Arthur Goldstein, who teaches at Frances Lewis High School in Queens, New York, observed the video in which John King was completely unable to maintain order when faced with an audience of angry parents. He condescended to them, which seems to be his default mode, and they responded angrily. He could not control the class. He probably wanted to expel them, but he couldn’t. They were not “bad students,” they were outraged parents and taxpayers. He forgot that he works for them. They are his boss, not his subjects.
Goldstein wrote the following about John King’s debacle.
John King? Or King John?
The spectacle of NY State Education Commissioner John King losing his composure while speaking to Poughkeepsie parents last week was remarkable. I’m just a lowly teacher, but even I know that’s not how you face an audience you’re trying to persuade. I tell young teachers that every time you lose your temper, you make the kids trying to distract you happy. Not only that, but you also embolden and multiply your opposition.
I don’t mean to condemn critical parents or students here. I’m simply saying that educators ought to be able to accept differences of opinion without getting emotional. There are many viewpoints I do not share with my students, but that doesn’t mean they can’t express them in my classroom. How can I engage kids if I don’t tolerate their expressing themselves?
Honestly, how can King, who deems the public schools he administers unsuitable for his kids, tell us with a straight face that they’re good enough for ours? And how dare he suggest we have no right even to ask this question?
Young teachers in my school have concerns similar to those of upstate parents. One tells me his daughter, who used to love to read, is now spending hours doing homework for which she is not developmentally prepared. He says she now cries as a result of being overburdened.
A young mom with whom I work tells me her second grader is overwhelmed by demands he do algebra. She visited his school, claimed he left something in his desk, and surreptitiously used her iPad to photograph every page of his English and math books. She says that’s the only way she can effectively help him with his homework.
These are fundamental issues that are not effectively answered by pontifications on the wonders of Common Core. In fact, I’m amazed at the format utilized in Poughkeepsie. As a teacher, one of my prime directives is to engage my audience. Were I to attempt a two-hour lecture, with a twenty-minute comment period after, my teenage audience would likely engage in open revolt. This would be particularly true if I’d chosen a topic with which they disagreed strenuously, and would be exacerbated if my presentation failed to influence them or address their concerns.
King, ostensibly our state’s foremost educational authority, showed communication and management skills that would be unacceptable in a second-year teacher. He would not have fared well under the Danielson framework city teachers now face. There can be serious consequences for teachers who fail to engage their audiences, but I’ve seen none for King.
Even worse, after this exchange, Chancellor King saw fit to cancel the rest of his appearances. I’ve seen teachers, overwhelmed by the pressures of facing 34 teenagers at a time, get up and walk away. However, I’ve never seen them cancel all future classes and get to keep their jobs.
Last I looked, we’re still a democracy, and We, the People are the ultimate voice. John King is supposed to represent us, not dictate to us. If King cannot abide by what we and our children want and need, let alone allow us to question him, he ought not to keep his job either.
He needs a mental test, then a shrink. Imagine how toxic his home is. OY.
EXACTLY Who cancelled the
remaining meetings?
King or the PTA leaders? Gates?
If it’s a PTA event, can’t they carry
on without King participating?
Everything’s booked and paid for,
and people have set aside time
to attend.
Since the PTA took a boatload
of Gates money, does the
cancellation of the town halls mean
the PTA is not an independent voice
and representative of the parents, and
instead just puppets of Gates? Or
King? Or whomever?
King’s latest statement is that the
truth is the opposite of this. No,
his latest claim is that those
loudmouth parents who spoke out
at the town hall (in the video) were
phony agents of “special interests”
out to disrupt the event, and deny
“the real parents” an opportunity to
learn and dialogue about Common
Core and school reform. (Is King’s
thought process here the kind of
critical thinking he wants taught in
Common Core?)
A MESSAGE TO ANY OF THOSE
WHO SPOKE ON CAMERA:
Were any of you actual parents?
OR
Were you just pretending to be
parents so you could then disrupt
the town hall event on orders from
your “special interest” masters?
OR
Were you perhaps actual parents
as well as “special interest”
provocateurs out to sabotage
the event, and thus deny
the non-special interest parents
the benefits of the town hall?
Inquiring minds want to know.
And to Commissioner King…
exactly WHO are these nefarious
“special interest” puppeteers who
masterminded the destruction
of the Common Core town hall
event?
Whoever they are, they need
to be rooted out at once, and
exposed for these destructive
forces—the enemies of true
school reform—that they are!
Tell the world!
