Jack Markell As The Next U.S. Secretary of Education? OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!!

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…

Governor Markell Praises Pathways To Prosperity But True Issue Is Impact On Labor Market

In his weekly address, Delaware Governor Jack Markell talked about the Pathways to Prosperity initiative which seems to be his main focus these days.  Remember the “Dear Hillary” letter?  It is no coincidence the Pathways to Prosperity push in Delaware is happening the same time Hillary Clinton is about to secure the Democratic nomination for the next President of the USA.  In the latest “Will he or won’t he?”, Politico talked about the prospect of Jack Markell being Hillary’s nomination for the US Secretary of Education.

But neither Clinton, nor anyone close to her, has approached him about the job, he said. Markell said he’s focused on the final months of his tenure. He’s not sure what he wants to do next, but if it’s education-related, Markell said he’d like an opportunity to work closer to students so he could have more of a direct impact. The position of education secretary seems a little far-removed, he said. “I’m not sure it’s the best leverage point,” Markell said.

I’m not sure how much I believe there has been no discussion about this.  I’ve heard the rumor enough to know there has to be at least a kernel of truth behind it.  Others feel Markell will lead one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of corporate education reform companies that continues to push out the very bad fallacies about public education while they increase their profit at the expense of children.

But what concerns me about the Pathways to Prosperity initiative in Delaware is the effect it can have on our labor market.  While our unemployment is down, wages still aren’t back to what they were before the 2008 recession.  Markell announced 1,000 Delaware students will have internships at Delaware companies this summer, double the amount it was in 2015.  That is free labor for companies.  Which means they don’t have to pay wages.  Which keeps unemployment going.  There are still far too many Delawareans suffering from low salaries, especially with the DuPont merger.  On top of all the tax breaks our General Assembly gave companies in Delaware already this year, the companies are making out like bandits.  As well, handing students certificates in high school to “make sure” they have a better chance of getting a job after high school is a bit misleading.  I believe it is a push to get teenagers to not enroll in four year colleges and instead attend a community college or go straight to the workforce.  Thus pushing the “cradle to grave” theories about education and the workforce.

Markell announced in the video 5,000 students will be enrolled in Pathways programs in Delaware schools in the upcoming school year.  He talked about the “Delaware Promise” that 65% of Delaware graduates will have a college degree or professional certification in the next ten years.  If I know Jack and how this will end up, most of those 65% (if they even reach that) will not have four-year college degrees.  They will have government paid community college degrees or professional certifications.  With this being said, this could give struggling students a chance they may not otherwise have.  But this is also in the continuous era of high-stakes testing and personalized learning that Markell, the DOE, and Rodel push with amazing proficiency.  This is just the endpoint of this atrocious era of public education.  Common Core has, does, and will continue to numb kids from thinking for themselves which allows corporations to truly control kids.  And the data privacy issues are an afterthought to the long-term evil inflicted on our children.

To see the latest kool-aid coming from Jack Markell, watch the video below: