George Will’s Surprising Take on the Chicago Battle
George Will is confused about who is right and who is wrong in the battle between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union.
And that’s a good thing, because one would expect this doughty conservative to stand firmly, loudly, and uncompromisingly in opposition to the union.
But he didn’t.
Granted, he doesn’t know that CTU is part of the American Federation of Teachers, not the National Education Association. And he doesn’t know that the name of the NEA was settled in 1857, not just recently to deceive people and “blur the fact that it is a teachers’ union.”
Granted, he thinks the auto industry was fatally wounded by its unions, not by its shortsighted managers, who
And that’s a good thing, because one would expect this doughty conservative to stand firmly, loudly, and uncompromisingly in opposition to the union.
But he didn’t.
Granted, he doesn’t know that CTU is part of the American Federation of Teachers, not the National Education Association. And he doesn’t know that the name of the NEA was settled in 1857, not just recently to deceive people and “blur the fact that it is a teachers’ union.”
Granted, he thinks the auto industry was fatally wounded by its unions, not by its shortsighted managers, who
Let’s Hear It for Stability
Corporate reformers love the idea of creative disruption. They think that closing schools and opening schools is a bold, innovative stroke.
It’s never their own children who lose their school.
It’s never their own community.
They never ask those involved, because when they do, the people say a loud “No.”
People have many reasons to care about a community school, not just its test scores.
But corporate reformers would like everyone to shop for their school the way they shop for shoes, with no loyalty,
It’s never their own children who lose their school.
It’s never their own community.
They never ask those involved, because when they do, the people say a loud “No.”
People have many reasons to care about a community school, not just its test scores.
But corporate reformers would like everyone to shop for their school the way they shop for shoes, with no loyalty,
The Only Egg in NYC’s Basket Is Broken
After ten years of mayoral control of its public schools, New York City has only one strategy to “reform” the schools: Closing existing schools and replacing them with many new small schools.
You would think that after ten years with one person in charge, holding the unlimited power to do whatever he wants, the schools would now all be successful–that is, if he actually had a good idea about how to improve the schools.
But no, the game of closing schools continues, meaning that every year a new group of schools will be single out for a shutdown. As readers of this blog know, the New York City Department of Education (i.e., Mayor Bloomberg) decided to shut down 33 schools this year. When powerful politicians in Queens complained loudly,
You would think that after ten years with one person in charge, holding the unlimited power to do whatever he wants, the schools would now all be successful–that is, if he actually had a good idea about how to improve the schools.
But no, the game of closing schools continues, meaning that every year a new group of schools will be single out for a shutdown. As readers of this blog know, the New York City Department of Education (i.e., Mayor Bloomberg) decided to shut down 33 schools this year. When powerful politicians in Queens complained loudly,
The Scarlet Letter in New Orleans
I received an email from an educator in New Orleans who read my post about the proposal by a management consultant to require low-performing charter schools to post their grades on the wall and on their clothing. The informant said that the proposal to the Algiers Charter Schools Association was not merely theoretical. It was already imposed at the McDonogh #32 charter school. He or she sent me two photographs: One showed the school’s letterhead, declaring it has a grade of F, the other showed a public banner with the school’s F grade and its goals for improvement boldly displayed.
I think most educators would consider this practice of public shaming to be a barbaric remnant of another century, not even the 20th century.
What next? Dunce caps for the children? Public dunking for the teachers? Enforced silence for all? No breakfast
I think most educators would consider this practice of public shaming to be a barbaric remnant of another century, not even the 20th century.
What next? Dunce caps for the children? Public dunking for the teachers? Enforced silence for all? No breakfast