President's Perspective

July 2010: Are you tired of reading articles purportedly about teaching that have no connection to the classroom as you know it? I know I am. That’s why I was so taken with a piece by UCLA professor Mike Rose that ran recently in the L.A. Times. I don’t believe I’ve ever given my column over to someone else, but after reading this article, I thought that now would be the time to do it.  (Read more) »

June 2010: A friend of mine once told me about a “good things” folder she keeps in her desk at work. In that folder goes a collection of positive things, such as a project she was particularly proud of or a note from her boss on a job well done. When things get tough at work, when she has “one of those days,” she takes a moment and pulls the folder out. By reminding herself of past professional accomplishments, she can pick herself up and say, “I can do this.”  (Read more) »

April 2010: When we’re talking about improving student learning, “school reform” is not my favorite phrase.
Take a look at the Webster’s definitions of the word “reform”: One of them is  (Read more) »

March 2010: I spend every Saturday in my office at UTLA, taking advantage of the relative quiet to catch up on paperwork. I like to take a break every once in a while and pop down to another floor of our headquarters to see who might be in the building with me.  (Read more) »

February 2010: We live in uncertain times. That our members continue to get the job done day in and day out is a testament to the commitment education professionals have made to our students.

In a nutshell, here is where things stand right now: LAUSD is facing an estimated $640 million budget shortfall for 2010-11. Superintendent Cortines is asking for a 12 percent pay cut and furlough days (perhaps in the form of closing school early) from employees to help close the gap. March 15 is the deadline for LAUSD to issue layoff notices to certificated staff. It is estimated that around 2,000 teachers and health and human services professionals will receive RIF notices.  (Read more) »

“What I want for Christmas is for my family to be happy, and for my mom to not loose her job.”

December 2009: Those are the simple yet compelling words of LAUSD student Josefa Martinez, whose mother, Josefina Aguilera, teaches at 68th Street School. Her mother tells the story of how the letter (reproduced on this page) was written:  (Read more) »

November 2009: It’s no secret that UTLA was against the Public School Choice motion from the get go. It’s unconscionable that the majority of the School Board—who were elected to help our schools— wants to simply hand them over to outside interests.  (Read more) »

October 2009: It might be possible that some of you—focused so intently on grading papers and planning lessons—haven’t heard about the so-called Public School Choice motion that was passed by the School Board in August. We call it the Public School Giveaway motion, because that’s what it could do—it opens the door for outside operators to bid to run a number of new and PI 3+ schools. But even if you are familiar with the plan, with all the uncertainty in the air there is fuzziness about what’s going on.

Here are some truths about the motion and school change. (Read more) »

From the state of the union speech delivered on August 21 at the UTLA Leadership Conference.

August 2009: What a year we've had. I am happy to see all of you here tonight, but we know that this is not a trouble-free time for our union and our profession.

This year we were hit hard by the worldwide economic crisis. Too many of our colleagues are gone. Class sizes are going up dramatically, and there will be far fewer resources for your classrooms and school sites. Although our jobs have been made much more difficult, it is our students who will feel the most pain. (Read more) »

July 2009: Hey, folks, I gave it a try. I agreed to have lunch with L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez in an effort to get out our side of the story, even though the Times is always hell-bent on slamming teachers and our union.

I knew that a two-hour lunch would not be enough time to discuss all the complexities of teaching with a reporter who's never taught in an urban public school classroom. But I gave it a try anyways, because I-like so many of you-am tired of the one-sided education editorials in the Times.  (Read more) »