Markell Eyed for Clinton Cabinet
US Education Secretary John King was in Wilmington yesterday morning – his second recent visit to the First State – to laud a federal grant program supporting early childhood education. In a News Journal article, King cited “nation-leading work” in the First State on this front, thanks to $50 million in federal support.
The secretary’s visit coincides with a Politico report speculating on possible Cabinet picks in a Hillary Clinton White House, including King’s own possible replacement:
Education SecretaryJohn King just took over the job this year, leading many to believe that he’d be a perfect candidate for a holdover into a Clinton administration. He was Arne Duncan’s No. 2, and before that the state commissioner in New York. Just-departed D.C. schools chancellor Kaya Henderson is also seen as a contender here, as is King’s predecessor as deputy, Jim Shelton. And outgoing Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, meanwhile, has had his eyes on this job for years.
I get that a cabinet post may be in Markell’s future, but Education Secretary? I am squinting and still can’t see it.
Talk about failing upward. That’s like if you flunk high school and get into Harvard. Delaware public schools are so screwed if this happens.
I never understood while they would appoint anyone Secretary of Education who didn’t…I dunno….TEACH SCHOOL at least for a significant chunk of their lives. Markell doesn’t even have a pseudo-education background. All he’s done is pretend education is a business and frustrate parents, teachers, and students in the process.
This would be a colossal mistake of epic proportions. If the entire country is under Markell’s education Vision, we will see discrimination and segregation based on high-stakes test scores become the new normal in America.
This is horrible news!
Jack Markell is spending too much time in Delaware for this to be especially credible. People who are angling for a Cabinet position are on the campaign trail, stumping for their candidate.
Good point, but where would he stump? I guess that mitigates against his being considered cabinet material as well though?
God, I hope you are right, cassandra_m.
Markell could be the Cabinet’s butler. His head is shiny enough for that.
Good point, but where would he stump?
Wherever the campaign sends you. Or you are doing other work like debate prep.
Other than helping with the Hillary campaign in DE, I’m not sure he’s been on the road for her at all. At least I can’t remember his weekly schedule reflecting anything like that. Of course, he still might be in the mix for the role (based on other criteria) and there’s still plenty of time for him to get out on the trail, but he just seems to be too distant from her campaign for this.
Plus, if I look at the education part of the issues page, the things she says are a priority for her aren’t exactly in Jack Markell’s wheelhouse.
Jack Markell as Federal Secretary of Education would be like using a nuclear explosive device to remove a tree stump in order to clear land for growing food crops. Bad idea to put a corporatist cheerleader at the helm of “public” education policy with access to the taxpayers pocketbooks resulting in more federal intervention and coercion ($$$) in local affairs. There is no surer way to accelerate the “common-core”, “standardized testing”, “privatization” (for profit), abuse of all public school children and their families.
Representative John Kowalko
Is there a bike path secretary? He would be good at that.
If she puts him in a cabinet and closes and locks the doors, I’d be all for it….
Delaware education is a JOKE…This would be a total disgrace.!!
Dr. Evil
I’d like to see Governor Markell coherently explain in a Senate confirmation hearing the lack of minorities admitted at UD during his eight years in office.
Chris,
He would say essentially the same thing UD says whenever it is pressed on matters of funding and transparency: it’s a private, state-supported institution.
I don’t see Markell as a potential player in a Clinton administration. He was never in a position where he could develop meaningful ties to her. In terms of his national profile, while leading the National Governors Association was beneficial to Markell, I believe Delaware got an above-average share of the federal limelight the last eight years because Joe has been VP, giving Jack a chance to bask in some reflected glory.
As noted here, his credentials as a possible secretary of education are weak … in fact, they’re on a par with his success level in economic development.
If he can’t find work in the Interior Department as deputy first assistant in charge of bike trails, maybe there’s an opening in the Food and Drug Administration for brewmeister in chief.
Lets send John Kowalko to testify against Jack in confirmation hearing if he gets nominated! I am sure a bus load of Delawareans would go down..
The NEA and AFT early-endorsed Hillary. And we’d better damn well take advantage of that. I know NEA leadership and Hillary are tight. I’ve informed members of NEA’s Executive Committee about this article and the continuing rumor-milling surrounding Gov. Markell’s wish to be Secretary of Education and what a danger he would be.
NEA and AFT took a lot of heat for early-endorsing Hillary in the primary. And they worked their asses off for her in a handful of really tight states. You’d better damn well believe that all that early support had better pay off in avoiding a Markell appointment as US Sec. of Ed!
@JK “There is no surer way to accelerate the “common-core”, “standardized testing”, “privatization” (for profit)…”
Surely privatization (for profit) education is evil. No arguments there.
But common core?? Man… You’ve got to have some basic standards and common-core is a rather low bar to meet. The problem is that anything less than common-core really is a totally crappy education. Those who slam common-core never seem to offer anything better, only worse… and that’s a problem.
As for standardized testing… Surely teaching to the test and excessive testing is also bad, but minimal standardized testing (e.g. once a year) as a bad thing? I don’t think so.
Liberal Elite, how experienced are you with Common Core? Considering the test that is in large part based off Common Core has a little less than/over 50% of statewide kids passing the thing, you want to call that a success? That students with disabilities, African-American students, and English-Language learners do far worse on than their peers? Common Core actually dumbs down students more than helps them. Are you in education? I assume you aren’t. I am assuming you work at McDonalds because everything before Common Core was a crappy education and it didn’t help you at all. Lord only knows how we got a man on the moon and cured polio before Common Core. I guess every single rich person in this country went to private school because the crappy education they got before Common Core couldn’t possibly lead to success for anyone.
