I have relatives who work for Oakland Unified as teachers. Believe me, they're only focus is on salary and benefits. They could care less if their students succeed or fail. For them, there is always another batch of poor performing students that justify the need to keep my relatives "teaching". The increasing social service and juvenile justice costs is testimony to the mediocre level of public school instruction. Ask yourself, what ever happened to the one billion dollars in capital improvement monies for Oakland schools ? Perhaps you should ask current aspiring mayoral candidate Jean Quan what happened. She was on the Oakland board for two of the three elections authorizing the capital improvement bond money. For my money, they could replace the entire instructional staff at Oakland Unified and it would probably be a significant improvemment.

But I guess Ms. Florez is too steeped in the more money, less accountability culture while she was obtaining her "degree" in international relations at Mills. If you are going to write columns, try asking the tough questions. People like me want answers to the lack of success in schools and the continued chorus for more money from taxpayers.

Stuart, um, why are you attacking our reporter? This is a factual news story reporting facts on the postponment of the teachers' strike. Irene Florez isn't expressing her opinions, she is sharing what she has learned with OL readers. There is a great need to not only document the need for accountability in education in Oakland (and everywhere) and to hold unmotivated teachers to task, but slamming our reporter's education doesn't emphasize those truths, it's just mean.

Stuart don't be a couch potato waiting for answers; go report your lazy, cheating relatives to the school superintendent.

Dear Stuart,

I'm sorry that your relatives are incompetent.  Regrettfully that opinion does exist and in some individuals it does bear merit in any field I've worked in.  I also know some of these people you speak of. The saddest part for me being an Oakland Teacher, are those people who give teachers who work like dogs (including myself) in Oakland such greif and a bad name. 

Get your relatives out of education as a public service to us all.  Being a teacher is not a job!  It is a calling to serve your community.  I am offended at the generalization. I am a competent individual and a teacher with worth.  I am acheiving significant gains in my classroom, with kids you could never teach, Stuart. 

It is to the benefit of these students that competition is needed in teaching.  The only reason that your greedy relatives can stay in Oakland is because there is not much competition for positions. I educate children in Oakland to have bright futures and ragging on teaching is just plain not fair sometimes. 

Stop the generalizations!  Especially when you don't even understand what the strike is about.

• Class sizes to increase to 24-26 students in K-3 
• Cuts in Adult Education affecting the community (English classes for parents, GED classes etc...)
• Oakland Unified pays a 1 million dollar penalty fine annually for the descrepancy between the LAW on how much money should be allotted to the classroom and how much they allow (Just follow the law OUSD!!!)
• Oakland teachers haven't received a cost of living raise in YEARS

You can also read up on the fact finding report

http://oaklandea.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/Fact%20finding%20report%200410.pdf

Sheesh!  Ignorance is an evil device by which prejustice can breed.  I'm sorry you have developed a prejustice with teachers. 

The sad part is that I'm not a fanatic either.... This such a blatent lack of priorities that I can't help but see this getting worse.  Please stop generalizing and harrassing hard working teachers, who deal with more garbage at their jobs than you ever will.

And now I must stop talking to you Stuart.... You see, I'm working on a Saturday and I'm a teacher in Oakland.  I will work tomorrow and I will work on the 29th outside of the classroom, to protect MY STUDENTS' FUTURES from outrageous policy and ignorance about the education crisis.   And I'll work this weekend to acheive more success with my kids even though my class is already proficient in math, and english (coming from a 32% adverage to 78% in 8 months).  And I'm not the only teacher in OAKLAND who does this.... they are working too hard to take the time to tell you this.

Don't applaud or anything, just don't generalize and help rather than hurt. 

Sincerely,

Teacher in East Oakland

Teacher in East Oakland--thank you for such a great post! Stuart, touchy situation, isn't it?

It is far more sad to me that Stuart (and so many others) are not asking the good questions themselves. The California Department of Corrections recently put out its 9.5 Billion dollar budget. By their own admission (which is most likely conservative and spread out over a 318 page document) they are spending almost 5 Billion in salaries alone, not including benefits (which are extensive, their days off alone average to one per week, essentially paying full time for a 4 day, 32 hour work week). The operating budgets for Corcoran (prison and substance abuse facility) alone total 500 Million per year. That could employ 14,000 teachers.

The budget has not been cut and the only changes have been a "proposed" cut of 3% to the staff. Since they have ended all education programs and shut off yard privileges (as well as increasing a major mail slow-down and other "creative protests") there does not seem to be such a need for the extremely highly paid staff (guards START at $70,000, no high school diploma needed).

Why isn't their budget being looked at? Why aren't their business practices and behaviors being scrutinized? It seems if the budgets and practices of these two linked entities (since every major study done has PROVEN that crime is most affected by proper access to education and recidivism is most reduced by furher education) were both brought back into reality then our teachers would be properly paid and our classrooms properly staffed and our prisons might be more humane and realistically run. But then I am a dreamer.

You can get mad at your lazy relatives, but the other poster was right, lazy workers are in every field. But who you should really get mad at are the people that are actually wasting your taxpayer dollars and doing the most harm to our communities, the CCPOA.