For those of you who don’t know, the teacher’s union (UFT) and the NYC Dept of Education (DOE) have a contract. It expired in 2009, but due to the Taylor Law everyone has to still follow it. Now if someone feels that someone is breaking this contract you can request… Continue reading
I was just doing a little Spring cleaning with my wife and I came across this shirt. At first I couldn’t remember where I bought it. My wife gave me a look like “You are not wearing that in public.” Then it hit me…I didn’t buy this shirt, but rather… Continue reading
Have I offended you Russia None of your comrades have visited my blog. I’m just kidding. It’s a play on words from the 1963 James Bond Film titled From Russia with Love During my 50 minute break in the Rubber Room -er I mean Basement, -er I mean Reassignment Center… Continue reading
Can you make a list of all the things you collected and brought into your classroom, or anywhere, over a 5 year period I know I can’t, but I am going to try. As a reassigned teacher, who was stopped in the lobby of his school and prevented from coming… Continue reading
the story…. Continue reading
It’s a great feeling to not only have your ideas published, but knowing they can in turn help other teachers with their class and therefore help students. I’m a big believer of the positive ripple effect. I have learned a lot from reading the UFT NY Teacher newspaper. I have… Continue reading
“Teachers are true heroes in our communities, who through their dedication to children, work millions of small miracles every day. And the vast majority of teachers in the United States are proud to be advocates for children, public education, and their profession. The origins of Teacher Day are murky. Around… Continue reading
The NYC Department of Education is my employer and I do not consider that entity an enemy as many others do. I truly believe that it is a flawed entity, but feel that there is some glimmer of hope to fixing a broken system. Unfortunately to fix something you have… Continue reading
According to Statcounter.com, protectportelos.org will hit 8,000 visits today. Repeat visitors come from all around the world and 600 people are direct following. Twitter follower numbers are increasing as well as the student made facebook.com/protectportelos page Likes. We are the potential wave makers, the movers and the shakers. Regimes have… Continue reading
As I entered the school building, on Thursday April 26, I was met by Principal Linda Hill, Assistant Principal of Security Joanne Aguirre and Safety Agent Gordon. I was asked to step into the auditorium and was handed papers to sign. They stated that I was to report to a… Continue reading
Back in June of 2009, my colleague and I had already known of and used Google Apps (docs, calendar, gmail). We wanted to get a closer look on how a school was using it and visited IS 339 in the Bronx. Our visit only reinforced our notion that this can… Continue reading
Many have told me “Good thing you are tenured.” and also “You would never open your mouth if you weren’t tenured.” That last one is absolutely not true at all. I admit I was against tenure when I received it in 2010. I thought it got in the way of… Continue reading
It was my 11 month old son, Alexander, that I had on my lap the night I decided to create this site. Earlier that same day, two SCI investigators came to my classroom and later to my house to take my DOE equipment for an investigation the principal called on… Continue reading
The Human Cost of Teacher Bashing: The Christine Rubino Case. Continue reading
Since I came under attack, around the end of January 2012, a repetitive thought in my head was “Don’t Tread on Me.”. Thank you to my HS Social Studies teacher, Mr. Bruns (Port Richmond 1996 and, ironically, former IS 49 teacher.) I printed out a picture of the Gadsden flag… Continue reading
I asked the SLT chairperson to add my concern about the new PS 71 to the February agenda and she did not. I had to bring it up as open agenda.The principal was not too concerned. (See Feb 7 minutes) Basically a new State of the Art middle school (PS71)… Continue reading
So they tried to turn some of my innocent Facebook posts against me. You don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house. Posted on Facebook after I won UFT Chapter Delegate position. 3 months later he asked me to resign from that same position. I agree. We do… Continue reading
Visits HERO to VILLAIN IN JUST A FEW SHORT WEEKS I am Francesco Alexander Portelos. I am an educator and Ilovemy job. I am a Polytechnic University Civil/Environmental Engineer turned middle school teacher and this is my story on how I went from hero to villain by bringing up the… Continue reading
In an effort to show solidarity, all members are asked to wear something blue on Thursday April 5th. This is not in support of any one person, nor is it to show opposition. We are all in this together for the betterment of the school community. Continue reading
Time I was kept out of the classroom for no reason: 747 days From STEM Lab (above) to thisreassignment center (below) The short version: My name is Francesco Alexander Portelos. I am a parent and educator of Staten Islands North Shore. I was teaching technology at Berta Dreyfus IS 49… Continue reading
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