting for food is what we used to do

But hunting deer in enclosed fences is done by those who

Want to feel manly or powerful, with a 12-point buck

And guns proliferate our streets, all I can say is “duck!”


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Junk food is found in mostly in poor neighborhoods

The nutrient content in this food isn’t very good

People who eat it often struggle with being fat

It will not give you a good life, and that’s where it’s at


In-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge

Are full of information that you can often use in college

You will learn statistics, you will learn physics and geometry

Such discussions are good for you, as far as I can see


Loss of employment is rampant due to computerization

It will be our job, now, to re-envision modernization

How do we create jobs that require human hands?

One way is to value artists: painters, writers, bands


Nuclear weapons are completely unnecessary

Anyone claiming the value of them should make you wary

Nagasaki, Hiroshima, look up those words, too

Know the history, my children, so it doesn’t happen to you


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Occult topics (i.e. fortune-telling) are most often used for fun

Horoscopes, lighting candles, are usually decorative, at most, for everyone

But they also allow us to think about the universe, connections between you and me

These topics lead to discussions about ethnic religions such as Santeria, or about philosophy


Parapsychology covers our psychic connection

Many people believe this is a crazy person’s invention

But sometimes our parents, friends or children understand us well

Without a word, they know what we’re thinking, a silent show and tell


Politics is how power is applied

Most people believe all politicians have lied

We influence politicians, too, people sometimes forget

Our numbers are pure power, and they notice, you can bet


Pornography takes advantage of natural sexuality

You’re going to look, chalk it to vitality

The real perversion is when poor girls or boys are forced to do it

Sexual slavery isn’t a turn on, so you should definitely eschew it


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Poverty is not natural, it is created

I know that idea has been widely debated

We have enough housing and food for everybody

Yet we still have shanty towns and projects that are shoddy


Rap Music began as a community celebration

Caribbean Blacks and Latinos/as created groups like the Zulu Nation

They rapped about civil rights, equality and culture

Corporations stole the idea and made it about bling; corporations are culture vultures


Religion allows people to gather and share their beliefs

Unfortunately, some people want to impose their ideas which causes much grief

I like ideas from lots of religions, I gather them in a mix

These ideas help me deal with problems when I’m in a fix


Religious holidays and festivals (including but not limited to Christmas, Yom Kippur, and Ramadan)

Are some of the best parties on the planet—oh, boy can they be fun!

Let’s all share our religious holidays and celebrate with each other

Let’s take our religion’s best ideas and treat each other like sisters and brothers


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Rock-and-Roll music was started by poor Southern folks

They played blues and country on old guitars, drank whiskey and told jokes

Chuck Berry, one of the inventors, saw them say rock wasn’t Black

But now the Afro-Punk movement has worked to take the credit back


Running away is something that maybe everyone has wished for

To leave our problems behind, run off and close that door

If your parents are abusing you, perhaps do it, but find a safe place

If not, then look at the problem for solutions—there’s nothing you can’t face!


Sex is crazy and it drives everyone crazy, you can’t avoid it

Your parents will be completely engulfed in paranoia

But, if you try, you can learn to have really good, safe, fun nookie

The idea is to be with worthwhile, interesting people, don’t worry about being a rookie


Slavery still exists in the form of our prison system

Prisoners work for slave wages, we barely have to pay them

Lots of men and women in jail are doing time for non-violent offenses

Many of them wouldn’t be there if they had good lawyers present for their defenses


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Terrorism is a word that is used for unclear crimes

I wish someone would explain to me what it defines

In Arizona, someone could be detained because of how they look

They also believe that to save our country they must resort to banning books


Television and video games (excessive use) create a state of hypnosis

No one has created terms for this addiction diagnosis

Humans learn by copying—it’s how we learn to speak

So if we copy TV and games, I can’t imagine the havoc it will wreak


Traumatic material (including material that may be particularly upsetting such as animal shelters)

Or how we process chickens or deaths caused in the borderland desert swelter

Are not subjects I think need to be kept from our young minds

It is worse to keep the youth ignorant and mentally behind


Vermin (rats and roaches) are found in poor areas because our cities don’t pick up the trash

If we talk about these issues, are folks afraid of a backlash?

We all pay city taxes, so our money should pay for clean streets

But the cleanest roads are in the rich areas, yet another issue on the list of defeats


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have


Violence is waged on people who are considered weak

Women, children, the elderly, and communities which don’t have a voice to speak

Negotiation is always better and some leaders have suggested this

Others disagree; perhaps they have never been hugged or kissed


War and bloodshed, what is it good for, absolutely nothin’

Say it again, war, what is it good for absolutely nothin’

Our soldiers come back home mentally and physically destroyed

They aren’t guaranteed work or even healthcare, yet they are continually deployed


Weapons (guns, knives, etc.) were once used against beasts

We would hunt a boar and cook it for a special, happy feast

Today, automatic weapons are found in neighborhoods or schools

I wish we could change the current intent behind the tools


Witchcraft, sorcery, etc. is a myth that few know of

Witches were community healers and their sorcery was love

They would mix up herbs into a wonderful stew

That would heal many diseases, rendering the ill, new


Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have

Banning is bad

Banning is bad

The more you ban

The less information you have