Monday, March 26, 2012

Schools Matter: The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise

Schools Matter: The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise:


The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise

The Tragedy of Education Transformation: Leadership without Expertise

South Carolina's Superintendent of Education Mick Zais makes several claims in The State (March 25, 2012) that build on one central argument: "The most important information about teachers isn’t the degrees they have or their years of seniority. Their effectiveness in the classroom matters much, much more."

Like Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Zais has no experience teaching children in K-12 public education. This complete lack of teaching experience and degrees in the field of education is a suspect position from which to claim that these two characteristics do not matter. In fact, political appointees and elected officials sit in unique positions often above both accountability (the mantra du jour of the political elite regarding education) and