Celebrity Policymaking
This morning I posted a blog about Governor Kasich appointing a former football star to the Ohio state board of education.
I got this response from a reader in Michigan:
This is part of a trend I’ve seen here in Michigan – celebrity policy-making. It’s an extension of the traveling shows of Michelle Rhee and Jeb Bush. When Rhee talked to the Michigan legislature last year many legislators seemed in awe. The same thing happened when Jalen Rose, a former University of Michigan basketball star, talked to them about education and the need for more charter schools. He was an expert, I guess, being about to open a charter school in Detrot. His qualifications, other than as a basketball star, we’re that he had attended Detroit Public Schools and he had lots of money.Legislators were posing for pictures with him and getting his autograph. Celebrity policy-making in action.
This comment set me to wondering. Our policymakers say we should be competitive with the nation’s highest-
I got this response from a reader in Michigan:
This is part of a trend I’ve seen here in Michigan – celebrity policy-making. It’s an extension of the traveling shows of Michelle Rhee and Jeb Bush. When Rhee talked to the Michigan legislature last year many legislators seemed in awe. The same thing happened when Jalen Rose, a former University of Michigan basketball star, talked to them about education and the need for more charter schools. He was an expert, I guess, being about to open a charter school in Detrot. His qualifications, other than as a basketball star, we’re that he had attended Detroit Public Schools and he had lots of money.Legislators were posing for pictures with him and getting his autograph. Celebrity policy-making in action.
This comment set me to wondering. Our policymakers say we should be competitive with the nation’s highest-
