The Strange Paradox of 'School Reform' Today
Dear Deborah,
Over the past few months, I have traveled the country and spoken to thousands of educators—teachers, administrators, and school board members. At the same time, I have kept close tabs on the national discussion about the Obama administration's Race to the Top.
I have discovered a strange paradox. With few exceptions, the national media are excited by the Race to the Top, especially the expansion of charter schools, the tough accountability measures directed at teachers, and closing down of "failing" schools. But educators are overwhelmingly disheartened by these same measures.
The people who have the closest involvement in schools see the Obama administration's policies as misguided, if not disastrous, yet these same policies are celebrated by journalists and pundits who see education as just one more policy issue with obvious answers.
Consider these two journalistic celebrations of Race to the Top: one, by Stephen Brill in The New York Times Magazine, and the other, by David Brooks in his column in The New York Times. Brill, a lawyer who usually writes about legal