Look Who Has His Own Anti Site!

As a devoted Enronista, I've been following John Arnold for years and years.

I'm happy to say that his continued campaign to destroy pensions - one dating back to the pensions Enron destroyed when it bought a utility so it could trade electricity, the retirement Enron's rank and file didn't get because John Arnold took a (non) retention bonus that doomed the attempted merger, those pensions bankrupted with Enron's collapse, and those counting on UBS retirement cash (that little interlude in his career rarely gets mentioned, maybe because it ended up that without controlling the platform and tolerance of insane risks, Arnold wasn't such a hot trader) - but I digress.

Do check out The Truth About John Arnold.  It isn't pretty, but it's important.

(I'm pretty sure that he wasn't the second youngest billionaire, by the way, but it's not something to research on a school night.)

In exchange for that 12% raise...

For this year's 4%, District teachers are doing way more than 4% new work:

• We are required to use two new data systems.  Neither was ready by its projected roll-out date, so no preservice professional development was provided.
• We must also use a new mailing list/online storage system to access the still-unfinished math program.
• And we are expected to use these new Google accounts even if we already have our own.
• No hardware has been provided for these new job requirements.
• The District is now largely mandating a reading program model in which I have been trained...at my own expense.  Woe to those who haven't made the investment.
• Those of us who have are expected to provide unpaid modeling and planning support.  Teachers collaborate naturally, but requiring a certain type of collaboration and supporting it with neither materials nor time nor training is offensive.
• We have new ELD standards.  Teachers have been directed that they may no longer use the District lesson plans (which were never a curricula; you created all your own materials).  However, no new plans have been provided.

This year, I am writing my own ELD program.  The math curriculum as available is unworkable and no materials were purchased for any K unit after the third.  So I am also writing my own math, plus lots of grants to get the required materials.  Then I go help other teachers plan their reading.

The Powers that Be in SFUSD seem really confused as to why teachers STILL aren't happy and why it's so hard to hire and retain educators.  To me, this is willful blindness.