America’s lesson for British classrooms
Michael Gove’s plans for 'free schools’ will get a boost this week with a visit from the like-minded US education secretary. Alex Spillius reports from Washington .
President Obama visits a Washington charter school, the widely applauded equivalent of British 'free schools? Photo: Getty Images
As we all know by now, US President Barack Obama has not had a great first two years. His Republican critics have hammered him at every opportunity as an out-of-touch, anti-business, high-spending liberal. His greatest social mission – healthcare reform – has backfired. Elected on a promise of uniting the country, the divisions between Left and Right – or progressive and conservative, to use the American terminology – have instead solidified.
Education, however, has been an exception to the relentless criticism. Even prominent Right-wingers such as Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, and Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, have praised the