Time magazine’s “Rotten Apples” cover continues to generate strong reactions.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday to air her criticisms of the cover depicting a judge’s gavel about to squash an apple. The story is primarily about the tech millionaire-funded Vergara lawsuit in California, in which a judge struck down state laws providing tenure and other job protections to teachers.
“This cover was a sucker punch to all teachers across the country,” Weingarten told host Joe Scarborough, who pressed her on whether Time‘s story was on target.
“We didn’t take on the article; the article’s balanced,” Weingarten said. “I may not like a lot of it, but it’s balanced.”
The five-minute segment didn’t resolve much, but Weingarten and Scarborough indicated they will continue their long-running debate over teacher issues. “I feel like we’re growing old together,” Weingarten said. [A “teaching” bonus from this morning’s “Morning Joe": Musician Graham Nash appears in the studio to promote his memoir, and he sings “Teach Your Children,” accompanied by Scarborough.]
Time, meanwhile, has been posting reactions to the cover and the article on its Web site, including submissions from Weingarten, the Badass Teachers Association, and from teachers, parents, and students.
Kelsey Rohwer, a spokesperson for Time, said the magazine had no response to the criticisms.
“The piece speaks for itself and Time is happy to be hosting this conversation, presenting multiple points of view,” Rohwer said via email.