Sign the petition to have an educator in charge of the largest school district in the US

[erodriguez]

Cathie Black needs a waiver from the State Education department to run NYC schools because she has zero education experience.

Please sign this petition at the webpage below to deny the waiver and insist that the responsibility for teaching 1.1 million students is in the hands of an educator.

http://www.petitiononline.com/DenyWaiv/

To: David M. Steiner
Dear Commissioner David M. Steiner,

Today, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his appointment of Cathie Black to replace Joel Klein as Chancellor of New York City Schools. Ms. Black, currently executive vice president of Hearst Magazines, lacks the required educational and professional qualifications for the position of Schools Chancellor as determined by state law. As a result, she will require a waiver from your office in order to accept the appointment.

The children, parents, and educational community of New York City deserve a leader with experience in education. Ms. Black's corporate experience may well qualify her for executive positions in business, but the education of our children and the training of our teachers is not corporate business. We urge you, as an educator, to:

~Deny the necessary waiver for Ms. Black's appointment

~Reaffirm the qualification requirements for NYC Schools Chancellor

Sincerely,

The Undersigned


http://www.petitiononline.com/DenyWaiv/

[Rhiannon12866]

1. Done.

:kick:

[erodriguez]

3. Thanks

[Rhiannon12866]

6. You're more than welcome.

This is certainly an important issue. The city's education system has enough problems as it is. Thanks for posting! :hi: :kick:

[MineralMan]

2. It seems like there are non-educators all over the place talking

about the schools and how they should operate that. It seems a very strange thing to me, and they're on both sides of the issue.

It is the children who suffer from this battle between people who are not professional educators.

[Drale]

4. This is happening in all areas not just education

look at all these dumb ass senators who think they are experts on the environment. At one time, people looked to the experts for their opinions, but it seems now people (especially the right) think they know everything about everything.

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. I don't hear a lot of people who are not teachers themselves,

... challenging the conventional ( and false) wisdom re. school "reform".

i.e. That schools should be privatized ( or "charterized") and teachers de-unionized.

It's great when they do... don't misunderstand me.... but it is relatively rare.

[monmouth]

5. Does the signee need to live in NY? I'll be happy to sign if not...n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Nope. The petition says anyone is eligible.

I live 265 miles away... :)

[erodriguez]

8. Anyone can sign the petition.

Please send a message to all autocrats. Our children's education needs to be under the responsibility of educators.

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. 798 signed @ 5:30 pm. Wed. Kick and rec.

[Hannah Bell]

11. kr

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. K n R

[The Philosopher]

13. But

You haven't given her enough "time to get up to speed on education." You haven't given her enough time! Most take years, you haven't given her enough time!

(signed!)

[Smarmie Doofus]

14. 990 have signed at 8:10 est . Thanks DUers.

Keep 'em coming.

[Smarmie Doofus]

15. Commissioner Steiner has shown some independence recently, and....

... there is some indication that he will give Black's waiver application due scrutiny.

Steiner's the guy that pulled the plug on the NYS test score scam: Bloomberg and Klein had been using this laughable "data" to claim that their ... ugh.... "reforms" were "working".

[Hannah Bell]

16. kr

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. The next signature will make 1400. At 7:30 am est. N/T

[Smarmie Doofus]

18. Our petition got mentioned in today's NYT on A32:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/nyregion/11schools.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fnyregion%2Findex.jsonp

(paragraph 10)

Got a sizable bump and we're up past 2,000 sigs.

Check out some of the comments on the petition site.

[Smarmie Doofus]

19. We're at 2664 . One last kick. And there's this from the comments:

2644. >>>> Cathie Black is not an educator. She has never taught in a classroom; knows nothing about education policy; cannot create a weekly lesson plan; and has no personal experience with public schools, having sent her children to private schools in CT. Appointing Cathie Black to a position she is unqualified for marks the height of arrogance and complete disdain for the children of New York. It is especially dismissive of the needs of the children of color who live in our poorest communities and cannot afford to have their futures trifled with by Mayor Bloomberg's latest ill-conceived notion that only his Corporate America tribe is equipped, and apparently, entitled to govern and manage. NYC schools are not a magazine! This is not Teen Vogue! I implore you to appoint an innovative, forward-thinking professional with extensive classroom experience to provide our children with the first-rate education they all deserve - something Cathie Black, by virtue of her utter inexperience, was never prepared to offer.>>>>>>>>>>

[erodriguez]

20. You are the man!