By Rex Reed 9/25/12 7:57pm

movies

Substitutes Chalk It Up in Won’t Back Down

Taking on the school choice issue that has made its way into the headlines via California’s controversial new parent trigger laws, Won’t Back Down faces an uphill climb at the box office. Its heroes are the parents and renegade teachers who risk everything to improve the education of children in failing schools. Its villains are the teachers’ unions that stand between a million rules and restrictions and the chance of a better life for a handful of children. The movie is going to be controversial, depending on how you feel about labor unions. My feeling is that the schoolroom is no place for political agendas, and all that matters is how good a movie it is. And it is pretty good, but flawed for a number of reasons, detailed below. Nevertheless, it’s a film that deserves to be seen, savored, debated and given serious attention.  Read More

By The Editors 2/29/12 8:42am

opinion

A Victory for School Reform

A week after Governor Cuomo and the teachers union agreed on a new, more robust system to evaluate public school teachers, the city released data reports measuring the performance of about 18,000 of the city’s 75,000 public school teachers. Advocates of educational accountability have good reason to cheer.

The battle to make the teacher ratings public was long and difficult, thanks to the predictable efforts of the United Federation of Teachers, which devoted a portion of its vast resources and energy to keeping the ratings away from the prying eyes of parents and taxpayers. The UFT was not particularly gracious in defeat—it never is. Union head Michael Mulgrew said the city’s Department of Education should “be ashamed of itself.” Shame, it should be noted, is not a characteristic we associate with the UFT.

The ratings are not perfect. Read More