Crains New York - May 6, 2013 - (Page 10)
OPINION
Reality check for teachers
I
n asking that teacher-accountability measures be
suspended while public schools implement new
academic standards, union leader Randi
Weingarten last week used a business analogy to
appeal to an audience of New York executives. Just
as companies field-test new products, she said,
teachers should get years to iron out wrinkles in the
new standards without their job performance being judged.
Memo to Ms. Weingarten: Don’t even go there.
If public education were to operate like a business, Ms.
Weingarten and her unionized teachers would never stand
for it. Businesses don’t need two years of hearings and a team
of attorneys to fire incompetent workers. Businesses don’t
tolerate employees who disparage company policy and clash
with supervisors. Businesses don’t pay nearly 100% of
employees’ health care costs, give them half the calendar year
off and guarantee them robust retirement benefits for life.
Most of all, businesses don’t exempt workers from being
accountable for their performance, even when rolling out
products. For Ms. Weingarten to invoke business practices as
she seeks open-ended amnesty reveals a profound disconnect
from the realities of the private sector.
But let’s set that aside for the moment and ask: Does it make
sense to hold no one responsible for effective teaching during
the transition to the new Common Core State Standards?
Heck no. Ms. Weingarten, president of the American
Federation of Teachers, need only ask her members whether
students would try harder if there were no grades, and all
CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL
kids were guaranteed diplomas and high-paying jobs. “Love
of learning” goes only so far with middle-schoolers. There
have to be consequences for failure—for teachers, too.
Common Core is strongly supported by teachers, who
helped craft the new model. It moves away from rote
memorization and toward critical thinking, problem-solving
and working in teams—skills young people need to thrive in
the fast-changing global economy.
It’s a refreshing and overdue reform. But it is not rocket
science. Indeed, it promises what teachers have long sought—
the freedom to engage students in ways that captivate and
inspire them.Teachers
who can’t do that
should be sent packing
forthwith, not given
years to see if they can
figure it out.Those are
years their students will
never get back.
The Bloomberg
administration, to its
credit, will still give
extra attention to the 10% of schools and students who
scored the lowest on the statewide tests given last month,
even though the exams were revamped to reflect the new
standards and not everyone knew what to expect.
Any good business routinely addresses its low performers.
That’s a memo Ms. Weingarten shouldn’t have missed.
A union seeks
to duck
accountability
on school reform
COMMENTS
Still time to kill trash plan
newscom
NO TO WASTE STATION
WHAT EFFECT WILL NBA
PLAYER JASON COLLINS’
COMING OUT AS GAY HAVE
ON SPORTS?
NOW THAT he has opened the door, expect
other pro players across sports to come out.
THE DOOR may be open a crack, but each
sport, team and fan base is different. It will be
years before gay athletes come out regularly.
Date of poll: April 30
181 votes
48%
52%
FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS:
Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say.
10 | Crain’s New York Business | May 6, 2013
Your April 22 article “Upper
East Side won’t hear defeat on
waste-transfer station” missed
the mark and ignored the effect
tens of thousands of residents
can have. Construction of the
ill-advised waste station is far
from a done deal.
The city will have new
leaders in January who can
reverse the terrible decision to
build a garbage dump that will
become a stomping ground for
up to 500 garbage trucks a day
in a dense residential
neighborhood. These dieselburning trucks emit
carcinogenic soot, which causes
premature death, asthma
attacks and heart attacks,
particularly among children
and senior citizens.
A new coalition, Pledge 2
Protect, made up of residents,
organizations and businesses
working to protect the health
and safety of New Yorkers, will
ensure the East 91st Street
transfer station never comes to
fruition. Major waste facilities
do not belong in any residential
neighborhood in the city.
—kelly nimmoguenther
President, Pledge 2 Protect
PENSION FUNDS ARE OK
The suggestion that New York
City’s pension funds have
“struggled during the tenure” of
Comptroller John Liu (“John
Liu cuts to the Chase,” April
15) is based on a considerable
misreading of the data.
Since Mr. Liu took office,
the funds’ assets under
management have increased by
approximately $37 billion, to
$137 billion. Over the past
three fiscal years, their rate of
return has averaged 13%. To
compare our returns solely to
those of the S&P 500 is
misleading, as diversified
portfolios that reduce volatility
may underperform particular
markets in any given year.
Despite market difficulties
in recent years, our funds have
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Your March 21 poll asked,
“Does the NYPD need an
overseer?” Stop-and-frisk isn’t
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The quota is the issue, because
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Anyone who’s done sales
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - May 6, 2013
THE INSIDER
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
REAL ESTATE DEALS
SMALL BUSINESS
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REPORT: DIVERSITY
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS
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