Here's my thoughts on this one, posted at WHYY's Newsworks:
Those of you who are not big Chris Christie fans may be forgiven for indulging in a bit of schadenfreude during the Governor's State of the State address on Tuesday afternoon. (That's a German word for taking pleasure in in the misfortune of others and a great "Avenue Q" song.) As the Governor wilted over the lectern, audience members buzzed about the latest revelations of Bridgegate and whether his presidential aspirations were toast. In what may be one of the shortest State of the States in history, Christie stumbled through a sorrowful preface ("mistakes were clearly made") before getting to the point.
You can't blame him for sticking to his forte; fully one quarter of his speech (here's the transcript) was devoted to public education reform. Specifically, Christie proposed an extension of the school day and the school year. Currently most N.J. public school students attend school for 180 days a year, the minimum set by state statute. The average school day in N.J. is six and a half hours. Only five states in the country have shorter days
Read the rest here.