New York State Commissioner of Education John King is stepping down to take a position with the U.S. Department of Education.
King encountered strong opposition from parents and educators for his strong advocacy of Common Core, high-stakes testing, and test-based evaluations of teachers and principals.
King’s own children attend a private Montessori school which does not believe in standardized testing.
Although news reports say he will take the #2 job at the U.S. Department of Education, that position is already filled by Ted Mitchell, Undersecretary of Education, who was recently confirmed.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Good riddance.
King’s children’s school may not believe in standardized testing, but it administers them anyway.
Q: Do you give standardized tests?
A: Along with most other independent schools, Woodland Hill recognizes that standardized tests do not adequately measure the full range of a student’s academic abilities. We use detailed evaluations along with narratives to measure a child’s progress throughout the year and from year to year; the progress reports are sent home twice a year. However, we see test taking as a practical life skill and therefore do opt into some standardized testing.
https://www.woodlandhill.org/the-montessori-experience/frequently-asked-questions/
I doubt very much that King’s successor is going to be kinder or gentler in any meaningful way. Strap yourselves in, New York public school parents, we are about to hit some turbulence.
Yes. The recent lovefest and coziness between Cuomo and Tisch does not bode well.
Blast from the recent past (October 2013)
—————————————–
There were several town halls
scheduled to sell Common Core to
the parents of New York state
schoolchildren. N.Y. State Education
Commissioner King was the presenter,
with the events organized and
presented by the N.Y. State PTA.
However, after yesterday’s first
such town 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”:
This meeting was a Rhee-like
farce where King spoke for 1 hour
and 40 minutes 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
confrontational 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:
Another blast from October 2013:
———–
I saw this video last night. I think what King did was disgusting. Not allowing equal time for the opposite views. Trying to weasel in his rebuttals during the patents’ time to speak. I am infuriated and cannot even begin to imagine how I would feel if I were a parent who had attended the meeting!!!
You may be interested how Ed. Commissioner John King behaved behind the scenes video after this town hall :))
This is a national disaster. Call FEMA. This blunderer is going into the number two spot at USDOE!
I know. I mean, I’m happy for New Yorkers but now the rest of us have to deal with him!
This is what John King really thinks of
parents who “opt out”, or even complain
about his “education reform.”
http://www.southbronxschool.com/2013/10/fine-dining-with-new-york-state.html
King draws an asinine analogy between
parents bitching about Common Core, or
excessive or inappropriate-for-grade-level
testing or whatever…
to…
the lack of restraint to a customer
would show at a restaurant when that
customer has a problem with
the wine or food served to him:
http://www.southbronxschool.com/2013/10/fine-dining-with-new-york-state.html
He puts himself in a higher order of class
than those belly-aching parents because
when a waiter brings him substandard
food or wine… well… in such a situation,
he doesn’t complain, or send it back. He
sits there and eats it whether he likes it
or not…
(*** actual quote… no joke***)
JOHN KING: “When I’m in a restaurant,
and the waiter opens the bottle of wine for
me to taste, I never say ‘No,’ send it back,
even if it’s horrible. The same with my
meal; if I don’t like it I’ll eat it anyway.”
AND DAMN IT!!! THAT’S WHAT THE
PARENTS AND STUDENTS IN NEW
YORK STATE SHOULD DO AS WELL!!!
Another “Throw the Handgrenade and Run” deformer!
He now becomes a problem for the entire nation. One of this man’s first actions as Commissioner in NY was to confer with test suppliers–and the data reporting contractors on the lead time they would need. He then went ahead and changed the scheduled date for statewide exams during a week when a good portion of the state was scheduled for their Spring break. It went down hill from there….seriously down hill. As a career educator it is demoralizing when the Regents select someone as Commissioner who has as their agenda undermining public education. That is what you get when you have a delusional Chancellor and a passive (senile) Board of Regents. The agenda must clearly be undermining and destroying public education–how else could King and Tisch be kept in their leadership roles so long when everyone in the state knows them to be clowns?
Who appoints the next Commissioner of Education? Is it The NYS Assembly? If so, all NYS teachers need to call their representatives-early- to let them know what type of Commissioner NYS needs and also to let the reps know that we are holding them accountable.
