This week’s episode features a conversation with Sean Ahern and Daniel Alicea, two leading opponents to the mayoral control of NYC public schools from within the educator community. Sean is a recently retired NYC public school teacher organizing with the NYC Coalition to Finally End Mayoral Control (nycmayoralcontrolnot.org) and Daniel is a current public school teacher in Queens, co-host of Talk Out of School (talk-out-of-school.simplecast.com), and a Middle School Executive Board candidate running with UFC in this year’s UFT elections. We discuss the many problems with mayoral control and what our next steps are in bringing the system to an end.

This newly-unlocked former Patreon-exclusive episode is a primer on mayoral control. What does it mean that Eric Adams is in charge of schools? What did it mean for Michael Bloomberg, under whom mayoral control first took effect? For further reading/viewing on the subject:>>https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2020/12/understanding-mayoral-control/175347/>>https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2019/12/16/21055594/state-lawmakers-begin-examining-mayoral-control-of-nyc-schools>>https://www.city-journal.org/de-blasio-retains-control-nyc-schools>>https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2022/1/2/22838729/albany-2022-education-agenda-foundation-aid-cte-mental-health-vaccines-mayoral-control>>https://www.nycmayoralcontrolnot.org/>>https://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/archives/377-seven-years-of-mayoral-control>>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/nyregion/new-york-school-control.html>>https://progressive.org/public-schools-advocate/bloombergtrashedpubliced/>>https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/education-michael-bloomberg/>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snt7KONSelk>>https://www.edweek.org/leadership/n-y-c-mayor-gains-control-over-schools/2002/06>>https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/eric-adams-press-conference/971205543?fbclid=IwAR3CIZEqXDXuhlHYL6CApC1edg1FBalTBa-Zcn8YrKe-PwquHeaDeNinxIw>>https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/school-reform-putting-kids-first/article_e2f0ca31-3cb5-5816-9ff6-1383a70e73f5.html>>https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/30/nyregion/report-says-city-is-paying-too-much-to-build-schools.html

This week Tyree Alexander (of episode 5 fame) stops by to take us behind the scenes on the award-winning computer science program he started at his public school in the South Bronx. We discuss the conditions that lend themselves most favorably to starting and sustaining exciting new programs at school that go above and beyond what is required of teachers but support some of students' most pressing needs. This is part 1 of a two-part episode: to hear the second part, meet us at patreon.com/professionaldevelopment

This week Norm Scott, a retired NYC DOE teacher, long-time unionist, and blogger, stops by to tell us all about Mulgrewcare, a foiled (or is it?) attempt by the UFT leadership to deprive retirees of their proper, hard-earned benefits OR balance the books after a poorly-executed contract negotiation by collecting their hard-earned money in the form of new, illegal premiums for the same coverage they have always had. We discuss the parallels between Unity's willingness to privatize healthcare and the neoliberal drive to privatize schools, most notably via the charter movement, and much more!Read more of Norm's work at ednotesonline.com

As New York City public schools hurtle towards a premature removal of the indoor mask mandate, it's time we meet a couple of the public figures making the case for taking masks off, and making media appearances that allow them to stand in for the majority of people, who would prefer to keep the mask mandate in place. This is part 1 of a two-part episode: to hear part 2, head over to patreon.com/professionaldevelopment.For further reading/viewing:>>https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/education/2021/07/26/school-staff-vaccine-testing-mandate>>https://pix11.com/news/reopening-schools/nyc-officials-deflect-on-attendance-for-first-day-of-school/>>https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-nyc-school-counselors-face-challenges-student-pandemic-stress-20211107-j3qtndiwxbcqnhzjavkufdtg4e-story.html>>https://www.amny.com/news/de-blasio-vaccine-mandate-not-off-table-public-school-teachers/>>https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/24/nyregion/nyc-schools-reopening-remote-learning.html>>https://spectatorworld.com/topic/remote-learning-has-failed-our-kids/>>https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-what-our-kids-need-now-20210727-prpdtayprzcs5ccrsvsg7q2uny-story.html>>https://nypost.com/2022/01/17/a-queens-school-social-worker-pleads-dont-go-remote-nyc-schools/>>https://www.urgencyofnormal.com/>>https://educatorsfornormalcy.com/>>https://twitter.com/LazarusLong13/status/1494128740682514434>>https://twitter.com/tylerblack32/status/1486111652076527623>>https://newrepublic.com/article/165413/mask-mandates-kids-back-to-normal

This week Nick Bacon makes an appearance to give us the real inside scoop on what happened at the February Delegate Assembly of the UFT. Nick teaches special ed and serves as chapter leader at a school in Washington Heights and is running as part of the UFC slate for High School Executive Board in this year's triennial UFT election. For more information about United for Change check out unitedforchange.vote, and for information on New Action and Nick's writing on the February DA and more, check out new action.org

This week's Patreon-exclusive episode is a deep dive into the de-professionalization of teaching, beginning with a careful examination of three Wall Street Journal pieces that came out within a week of each other, proceeding to a history lesson on the early days of the common schools movement, and wrapping up with some personal anecdotes.Join us at patreon.com/professionaldevelopment to hear the full thing.For further viewing/reading see:>>https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/google-news-update/why-teachers-are-dropping-out-of-the-profession/f7748d44-e224-423b-b975-afe1c6b5c82c>>https://www.wsj.com/articles/teachers-are-quitting-and-companies-are-hot-to-hire-them-11643634181>>https://www.wsj.com/articles/burnout-drove-these-teachers-into-new-careers-heres-how-they-got-there-11644143400​​>>https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/01/masks-schools-koch-money/>>https://poets.org/poem/do-not-go-gentle-good-night>>Goldstein, Dana. (2014). The teacher wars : a history of America's most embattled profession. New York: Doubleday.

This week I am joined by Alex Jallot, a Special Education teacher and UFT Chapter Leader at Pace High School in Lower Manhattan, as well as one of a number of candidates running in this year's UFT election as part of the United for Change slate. We discuss the current state of affairs in the New York City DOE and the UFT, as well as his motivation for running for the Executive Board. >>For more information on UFC, check out unitedforchange.vote>>For two extra episodes per month, check out patreon.com/professionaldevelopment (where the next five subscribers will each get a free Professional Development-branded mug!)

In this special bonus episode we are joined by Illapa Sairitupac, a social worker, climate activist, and candidate for New York State Assembly in District 65 (encompassing Lower Manhattan, Chinatown, the Lower East Side, Two Bridges, and the Financial District). We chat briefly about what it is like to run for office while working such a demanding day job before exploring the main topic of conversation: New Deal for CUNY. >>To learn more about Illapa and/or volunteer for his campaign, check out illapa.nyc >>To learn more about New Deal for CUNY, check out https://www.psc-cuny.org/clarion/april-2021/new-deal-cuny-free-tuition-and-more-investment>>To access the full back-catalogue of Patreon-exclusive episodes, check out patreon.com/professionaldevelopment

This week Jas, an artist, dancer, yogi, and teacher, joins the show to discuss mindfulness as a key ingredient in a healthy teaching life (if there can be such a thing) as well as an important skillset for students to be able to access and develop in order to make it through the average recess-free school day.