Thursday, January 24, 2013

NYC Educator: John King Is the Worst Person in the World*

NYC Educator: John King Is the Worst Person in the World*:


John King Is the Worst Person in the World*

It's not really easy to become a superlative. You have to work very hard at it, and there is always tremendous competition. But NYS Education Commissioner John King is breaking new ground of late, leapfrogging over other "reformers" to capture a title they're all clamoring for. How did he do this?

It's simple, actually. When Mike Bloomberg once again failed to negotiate a junk science evaluation for teachers, reneging on a deal with the UFT, John King decided he'd take a billion dollars away from the neediest kids in New York City. Though it's his decision, he's quite content to blame the UFT, Bloomberg, or pretty much anyone. I'm UFT, so I guess it's my fault. And I'm worse than most, because I absolutely oppose the use of junk science in determining whether or not teachers keep jobs. For reasons I cannot remotely fathom, my union leadership embraces this.

Now we can debate all day long as to why the evaluation deal failed (Bloomberg, Bloomberg, and Bloomberg). But as ridiculous as that debate is, there ought to be none whatsoev