I believe the Regents appoint the Commisioner.
So no relief there. Another deformer with little to no educational experience is probably in the future for the NYSED.
But from what I understand the State Senate and the Assembly vote on whether to keep the regents. I know how my rep voted last time and I voted against him during the past election.
Find out how your rep voted- and let them know that they need to be accountable.
http://www.nysape.org/regents-vote-scorecard.html
So interesting that the already bloated D.o.Ed. (AND…I’d just love to know his salary!)
is taking on yet another one of its friends. Just like J-C Brizzard at the College Board. Does anyone know what actual WORK all these people do? (I have a picture in my mind of many men/women kicking back in their office chairs, surfing the Internet for bargains!)
Oh, wait–I forgot–their jobs are to make life miserable for our children, parents and teachers. And to figure out new ways to abolish public schools & make more $$$$
(from OUR U.S. TAXPAYER $$$$) for their charter-$chool owner/pals, Wall $treet &…let’s not forget Pear$on.
Brizzard actually got another job? After being evicted from his first job in Rochester and screwing up royally in Chicago? It seems that accountability at the top has been flipped, the worse you are, the bigger your failures, the better your next job will be. The Peter Principle has been neutralized by the influence of money and cronyism.
My Assembly person isn’t listed there. I do know he’s supportive of public schools.
All you homeowners in Alexandria or Arlington, he is heading to your neighrborhood, because Virginia does not abide by RTTT. Know him for the hypocrite he is. If he believed half of what he preached in NY, he would settle in MoCo. Or PG-not. We can only hope the omnibus passes and defunds RTTT.
You do realize that same omnibus chips away further at campaign finance laws and Wall Street regulation, simultaneously making the rich richer and able to give more to the politicians, who will do more of the same if not called RttT since they all agree charters are “good” and “public schools”.
Plus, King spoke at NTI, the NY CCSS indoctrination fest yesterday. Participants had no clue he was resigning, I hear. Gosh, which pro- CCSS, pro-Wall Street, pro-Tisch, pro-Cuomo toadie will replace him? Someone angered prince Andrew.
The very welcome departure of the autocratic and narcissistic John B. King, hopefully into deserved oblivion in Washington, gives us an opportunity to replace him with a true educational leader who will listen to teachers and parents, strengthen public education against the charter school incursion, and restore the joy of teaching and learning in New York State. Now is the time to begin to undo the destructiveness of the Common Core, an enterprise of restoration which will take many years but must begin now.
King’s educational reform plane, the one that he’s been “building while flying”, is now heading for D.C. Better alert the emergency crews at Reagan National Airport.
Of course, this is the sort of “accountability” that the 1% love. You screw something up big time, then get a promotion and more money anyway. Wow….what a country!
The Perdido Street blog hit it out of the park about an hour ago with the spoof headline, “Board of Regents Will Choose ‘Dr.’ Ted Morris Jr. to replace Dr. John King as NYSED Commissioner.” http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2014/12/board-of-regents-will-choose-dr-ted.html
Bravo, the guy who wrote that spoof on Perdido Street, Reality based educator.
The Lemon Dance of failed, incompetent reformers continues unabated. What other place in our economy would tolerate and indeed reward such botched “leadership”? The only reason King is going to DC is that he is one of the few remaining true believers willing to step up and testify on behalf of the snake oil sales force.
This speaks volumes about Obama.
Exactly, school gal. And I say that as a former Obama supporter. There’s some massive deal-making going on and it stands to reason that it involves both Obama and Cuomo, along with some of the privatizing moguls who back both of them.
Otherwise it makes no sense. King’s tenure in NY has been a public relations disaster, so the only thing he has going for him is nefarious behind-the-scenes puppet masters who somehow think he’s effective at doing their bidding DESPITE what the public needs and believes.
NO!!! I understand that test taking is needed, how else can you see immediate results? However, I agree there must be alternate routes to educate, the true test results come in after the children are done with school, if they finish.
“immediate results”? Surely this was meant as sarcasm….
