Let Corkins’ team ask, and let employees answer

Maybe it’s time to give the distrust of Kansas Education Commissioner Bob Corkins a holiday break. Here’s a good place to start: the criticism of some questions being asked by his transition team of employees in the State Department of Education. Given that Corkins’ only experience with education was as a lobbyist for conservative reforms, of course his team wants to sound out state employees on school vouchers, charter schools and other pet issues. Employees should answer as candidly as they can, and surely Corkins will recognize the folly of trying to remake the department in his own ideological image: While he’s off promoting his agenda, somebody will have to keep doing the real work of the department.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

7 Comments

  1. Steven E.
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 12:39 am | Permalink

    Another home-run, Rhonda. Keep up the good work!

  2. writerdog
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 5:09 am | Permalink

    When ever a company is bought out, the first thing you do is. Find those that do not support the path the new company wish to take the company. And replace them with your own people.

    Ronda your thinking is in error, remember the board has already hyjacked science classes. Their decisions are not always based on logic.

  3. JWink
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 6:50 am | Permalink

    I notice that former EAGLE news reporter, David Awbry, was recently appointed as “spokesman” to the Kansas Board of Education. I seem to recall that after Mr. Awbry left the EAGLE and Wichita for northeast Kansas, he was involved in starting a new magazine about Kansas, Ad Aspera?, that I don’t see any longer. I believe he was an activist in his college days at K.U. I wonder what affect he will have, if any, on the the direction of the Kansas Board of Education?

  4. Joe Blow
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 8:02 am | Permalink

    That’s right…listen to the entrenched bureaucrats, they have such an impressive educational record…try going to McDonalds and asking for change, Rhonda.

  5. Jeff
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 5:41 pm | Permalink

    OK, those who banty about the term bureaucrat/educrat/etc please define with specifics what you mean those to be. I have been a teacher for 15 years. Does that make me an educrat? My sister has worked in the appraiser’s office of two different counties for over 20 years now. Does that make her a bureaucrat? Lets remember that most of the people working in various posts are generally following the policies set forth by people elected to office and their appointees, and its the policies that create bureaucracies.

  6. Jed
    Posted November 23, 2005 at 6:45 pm | Permalink

    Since when has a consensus of opinion mattered to those who consider themselves absolutely right(wing)? Corkie expects history to vindicate him. He’s just making up his enemies list!

  7. Rage
    Posted November 25, 2005 at 9:04 pm | Permalink

    Awbrey’s working for them? For real? Are you sure?

    Guess I’m not surprised. We’ll see if he’s learned anything in the past decade. I remember one column of his where he stated that science ought to serve theological goals. I am not making this up. He of course used the standard meaningless rhetoric of the lunatic right: “moral relativism,” “situation ethics” (something everyone uses), etc.

    Rhonda, are you serious? These are people who see nothing wrong redefining science to include the supernatural. They are largely incapable of perceiving folly.

    If Corkins is anything like the people who hired him, he’ll be perfectly okay with others doing the real work. Remember how Connie Morris admitted she hadn’t even bothered to read the original science standards? I would bet there were, say, five others who didn’t either.

    Whether in Topeka or in Washington, those pushing an ideological agenda don’t want to be bothered with the mundane details of governance.