Obama 1, CTA 0? / Assembly right to take up school reform plan - Editorials - SignOnSanDiego.com:
"President Barack Obama’s unexpectedly insistent push for education reform is the most welcome surprise of his 10 months in office. A Democratic president is far better positioned politically to demand changes in how schools work than a Republican, whose policy pronouncements are likely to be trashed by the powerful National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers as a secret plot to undermine public education.
But as we have seen this fall in Sacramento, even a Democratic president can seem like an underdog when it comes to taking on teachers unions. A package of reform measures meant to qualify California for a share of $4.5 billion in “Race to the Top” federal education stimulus funds that passed the Senate stalled for weeks in the Assembly."
"President Barack Obama’s unexpectedly insistent push for education reform is the most welcome surprise of his 10 months in office. A Democratic president is far better positioned politically to demand changes in how schools work than a Republican, whose policy pronouncements are likely to be trashed by the powerful National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers as a secret plot to undermine public education.
But as we have seen this fall in Sacramento, even a Democratic president can seem like an underdog when it comes to taking on teachers unions. A package of reform measures meant to qualify California for a share of $4.5 billion in “Race to the Top” federal education stimulus funds that passed the Senate stalled for weeks in the Assembly."