Monday, February 23, 2009

DUCK! Or Not....


A friend of mine once posed the most puzzling koan ever. I paraphrase: Suppose you're standing up to your chin in feces (this friend didn't say feces--I'll leave it to you to insert the word of your choice). As you're standing there, someone heaves a bucket of feces at your head. Do you duck?

Well, it just may happen that you'll be given that choice courtesy of your Unity Caucus. You see, there's a lot of buzz that Mayor Bloomberg will throw Joel Klein under the bus to get another crack at running for mayor. Klein is hugely unpopular, not just among teachers, but parents and ordinary citizens, as well. Bloomie may jettison his pal in order to retain mayoral control and his job.

Normally, I'd say getting rid of Klein would be cause for celebration. But let's face it. Bloomberg is in control, and Klein is his stooge. If Klein were to go, Bloomberg would certainly replace him with another, more likeable, stooge. Mayor Mike would still be in charge, and nothing would change. While sitting in the muck that is the Klein chancellorship, the mayor will be waiting with his bucket. Apparently, Randi may be readying herself to lend a hand: But on the question of Klein’s fate, Weingarten answers gamely: “I’ve found the mayor easier to deal with and more responsive than the chancellor.”

Instead of giving us the choice to duck or not, why isn't Randi pushing full steam ahead to wrest mayoral control from Bloomberg and help oust him from office? Am I the only one who remembers the moronic survey the UFT asked us to fill out last year on the last day of school regarding Klein? Nothing was done then--what's to make us think anything will be done now, other than the PR stunt of getting rid of Klein in exchange for helping the mayor keep his job and appoint still another Klein.

2 comments:

Chaz said...

Randi, like usual talks a good game, but action is found wanting. This is and has been her MO for years.

NYC Educator said...

I'd be really surprised if they dumped Klein, as all he does is carry out the mayor's policies. It's not like Bloomberg wants a real chancellor or anything, and really, even if it were true, he'd just find someone as bad or worse.