Union-Hating Steve Perry Is Coming To Rutgers!

Well, well, well - look who's coming to Rutgers this week:

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Why Aren’t Students Ready? Barriers to College Access for America’s Youth

Thursday, 10:00 am–11:15 am, Livingston Student Center, Livingston Hall

Speaker

Dr. Steve Perry CNN Education Contributor; Principal, Capital Preparatory Magnet School

The keynote address, no less. How lovely; nice to see Rutgers University - perhaps the most important center for teacher training in the state - give a forum to one of the best-known teachers union haters in the country.

I wonder: did the organizers of this conference chose Dr. Perry because of his judicious use of social media to engage in a civil conversation about education?

• America has a long & ugly history of groups like the teachers’ unions fighting to keep minority kids from getting out of failed schools. 

• The teachers union is power-thirsty. 

• Want to stop truancy? … tell your teachers to get to work.  

[...]

• Uft & other teachers’ unions & associations MAY wish to consider considering what is best for the kids as opposed to guaranteeing jobs. 

[...]

• Teachers unions & incompetent central office staff can cripple entire districts causing thousands of kids to be robbed of education. 

• Union’s greatest negative impacts on learning are they lower expectations on teachers, bump good ppl out of jobs & fight for failed schools.

Perhaps Rutgers invited Perry for his contributions to education scholarship?

In truth, the “case” in Perry’s “study” is neither unique enough nor substantial enough in its own right to stand alone as a study befitting the rigor due a doctoral dissertation.  If there were only a single, six-staff Upward Bound program in the entire United States, that would be arguably unique. If research on Upward Bound did not readily lend itself to quantitative questions, that too would warrant a qualitative study in order to discern potential emergent themes associated with Upward Bound. But such is not the case. And Perry’s attempt at a “qualitative study” amounts to little more than “How can I do this thing as quickly as possible?”

Maybe Perry will keynote at the home of the Scarlet Knights because of his outstanding successes as an educational leader?

Maybe it's just the man's dedication to his school:

Perry has missed in excess of 20 percent of the school days and that assumes he is staying through the end of the day before he jets off for his weekend speaking engagements.

This weekend Perry is in Mississippi, but previous weekends during this school year has found Perry in New York, Georgia and Texas to name a few.

Oh, and you won’t find Perry around next weekend either.  He’ll be in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Wait - if Perry is speaking here in New Jersey on Thursday at 10:00 am, who will be running his school? Did he get paid by Rutgers to speak here? If so, is the Hartford, CT Board of Education fine with him taking a day off from his real job for a different paid gig? Perhaps someone could ask...

The Future Scholars program at Rutgers is a great program. I am very proud that they are so involved in working to make college accessible to qualified, bright, young people, no matter their backgrounds.

But maybe they ought to do a little Googling next time the pick someone to keynote. Just a thought...

The Merit Pay Fairy says: "Youse cudda chose me!"