Education is the new abortion: The battle over school reform has turned dangerously vitriolic
Thursday, June 30th 2011, 4:00 AM
Less than a year ago, as I was finishing a book on Michelle Rhee, the combative former chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C., the time arrived to set up a website for the book. The website designer asked if I wanted to include reader comments. It was a sensible suggestion, but I said, no, thanks.
While reporting the book, I had monitored the comment sections in other publications as reporters wrote about hot-button education topics, including Rhee. These commentators were nasty; I'm talking abortion-debate-level nastiness.
How did that happen? For years, education politics were noteworthy mostly for their earnestness. Sure, there were flareups between "reformers" and teachers unions, but generally the tone of the discourse was civil and there was genuine curiosity in understanding opposing views. Today, that's mostly gone.
As an author writing about the polarizing Rhee, one might expect I would experience this vitriol. But I'm hardly alone. Time
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2011/06/30/2011-06-30_education_is_the_new_abortion_the_battle_over_school_reform_has_turned_dangerous.html#ixzz1Qm4GBXJ6