Democrats debate: No clear winner, but a clear indication of the front-runner
It was clear the front-runner in the polls, Joe Martin, was the focus of his two Democratic opponents in tonight’s Atlanta Press Club school superintendent debates.
Given the opportunity to ask a question of another candidate, both retired Georgia State administrator and former teacher Beth Farokhi and Gwinnett high school teacher Brian Westlake chose to take on Martin, taking aim at his lack of classroom experience. Martin has a formal background in finance and economics rather than education, but has served on the Atlanta school board and headed up a statewide coalition to overhaul school funding.
With this being his third run for the school chief’s post, Martin knows how to turn a hostile question into a golden moment. When Farokhi pressed him on his three top qualification for the job, Martin told her commitment, experience and know-how.
When Westlake hit his standard theme in this contest — the job should go to someone with recent classroom experience — Martin parried, “We are not electing the best teacher. We are electing the person who can be the best advocate for students, parents and teachers.” And to Westlake’s mention of his earlier defeats for the office, Martin said the state would have been better off had he beaten out Linda Schrenko, who was an absolute disaster as superintendent and was eventually convicted of stealing federal education monies and sentenced to eight years in prison. (I think we all can agree with that.)
All the candidates agreed that there is too much testing, although Martin suggested that Farokhi’s notion of getting rid of all the state tests was unrealistic since there are federal requirements for annual assessments. She responded that growth-model assessments like those used in North Carolina could meet federal requirements rather than the rigid CRCTs.
In response to a question on whether CRCT cheating should be criminalized — asked by my AJC colleague Kristina Torres — the candidates were very careful not to come down hard on teachers.
Farokhi said she would not support criminalization and used the question to expound on her concerns that schools are holding pep rallies to push kids to perform better on the CRCT and starting test prep for the April tests in September.
Westlake also used the question to offer up a wider indictment of current DOE management, saying, “We need to empower people who are in the classroom who know exactly what is going on” The failure to seek advice and suggestions from the teachers has led to the “math curriculum debacle and a one-size-fits-all policy that moves people to the four-year traditional college route,” he said
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69 comments Add your comment
@redweather
June 28th, 2010
4:11 pm
Don’t all Democrats believe in socialism? Let’s not make generalizations.
????
June 28th, 2010
4:23 pm
Well at least we can put to bed the issue of whether or not we took our medication(s) today LOL. Of course it did not escape our notice that the FIRST thing you mentioned was “improving teacher quality” and NOT for example, improving teaching conditions.
Maybe if ALL schools, charter or not, supported the notion of improving teaching conditions with even a fraction of the emphasis we see on “improving teacher quality”, we might see a radical change in public education for the better, not what we are seeing now. Of course we must remember just how much money is available to be made for “improving teacher quality” and not for example, improving the teacher’s authority.
I wonder if any of the other 400,000 readers will pick up on this nuance. If they don’t think it’s worth commenting on, maybe they are truly happy with the teaching and learning conditions their children, and their children’s teacher toil under.
Mid GA Retiree
June 28th, 2010
4:32 pm
Just because the GAE endorsed a candidate doesn’t mean that the membership has to actually vote for them. Maybe instead of fretting over the candidate endorsed the leaders of GAE need to be replaced. Oh, and by the way, where have I read that GAE is not a union??????????????????????
@Mid GA Retiree
June 28th, 2010
4:42 pm
FYI Mid GA, GAE claims their decisions are “membership driven” yet although the speculation is that the rank and file supported Westlake at their big Spring meeting, but when Martin jumped in, the went against the rank and file. But if the rank and file accept this kind of treatment from leadership, or at least don’t question whether or not it happened, maybe GAE teachers should consider if they aren’t actively co-creating the very conditions they claim to abhor.
redweather
June 28th, 2010
5:57 pm
It is not a generalization to say that Libertarians oppose the public funding of public schools. They also oppose mandatory education. If they don’t, then they may as well call themselves Republicans.
Wounded Warrior
June 28th, 2010
6:08 pm
those that can do, those that can’t teach.
Wounded Warrior
June 28th, 2010
6:11 pm
Enter your comments here. mine got lost twice…
Wounded Warrior or wounded logic?
June 28th, 2010
6:43 pm
John Wooden was an All-American basketball player so he could certainly do. Yet even though he won 10 NCAA championships as a coach, he considered himself first and foremost a teacher.
