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Monday, March 4, 2013

Joy Resmovits: Saturday Night Live On Sequester; West Virginia Reform Battles: Ed Today

Joy Resmovits: Saturday Night Live On Sequester; West Virginia Reform Battles: Ed Today:


Saturday Night Live On Sequester; West Virginia Reform Battles: Ed Today

SNL Takes On Sequester.. On Friday night, President Barack Obama signed an executive order activating the across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration" that came as a result of an ongoing political budget standoff. Saturday Night Live explains the sequester, having an Obama impersonator bring up examples of folks affected by these cuts. Start at 1:15 to see a Philadelphia public schools teacher who was supposedly laid off. (Hint: The glee of her reaction to leaving that job is off message for Obama's grim tone. "Good luck reading Beowulf, you monsters," she says.)

Reform War's Next Battle: West Virginia? West Virginia Gov. Ray Tomblin's effort to revamp teacher hiring and firing systems are reminiscent of the education reform fights that have gripped our collective attention in states such as New York and California over the last few years. As the Associated Press reports, Tomblin wants to de-emphasize the importance of seniority in making hiring and firing determinations and transfers.