John Thompson: Can Education Reformers Learn the Art of Compromise?
Guest post by John Thompson.
My attempt to describe Common Core as an example of the old-fashioned "status quo," which contemporary "reformers" have sought to destroy, seems to have hit a nerve. In the past, educators of different stripes would battle, negotiate, and compromise. Corporate powers were well represented, but there was no effort to assert complete dominance over the field. I argued that the search for "transformative" change and "disruptive innovation" was a historical dead end. I speculated that Common Core and other standards-based reforms would have had a better potential for helping kids had we not just endured more than a generation of scorch and burn politics.
Perhaps I'm beating a dead horse, but I would like to try again, and to pose a thought experiment. What would have happened if accountability hawks had sought to work within the system, and not wipe the slate clean so they could impose their own preferences? What would have happened if the Gates Foundation had built upon
My attempt to describe Common Core as an example of the old-fashioned "status quo," which contemporary "reformers" have sought to destroy, seems to have hit a nerve. In the past, educators of different stripes would battle, negotiate, and compromise. Corporate powers were well represented, but there was no effort to assert complete dominance over the field. I argued that the search for "transformative" change and "disruptive innovation" was a historical dead end. I speculated that Common Core and other standards-based reforms would have had a better potential for helping kids had we not just endured more than a generation of scorch and burn politics.
Perhaps I'm beating a dead horse, but I would like to try again, and to pose a thought experiment. What would have happened if accountability hawks had sought to work within the system, and not wipe the slate clean so they could impose their own preferences? What would have happened if the Gates Foundation had built upon
