Opinion: Obama seems to be delivering on education reform - San Jose Mercury News:
"A few weeks ago, 'Saturday Night Live' teased President Barack Obama for delivering great speeches but not actually bringing change. There's at least one area where that jibe is unfair: Education.
When Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to office, they created a $4.3 billion Race to the Top fund. The idea was to use money to leverage change. The administration would put a pile of federal money on the table and award it to a few states that most aggressively embraced reform.
Their ideas were good, and their speeches were beautiful. But the challenge was going to be standing up to the teachers' unions and the other groups that have undermined nearly every other reform effort."
"A few weeks ago, 'Saturday Night Live' teased President Barack Obama for delivering great speeches but not actually bringing change. There's at least one area where that jibe is unfair: Education.
When Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to office, they created a $4.3 billion Race to the Top fund. The idea was to use money to leverage change. The administration would put a pile of federal money on the table and award it to a few states that most aggressively embraced reform.
Their ideas were good, and their speeches were beautiful. But the challenge was going to be standing up to the teachers' unions and the other groups that have undermined nearly every other reform effort."