King: Schooled by loss, ‘saved’ by teachers
The man charged with downsizing the federal role in public schools is a passionate policy geek who says his own teachers saved his life.
John King, who stepped in as education secretary Jan. 1, spent his free time in college designing curriculum modules on Puerto Rican history. As New York state’s education commissioner, he came under withering criticism for aggressive reforms that many teachers and parents said steamrolled their concerns.
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The wonky and polarizing King now faces the most delicate task of his career, designing regulations for the law replacing No Child Left Behind, which pares back the education secretary’s authority and gives states broad flexibility in making decisions for students, teachers and schools. He could have a huge influence on how much sway over states his successors will have.
King will be racing against the clock, said former Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “These 13 months are going to fly by,” he said. “The enemy now is time” — though King has the laser-like focus to get it all done, Duncan said.
King, whose educator parents died young, has by all accounts been preparing for the top job in the American education system his entire life.
“The notion of being able to help students feels right and feels morally urgent,” he said in a recent interview with POLITICO. “It feels like an opportunity to pay forward the opportunities I had.”
‘Lots of folks could’ve given up on me’
King, who turns 41 next week, often talks about his difficult upbringing — his mother died when he was 8 and his father died four years later. King’s father had undiagnosed Alzheimer’s before his death, making the last few years King lived with him tumultuous.
But teachers created opportunity, King said. They saved his life.
“Lots of folks could’ve given up on me,” he said. “They could’ve said, ‘Here’s an African-American, Latino male student. ... at a New York City public school with a family in crisis. What chances does he have?’ But they didn’t do that. They
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/king-schooled-by-loss-saved-by-teachers-217495#ixzz3wg6L0VCz