New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is often the subject of debate — but now he’s the subject of an essay question that forces students in the schools he controls to rate his career.
The question, part of new city-created exams being administered in public schools this fall, asks seventh-graders to read a recent speech made by Bloomberg and write about whether the mayor’s career has been defined by successes or failures.
When alerted to the question by the Daily News, some teachers and parents were outraged and criticized the wisdom of having students grade the accomplishments of the very figure who calls the shots in city schools.
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Teachers union president Michael Mulgrew, who has battled Bloomberg on education issues, said the question reminded him “of some story coming out of North Korea and Kim Jong Il.
“I doubt the mayor knew about it, but it’s just ridiculous.”
The new exams are part of a state push to better evaluate teacher performance — a goal that Bloomberg has championed.
The Bloomberg question asked seventh-graders to read a copy of a commencement speech the mayor gave at Stanford University earlier this year in which he talked about getting canned from a Wall Street job and how the low career moment gave him an opportunity to start the technology company that made him a billionaire.
I doubt Bloomberg knew about this either.
But it does point to the authoritarian instincts of the people who work at the NYCDOE that they decided to make their hero, the Mayor of Money, the subject of a performance assessment question.
I don't say this too often, but here I will:
Mike Mulgrew is right - this is very much like North Korea and Kim Jong Il.
All hail our Dear Leader, the Great Bloomberg!
Don't the press and the testing companies realize that the Little Monster is on the way out, and that they need to find someone else's butt to kiss?
ReplyDeleteHe will be far more dangerous once he leaves. The presstitutes are looking for jobs from him. Deblasio has an uphill battle repairing the little tyrant wrought as dictator.
ReplyDeleteHe'll definitely still be dangerous, but he'll have to use his money with stealth, because he'll be increasingly discredited at time goes on.
DeleteSince the press is either at your feet or at your throat, some enterprising journalists will finally start exposing the billions in losses - CityTime, the new 911 system, no-bid contracts, etc. - suffered by the city because of his crony capitalism.
I hope you're right, Michael. I think because he owns a media conglomerate and will be in the market for more media outlets, many in the press will remain at his feet rather than go for his throat. As the anonymous commenter said, they are presstitutes...
DeleteJust make sure Bloomberg does not destroy all of the emails that are evidence of hizzoners' criminal mismanagement of the schools.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling they are going to destroy as much evidence as they can no matter who FOILs what. And alas, I doubt anybody will be held accountable for it either.
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