John King is trying to repair the Obama administration’s frayed relationship with teachers
In one of his first major speeches as acting U.S. secretary of education, John King apologized to teachers for the role that the federal government has played in creating a climate in which teachers feel “attacked and unfairly blamed.”
To many teachers, King’s remarks at a Philadelphia high school late last month was an astonishing and welcome acknowledgment that the Obama administration, in pushing states to link teacher evaluations to student test scores, had helped create systems that seemed as if they were designed to punish teachers instead of help them get better.
For King, it was the beginning of what he describes as an important chance -- thanks to the new federal education law that President Obama signed in December — to reset the tone of conversation about teachers, teacher evaluation and the future of public schools in America.
“I think there’s just such an urgency around making sure that teachers feel valued in our society. It’s one of the things I worry a lot about,” King said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I want young people to see a future for themselves as teachers.”
Lily Eskelsen García, president of the National Education Association, said she appreciates the overtures from King, a former classroom teacher himself and Obama’s nominee for the permanent job of education secretary. The