Superintendent man and the meddling mayor
The Rhee-Johnsons screw with other people’s school systems, Raymond sets The New York Times straight
By Cosmo Garvin
cosmog@newsreview.com
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And he does deserve some praise for his recent reality check on Race to the Top. It started with New York Times columnistThomas L. Friedman’s praise of President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, which Friedman said set off “a nationwide wave of school reform.” That’s the same Thomas Friedman who was cheerleader for the Iraq War, telling Iraqis to “suck on this.”
Raymond wrote to set Friedman straight about Obama’s education quagmire, saying RTTT “throws education stakeholders into enemy camps” by requiring districts to tie teacher evaluations to test scores—or else get no federal money.
“Are we to assume that without evaluations tied to test scores Sac City teachers, and thousands like them around the country, are working in an unprofessional avocation?” Raymond asked. He continued, “Being married to a former public school teacher, Mr. Friedman should know better.”
Being married to a school teacher, Bites certainly knows better. But Raymond also ought to tell it to The Sacramento Bee editorial board, who has been religiou