Surely “teaching to the test” is now a battle cry for corporate education reformers even though they threw their VAM standards into teacher evaluations and high-stakes test scores became a part of their evaluations. God forbid a teacher may want to keep their job (which they received by luck and chance because of the crappy education they got beforehand). If Common Core is what the test is based on, then of course they are teaching to the test if they are teaching Common Core. Once again, I’m not sure how they could do that with the crappy education they got before the almighty Common Core.
My biggest question would be who do you work for with crappy education all over your resume: Rodel, the DOE, the State Board of Education, one of the many sycophant DOE ass-kissing charters or districts in our state, or one of the “a new one pops up a day” education fixit companies?
@KO “Are you in education? I assume you aren’t.”
I am in education, but not at the level that could employ common-core. I am also well aware of the curricula in other countries, especially Japan and South Korea, where I visit often. I am also well acquainted with the educational system in places like Slovenia. I’m frankly appalled at the education standards and practices employed at most places in the US.
“Common Core actually dumbs down students more than helps them.”
As I understand it, common-core is a MINIMAL standard, not a maximum. There is no way that common-core can possibly dumb down students unless that is all you choose to teach them (which would be a grave mistake).
“Lord only knows how we got a man on the moon and cured polio before Common Core.”
Yea?? Really?? They were all foreigners and foreign educated. Ever hear of von Wernher von Braun? How about Hilary Koprowski?
How is citing advanced rocketry and polio going to help you make your argument??
“…test scores became a part of their evaluations. God forbid a teacher may want to keep their job”
I don’t support using test scores for teacher evaluations, but for student evaluation purposes, and to assist with curriculum design and improvement.
“My biggest question would be who do you work for with crappy education all over your resume”
Crappy? Really? Here’s a hint: Most (~3/4ths) of the people I teach and work with are foreign.
@LE and KO
It appears a small difference in your opinions is based each on your view of common core. I have had both views, so I know how it can be that two rather intelligent people can have such a different take on Common Core.
There are two Common Cores. One is the principle. The principle behind Common Core is that we need one set of standards universal across the world of education to determine what is success and what is not. I argued for that for years.
When we finally got Common Core, we got something completely different. We got something that by design generated failure so catastrophic, we had to guess the reason for that design was so the gaps could be filled by the private market. In practice Common Core was really too difficult to successfully manage and it had too many working parts and was sprung on everyone untested and even “unfinished”; at the class room level it failed, miserably. We know this is not speculation or sour grapes because with Common Core, for the first time ever, the NAEP, often called the Nation’s Report Card, dipped in 2015. First time ever since 1985.
In other words, there was a measurable negative result across the nation from implementing Common Core. Not flat, not slightly positive, but negative. Our children are actually dumber than they were before when measured by this test consistent from year to year. Those of us who have delved into the specifics of Common Core are appalled at all it misses. The more Intelligent students are saying they are relearning 5th grade English again in High School.
This opens up the following argument between theoretics and practical application. Those unfamiliar with Common Core say the principle is sound, just the execution misfired. Those on the front lines with children, say that before Common Core, they actually learned more;, that going back to that is more beneficial to children than trying to reinvent something that is systemically broken. Most states have ditched it and have gone back to writing their own standards. Markell’s tight hand over education in this state has kept us out of those fortunate numbers. As one reminder of how he works, remember over 90% of our legislators voted to pass HB 50, the Opt Out Bill, and he vetoed it, and Schwartzkopf never allowed it on the floor to be overridden.
From my perspective, I’d say that Common Core needs to be restructured into being the minimum as LE suggested. And to use simple questions in simple English, instead of trying to make it impossible to understand the question as it is written. This would be better Instead of setting the levels of the tests 2 grades higher than what we were currently teaching… In other words, a 5th Grader was tested at the old 7th Grade level; an 8th Grader at the old 10th Grade level. Obviously this brings a two year gap to everyone’s education… and making up that gap is neigh impossible. Sadly we probably lost a whole generation of students…
I only bring this up again because I think it should in all our futures, become proper etiquette before responding to someone “for” or “against” Common Core to ask first, “are you speaking of Common Core theoretically, or as it is today in classrooms?” Then once that has been clarified, go at it; for you will both be talking about the same thing…
@k “It appears…”
Thanks for this.
Common Core is not the issue; it is just one of many flashpoints. Markell would be awful on education with or without Common Core. I liked Candidate Markell who called out charter schools for cherry-picking. Governor Markell turned out differently. Secretary Markell would be even worse.
@Kevin Ohlandt: And your educational assessment qualifications are? What a joke!
the other anonymous: Enough to know that putting the @ symbol on a blog post won’t get your comment linked to Twitter!
But seriously, as far as I know, my name isn’t being considered for the U.S. Secretary of Education so your comment is confusing. Love how you call ME out when there are a ton of people on here saying they don’t want Jack Markell for this title. Which means a) I pissed you off at some point, b) I pissed off someone you know, or c) You work somewhere in the education mafia in Delaware. Thanks for the chuckle!
“I’d like to see Governor Markell coherently explain in a Senate confirmation hearing the lack of minorities admitted at UD during his eight years in office.”
Yeah, that would be interesting, considering that the governor’s office has nothing at all to do with admissions at the University of Delaware, which is run as a private school despite its public funding. There are hundreds of valid criticisms; why choose an invalid one?
I could be the bike path secretary. Is there an application