Chris Christie: Comedian, Pragmatist
But he has four children, ages 8 to 17, he will not abandon for presidential politics. When he visited a workaholic aide during her difficult labor before her daughter was born, he said, “Put away your BlackBerry, you are in the middle of a miracle.” As subtle as a linebacker, as direct as an uppercut, Christie, explaining why he will not run, demonstrates why many wish he would. When supporters argue, “You can’t say you’re not ready — look at Obama,” he replies: “Yeah, look at him.”
Hilarious!
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“I knew I’d get one shot to do this in my life. One opportunity. I’m just an average guy. I’m not for everybody. The only thing I know how to do is coach. For a while, no one had the guts to give us a shot. But [owner] Woody Johnson and [GM] Mike Tannenbaum did, and you know it hasn’t been easy. I’m not perfect. I’ve put them through some hard times this year; you know that. I’m not going to apologize for who I am.”
- New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Rex Ryan — The Chris Christie of Football.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lf9kp0E6lA1qa1apeo1_500.jpg)
“I knew I’d get one shot to do this in my life. One opportunity. I’m just an average guy. I’m not for everybody. The only thing I know how to do is coach. For a while, no one had the guts to give us a shot. But [owner] Woody Johnson and [GM] Mike Tannenbaum did, and you know it hasn’t been easy. I’m not perfect. I’ve put them through some hard times this year; you know that. I’m not going to apologize for who I am.”
- New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan
(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
Rex Ryan — The Chris Christie of Football.
N.J. Gov. Christie approves toughest anti-bullying law in the country
It will require training for most public school teachers, administrators and other employees on how to spot bullying and mandate that all districts form a “school safety team” to review complaints. School districts would be graded by the state on their efforts to combat the problem.
Administrators who do not investigate reported incidents of bullying would be disciplined, while students who bully could be suspended or expelled. School employees would also be required to report all incidents they learn of, whether they took place in or outside of school.
The bill, in the works for almost a year, gained publicity and momentum after the suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, whose roommate streamed a romantic encounter between him and another man over the internet.
Our members are never going to accept this.
— The Washington, D.C. Teachers Union Leadership on a proposed revolutionary new contract.
What actually happened:
In truth, when the union finally allowed them to vote, the teachers passed it overwhelmingly, by 80% to 20%. Given the chance to be treated as professionals and to be rewarded for their achievements, they grabbed it.
From “How to Overhaul the U.S. Education System: Michelle Rhee and Adrian Fenty on what they learned while pushing to reform D.C.’s failing public schools” in Saturday’s WSJ.
Flesh out:
We bargained with the teachers’ union for 2½ years and won significant concessions. How did we do it? By striking the sort of grand bargain that could serve as a model for other troubled school districts. The formula is really quite simple: more money and resources, in exchange for more accountability from teachers.
The union took some time to accept this trade-off. In 2008, we put a proposal on the table that we considered rather bold. In exchange for giving up tenure and linking pay to performance, teachers would be able to earn up to $130,000 a year. At first, union leadership was dead-set against it and simply refused to allow their members to vote.
We did not give up that easily. D.C. went for more than two years without a new teachers’ contract, but we kept at it. Since the city did not have the money for a significant raise, we implored several foundations to consider providing the resources to enact a groundbreaking contract. The funders, including the Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, were clear that they would put up the money, but not if they were only backing a marginal improvement. The contract had to set a new precedent.
That D.C.’s teachers finally endorsed this revolutionary new contract shows that they, too, are ready for change. When we were negotiating with the union, we heard one thing over and over again from the leadership: “Our members are never going to accept this.” In truth, when the union finally allowed them to vote, the teachers passed it overwhelmingly, by 80% to 20%. Given the chance to be treated as professionals and to be rewarded for their achievements, they grabbed it.
Our contract with the teachers achieved a number of breakthroughs:
• It rewards great teachers who accept a higher level of accountability with some of the highest teacher pay in the nation—up to twice as much as they were previously making.
• No longer do educators have a job guarantee for life. Ineffective teachers are immediately dismissed from the system. Minimally effective teachers do not receive a pay step increase and have one year to improve their performance. If that doesn’t happen, they are subject to termination.
• If layoffs are necessary, the decisions about whom to dismiss are based on quality and performance instead of seniority.
• We also instituted a comprehensive system for evaluating teachers, including growth in student achievement as measured by standardized tests (so that teachers who take on the toughest students aren’t unfairly penalized), observation of their classroom practices and assessment of their contributions to the school community.
Read the entire piece, including some initial results, here.
Progress.
Ooh — more from Christie today
Let me tell you this…you know what? It’s people who raise their voices, and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country. We’re here to bring this country together, not to divide it.
The pragmatic NJ Governor Chris Christie to a heckler at a political rally for California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman in Los Angeles, September 23, 2010.
Source: News 12 New Jersey
