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….and what’s going to happen if New York imposes all this garbage and the state still does not get the bribe oops Race to the Top money? What will the clowns like Klein and the rest of these educational reformers, few of whom like Klein know the first thing about education, say then? That the unions did not go far enough……and of course if the state should get the money, they’ll do what politicians always do, use this money for its intended purpose or at least seem to do so but then shift other money. To allow people like Mr. Duncan, who was a total failure in Chicago, to continue to dictate the nation’s educational policy is a sad commentary on where we’ve come.

But then again, the UFT is no better. For them to give up teacher tenure and throw the teachers under the bus, and make no mistake about it folks, this new teacher evaluation program does not have any of the protections that tenure has. Klein wants to impose a reign of terror in New York City and each Principal will get a quota of ineffective teachers they have to nail….at least under the current system, it was difficult but not impossible, to nail a tenured teacher. Again nobody wants unqualified teachers in the classroom but a skillful Principal, few of whom now exist, thanks to Klein’s Leadership Academy and passing over hundreds of career teachers who played the game by the rules to aspire to positions first as Assistant Principals and then as Principals, would know how to prove a case of clear incompetence. But the UFT in allowing a much simpler procedure, has clearly thrown the interests of the teachers to hell, unless and it is a big unless, there was some sort of secret deal. But we’re still waiting to hear it.

The reprehensible tactics of the “reformers” continue.

For better or worse, the new teacher evaluation system passed by the Assembly would probably add MORE points to New York’s RtT application than raising the Charter School cap would. Further, there is NO significant political opposition to raising the cap. Rather (again, for better or worse), the debate centers on the TERMS of the increase.

Moreover, whatever the Charter Schools may want, the Mayor clearly controls the critical votes in the State Senate (which he has literally bought and paid for via campaign contributions). As such, it is becoming more and more obvious that the true agenda of the “reformers” is the aggrandizement of their power – even to the outright detriment of the public school children of our State.