This we-gotta-have-an-educator-as-chancellor argument is absurd.

Chancellor's in recent memory:

Frank Macchiarola: supposedly got rid of automatic advancement (he didn't). Had no effect on system or reading scores

Anthony Alvarado: supposedly an innovator, small schools champ. Removed for doing business with thugs in East Harlem

Richard Green: Entered with great fanfare (first black chancellor). Died within a year.

Joseph Fernandez: lied about having a PhD. Divisive. Barred reporters. Confrontational with Board members (8 idiots that Klein got rid of) and local homophobic school boards.

Ramon Cortines: hard-worker, honest, not nearly political enough to confront Giulianni. Forced out.

Rudy Crew: Originator of "Educational SWAT teams," that were supposed to come in and reform failing schools. Also originated three-day racism seminars for teachers--a bit insulting for people who'd been on the front lines for decades.

Klein: a non-educator, government lawyer who'd launched an anti-trust lawsuit again Microsoft (should've put them out of business), was fortunate to work only for the mayor (anyone who doesn't agree doesn't remember the old Board of Ed), probably didn't make that much of a difference.

All of these chancellors--every one--claimed that reading scores and graduation rates have risen. Obviously, that's statistically impossible.

All were appointed not because they were first-rate educators--most hadn't been in a classroom for years--but because they smoked someone's cigarette.

You charter schools people, start your proposals. There's money to be made. money, money, money.

+1

The bd of ed is a pinyta filled with money. Charter schools are the stick to get that money into the pockets of rich people.

I'm thinking this means NewsCorp is their own Kaplan program a la Washington Post...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/education/10kaplan.html?hp

Good fucking riddance-let's roll out the red carpet for the latest business drone who will cut spending to the bone and have students using stone tablets for their essays.

Hey dipshit. I'm typing on an iPhone. It's not very accurate. I wouldn't blame teachers as much as I would parents.

Being a teacher in NYC public schools. They are a mess.

With a teacher writing a post with sentence structure like that, no wonder the schools are a mess.

another rich out of touch executive of a lesuire business.

might as well just say we appointed a new slave master to run our plantation of darkies.

Being a teacher in NYC public schools. They are a mess. We need a leader with classroom, administrative and business experience. What is Ms. Blacks background? The poorer schools are failing and keep failing without any help.

that is a mystifying appointment. the official release is a bizarre gymnastics routine leaping and twisting around the fact that this woman apparently has no experience relevant to heading up the largest public school system in the nation.

not to put too fine a fucking point on it, but it doesn't appear that she (mother of two) has ever set foot in a public school in her life other than maybe to vote.

Which means she has just as much teaching experience as the guy shes replacing.

Annoyingly consistent, but not mystifying.

still mystified. perhaps a pie chart would help.

My parents were NYC teachers. I learned to read in a NYC public school. I also have spent most of my adult life in the corporate world. While I wish Ms. Black all the best, I fear that she is not the right pick to lead the largest and most challenged system in the country.

The cultures of the Public and Private sectors are worlds apart, mainly due to the overall mission and purpose of each. The purpose of a public education (at least when I attended) is to teach children. The purpose, and Ms. Black's primary focus throughout her career, is to make money. It's not clear to me if she has the ability to truly understand the difference. Or maybe that is why the Mayor keeps picking from the corporate elite.

With no disrespect to your parents, who I am sure were fine educators, I must disagree. In NYC, the purpose of public education is to sustain a corrupt, self-perpetuating system of graft, nepotism, unaccountability, union-thugging, pension-bloating, kickbacks, inflated custodains, widespread theft, political weapon, always-crying-out-for-more-money RICO scam. Except for the real teachers who try to do their level best in this cesspool of filth, the system is a failure. Education of students has always been the lowest of priorities.

Thanks for qualifying~ I agree with your comment. I guess I was being idealistic and stating what the purpose of public education should be... Given the reality - Ms. Black's appointment was right on target.

So, is Bloomie replacing the current chancellor with another one who never taught children in a classroom? If Bloomie believes we can be so detached from real world experience, why not just outsource the position to someone with results in Asia? We'll just email the reports and test results.

Not to mention a complete lack of transparency in the hiring of one of the most influential positions of city government. Lack of transparency to us, anyway.

Apparently, the Chancellor of Education isn't even an Equal Opportunity position. Huh.

Wow...."business strategies for the emerging educational marketplace." I've always said that Klein has been trying to run the schools based on a business model. This all makes too much sense. When did education become such a money making business for people that don't know a damn thing about teaching? Klein is a slimy weasel and this just further confirms it. I hope News Corps doesn't have it's eyes set on opening charter schools. .... Of course that would be a pretty slick move for them

Damn, it's like a rich little club for these people.

it will all balance out in the end.

Will it all balance out in the end? Nah, probably not.