There's A Consensus - That John King And Common Core Must Go

NYSED Commissioner John King said there is a consensus across that Common Core reform is the right thing to do.

Syracuse -- In a visit to Syracuse today, New York Education Commissioner John King said he sees more consensus Mthan division around the state's implementation of the Common Core standards, teacher evaluations and other issues.

"I don't see it as a particularly divisive moment," he told The Post-Standard at the opening of WCNY's new headquarters on West Fayette Street. "I actually think what is most striking is the degree of consensus we see as a country around where we need to take education."

Sean Crowley at B-Lo-Ed Scene notes King's new strategy to take on Common Core critics:

Instead of acknowledging the asskicking he's deservedly endured at every stop of this asinine tour, King tries to wave his rhetorical wand over the whole mess saying Oh, look what I found behind your ear -- a nationwide consensus. Now in four years of high school with the Brown Franciscan Friars I learned rhetoric and logic and more rhetoric.  If you haven't been schooled as I have you might miss the stubtle rhetorical nuance King is employing here. When he tries to distract us from the Sisyphean greasefire he's  battling here in N.Y.  with some dopey generalization that the rest of the country is agog over the Common Core he is using the ancient Hibernian rhetorical ploy more commonly known as "bullshitting."

King can try and marginalize critics and opponents to the SED reformers here in NY by making like everybody else in the country is on board so all is well.

In fact, he may even believe that garbage himself since he tends to surround himself with yes men and other deformers who share the same corporate ed deform vision he does for the public education system.

But as I wrote earlier, these attempts to marginalize the opposition will come to nothing as the movement continues to grow and is made up of not just teachers and principals opposed to the reform agenda but parents and children too.

The arrogance of the people who put the SED reform agenda together does not allow them to see the fundamental mistake they made with the imposition.

They thought they could get buy in by making the test scores plunge to 30% proficiency around the state and scaring parents into getting on board with the Common Core/teacher evaluation/charter school express.

Instead, the test debacle has begun to galvanize parents against their agenda.

And so, now they are left to try and marginalize the opposition and play off like all is well with the Common Core imposition.

In the end, it will not work because the people opposed to this agenda far outnumber the people supporting it.

Yes, some of those people supporting it are billionaires with lots of money to give political candidates to support their positions.

But that only goes so far when large numbers of voters start telling their representatives about their opposition to the SED reform agenda.