Herman Badillo Educator of the Year
Phil Orenstein • December 30, 2008 • Uncategorized
The following is an introduction to the accomplishments of the great New York statesman and education reformer, Herman Badillo I wrote for the Queens Village Eagle and local New York media:
Herman Badillo will be receiving his long overdue honors and recognition from the GOP at the Lincoln Bicentennial Dinner. The Queens Village Republican Club will be holding the 134th Anniversary Lincoln Dinner on February 8th 2009 at Antun’s of Queens Village, New York. On behalf of all New York City Democrats and Republicans alike, Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village, 33rd AD) will be presenting the Educator of the Year award to this eminent reformer of both the City University of New York and public school systems at the gala celebration of the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Indeed the GOP missed a significant opportunity and snubbed him in the 2001 Republican primary against Michael Bloomberg. Republicans were lured by the unrequited lucrative promises of the billionaire who just changed to Republican, who is now set to “buy” his third term as mayor.
Battered but not beaten, the GOP is recognizing the errors of their ways and paying respect to our past standard bearers and rising to the challenge of embracing the new ones. Our illustrious standard bearer, Herman Badillo likewise realized his earlier errors in championing big government bi-lingual education programs and has ever since upheld high standards of achievement not only for his own ethnic group, but for all New Yorkers. He related this 180 degree change in his recent book, One Nation, One Standard which is subtitled “An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just like Other Immigrant Groups.” Older and wiser now, he admonishes the Hispanic community to embrace American cultural values of self reliance, thrift and the hard work ethic held by Asian, Jewish, black Caribbean and other prior disadvantaged immigrant groups and to avoid big government solutions that are an obstacle to assimilation, prosperity and the American dream.
Badillo translated this lesson into action in his life’s work to end “social promotion” which is the shameful policy of promoting failing students, which sadly continues today unabated in the school system. The Hispanic population will soon grow to 25% of the nation and it would be disastrous for them and our nation if they fail to assimilate to American values and the work ethic. Now at 79, Badillo is still fighting valiantly for this lofty goal of “one standard for all” in the public school system.
Badillo began his political career becoming active in the New York Democratic Party and was elected Bronx Borough President in 1965. He was the first Puerto Rican Borough President and Congressman, when he was elected in 1970 to represent the residents of the 21st Congressional District in the South Bronx. He was one of the founders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, he added job training for unemployed non-English speaking citizens to the “Comprehensive Manpower Act of 1973,” added language access provisions to the Voting Rights Act, and was one of the first to advocate funding for bi-lingual educations programs of which he is now an outspoken opponent.
In 1977 Badillo was appointed deputy mayor of New York City under Democratic Mayor Ed Koch, handling labor relations and community outreach. Badillo resigned this post after a major public dispute with Mayor Koch over his lack of support for the revitalization program for the South Bronx. He ran for Comptroller of New York City in 1993 on a “fusion” ticket with Rudy Giuliani, but lost to Alan Hevesi. Badillo served as the Special Counsel on education policy to Mayor Giuliani and was appointed Vice Chairman and then Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York (CUNY), where he led the campaign to end open enrollment, overhaul the curriculum, and raise academic standards which succeeded in the glorious renaissance of CUNY.
City College, the gem of the CUNY system was known as the “Harvard of the Poor” and “its sister colleges like Hunter College and Queens College, boasts such eminent alumni as polio vaccine inventor Dr. Jonas Salk, civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable and Congressman Daniel Patrick Moynihan.”
In 1969, when CUNY officials caved in to the demands of violent black and Hispanic radical groups for “open enrollment,” “Black Studies” and other ethnic identity programs, the reputation and high standards of CUNY began to plummet. Minority enrollment rose, but degrees from this disgraceful “diploma mill” were of no value in the marketplace, and at some city colleges the dropout rate was over 80%. The outcome of this academic degeneration produced such despicable characters as City College professor Leonard Jeffries, former chair of Black Studies who spiced his lectures with such anti-Semitic slurs as “Jews are a race of skunks,” and referred to George Washington as “the slave master bastard founding father.” Badillo was an outspoken critic of Jeffries, decrying his anti-Semitic and racist drivel until he was dismissed as department chairman.
It wasn’t until the 1990’s when Badillo and the CUNY board started working for higher standards, ending the failed remediation and open enrollment policies, that the once proud reputation of CUNY was restored. Badillo successfully raised admission and graduation requirements, removed remedial courses, and fought to restore a core curriculum with an American history requisite for every student. Not only did minority enrollment continue to rise, but now their degrees are well respected in the marketplace. We are proud to present Herman Badillo with the Educator of the Year award. This is a fitting tribute to a fighter who stood up against the radical ideologies that lead to failure, and became the standard bearer of American values, hard work, and higher standards in education.
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4 Responses to “Herman Badillo Educator of the Year”
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I am a teacher at Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy in Buffalo, NY. I preparation for re-entering our newly renovated building, I have been trying to find out the year our school was named after Herman Badillo. If you have any information that would help, please contact me.
Hon. Herman Badillo responsed as follows to your above question:
Dear Mr. Orenstein,
The school was named after me in 1994. At that time it was known as the “Herman Badillo Bilingual School”.
Regards,
Hon. Herman Badillo
It’s amazing how the Republicans backed a phony Republican like Bloomberg. The man is relentless. Imagne having the law changed so you could run again for a 3rd term? Too bad Mr. Badillo didn’t decide to run as an independent on a third party ticket. I’ll bet you he would have won. Too bad!
Labor relations should always be good to ensure the success of a company..~-