King’s quote:
“I’m humbled and honored to have the chance to work with President Obama and Secretary Duncan,” Commissioner King said. “Their extraordinary leadership is helping students all across the nation get better prepared for college and careers. I’m excited to become part of that team. I’m also humbled and honored to have had the opportunity to work with Chancellor Tisch, all the members of the Board of Regents and the dedicated professionals at the State Education Department. We have accomplished great things for New York’s students. As a kid whose life was saved by the incredible teachers I had in public schools in Brooklyn, I’m proud to have served my fellow New Yorkers.”
Tisch on King:
“John King has been a remarkable leader in a time of true reform,” Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said. “He spent every moment working to open the doors of opportunity for all our students – regardless of their race, or zip code, or their immigration status.
“John has transformed teaching and learning, raising the bar for students and helping them clear that bar. In classrooms all across the state, teachers and students are rising to the challenge of higher standards. The positive impact of John King’s work in New York will be felt for generations. We’ll miss his wisdom, his calm leadership and his remarkable courage. But New York’s loss is the country’s gain. He’ll be a powerful force for educational opportunity in Washington.”
Something about these quotes make me think of Jim Jones, the People’s Temple and Guyana.
And the so reliable and independent StudentsFirstNY:
“John King showed that if you raise standards in a smart way, students will rise to the challenge,” StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Jenny Sedlis said. “It’s no wonder he’s been tapped for a national post. New York’s loss is the nation’s gain. John King is one of the most respected educators in the country and will build on his new York successes.”
I take it you’re being facetious.
Yes. I typically find the articles disgusting.
Jenny Sedlis is still afraid of her old boss Eva Moskowitz. Rumor has it, she took the job to help out Eva and do Eva’s bidding from a different angle. But she’s turning out to be weaker and more useless than Michelle Rhee.
Nauseous propaganda.
Diane: King will replace Jim Shelton as ED Deputy Secretary. Max
Sent from my iPhone
>
Does this mean that King must be confirmed or just. Walk in ?
Does anyone with a public school background work in DC, or is that a career-killer in The Movement?
I look forward to another “public schools suck!” campaign from the Obama Administration. Nothing makes me happier than paying public employees to privatize public entities and systems.
Love it. “The Movement.”
thank you for making me laugh on a night when I feel like crawling under a rock at watching and feeling what is happening in our schools
Every word that King utters us hollow… because
he’s spending tens of thousands of dollars
of his Gates-originated money to make sure
his own kids are, figuratively speaking,
kept as far away from the Common Core
he’s pushing as his Gates’ money will
allow him.
Here’s an old post I directed at
Lawrence Steinberg at an old
thread here:
What if a U.S. Surgeon General
told the nation’s parents that a
great new vaccine has just been
invented, and it’s going to
revolutionize the health of
children and their ability
to fight off disease … blah-
blah-blah…. all the while
the Surgeon General is
being handsomely
compensated for pushing
this vaccine.
And then someone asks,
“Mr. Surgeon General… why
don’t you give that new vaccine
to YOUR OWN children? If the
vaccine is so great, why do
you spend tons of your own
money so that your kids get
an entirely different, and—
by all measures—a superior
vaccine?”
“My children’s vaccination is
none of your business, and
not fair ground for discussion.”
And to add insult to injury,
the hypothetical Surgeon
General intones, “Your kids
are all going to be forced
to take this vaccine whether
you like or not.” With the
power of the state behind
him, he says that, figuratively
speaking, he and the state
will shove it down your kids’
throats, or strap them to
a chair and forcibly inject
into their biceps whether
or not their parents desire
such a vaccine.
“This is what we’re doing,
and there’s nothing you can
do to stop us… so just shut
up and accept it.”
You can see how parents
might be a little vexed by
such a prospect.
Of course, you know I’m
talking about New York State
Ed. Commissioner John King
and his forcing Common
Core on other people’s
children, while keeping his own
children… figuratively
speaking… as far away from
Common Core as his Gates-
originated salary can afford.
Seriously… if Common Core
is the greatest thing ever
for a kid’s education, why
does King spend tens of
thousands of dollars on
expensive private school
tuition to make sure his own
children are kept away from it?
Check out the crucial final 20 min.
of last October’s town hall in
Poughkeepsie, New York,
where NY State Ed.
Commissioner John King
faced the public over his
backing of Common Core.
Here is the colorfully titled
YouTube video —
“Commissioner King Gets Spanked”:
(NOTE: this has been watched 58,431 times!!!)
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 NY State PTA
moderator “could stand the
heat, so they got outta the kitchen.”
They were totally unprepared by
how well-informed and
confrontational 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 of his hypocrisy
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.
Seriously… if Common Core
is the greatest thing ever
for a kid’s education, why
does King spend tens of
thousands of dollars of
expensive private school
tuition to make sure his own
children are, figuratively
speaking, kept as far away from
it as as Gates-funded salary
can afford.
It’s like if a Surgeon General
told the nation’s parents that a
great new vaccine has just been
invented, and it’s going to
revolutionize the health of
children and their ability
to fight off disease … blah-
blah-blah…. all the while
the Surgeon General is
being handsomely
compensated for pushing
this vaccine.
And then someone asks,
“Mr. Surgeon General… why
don’t you give that new vaccine
to YOUR OWN children? If the
vaccine is so great, why do
you spend tons of your own
money so that your kids get
an entirely different, and—
by all measures—a superior
vaccine?”
“My children’s vaccination is
none of your business, and
not fair ground for discussion.”
Anyway, back to the town
hall video…
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:
John King is just another educational mercenary walking away from the wreckage with absolutely zero accountability. Trying (and failing) to build an airplane in a tailspin gets you promoted when you live and work in the rabbit hole.
So talking about Arne looking for “experts” to help him do his job, today, he had Shakira, an expert in early childhood education. Ya know, ya can’t make this stuff up!
See Ani McHugh’s blog:
http://teacherbiz.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/shakiraedchat-more-evidence-of-whats-wrong-with-the-usdoe/
Jack: your comments above reminded me how soon we forget…
From this blog, “Common Core for Commoners, Not My School!”—
[start posting]
This is an unintentionally hilarious story about Common Core in Tennessee. Dr. Candace McQueen has been dean of Lipscomb College’s school of education and also the state’s’s chief cheerleader for Common Core. However, she was named headmistress of private Lipscomb Academy, and guess what? She will not have the school adopt the Common Core! Go figure.
[end posting]
Link: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/03/23/common-core-for-commoners-not-my-school/
Funny, huh? And I don’t mean “funny ha-ha”…
😎
Obama should be ashamed of himself promoting King to a federal post.
UNBELIEVEABLE
Let this be VERY clear for those of us working teachers in New York State: THIS IS FAR FROM A GOOD THING.
While its easy to sit back and say “wow, glad that guy is gone!” (And lets be clear, King was and remains the ultimate symbol of how awful, lame, soul-less, opportunistic, and shallow the ed reform movement is), let us understand that now there is a huge opportunity for Cuomo, Tisch, etc to put in a real hardcore reformer, and this time he or she may be competent! That is very very bad news for us, especially after Cuomo told us he wants to up the ante of the APPR. (So glad NYSUT got all over that for us! Kidding.) Now the A team may be put in. Joy.
Agreed my NYS colleague. APPR is laughable. I agree wholeheartedly with accountability, yet this measure is far from equitable. College and career ready….. Yeah right. More like ” hurry up and teach a 45 minute lessons in 40….. of close reading that is, don’t fall behind because you WILL be college and career ready”. “Learn 5ways to multiply and divide because it will help you when you get older…. Even if you don’t understand any of them we have to move on so you can become college and career ready… More modules to get though”. Unbelievable, disgusting and disheartening for our kids that need more processing time. Good bye good luck King, I’ll take my chances. Upstate NYS teacher
King of kingpin is running away from accountability raid by stashing away money in his CC test drug suitcase and hiding into the DOE cave.
King’s new position is a message to reform drones: you will land softly if you stay the course. No matter the mess we stick you with, just stick with the program, and you will be taken care of. So, as shameful as his tenure and his departure from New York might be, John King takes his reward in a new position as un-deputy secretary of education to buddy appointee Duncan for the lame duck years. Take note, other drones.
You couldn’t be more right. And gets to avoid a confirmation hearing (which could have been very interesting).
What will happen to this DOE group in 2017?
I’m betting that lawyers are drawing up the incorporation papers for Arne and company’s new educational consultant non-profit at this very moment. Reminds me of the CIA’s contracting out of torture to a couple of psychologists to the tune of $81 million.