Andrew Cuomo Has the "Chutzpah" to Blame Teachers and a Veteran Teacher Responds
There are probably words to describe shameless audacity in many languages. In Yiddish, the language of Eastern European Jews, we call it "chutzpah." Somehow, when they invented this word, they must have been looking to the future and thinking about New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. The man has "chutzpah," especially when it comes to public education. Two weeks ago, Cuomo vetoed Cuomo, refusing to sign a bill he had previously endorsed, because he decided it should be easier to fire teachers. According to the New York Times, these kinds of switches marked much of his first term in office. Oh, the chutzpah!
When he was running for reelection, Cuomo thought it would be unfair to fire teachers whose students scored badly on standardized tests because many other factors affect student performance. Coincidently, Cuomo was also running on the Working Families line, a political party with strong ties to unions, including the teachers' union. But now that he has been reelected, Cuomo does not have concern himself with teacher support, the validity of the tests, conditions that affect students living in poor communities, or the fact that an overwhelming majority of teachers in New York State, close to 95%, scored well on a ratings system that he had also endorsed in the past.
In December, Cuomo declared that a major goal during his second term would be what he considered sweeping changes in the state's education system, an agenda he hopes will propel him onto the national stage and bring him attention as a presidential contender. But his proposals so far are firing more teachers, increasing the number of charter schools, and a back-door voucher plan using tax credits that will channel more money and students to private and parochial schools.
In December, Cuomo declared that a major goal during his second term would be what he considered sweeping changes in the state's education system, an agenda he hopes will propel him onto the national stage and bring him attention as a presidential contender. But his proposals so far are firing more teachers, increasing the number of charter schools, and a back-door voucher plan using tax credits that will channel more money and students to private and parochial schools.
Cuomo had Jim Malatras, director of state operations, send a letter to the departing education commissioner, John King, and the chancellor of the Board of Regents, Merryl Tisch, soliciting their advice on how to shake-up a school system Malatras described in the letter as "unacceptable." The letter posed twelve largely rhetorical questions that expose Cuomo's direction. Teacher unions were described as "special interests," but charter schools and their hedge fund supporters, textbook and test prep companies, and anti-union groups like StudentsFirst NY are all "reform" allies.
Tisch and King, who is leaving to work in the federal Department of Education, quickly announced support for Cuomo's plan to create a more efficient process for firing teachers. They also want to make the tenure process more difficult and double the weight of student scores on standardized tests in the evaluation of teachers. Apparently they hope to scare teachers into committing even more time to test preparation instead of education. Tisch and King also want to crack down on lenient principals who mistakenly think teachers in their schools are actually doing a good job.
A twenty-page letter from Tisch and King's temporary replacement, Elizabeth Berlin, laid out what we can expect to be the Cuomo-Tisch educational agenda. Basically they call for the deprofessionalization of teaching, turning it into a temporary job instead of a career.
1. Count student scores on high-stakes Common Core standardized tests as 40% in teacher evaluations even though the test have not been demonstrated to be a reliable measure of student or teacher performance.
2. Although they are our most experienced school-based administrators, limit principal options when evaluating staff because they grade too high.
3. Effectively end teacher tenure through three ploys. Extend the probationary Andrew Cuomo Has the "Chutzpah" to Blame Teachers and a Veteran Teacher Responds | Alan Singer:
