Ostensibly Vociferous
EduShyster: I better begin by revealing to the world that you and I attended the education reform equivalent of prom together: the EdReformies! We bonded over vocabulary. I told you that one of my all-time favorite words is *dissemble,* meaning *to conceal one’s true motives, feelings or beliefs.* Do you recall what your fave word was?
Derrell Bradford: My most-used word back then was *ostensible.* I had to use it all the time to master using it. Right now my undercover word is *vociferous.* Somebody asked me the other day: *How do you respond to people who say that you’re doing ‘this, this, this and this?’* And I was just like *vociferously.*
EduShyster: You’re the head of the New York education reform advocacy groupNYCAN. Governor Cuomo staked a tremendous amount of political capital on tying teacher evaluation to test scores, a system that he has now essentially thrown into the Long Island Sound. The New York Times reported that some of Cuomo’s wealthy donors, who include hedge funders, indicated that they wouldn’t criticize him publicly as he *unwound* his widely reviled teacher evaluation system. What gives?
Bradford: I’m not a hedge fund ally but I will answer that question in a way that may be coincident with what their feelings are. I’m a super strong supporter of school choice, primarily because it shaped my life, but also because I view it as another way to get a kid who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to get in front of an excellent teacher in front of one. So the chute of teacher evaluation policy is something I support because, despite what people may think, I value teaching. To me, teacher evaluation is at the absolute bottom of the food chain in terms of what makes impact and what’s actually doable. And above that are things like charter schools, tax credits, the annual reporting of data. I believe that really strongly. I think that in the effort to Ostensibly Vociferous | EduShyster:
