Pantsuits and Candlelight Vigils

I would have thought Hillary Clinton would be kowtowing to the teachers' unions on this, but instead I was delighted to see her throw her support the other way in the debate last night (from Joe Williams' Dems for Ed Reform blog post, below, about this):

the MOST GENUINE (and refreshing) non-Kucinich moment of last night's Democratic Presidential debate came when Sen. Hillary Clinton was responding to Wolf Blitzer's question about merit pay.

If you watched it, you know what I'm talking about. Blitzer asked the former First Lady what to do about school-based bonuses (which Hillary supports and are all the rage with the kids these days) if there was a "crummy teacher" on a winning team.

It wasn't so much what Clinton said (though that was important too) but how she said it. She eeked out a slightly stifled laugh as she was answering. You know that kind of the laugh. The kind of laugh that says, "Well Wolf, only a complete boob doesn't understand how to solve this problem!!!"

What she actually said was:

Wolf, you need to weed out the teachers who are not doing a good job. I mean, that's the bottom line. (Applause.) They should not be teaching our children. 

Wow. Considering all the drama over NYC's decision this week to start weeding out crummy teachers, it is a wonder that more hasn't been made about Hillary's break with the union that already endorsed her.

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November 16, 2007

Pantsuits and Candlelight Vigils

I'll let Rick Kahlenberg weigh in on whether Al Shanker would be pleased by the candlelight vigil planned by the United Federation of Teachers for Monday night to protest the team of lawyers who will begin working with principals to do a better job of managing the workforce in the city's schools. (Though Rick told me a few months ago that Al would have the Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl this season - so you can take it to the bank!)

But it is noteworthy that the MOST GENUINE (and refreshing) non-Kucinich moment of last night's Democratic Presidential debate came when Sen. Hillary Clinton was responding to Wolf Blitzer's question about merit pay.

If you watched it, you know what I'm talking about. Blitzer asked the former First Lady what to do about school-based bonuses (which Hillary supports and are all the rage with the kids these days) if there was a "crummy teacher" on a winning team.

It wasn't so much what Clinton said (though that was important too) but how she said it. She eeked out a slightly stifled laugh as she was answering. You know that kind of the laugh. The kind of laugh that says, "Well Wolf, only a complete boob doesn't understand how to solve this problem!!!"

What she actually said was:

Wolf, you need to weed out the teachers who are not doing a good job. I mean, that's the bottom line. (Applause.) They should not be teaching our children. 

Wow. Considering all the drama over NYC's decision this week to start weeding out crummy teachers, it is a wonder that more hasn't been made about Hillary's break with the union that already endorsed her.

It sounds like Sen. Clinton is siding with Chancellor Joel Klein (and the rest of the world that understood her laugh when she answered Wolf Blitzer's question) on this one.

Many union leaders tell you that they don't want bad teachers either, but that due process must be followed. Now it turns out that is a load of bull too. The plan announced this week by the Department of Education brings in a team of lawyers to engage in due process up the wazoo. They will eat due process for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.They will wake up in cold sweats at night from dreaming about due process. They will scream "due process!!!" in the throes of passion. Because that is what the union has demanded through collective bargaining.

And they still aren't happy. In fact they their candlelight vigil seems to pay homage to the days when the school system looked at all that due process and just threw its hands into the air. Which is understandable, I suppose.

Kudos to Hillary, by the way. Every child deserves to have the best possible teacher we can give them, and every great teacher deserves to be surrounded by teammates who are just as effective and pulling their weight.