Cellphones in Class; NYT Site Demands Facebook Link For Commenters

Here is a common-sense reaction to the cellphone in class issue:

If in a past generation a student had a transistor radio to her ear in a classroom
a teacher would ask that the student put it away.
Yes, it could provide stimulating music or up-to-the-minute news,
but it would hijack the student's attention.

If in a past generation a student had a copy of Mad Magazine or Rolling Stone in a classroom
a teacher would ask that the student put it away.
Yes, it could provide a thoughtful, satirical view, or it would have muckraking news,
but it would hijack the student's attention.

There is a time and a place for fun and leisure. Will the permissive parents or commenters remember that they accommodated distraction when the school report card results or Regents results come in?
Real teachers know that electronic gadgets can provide a terrible distraction. Yet, many people are suspending logic by arguing for their accommodation.

* * *
A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE TIMES
Why must you insist on people signing in with Facebook? Cannot the Times comprehend that the site could be hacked and school authorities could see commenting teachers' identities?
Plenty of sites, commercial and non-commercial, have comments pages with a relatively small percentage of inappropriate comments. Why can they not allow for securely anonymous comments / posts by teachers that do not want their career deep-sixed by slip-ups in Facebook?

Just a few years ago ''The Business Insider'' ran a story, "How to Hack Facebook."

Tony Avella and William Thompson assail Michael Bloomberg's record -Avella winning, I believe

City Councilor Tony Avella (19th CD, Whitestone/Bayside) and Comptroller William Thompson debated Wednesday night, in a debate of contenders for the Democratic nomination for mayor this November,
with the former winning, I believe.
Avella directly assailed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for kowtowing to run-away development. He also faulted fellow city councilors for voting themselves pay raises and for overturning the mayoral term-limits law.
Similarly, Avella is distinguished from Bloomberg and Thompson by being less connected with the real estate and finance interests in the city.
Avella

“I made a decision early on in this campaign that if we were going to win, it was going to be for the right reasons. I’m not selling my soul to raise huge amounts of money. I’m not dialing for dollars, which every campaign consultant tells you you have to do. I’m not taking money from the big real estate industry firms, like my opponent is. And I gotta tell you, what I just heard, I can’t believe what I just heard, that he's got a real, that he's raising, my opponent is raising money on a real grassroots effort. If that were true, why did he only just now qualify for matching funds? The truth is, my opponent is getting huge amounts of money from Wall Street, from the money managers of the pensions he supervises, from the real estate developers. His is not a real grassroots campaign. Yes, I haven't raised the amount of money that he has. ... The fact that he said he's got a grassroots campaign, I'm absolutely shocked that he actually said that."

Here is a favorably assessment of Avella's views, at Daily Kos:

In the article about Avella, the Mayoral candidate called the current Mayor: "one of the biggest threats to democracy that this city, and perhaps this country, has ever faced". By that he meant the amount of money the Mayor is capable of spending, not just on his own campaign, but on the campaigns of New York State Senators or Assemblypersons who support his views in return for his support. The Sponsor of the Bill that the State Senate passed yesterday, re-affirming Mayoral control of schools, had his campaign financed largely by contributions from Bloomberg. Avella made this statement at a fund raiser for him in the East Village. I know this, because I attended it. As I left, I said hello to the candidate. I mentioned the overdevelopment that, in spite of the financial slow down, is still rampant in the city, and particularly that is happening in my neighborhood on the Upper West Side. To my surprise, rather than just agreeing with me, Avella went into thr subject further, telling me that Bloomberg wants to eliminate the small amount of power to put some reasonable limits on these developments that the Community Boards still maintain. He also told me that one of the reasons Bloomberg wants to cut the funds to the Public Advocate's Office is to have greater control over land use. He might have elaborated further, but others were waiting to say hello, however in the short time I spoke with him, I was impressed by his ability to discuss this issue in detail. I left the benefit and walked out into the night air, hoping that Avella could get his message out in the next six weeks, the six weeks that will lead up to the Democratic Primary in which he faces William Thompson (September 15).

A poster, JW, at Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), identified Avella and the "leading man" for mayor:

Avella as "leading" man
After Tony Avella's statements at the Working Families Party forum a couple of weeks ago, progressive educators seem to be backing his run for mayor.

"I AM ABSOLUTELY NOT A FAN OF CHARTER SCHOOLS."

You can't get much clearer than that.

Avella will first have to topple Bill Thompson in the Democratic primary, and that will take some doing. In the meantime, Thompson's been putting on some new coats. He certainly wasn't asking to fire Joel Klein before Avella said it at the WFP forum.

The Avella campaign is letting people know that their man was on NY1 bashing the rubber rooms, no-bid contracts, and the atmosphere of intimidation at the DoE. Video will be available online tomorrow.
{{Correction: Here is video on Avella on education in New York.}}

They've also put a new page on Facebook: Educators for Avella.

Tony Avella is forging the correct agenda on education.

Bill Thompson is real "Old School" when it comes to teaching kids, and he's now just playing catch up.

***BOTH THOMPSON AND AVELLA HAVE ASSAILED BLOOMBERG'S LAISSEZ FAIRE (HANDS OFF) POLICY ON THE SWINE FLU IN THE CITY'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS***
Click Here for Comptroller Thompson's open letter opposing the policy.

Click Here for Councilor Avella's open letter opposing the policy.

Admittedly, Thompson is comfortably ahead, with the Working Families Party endorsement already. He has also received the endorsement of Queens Congressman Antony Weiner, who dropped out of the race in May. (Avella received the endorsement of the League of Humane Voters.
Here is a video at NYC Public School Parents' blog, of Avella opposing charter schools. Avella properly asks, "Why not fix the failing schools?"