New York Magazine Writer Thinks Ravitch Will “Make” Unions “Go Republican”
I just finished writing a post about American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten’s allegiance to the Democratic Party above all else, and what link do I open up next?
That of a New York Magazine article by Jonathan Chait, entitled, Teachers Unions Turn Against Democrats.
Now that’s funny.
Apparently Chait is upset that the two political parties are not engaging in “national political debate” over “the Obama administration’s educational reforms.” Chait believes that the Republicans don’t want to admit that the Democrats are winning the competition for more charter schools and “teacher accountability.”
Republican Jeb Bush is still selling charters–but he is doing so on behalf of Democraric-run New York. Hmm. Hard to score that one.
As for “teacher accountability,” the very-test-score-driven Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) is urging USDOE to not bend when it comes to testing– and that in order to “effectively” use value-added modeling (VAM) to test teachers, more tests are better. However, Democratic Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy backed off of VAM– in favor of something worse. But then, Republican Rick Scott signed VAM into law in Florida in 2011, and it still sticks. Who s winning: Democrats or Republicans? Another tough call.
I wonder who has been appointed official scorekeeper. Who will tease out the nuances of bipartisan support for so-called “education reform”?
Anyone will do just so long as the numbers tell the preferred story, eh?
Chait also believes that “the unions” don’t want to “force” members to “choose between the union’s agenda and Obama’s.”
I don’t think “the unions”– the national unions, that is– care too much about what membership thinks. Otherwise, they might have dumped the Common Core State New York Magazine Writer Thinks Ravitch Will “Make” Unions “Go Republican” | deutsch29: