UFT President Michael Mulgrew wants mayoral candidates to teach for a day. (Stephanie Snyder/Chalkbeat)
Dear Commons Community,
My colleague, David Bloomfield, alerted me to this story that appeared in Chalkbeat.
New York City’s teachers union has a new requirement for any mayoral candidates seeking their endorsement: spend a day teaching in a public school classroom.
The announcement came Thursday as a crowded field of candidates vies for political support ahead of the June 24 primary and November 4 general election.
Mayor Eric Adams faces a difficult road to reelection amid a federal corruption indictment and a controversial bid by the Trump administration to drop the case against him. He will confront a slate of notable Democratic challengers, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who currently leads the pack, according to polling data.
And on Thursday, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who has called for the mayor to resign, entered the fray, announcing her own campaign for mayor.
To earn support from the United Federation of Teachers, which represents nearly 200,000 members, President Michael Mulgrew said candidates will need to spend at least seven periods in a public school classroom.
They’ll need to assist the teacher and paraprofessional with lessons, classroom management, and anything else students require.
“Mayoral candidates have traditionally promised to listen to educators and to base their education policies on the recommendations of the people doing the work. Then they get in City Hall and all that goes out the window,” Mulgrew said in a statement. “We have offered classroom time to candidates and elected officials, but they don’t take us up on it. So today we are on the record – if you want our endorsement you have to understand the work we do.”
The UFT will work with the city’s Education Department to identify classrooms for interested candidates and accompany them during their visit, union officials said.
Some observers were skeptical about the idea.
David Bloomfield, a professor of education, law, and public policy at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, supported mayoral candidates visiting classrooms, but questioned whether they should spend time teaching.
“What is a candidate to learn in 1 day that can be generalized to almost a million kids in 1,700 schools across 5 boroughs?” he said in an email. “Mayoral candidates need to think in system terms, appointing a Chancellor and [Panel for Educational Policy, a city board that votes on major policy proposals and contracts,] majority who can lead with expertise and judgment. Petty command performances are a ridiculous hurdle for the UFT to impose.”
Don’t hold back, David!
Tony
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