Let’s study the video once again,
so we can start the process
of identifying and exposing them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Eiz406VAs
A little humor to lighten things…
What occurred backstage with John
King and his advisors after King fled
the stage:
“Sir, you just used a double negative.”
“Silence, how dare you correct my grammar.”
“But you’re the commissioner of education”
Good stuff.
A video of a meeting on 10/8 and the first thing the superintendent does is say that the meeting is about “the common core curriculum”
It’s like, you the superintendent of education, the common core isn’t a curriculum.
If the superintendent can’t make that distinction, how would they expect a third grader to pass the questions with those exact type of critical thinking distinctions?
My conclusion, the people in charge have created such a tower of Babel that they are completely clueless.
There were several town halls
scheduled to sell Common Core to
the parents of New York state
schoolchildren. N.Y. State Education
Commissioner was the presenter,
with the events organized and
presented by the N.Y. State PTA.
However, after yesterday’s first
suchtown hall, N.Y. State
Education Commissioner King
strong-armed the N.Y, State PTA
into cancelling the remaining town
halls with the following statement:
https://www.facebook.com/nyspta
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“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 andinformed 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.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Well, you can “review” for yourself
the crucial final 20 minutes of
yesterday’s town hall here—
the colorfully titled YouTube video
“Commissioner King Gets Spanked”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Eiz406VAs
This meeting was a Rhee-like
farce where King spoke for 2
hours straight, and was scheduled
to to be followed by 1 hour of
public comments and questions.
Note that… ***was scheduled to
be followed…***
The best laid plans…
Indeed, 20 minutes in, neither
King nor the NYS PTA
moderator “could stand the
heat, so they got outta the kitchen.”
They were totally unprepared by
how well-informed and
onfrontational these parents were.
At about the 10 minute mark, one
parent brought up the fact that King
sends his own kids to a Montessori
School which has a curriculum that
is the antithesis of Common Core
as a Montessori school is…
(to quote its wikipedia entry)
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
“… characterized by an emphasis on
independence, freedom within limits,
and respect for a child’s natural
psychological, physical, and social
development….
“… and has these elements
as essential:[1][2]
” — Mixed age classrooms, with
classrooms for children aged
2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the
most common
“— Student choice of activity
from within a prescribed range of
options
“— Uninterrupted blocks of work
time, ideally three hours
“— A Constructivist or ‘discovery’
model, where students learn
concepts from working with
materials, rather than by direct
instruction.
“Specialized educational materials
developed by Montessori and her
collaborators
“— Freedom of movement within
the classroom
” — A trained Montessori teacher
“In addition, many Montessori
schools design their programs
with reference to Montessori’s
model of human development
from her published works, and
use pedagogy, lessons, and
materials introduced in teacher
training derived from courses
presented by Montessori
during her lifetime… ”
– – – – – – – – – – – –
This disclosure and implied attack
on King pretty much ended things.
King made the dubious claim that
his Montessori school scrupulously
follows “Common Core”
“This totally enraged the audience
of parents as it was and is a
ludicrous and demonstrably false
claim that was rightly met with
skepticism and loud booing,
enraging the crowd… if for
no other reason that folks
don’t like to be lied to or have
their intelligences insulted.
The flustered moderator then
quickly wrapped it up, “We’re going
to allow two more people to speak.”
At which point people began
screaming even louder:
“WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘ONE
HOUR’ ?!!!”
This is absolutely riveting video.
Again, you can see that crucial
final 20 minutes at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Eiz406VAs
Is there anyone out there who is
a current/former teacher or parent
at the Montessori school where
King sends his kids who can
shed light on the accuracy of King’s
claim that his kids’ Montessori
school strictly adheres to
Common Core?
King makes this dubious claim at
about 17:00 on the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Eiz406VAs
was hoping that someone had
actual information about the Montessori
school where King sends his kids.
So far, I’ve yet to find out exactly
what occurs during a typical
school day at that specific Montessori
school—schedule, curriculum,
activities, subjects taught, etc.
(without naming the school, of
course, less King try again to hide
behind his kids… “My kids are
out-of-bounds! How dare you
attack my kids!” No, no one is
attacking your children, John;
millions of NY state parents
are rightfully questioning your
choice to keep them as far
away from the questionable
curriculum and testing that
you’re demanding millions of
other NY state children must
endure.)
Thankfully, both Montessori’s
official site and its Wikipedia
page details what happens at
almost all Montessori
schools—i.e. the ones that are
functioning in a way consistent
with the Montessori educational
philosophy and methods. If
the Montessori to which King
sends his children does not
operate this way, they are an
exception, and not a true
Montessori school—sort of like
a restaurant purporting be a
McDonald’s and uses the name
McDonald’s, but instead that
sells hot dogs instead of
hamburgers.
