'It's for the children' can't just be words in school reform
On a frigid morning last January, a team of street acrobats performed in front of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. "It's for the children," the leader promised slyly, as his teammates held out their caps for cash tributes, winning dollars and laughter from those of us watching at once.
"It's for the children," is the message that Gov. Rick Snyder and new Emergency Manager Roy Roberts utter now, as they unveil a plan to make Detroit's tragically failing schools the focal point of a statewide reform program.
"It's for the children" can be shtick. But this "it" — an education reform plan to revive Detroit's moribund school system — may actually be the real deal.
Yes, it's easier to say you're helping kids than actually do it. And any educational reform effort deserves to be met with skepticism and an insistence on more information. But Snyder's plan is seemingly designed to thwart
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110621/OPINION03/106210353/‘It’s-for-the-children’-can’t-just-be-words-in-school-reform#ixzz1PudSG3EA