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Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Answer Sheet - What's wrong with the ‘manifesto’ -- point by point

The Answer Sheet - What's wrong with the ‘manifesto’ -- point by point

What's wrong with the ‘manifesto’ -- point by point

This was written by Anne Geiger, who served on the Orange County School Board in Orlando, Fl., from 2004-2008. A native of Virginia, she lives in Arlington and blogs at www.publicpolicyblogger.com, where this appeared. In this piece, Geiger analyzes the school reform "manifesto" signed by 16 big city schools superintendents and chancellors, including Michelle Rhee of Washington D.C., and Joel Klein of New York City, and published this week in The Washinton Post. I have posted this week a few pieces critical of the manifesto’s agenda, but this one looks at it point by point and offers an alternative vision of real school reform. 1) "Manifesto." A curious, full-throated choice when it's really more of an op-ed written in real time, more disjointed than coherent, more hyperbole than fact. So, what is a manifesto? A document that lays out a catechism, a body of fundamental principles or beliefs to be