Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Obama's choice of King, the worst possible

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Obama's choice of King, the worst possible:

Obama's choice of King, the worst possible

3,000 N.Y. teacher union delegates give King "no confidence" vote. 



“Throughout his term in New York, John King was notorious for his complete disconnect from parents, teachers, and school officials. Our only hope is that this bizarre move by the White House will have the same effect across the country, spreading the Opt Out movement to every corner of the nation.” -- NYSAPE

Pres. Obama's choice of John King to succeed Ed Sec. Arne Duncan, couldn't have been worse. Why did he do it? It's hard to find a more reactionary and divisive thinker or a practitioner in all Obama's realm than King.

As N.Y.'s Education Commissioner, King's top-down imposition of corporate-style reform policies, including Common Core testing mania, has led to a revolt among parents and teachers. If anyone deserves major credit for sparking the growing opt-out movement which has spread nationwide and represents the biggest single threat to Obama's own ed policies, it is King.

His push for teacher evaluations based mainly on student test scores even has usually compliant union leaders up in arms. He received a vote of "no confidence"Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Obama's choice of King, the worst possible: