Olive Branch or Armistice?

Education "reform" in NY has come to a temporary halt in NY and Governor "Status" Cuomo appears to be offering an olive branch to teachers,  the teachers' union,  and administrators.

Going along with the Every Student Succeeds Act, or whatever they decided to call the legislation that slows the onslaught of privatization,  testing will  not be used in teacher evaluation.  For now.
Students will still be tested though every year from grades 3 through 8 and in high school.  The mandated testing still goes on and will most likely still be used against the teachers as a bludgeon in the media to show that students are failing to achieve.

Education Chief Elia,  a big advocate for privatization and charter schools, went on an "olive branch" listening tour across the state and allowed teachers, administrators,  and parents to comment on the Common Core Learning Standards.  So she is listening to us tell her that they were a noble idea,  poorly written,  and poorly implemented.

This sounds good,  but remember- Elia is very pro-privatization / charter school.  This means that she is in favor of taxpayers footing the bill for education with minimal to no supervision of the education process by the public.  Outside of the occasional walk through by the media to show how nice the school looks and how well the students behave,  we will get no information outside of test scores and graduation numbers.  That's it.

We all know that Governor "Status" Cuomo has higher ambitions than being the Governor of NYS.  The only way he will be able to achieve this is by pushing the pro-corporate agenda.  We the people only count as long as we vote him into office.

This whole situation is one big charade in order to get to get the unions on the side of "Status" Cuomo in the next election cycle.  Remember - during the last election NYSUT refused to endorse anyone for the Governor's position.  So Coumo is doing whatever he can to try and put a good image forward as possible so that he can the unions endorse him.  Nothing will be done with improving education funding

Cuomo,  like Brutus,  is getting ready to stab the schools,  unions,  and administrators in the back and do whatever he can to appease his corporate masters.

This will drive the best and brightest teachers and administrators away from and out of New York.  The impact of this will be lower test scores,  which the administration will be able to use to close down schools and reopen them under private ownership and control.  This will work to break the union in that particular school or district.

And that will help to advance the corporate war on education and unions,  which will break and ruin both.

But maybe that was the plan all along.

Poorly paid teachers and profits over pupils.


Post Scriptum:  I really don't like the flu, cold,  or whatever this lung affliction that I have is.