How I'll Remember NYSED Commissioner John King Best

The Poughkeepsie debacle, October 10, 2013, of course:


King came like Moses down from the mount to tell the people why the Common Core and Common Core testing and all the other reforms he and his merry men and women in reform were devising up in Albany were beneficial for their children.

King spoke for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Parents and teachers who wanted to make their points to the commissioner were given only 23 minutes.

When parents and teachers challenged King, he tried to monopolize that 23 minutes by pontificating to the people and running out the clock on the event.

That didn't sit well with the audience and as the challenges and insults rained down on King, he petulantly told the audience:

"We are not going to go on until I speak..."

King went on to cancel future Common Core town hall meetings with parents and teachers until Regents Chancellor Tisch made him reverse that decision and babysat him through those meetings around the state.

NYSED Commissioner King's finest hour, that Poughkeepsie performance.

It symbolized his Reign of Error at NYSED and the petulance and brittleness which makes up so many education reformers at the same time.

King and his merry reformsters have all the answers, and they're going to tell you those answers whether you like it or not.

They don't want to hear what you have to say because you, as a parent and/or teacher, do not know what you're talking about.

Only John King and his merry reformsters do.

And if you don't sit patiently and quietly and acquiesce to listening to King lecture you, he's going to take his microphone and go home.

Classic King moment, emblemizes King, NYSED, the Board of Regents and the education reform movement all at once.