A fate worse than death would be Jack Markell as the United States Secretary of Education under President Hillary Clinton. What Markell has done to Delaware education in less than eight years (twelve if you count his contributions towards Rodel’s plans) has been nothing short of a disaster. As one of the chief proponents of Common Core, Markell was the ringmaster for state accountability systems designed to perpetuate an endless cycle of high-stakes testing, school labeling, teacher shaming, and student rigor.
We now know Jack Markell really wants to be the U.S. Secretary of Education. John King is just filler until the next President. Town Square Delaware reported this morning that because John King stated Markell “has had his eye on this job for years” based on a Politico report about Hillary’s potential Cabinet posts. Granted, there are other contenders such as former Deputy Secretary of Education Jim Shelton, outgoing Chancellor of D.C. Schools Kaya Henderson, and even John King himself. None of those would be a good pick. If Clinton wins and picks any of these people, we will firmly know where she stands on education: she is a sell-out to corporations.
If Clinton wins and she nominates Markell as the next U.S. Secretary of Education, I will personally travel to D.C. to attend the Senate nomination hearing for Markell and testify against his capabilities to lead our country’s children. This would be a major step backwards, not forward. He is a corporate guy, not an education guy. He can’t stand parents butting into education, dislikes teachers, and goes back on his word constantly. This will not happen if I have anything to say about it. And I will not be the only one.
Do we really want a guy who allows state law to be circumvented by his administration. In the Chip Flowers FOIA scandal, Markell’s office is blocking sending out emails requested through a FOIA request because it has other legislators in the email. It’s called redacting those names! But Markell is shady, no doubt about it. But he is also good at covering up his tracks. Look at all the corporate tax loopholes he has created during his time as Governor. This is NOT the guy for education. The mail room for education? Sure. Not as the leader!
Just because The News Journal quoted John King as saying Markell has performed “nation-leading work” in early education does not qualify for him for this post. He has never been a teacher or even worked in public education. Think about that. Someone who only steps into a classroom to announce his latest agendas for corporate education reform…
The Season Of Myths 