Perdido 03

Perdido 03

Friday, October 11, 2013

NYSED Commissioner John King Whines

Via B-Lo Ed Scene, we present to you a video snippet of rookie teacher/NYSED Commissioner John King trying to quell a hostile crowd attacking him for the corporate education reform agenda he's promoting and not doing a very good job of it:



As B-Lo Ed Scene demonstrates, King is full of crap when he says his kid is getting the same Common Core treatment all the children in public schools are getting:

At Montessori Unlimited, we believe education should be about more than memorization, repetition and standardized tests. We offer a completely different approach, featuring a unique, open environment that emphasizes your child’s natural interests and allows your child to set his or her own developmental pace. That’s the Montessori philosophy. That’s the philosophy we follow at Montessori Unlimited. 

That's the opposite of the kind of education King is giving to other people's children.

King whines that where his kids go to school doesn't matter, but he is wrong about that.

He is running the NY State Education Department, he is shepherding through some of the most radical changes to education seen in a long, long time, he is looking to give the "death penalty" to whole school districts via state takeover, he is tying teacher evaluations to test scores (and forcing schools to give tests in every grade in every subject all the year through so that the state can get the data for the evaluations), and he has raised the difficulty level of the state tests without providing the support teachers need to help their students pass the tests.

All of these actions have harmed children in public schools.

You can bet none of this stuff is happening at his kid's private school.

If King is so sold on his reform agenda, then he should send his own kids to the public schools where they can be Common Cored along with everybody else.

Say what you will about Eva Moskowitz, she does send one of her own kids to her Success Prison Academy.

John King makes sure his kids are safe from the deform agenda.

But at least he's making public appearances to defend his reforms now.

Because he sent a lackey to the Long Island meeting.

Come on down to NYC, Commissioner King, and defend your reforms before parents and teachers here.

We'd love to have you.

18 comments:

  1. It's not appropriate to talk about the children of public officials. Except when I do it.

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  2. Can you imagine that guy trying to teach a class? I can't.

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    1. Got some more stuff from the Poughkeepsie paper coming on this in a future post. But they must be feeling the need to really defend this, sending King himself out, to a PTA-sponsored event like this one. Looks like he didn't win anybody over. I bet he lost some. Keep spinning, Commissioner King. Keep spinning.

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    2. I was going to use the Danieslon rubric on him, but I decided to go with the straight post. We'll do a low-inference one later.

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  3. After getting attacked last night, King just cancelled his PTA Town Hall in Garden Cit,y Long Island this coming Tuesday night! Coward!

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    1. Coward is right. He got beat up in Poughkeepsie, now he's going to go back into hiding. I was giving him credit for coming out of hiding to defend his agenda in person. But one night upstate was all we got, apparently...

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  4. My son is at Success Academy, it's actually a great school. The hours are long but they try to make sure that time is not wasted. It's more like the Navy than prison--they run a tight ship. Based on what I have seen so far I think their high test scores are real. They put a lot of thought into how public school should function and have come up with a better formula. Regardless of how you feel about Eva's politics (I guess you paid her a kind of a backhanded compliment), I think she's created an excellent school. You're right that the NYSED and Dept of Education are full of hypocrites, forcing things on everyone else's children.

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    1. I have a colleague who sends her child to Success. She described all the infractions children get for various things - too long in the bathroom, looking up to the ceiling, etc. Seemed like a prison to all of us listening to her. Bit like Cool Hand Luke.

      I did give Eva a compliment though. And I meant it. She sends one of her kids to Success. That says something. King would never send his kids to one of the public schools.

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  5. Ravitch wrote all about Success Academy here from one of the teachers who works there... http://dianeravitch.net/2013/10/04/mole-in-success-academy-speaks/

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    1. Success Academy seems to be doing a lot of things right. From what I can see so far, their youtube videos and Eva's book "Mission Possible" give a pretty good picture of what goes on in the school and what they do with the curriculum. I looked hard at a bunch of different options, public and private, trying to find a place for my son. They're highly structured, but not in a bad way, and the place is definitely not a prison. It is hard for me to imagine that any kid who actually does all the things they do would not score very high on tests, and not from "mindless test prep", but because they actually spend their time mastering the subjects.

      They have very obviously looked at a bunch of different curriculum and organization designs and tried to pick out and implement what works best.

      English, Math, and Science are extremely strong (supposedly they poached the designer of the science program from Dalton), and then they have a longer day and they don't let the kids disrupt the class. Most of the teachers are very young and gung-ho. They have it set up so there is no way to slack off, for whatever that's worth. Like John King, Wellsley grad Diane Ratvich sent her kids to private school and teaches at NYU, which costs god-knows-how-much, probably one of the most expensive schools in the world. Go figure.

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    2. The reason kids don't "slack off" at charters is because when they do they get kicked out. Real public schools don't have the luxury of teaching only the kids who they want to.

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    3. With the list of infractions that kids get for stuff like "looking upward" or "taking too long in the bathroom," I can see why they don't "slack off."

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    4. I'm sure you can sneak a glance at the ceiling when the teacher's not looking, but probably no way to hide in the bathroom, for sure. =/

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  6. Chrome Box, nice attempt to conflate King's sad performance with Success Academy. Why can't you use your own name? The tide is turning, Chrome. Hope Eva makes all the money she can before all of the privatizing that has been protected by King is exposed for the money-making racket that it is.
    The little King was supposed to come to a Buffalo suburb next week. Local teachers are getting ready for him, which I assue means he'll be a no show. Pathetic.

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    1. Rumor has it he canceled on Long Island parents too. Still waiting for confirmation on that.

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    2. I'm on a $189 google chrome netbook and it made me register with google, so I guess that's how the posts show up. Anyway, my point was just that the school is actually pretty good regardless of what you think of Eva or how much money she makes. What Reality's colleague is saying about SA being strict is the truth. And King is a hypocrite. I wish the DOE would get their act together and make all the schools better.

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    3. RBE... Here is your confirmation... via the NYS PTA Facebook Page:

      Dear PTA Members and Friends,

      The NY State Education Commissioner’s office has requested suspending the remaining Town Hall meetings on the Common Core scheduled for:

      Tuesday, October 15-Garden City HS, 170 Rockaway Ave, Garden City

      Wednesday, October 16- Shenendehowa HS West, 970 Rt 146 Clifton Park

      Thursday, October 24- Williamsville North HS, 1595 Hopkins Rd Williamsville

      Wednesday, October 30-New Hartford SHS, 33 Oxford Rd,New Hartford

      While our goal was to provide an opportunity to learn and share, based on review of the initial October 10 meeting, the Commissioner concluded the outcome was not constructive for those taking the time to attend. Please know that NYS PTA will continue to work with all education and child advocacy partners to keep our members updated and informed on education, health, safety and welfare issues affecting children and families.

      We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and express our sincere appreciation to those who have given their time to assist with organizing this initiative.

      New York State PTA

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    4. Thanks, Brian. I'll post about that in a bit.

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