@ redweather
June 28th, 2010
8:03 pm
Georgia’s Constitution states that all students have a right to public education in this state. Libertarian, Democrat, Republican be darned, the Constitution says it so, so it is so. Now do you want someone who wants a nanny state, or do you want someone who still believes that there is something called personal responsibility?
E for educators
June 28th, 2010
8:11 pm
Okay Maureen, I found the other half of your article about the debate. Again I ask, “Is this how a non-partisan subject is handed in the Georgia press?” I did read you are paid for your opinion here. Again, It seems that lawyers, businessman, or a military person are the only ones qualified to be highly considered in this article.
How about someone that has been recognized as an educator in the Education system nationally as well as locally for over 30 years? No room to mention this because of the extreme bias here. @HStchr, I agree with you, Farokhi does have a point. Beth has been recognized nationally as well as locally for tackling tough educational issues with sound solutions as an educator not a polished political mouthpiece. Do we really need another politician for this job? I don’t think so.
@ Maureen I still wish you covered this important subject with a fair voice mentioning the pros and cons of each candidate during the debate. Half a picture always cast distortions that never ring true but provide great false illusions of the truth and facts related to this issue.
Getting paid
June 28th, 2010
9:52 pm
“I did read you are paid for your opinion here.”
I wonder what AJC editor Andre Jackson gets paid for? You would think with the largest educational scandal in Georgia’s history happening right on his door step, he must have an opinion about the devastating results from this year’s CRCT, that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt just how bad the cheating was.
Or maybe it’s that Andre Jackson’s opinion, is exactly what EduPAC, through Julia Wallace, tells him it is.
redweather
June 28th, 2010
10:38 pm
“Now do you want someone who wants a nanny state, or do you want someone who still believes that there is something called personal responsibility?”
What in the heck are you talking about?
@ redweather
June 29th, 2010
7:15 am
I’m talking about the state school superintendent position. I’m talking about affording parents and communities the responsibility of educating our children. Again, do you want to give up all control of educating our students to the goverernment, or do you want to allow personal responsibility for education? Money we take from the federal government comes with strings and mandates that limit individual control and responsibility. The more federal involvement we have in education or any other part of our lives, the less personal control we have.
So, do you want a person in that office who believes in personal responsibility, or do you want someone who believes that parents and communities are incapable of handling their own education?
@ redweather
June 29th, 2010
7:17 am
goverernment=government
redweather
June 29th, 2010
7:25 am
“So, do you want a person in that office who believes in personal responsibility, or do you want someone who believes that parents and communities are incapable of handling their own education?”
In addition to being a zero-sum question, this is too vague to warrant an answer.
EducationCEO
June 29th, 2010
11:12 am
I will not use this space to bash any candidate but I will implore you all to make sure you vote. I have already made my decision based on what I believe the candidate will bring to the office. What we DO NOT need is another cheerleader as State School Superintendent. Male or female, this position is not for the timid or shy; the person has to be ready, willing, and able to go to bat for education, even if that means making some political enemies of the governor, etc. This cannot be a stop on the road trip to retirement just because they can’t find anything worthwhile to occupy their time. This person must be ready to go in, go hard, and keep at it until some serious changes are made.
I contacted the DOE more than a week ago asking for information on what the state/districts spend on standardized tests each year. I know the figure would be large, but I am curios as to how much money would be saved by eliminating some of the tests administered but not used to make any decisions (CogAT). We could easily replace the CRCT (only measures what Georgia students know) with the ITBS since it is used by many states. Aren’t we curios about how our kids measure-up to kids in other states? The NAEP only measures a sample of students from each state every 3 years. That does little good during the years in between administration.
Please remember to vote on July 20th!
sgateacher
June 29th, 2010
3:16 pm
Farokhi is the obvious best choice. She has the knowledge and experience to refocus education in Georgia on creating a healthy, well rounded workforce which is qualified to grow our state. Let’s get the state back on track……Vote Farokhi…I have….GAE – rally together. Joe Martin needs to be sent home…again!
Truth Filter
June 29th, 2010
4:56 pm
Education CEO: You cannot replace the CRCT with the ITBS. The state has to have a criterion-referenced test in grades 3-8. ITBS is norm-referenced.
New Blood Needed
July 1st, 2010
3:16 pm
http://www.willisforstatesuper.com