Thanks Joel Klein, for bringing us together

I’m not sure why there is so much interest in Obama’s Secretary of Ed appointment. I mean education reform seems to be down towards the middle of Obama’s crisis-solving agenda. But when the name of N.Y. schools chancellor, Joel Klein emerged on the short list, the education blog pot started boiling—me included. My blog post from yesterday is among several picked up this morning by NYT’s Elissa Gootman.

Now petitions are circulating, calling on Obama to reject Klein. Progressive educators, opponents of standardized testing, voucher and privatization critics, community and parent groups and even contending factions with teacher unions, are coming together amid strains of Kumbaya to try and keep Klein in N.Y. where he can do the least damage.

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Right targets Darling-Hammond

Across the line, a collection of conservative, pro-voucher and school privatization groups are rallying their forces in opposition to Obama’s chief educational advisor Linda Darling-Hammond. Here, blogger Alexander Russo, whose kitchen-sink anti-Obama campaign ended on election day, carries their water and then accuses my brother at PREAPrez of “going Klonsky” on him. At least he spells our name right (unlike Mike Petrilli). But this is the first time I’ve seen Klonsky used as an adjective—as in going postal.