Democrats for Education Reform? Why Policy Fault Lines Are Shifting - The Daily Beast

Democrats for Education Reform? Why Policy Fault Lines Are Shifting - The Daily Beast:

Democrats for Education Reform? Why Policy Fault Lines Are Shifting

The Chicago teachers’ strike continues, and schools there are failing. But policy fault lines are finally beginning to shift. Why education reform is getting a new consensus.

 
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER!

“On this issue and this day we stand with Mayor Rahm Emanuel.” So said Paul Ryan at the outset of the Chicago’s teacher strike this week. 

Now in its fourth day, the Chicago strike affects 350,000 kids. It occurred despite an offer by Mayor Emanuel to support a 16 percent pay raise over four years—on top of an average $76,000 teacher salary—despite the city facing a $1 billion budget deficit. In exchange, educators would need to accept teacher evaluations and principals’ discretion over hiring and firing. The union rejected the deal.

Sometimes policy, not just politics, makes strange bedfellows and Paul Ryan’s status as a charter member of the Republicans for Rahm fan club shouldn’t distract from perhaps an even more surprising dynamic—the growing number of Democrats who are standing up for education reform.

The courage, of course, comes from the fact that the Teachers Union is one of