People, Politics & Business

Scoundrels, Educrats, Rogues and Champions

Scarborough and Bernstein In Heated Exchange With Teacher Union Head On "Morning Joe"

CJ Westerberg, March 10, 2010 12:49 PM

JoeRandiCarl.jpg

By C.J. Westerberg

The scene was Randi Weingarten, head of the AFT (teachers union), with Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe, journalist Carl Bernstein, and Willie Geist, host of Way Too Early.

You could sense the restraint used by everyone at the table but that couldn't hold back the sparks and impassioned quips that made their way to the camera.

It mainly seemed as if there were two different conversations going on at the same time, where the answers to questions never seemed to quite correspond.  Here are a few money quotes (taken out of order).  Still, quite the disconnect.  Or, cut to the chase and watch for yourself - video below:

Scarborough:  "Unions killed a bill that would have given NY kids (schools) $700 million".

Scarborough:  "Teacher unions have put job security ahead of students well-being."

Weingarten:  "We need to help all of us take more responsibility to help make sure all our kids get a decent education."

Weingarten:  "Teachers want to help kids succeed".

Bernstein:  "You've fought it all these years".

Scarborough:   Harlem Village Academies are at at 8th 100% proficiency level in Math after entering school a few grades behind.

Weingarten:  One charter school run by the union:  "95% did great in 5th Grade Social Studies". 

Watch for yourself in this 12 min.video Below (first 10 are the main event).

Click here for the story about Harlem Village Academies, as reported by The Daily Riff last week.


Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

  • Judy Walter

    I have not yet heard Randi Weingarten answer a question directly. Instead, she talks around them like a seasoned politician. Don't expect her to concede that teachers' unions should step up and take at least some of the responsibility for America's failing schools (which, of course she should). But, until teachers' unions are cut down to size, when they don't have negotiators on both sides of the table, our schools will continue to churn out mediocrity. Teachers' unions are self-perpetuating, self-verifying and self-congratulating entities that should have no place in the education of our children. When it's more expensive to fire a bad teacher than it is to hire and keep a good one, where's the incentive?

blog comments powered by Disqus
Now, keeping in mind these fourfold interests - interest in conversation, or communication; in inquiry, or finding out things; in making things or construction; and in artistic expression - we may say they are natural resources, the uninvested capital, upon the exercise of which depends the active growth of the child..
John Dewey, The School and Society, 1900
Follow The Daily Riff on Follow TDR on Twitter

find us on facebook

maui.John-Seely-Brown.JSB.serendipity.jpg

Conversations with John Seely Brown: Shaping Serendipity for Learning

CJ Westerberg, 04.11.2013

photo above: Maui"Conventional wisdom holds that different people learn in different ways.  Something is missing from that idea, however, so we offer a corollary:  Different People, when presented with exactly the same information in exactly the same way, will learn...

Read Post | Comments

Riffing good stories

connected.JSB.John-seely-brown.entrepreneurial learner. jpg.jpg

Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Learner

CJ Westerberg, 04.11.2013

John Seely Brown: Connected and Collective Learning (Part 2)

Read Post | Comments
comics.jpg

Weekend Funnies: "Going through a phase" Video

CJ Westerberg, 04.07.2013

Gabriel Iglesias' smart teenage son doesn't talk to him anymore. 2 Minute Video via Comedy Central

Read Post | Comments
high-school.paul-graham.jpg

High Schoolers: "What You'll Wish You'd Known"

CJ Westerberg, 04.06.2013

It's dangerous to design your life around getting into college

Read Post | Comments
jolt.stanford.car2.vertical.jpg

The Practical University?

CJ Westerberg, 04.06.2013

Musings on college: Visiting with high schoolers, David Brooks and Stanford University's new video series on MOOCs: " . . ."It's the beginning of a wholesale reorganization of teaching and learning in higher education."

Read Post | Comments
harry-potter.jpg

Weekend Light - Daniel Radcliffe Sings the Elements

CJ Westerberg, 04.05.2013

Harry Potter sings the periodic table of elements on the Graham Norton show with Colin Farrell, Rihanna...humor video

Read Post | Comments
HarryPotterBook.jpg

"The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination"

CJ Westerberg, 04.02.2013

JK Rowling, Harry Potter Author, Captivates Crowd With Harvard Commencement Speech

Read Post | Comments
graduation.Kirsten-olson.jpg

High School: Are the Kids Alright?

CJ Westerberg, 04.02.2013

"Long ago my son determined exactly how not to let the institution of school get in the way of his learning, and had explicit plans for choosing courses carefully so that he had ample time to attend local university lectures and participate in arts events."

Read Post | Comments
stop.red.facebook.jpg

"The Little Discussed Dark Side" of Public Education

CJ Westerberg, 04.02.2013

"We've completely distorted learning."

Read Post | Comments

More Featured Posts