--- title: Rep. George Miller Responds To TIME's "Rotten Apples" Cover description: U.S. Representative George Miller, the Senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, responds to TIME's "Rotten Apples" cover. canonical: https://time.com/3541263/rep-george-miller-responds-to-time-cover/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-27T17:12:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:54:47.997Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Rep. George Miller Responds To TIME's "Rotten Apples" Cover og:description: U.S. Representative George Miller, the Senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, responds to TIME's "Rotten Apples" cover. og:url: https://time.com/3541263/rep-george-miller-responds-to-time-cover/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b6605059ad5785f/698762ebcd684815c9097581/teacher-cover1.jpg?branch=production&width=814&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 814 og:image:height: 458 og:image:alt: teacher-cover og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rep. George Miller Responds To TIME's "Rotten Apples" Cover twitter:description: U.S. Representative George Miller, the Senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, responds to TIME's "Rotten Apples" cover. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b6605059ad5785f/698762ebcd684815c9097581/teacher-cover1.jpg?branch=production&width=814&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rep. George Miller Responds To TIME Cover > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Rep. George Miller](https://time.com/author/rep-george-miller/) ## Rep. George Miller Oct 27, 2014 5:12 PM UTC  TIME by [Rep. George Miller](https://time.com/author/rep-george-miller/) ## Rep. George Miller Oct 27, 2014 5:12 PM UTC _This is one part of a series of readers’ responses to_ [_this week’s cover_](http://time.com/3533556/the-war-on-teacher-tenure/?xid=time%5Freadnext)_._ I strongly support Judge Treu’s decision in the Vergara case and found Time’s story about teacher tenure and dismissal policies generally informative and balanced. But the headline and cover art – “Rotten Apples,” 11/3/2014 – is grossly unfair to teachers and further polarizes an issue we must resolve. As someone who has been trying for years to bridge the divide in the education debate, I know as well as anyone that hyperbole only serves to continue to deny poor and minority children a better education. All parties in this debate, whether Time, the teacher unions, or the reformers, must drop the rhetoric and focus on the kids. The fact is, California schools desperately need to improve. We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results. It is important to note that no other state in the country uses the confluence of laws challenged in Vergara in the way California does. Additionally, the case would not have been brought nor would the plaintiffs have prevailed if poor and minority students were achieving at high levels. However, my home state can have a system that guarantees all students equal access to effective teachers if we get students and teachers the supports they need to learn and teach effectively and if we make reasonable and necessary changes to California’s tenure and dismissal policies to make them fairer to all involved. Vergara should be seen by all stakeholders in the state as an opportunity to move teaching further into a modern profession – not as a reason to dig in and cling to the past. Calling teachers ‘Rotten Apples’ is grossly unfair and only serves to hurt the children who need effective teachers on their side. Now, for the good of students in California and education as a whole, we should drop the hyperbole and not let the inappropriate cover of Time detract from the critical issues Vergara highlighted and the barriers to equity it challenged. _In search of more perspectives on TIME’s cover?_ **Randi Weingarten**, President of the American Federation of Teachers, responds [here](http://wp.me/p5HMd-eRe8?xid=time%5Freadnext). **Christopher Ciampa,** a teacher from Los Angeles, responds [here](http://time.com/3541348/teacher-time-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). **Lily Eskelsen García**, President of the National Education Association, responds [here](http://time.com/3541384/eskelsen-garcia-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). **Courtney Brousseau**, a high school senior from Thousand Oaks, Calif., responds [here](http://time.com/3541359/student-responds-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). **Billy Easton,** the Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education, responds [here](http://time.com/3541376/aqe-response-to-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). **Gary Bloom**, former Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent, responds [here](http://time.com/3541399/superintendent-to-times-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). Educators from the **Badass Teachers Association** respond [here](http://time.com/3541411/bats-time-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). **Stuart Chaifetz**, a New Jersey parent, responds [here](http://time.com/3541465/nj-parent-time-cover/?xid=time%5Freadnext). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3541263/rep-george-miller-responds-to-time-cover/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3541263/rep-george-miller-responds-to-time-cover/"},"headline":"Rep. 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