However, I was able to discover
a blog post from Carol Burris
who DOES have information about
the Montessori school to which
King sends his kids. It’s at the
top of the COMMENTS section:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/06/when_the_ny_state_education_dept_complained_about_this_blog.html
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
CAROL BURRIS (regarding the
Montessori school where King
sends his kids):
“A friend whose employee attends
the Montessori School (and
therefore knows that the children
attend it) informed me that the
school does not give all of the
tests at all of the grade levels.
“Teachers are not evaluated by
the scores, nor is the school
evaluated by the scores.
“That has been confirmed.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
In the video, King described
his children’s Montessori school
being part of NY state’s
“community of schools”.
Apparently, not all of NYS’s
educational institutions
are in sync with the policies that
King demands that the public
schools follow—i.e. the
non-public school where he
sends his own children.
The article that this COMMENT
is responding to is pretty
incendiary as well. It’s from
the “FINDING COMMON
GROUND” blog, written by
elementary school principal
Peter DeWitt.
According to the webpage,
DeWitt “writes about students’
social and emotional health,
and how educators can help
young people find common
ground. He was selected as
the 2013 New York State
Outstanding Educator of the
Year by the School
Administrators Association
of New York State.”
The story is about how
officials from the N.Y. State
Education Dept. harassed
him at his school office in
response to comments he
wrote about… you guessed it…
the subject of King’s sending
his children to a Montessori
school.
The attempts to intimidate,
censor, and implicitly threaten
DeWitt are as creepy as
anything to do with the recent
Town Hall fiasco.
For example, Tom Dunn,
King’s Director of Communications,
volunteered to DeWitt…
“It’s not like I’m going to call your
superintendent … ”
… to complain about DeWitt,
should DeWitt refuse to cooperate
and do what he says—i.e. edit out
the stuff about King’s kids
attending a Montessori school.
That remark has a very mafioso-ish
type ring to it—along the lines of…
“It’s not like we’re going to go
and harm your wife and kids if
you don’t play ball with us. We
wouldn’t want anything to happen
to them, now. Would we?”
C’mon. If you’re not going to
do something, and you’re not
actually threatening to do so,
then why even bring it up?
These are the final paragraphs
of DeWitt’s article in their entirety:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
PETER DEWITT:
“(Ed. Commissioner King’s)
communications director should
spend less time trying to coerce
and intimidate educational
bloggers who are trying to get
out the truth, and spend more
time listening to the voices of
teachers, parents, students and
principals.
“Collectively, there were thousands
of them who converged on Albany,
NY yesterday for the June 8th Rally.
I hope some leaders from State
Ed were in the crowd because
one thing is for sure…our voices
won’t be stifled. ”
“My concern over the phone call
is ‘what’s next?’ One phone call
for an error. A second one
because I used strong language
or criticized the commissioner?
“What will be the next thing I
write that State Ed does not like?
If there is something untrue about
my blog, post a comment at the
end or send an e-mail like everyone
else.
“My secretary is too busy to take
calls about my blog, nor should
she have to. I don’t post blogs at
school, and my students and staff
are my first priority. We are trying
to meet the deadline of getting
through our End of the Year SLO’s.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Dunn’s phone
call seemed less about correcting
an error (which may or may not be
true) and more about flexing his
NY State Education muscles. We
have about as much time for State
Ed phone calls as they do for
ours.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Again, you can read the whole
thing at:
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/06/when_the_ny_state_education_dept_complained_about_this_blog.html
On another humorous note, I just found
this over at STUDENTS LAST:
————————————————
THE KING’S DICTIONARY:
New York – The reigning Commissioner of Education for the State of New York, John King, has released the following dictionary of terms that he would like distributed at any other town hall meetings he deigns to attend.
accountability — fireability, what the King is above
child — learning unit available for sale to corporations (notable exceptions include: King’s child(ren))
critical voices — that to which the King is deaf
democracy — a form of government in which people choose their leaders and their leaders choose not to listen to them because it is time-consuming and inconvenient
dissent — that to which the King is impervious
education — marketplace
educators — pawns
experience — overblown requirement for teaching
evidence — that which does not exist to support the use of Common Core Standards
knowledge — facts, information and skills not necessarily required before implementing state-wide learning standards
money — short cut around democratic process
parent — easily manipulated adult unit in charge of child (see above)
Ravitch — she who must not be named
respect — what silent acquiescence shows
rigor — developmentally inappropriate
schooled — what the King got on October 10, 2013 in Poughkeepsie, NY
special interests — those who disagree with the King’s policies
Town Hall meeting — gathering at which the King speaks and you listen
——————————————–
This is at:
http://studentslast.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-kings-dictionary.html
Here’s a great article about how
whether or not parents and teachers
can or should be civil in this recent
conflict:
at:
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-do-you-let-john-king-and-sed.html
Here’s an excerpt:
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“It would be nice to have a civil discourse about what is wrong with education with the education reformers in power and the education reformers funding those in power, but alas, that is not to be.
