Teachers and Parents: Natural Allies in Defending Our Schools
I have been thinking a bit more about the strategies at work in the battle over our schools that I describedyesterday. Michael Petrilli's op-ed makes division the key weapon that reformers will be using in the years to come.
Division 1: Middle class suburban schools vs. high poverty urban schools.
Mr. Petrilli wrote:
Since the middle class parents are joining with teachers to oppose high stakes tests that are taking the joy out of learning, split them off by letting their schools off the hook. Only focus "accountability" systems on the urban schools where the parents are not capable of resisting. The "winning political coalition" must pit suburban
Division 1: Middle class suburban schools vs. high poverty urban schools.
Mr. Petrilli wrote:
Top-down, one-size-fits-all efforts such as formulaic teacher evaluations tend to overemphasize the high-stakes testing that can take the joy out of learning. Parents and teachers in richer areas typically hate this pressure. Reformers can't put together winning political coalitions if they lose the suburbs. When it comes to middle-class schools, reformers should follow the doctors' dictum: First, do no harm.
Since the middle class parents are joining with teachers to oppose high stakes tests that are taking the joy out of learning, split them off by letting their schools off the hook. Only focus "accountability" systems on the urban schools where the parents are not capable of resisting. The "winning political coalition" must pit suburban