That would be former NYPD Captain Tony Mullen, who works with at-risk kids in Connecticut. Congratulations to Mr. Mullen for doing a tough job and being good at it. Most teachers are lucky to even get a coffee mug for their troubles.
President Obama has great plans for you and your kids. First, he's going to make sure teachers get merit pay. That, of course, is when the folks who selected all the teachers (including those who, we now discover to be without merit) get to decide who gets extra pay. For example, those who raised test scores might get it. Of course, most teachers aren't involved with test scores, so other factors come into play. For example, your daddy might be principal. Or you might have such a fetching smile the principal wants to be your daddy. Maybe you bake cakes for the principal, or type for the principal. Who knows? The possiblities are endless.
Also, to serve you better, President Obama wants no limits on charter schools. Why should taxpayers throw away valuable cash on protecting Mr. Mullen from vindictive small-minded supervisors with tenure when they can make him an "at-will" employee? Or, they can insert a "just-cause" clause instead of granting him seniority rights and fire him "just cause" they feel like it. Therefore, we need plenty of non-union charter schools to compete, and keep up the American tradition of working more hours than people in other industrialized countries.
Finally, since Mr. Mullen has nothing to do but work, and no need whatsoever for a personal life, President Obama thinks we need longer school days and longer school years. After all, if we're going to expect our children to work 70-hour weeks with no job protections, we'd better damn well get them used to it.
What does our part-time UFT President have to say about President Obama's program?
"We finally have an education president," said Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers. "We really embrace the fact that he's talked about both shared responsibility and making sure there is a voice for teachers, something that was totally lacking in the last eight years."
Congratulations, Mr. Mullen. You've achieved a great deal, and these are certainly interesting times to be a teacher.
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