“To have a civil discourse on an issue, you need two sides willing to engage in that discourse.
“The education reformers have shown again and again that they are not willing to engage in civil discourse over their agenda.
“They will attack you if you don’t agree with them, they will ignore you if you write them letters or leave messages telling them what you think are problems with their agenda, they will continue to impose their will on the public school system, public school students and public school teachers no matter what you or I think or say about it.
“And so, in the end, the only way to bring about change, the only way to put an end to the education reform agenda, is to marshal the anger of parents and teachers into positive action for change.
“And if John King or any other education reform public figure gets called a ‘hypocrite’ or gets his feelings hurt in the process, well, that is just too damned bad.
“That is what happens when a coterie of reformers gets together to impose their agenda on the country with little to no say from the public.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Again, it’s at:
http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-do-you-let-john-king-and-sed.html
So Shakespearean!
The PTA forum’s the thing/ Wherein we’ll catch the conscience of John King!
http://teacherbiz.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/the-pta-forums-the-thing-wherein-well-catch-the-conscience-of-john-king/
King deleted his conscience a while ago, and is merely a vehicle for satisfying the appetites of his masters.
The NY Board of Regents meets Oct. 21 and 22.
Letter from Senator Jack Martins
Dear Friends,
Make no bones about it. I have been consumed with nonstop questions and concerns regarding the state education department’s rollout of the Common Core curriculum. I’m approached by constituents with questions at almost every event I attend in our district. But more than answer questions, I’ve been trying to listen because it’s abundantly clear to me that people are truly upset. There’s something wrong and they want something to be done.
To resolve this issue is going to take time and a whole lot of patience. That’s why I was so flabbergasted this past week when State Education Commissioner Dr. John King Jr. announced he was suspending his scheduled town hall meetings to discuss the roll out of Common Core and answer questions. Apparently, the commissioner was challenged by concerned parents and teachers at a town hall meeting upstate. Blaming “special interests” (i.e. concerned parents) for what he felt was an unconstructive atmosphere, he chose to suspend subsequent meetings including the Long Island event that was to be held right here in Garden City. This was an incredibly poor decision on his part. Anyone involved in government must understand that just because you don’t like the score, doesn’t mean you can take your bat and your ball and go home. This is especially true as Dr. King not only chose the game, he set the rules by which our children will be gauged. It’s wrong.
Let’s be frank, our communities are paying some of the highest taxes in the nation to educate their children who are suddenly failing in droves under the Common Core. In fact, an August 7th Education Department report revealed that a whopping 60% of students in grades 3 through 8 on Long Island scored below proficiency, nearly double the amount from the year prior! The scores are wrong and some have speculated that they’ve been manipulated. Naturally, parents are panicking. And whether he likes it or not, as Education Commissioner, the buck stops with him. It’s his plan.
So the appropriate response would be to assure parents that their concerns are not falling on deaf ears and then to begin the clearly necessary work of addressing the problems with input from everyone. Ignoring parents when they voice concern for their children’s wellbeing compounds the problem and only confirms for them their sentiment that the Education Department is acting without regard for the very people it should be serving.
Yet it’s not too late to set things right. It can’t be.
As I’ve noted before, embracing the higher standards of Common Core is worthwhile but it should have been rolled out gradually, allowing students the opportunity of growing with the new curriculum instead of callously blindsiding so many without preparation. The damage to student confidence and personal progress may be irreparable, to say nothing of the disadvantage of inferior grades that do not accurately reflect ability. It has to be fixed. Hopefully our Board of Regents and Education Department have the humility to accept that and the wherewithal to see it through.
At the moment New York needs a caring pragmatist willing to address real concerns raised by caring parents and educators who see a system being manipulated from above to the detriment of their children. Unfortunately, we have John King. He should immediately reschedule these forums or he should immediately resign.
Sincerely,
JACK M. MARTINS
Is anyone sharing this with our governor? He made this mess.