So last week, the state court held that the unqualified Cathie Black can become our next school's chancellor in New York City. Happy New Year!!
And for the third time in a row, NYC mayor Michael Blomberg appoints someone unqualified (by legal standards), to head up the public school system. Because of nepotism of sorts, another highly-unqualified person is being placed at the helm of an institution responsible for teaching, inspiring, motivating, encouraging and developing kids. Developing them to play by the rules; study and work hard; prepare well; respect law and authority; make sacrifices and such: so that they could eventually build knowledge, credentials and experiences in order to be fairly rewarded by society, in this conundrum called life as we know it. What a contradiction! How ironic!
And since King-Mayor Michael Bloomberg is fine with this, the rest of us mere mortals have to just get with the friggin program and STFU.
I say Happy New Year to all, because today is Saturday 1st January, 2011, and this is my first column for the new year. Ms. Cathy Black (and white) starts work on Monday 3rd January, 2011. What a New Year's gift this is!
And please don't forget this is the largest school system in the country. One and a quarter million kids; approximately ninety per cent of whom are non-white. A system that has failed to graduate approximately 6 million high school students (mainly black and Hispanic) out of roughly 12 million students; since the infamous Supreme Court decision on public lower-education in 1954 (Brown v. Board of Ed).
This is a system in which seven of every ten male black kids have failed to graduate, year after year, for almost two decades now. A city where one in every four black males end up doing at least one prison stint before age thirty.
It's apparent that Blomberg's plan all along was to get a few prominent (but unprincipled) public figures (as lackeys), to bless this outrageous decision to appoint his friend (Ms. Black-Sheep), then bunker down until the state education department (and later the state court) approves. After all, we did pass something in Albany called “mayoral control of NYC's public lower-education” just a few years ago: didn't we? And by the way, it was exactly what our then new mayor (Blomberg) requested of these legislators: full control. To hell with community school boards with real teeth and real oversight functions. To hell with parental input and/or the input of elected officials in various diverse communities all across this naked city.
This is the same mayor who admonished that he be judged by his achievements/accomplishments in education. Fine. Well Mr. King-Mayor Bloomberg, here is judgment Hermon Rock Hackshaw-style: you have failed. Miserably.
First things first: after three attempts, you wanna tell me that you could never (in your nine years tenure so far/since you may just pay everyone to go along with you changing the law and becoming mayor-king for life), ever find a person appropriately experienced, credentialed and qualified for this position? And you call yourself a mayor? GTFOH (somebody break this one down for Bloomy: please).
Look, Mr. King-Mayor, I now sentence you to spend four years living in some public-housing project in Harlem, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, Queens, The Bronx or Staten Island. Get an up-close, first-hand and personal look at what your educational policies both sow and reap -relative to real people and their everyday lives.
So now, Ms. Black will head up this educational maze. And yes, I am frankly amazed that we will actually reify this preposterous decision of our mayor-king (who illegally and immorally occupies Gracie Mansion and City Hall/ by the way).
This lady (Ms. Black) never attended a single public school while growing up; her very own children went to elite private schools all their lives; she has no connection whatsoever with the public school system of this city. She has never been involved in any sphere of the public school education system; has never served on a Community School Board or PTA here; never even sold a cake at a bake sale, or sold candy for a school trip. A woman whose only semi or quasi-credentials for this job, is that she was conveniently and quickly placed on some education committee, which didn't even meet one time during her short tenure.
I have now developed a phrase for the likes of Bloomberg and Black; it's called: “elite abuse”. It's when elites in US society continually walk over us regular folk as if we just don't matter. As if our opinions, views and such, don't count. As if our experiences don't amount to a hill of beans: because we don't have the connections, money, power and influence that they do.
And don't think for a minute that I only hold Bloomberg responsible for this fiasco: no siree Bob!
Now that the horse has already left the barn, some legislators in Albany are rushing a bill that says, whenever a mayor appoints a chancellor whose prima-face non-qualifications require that the mayor seek a waiver from state education-authorities, we must also have legislative oversight. In the immortal words of Derek Coleman:“whoop-dee-damn-doo”.
Look I am not criticizing senator Eric Adams and others for introducing and pushing this new bill. It 's just so (typically) reactive, that's all. When the debate over mayoral control was being waged a few years ago, Adams wasn't a member of the legislature; so we can excuse him (sorta). But folks like Nick Perry, Malave Dilan, John Sampson, Annette Robinson, Velmanette Montgomery, Roger Green, Clarence Norman, Carl Andrews, Junior Boyland, and a few others from the infamous Brooklyn delegation were there: talking loud and saying nothing at the same time. And I am not going to exonerate our first black governor (David Paterson/former minority leader), nor former senate majority leader Malcolm Smith (again/ the first black to hold this post), nor other black and Hispanic electeds who have been in office since Eve was a virgin, and ever since Adam first found out what feminine wiles really meant and cost.
The quality of public education in NYC has been an issue for a long long time now; as long as too many electeds who have failed to advance solid new ideas for solving the myriad problems embedded in this issue. What do we do? What should we do?
The law is essentially this: the chancellor must be qualified to teach in NYC classrooms, and must also have the relative credentials and experiences within the public school setting -especially as a principal, superintendent or administrator- in order to land this job. It does have a caveat though: that the state education department can grant a waiver to one without these qualifications. And boy oh boy, look at the many mayors who have used this technicality to nominate and employ their friends and cronies in this position. A position that is probably the most important in this city.
It seemed like only NYC council member Charles Barron demonstrated any real passion on the issue of mayoral control -given what is happening to black kids in the public school system. Where were the others? Especially since we all know that black and Hispanic kids (primarily) have been having a real rough time, struggling, dealing and surviving within the archaic design of this education system.
Look; truth be told, Assembly-member Inez Barron is supremely qualified to be school's chancellor. Inez Barron is more qualified than Cathie Black. Mrs. Barron has been a school teacher, a school administrator, a vice-principal and later a full principal, all within the public education system over at least thirty years. She has her master's degree. She has held public office. She has done good community work throughout her lifetime. She is an activist. She has umpteen credits beyond her Masters; she has done courses and exams by the score. She has done professional development in this area, and has the interest of school kids, parents, teachers and education-professionals at heart.
But Inez Barron is black. And Cathie Black is white. And therein lies the biggest denial in US history: the benefits of “white-skin privilege” in this society. I have written about this no end. Most times I get inane comments and personal attacks in the thread of my columns, but no real significant discourse. It is as if white intellectuals dare not attempt to refute my assertions here.
Sure Cathie Black has had opportunities to shine; but I can bet it is more because of her elitist connections and white-skin privileges than say her non-dynamic personality.
Every person, white (both males and females), Asian, Hispanic, black, red, brown, yellow, or any other color of the rainbow, who has worked hard, studied hard, sacrificed, pained and such, in order to build credentials, to stay and function within the NYC education system, has to be disturbed by this selection. Each person I just described has to be appalled by this. It is a slap in the face to all of you. It is a personal affront. And it is not only about race. It is also about fairness, common-sense, decency and human dignity. And since it isn't the first time Blomberg has done this, it shows a total lack of respect and understanding for ordinary folk. But then, he had already demonstrated all this when he overturned term-limits in 2008.
Stay tuned-in for the final column on this issue.
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