School Reformers Who Disagree Find Common Ground (John Thompson and Neerav Kingsland)
The following post was written by teacher John Thompson of Oklahoma City and Neerav Kingsland, CEO of New Schools for New Orleans. They introduce themselves below. The post was published by Rick Hess, a blogger for Education Week on September 21, 2012.
There is much we disagree on – don’t worry we’ll get to that. But in writing this joint post we hope to flesh out some common beliefs that unite two very different people – and, perhaps, two different wings of current education debates. The recent events in Chicago make very clear that there is a great divide between different factions of reform and that this divide continues to greatly impact children. We hope that this divide need not be permanent – and that a common agenda may be found between different reform camps. At the very least, we have found common ground where few would have expected.
Some Background on Us
I (John) taught and participated in whole school and district-wide reforms in the Oklahoma City Public School System (which is 90% low income). On the eve of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), I served on the steering
There is much we disagree on – don’t worry we’ll get to that. But in writing this joint post we hope to flesh out some common beliefs that unite two very different people – and, perhaps, two different wings of current education debates. The recent events in Chicago make very clear that there is a great divide between different factions of reform and that this divide continues to greatly impact children. We hope that this divide need not be permanent – and that a common agenda may be found between different reform camps. At the very least, we have found common ground where few would have expected.
Some Background on Us
I (John) taught and participated in whole school and district-wide reforms in the Oklahoma City Public School System (which is 90% low income). On the eve of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), I served on the steering