What I Did Last Summer, Part One
Dear Deborah,
I wish I could say I had a restful summer, but I didn't. I finished writing an epilogue for the paperback edition ofThe Death and Life of the Great American School System, which should be out by Thanksgiving. That ended up being 100 pages. I felt as though I could have written a whole additional book about the events of the 20 months since the book was published.
The high point of the summer, of course, was the SOS March on July 30. But I had other events that bear mentioning.
On June 30, I had a debate with Wendy Kopp at the Aspen Ideas Festival. AIF was quite fascinating because I definitely felt like the skunk at a garden party. Aside from me (and a few spouses who were teachers), the educators in attendance were leaders of the current reform movement. There was Jon Schnur of New Leaders for New Schools, Jonah Edelman of Stand for Children, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and many more from the charter/entrepreneurial sector. If there were any superintendents or principals from traditional public