Told to Count on UFT
New Teachers Can't Wait for Challenge

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

Ana Dornelles knew she wanted to be a Teacher when she was in second grade, although her father, who was also a city Teacher, tried to dissuade her from joining the ranks.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: UFT there to help.

Declining the offer of parental wisdom, Ms. Dornelles, 23, will join 6,200 other new Teachers as they take their place in front of blackboards around the city on Sept. 4. (They must report to work Aug. 30). About 3,000 of them gathered at the Javits Center last week to hear about the joys, the perils and the logistics of the job.

'I Want to Give Back'

"My father loved it, but he taught middle school and he thought it would just be so hard," said Ms. Dornelles, who graduated from Brooklyn College in December. "But I know what the schools are lacking. I want to give back. I don't mind teaching in high-needs schools."

Ms. Dornelles lived in Brazil until she was nine years old and then moved to the city, where she attended public schools. She will be teaching at P.S. 23 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang READY FOR ACTION: More than 6,000 new Teachers, chosen from 44,000 applicants, will take the plunge next week. Ana Dornelles (left) has wanted to be a Teacher since she was eight years old and will be teaching at P.S. 23 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Former city cop Carlina Fane will teach 4th grade at P.S. 40 in Jamaica, choosing Queens instead of her hometown on Long Island. 'I think I can be more of a help here, and there's more of a need here than on the Island,' she said.

About 44,000 people applied to become a city Teacher this year. The Department of Education anticipates hiring an additional 1,200 by the end of October, and officials had words of inspiration and encouragement for the new corps of recruits.

Christopher Cerf, the Deputy Chancellor for Organizational Strategy, Human Capital and External Affairs, grabbed their attention. "Our job is not to teach," he said. "Our job is to do everything in our power to make sure every child learns." His point was that it was the outcome of instruction that mattered. "This isn't about how hard we try," he said. "It's about how well children learn."

Excited About New Beat

Carlina Fane, who was a city cop for 13 years, said that she felt a calling to become a Teacher, but that many Teachers seemed ground down. "I'm so excited," said Ms. Fane, 37, with a smile. "It seems as if New York City schools are suffering from Teachers who are not excited about their jobs." She will be teaching 4th grade at P.S. 40 in Jamaica and believes that her experience as a Police Officer will help her to be an authority figure to the children.

Like Ms. Fane, about 1,800 of the new instructors are elementary school Teachers. There are 1,100 new special education Teachers, 600 math Teachers and 400 science Teachers. The approximately 1,600 Teaching Fellows and 500 Teach For America participants who will begin in the fall had their own orientation programs and did not attend the event last week.

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten addressed the crowd and outlined the role of the union. "We will help you each and every day to not only make your job doable, but satisfying," she said.

The new Teachers' palpable idealism did not make them any less eager for increased compensation. Ms. Weingarten received a round of applause when she reminded them that they would receive a 2-percent salary increase in October and a 5-percent increase next May.

'Who Ya Gonna Call?'

The union leader warned the thousands of Teachers-to-be that while they may feel the thrill of the job in the opening days of the school year, many new Teachers begin to feel isolated as the weeks wear on. Invoking the famous "Who ya gonna call?" line, albeit with improved grammar, from the 1984 film "Ghostbusters," Ms. Weingarten initiated a call-and-response with the crowd. She listed a string of difficulties the new city employees may encounter, including not getting paid, not receiving a health-care card, finding a lack of books in their classroom, having too many kids in a class, or trouble getting through a particularly trying day. After each example she asked the crowd, "What do you do?" The Teachers answered in unison, ''Call your union rep."

Although the chorus of voices was strong, not everyone was convinced the system would work so smoothly. Ms. Fane, who was a member of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association for 13 years, chuckled during that part of the speech. "I'm used to unions and everything that goes on with them," she said. '''Call your union rep' - we'll see how that works out." But she also noted that at her school, where she student-taught last year, the union rep was very involved and approachable.

After her speech, Ms. Weingarten explained that the union was restructuring some of its operations to reflect the new decentralization of the revamped school system. Borough offices will be staffed by union officials, who can handle a wide range of issues so Teachers can get help locally without having to call the central office.

'A Voice Inside Called'

Some of the Teachers said they had no experience whatsoever with unions. Christine Bite, 36, was recruited from the Philippines and just arrived in the U.S. on Aug. 9. She said that after teaching math in a girls' school in Manila for 10 years, she hoped to make an impact on students outside of her own country. "I didn't have a plan to move," she said, "but something encouraged me to apply. A voice inside of me was calling me to this work."

She hasn't been placed in a school yet, but will attend an open house session on Aug. 28 for high school Teachers. Ms. Bite is one of 175 Teachers who was recruited from foreign countries.

Although issues such as class size and school empowerment were mentioned by several of the speakers, many Teachers seemed unaware of the drama that unfolded in the spring, which pitted several immigration and parent groups and the union against the Mayor and his school reorganization plan as they jockeyed for changes in the way schools would be run this year.

Ms. Dornelles said that her father had spoken to her about many of the problems in the system, but that she planned to be a Teacher for the rest of her career, even though she was aware that more than half of new Teachers quit after three years. "I want to make my mind up for myself based on what I see and what I experience," she said. "I hope I won't be one of those burned-out Teachers. I can't wait for school to start."