Posted on 04/30/2005 12:45:51 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
"He's the perfect choice at this critical time for education," Schwarzenegger said of Bersin, who served two years on the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Bersin, 58, offered a glimpse of his hard-hitting approach at the news conference. Standing next to the governor and speaking in a relaxed but firm tone, Bersin did not shy away from taking on teachers unions.
"It's very important that we find common ground for what our kids need, not what's good for the union," he said. "This has to be premised on what's good for children."
Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Assn., which represents the state's 330,000 teachers, offered her own blunt assessment of the incoming education secretary.
"CTA is … disappointed that the governor chose someone who has no track record of building consensus or working with parents and teachers to improve public schools," Kerr said in a written statement.
"During his seven-year tenure in San Diego, Alan Bersin's top-down bureaucratic style divided the community, hurt teacher morale and failed to significantly improve student learning. We hope Mr. Bersin will take a new approach in his new job."
Those who know Bersin best say his straightforward management style wins over admirers and fuels detractors. But virtually everyone agrees that he brings substantial intellectual vigor to the job.
.......Robin Whitlow, executive director of the San Diego Education Assn., criticized Bersin for what she called his "top-down, dictatorial leadership style," adding that he "is not afraid to be punitive and vengeful when people challenge him."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Bersin is a big democrat activist who worked for various leftwing causes before being made US Attorney under the Clinton Administration. Clinton then appointed him to be the "border czar," reporting directly to Janet Reno. He was a long-time attorney for Munger Tolles (a firm closely associated with Warren Buffett).
See postings at prior thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1393799/posts
Bersin To Oversee All California Schools (Ex-Clinton Border Czar)
He'll know where all the rotten apples are in the public school barrel.
He's going after the unions and has Gov. Arnold's blessing, so he can't be "all bad."
Well, Bersin had La Raza support before, as well.
There had to be a better pick than appointing another lefty.
It might begin to break the logjam.
This is California.
Maybe. Read the prior thread; you might change your mind.
Bersin left that job in 1998 to take the helm of the San Diego city schools, the state's second-largest school system. He was an outsider to public education with no formal training in the field.
He brought swift and sometimes wrenching change. In his first year as superintendent, he stripped more than a dozen principals and assistant principals of their duties, a move that infuriated many and triggered a lawsuit that the district recently lost.
He secured about $40 million in grants from philanthropists, including Bill Gates and Eli Broad, who made his funding of a principal-training program contingent on Bersin remaining superintendent.
Better to play musketball. End all government compulsion schooling.
"Significantly" is a relative term and that aside we have an admission from the union slut that he did in fact improve student learning. Seeing as student learning in CA is going south faster then Whale sh*t headed for the ocean floor, I'd say this Bersin guy is just what the guv needs for the school system.
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