Rhee on Stewart: A Breakdown, Part II
As I said last post, I thought Jon Stewart did a pretty good job, all things considered, in interviewing Michelle Rhee. You should watch the entire, extended interview, and not just what aired, to get the full effect. This isn't the skewering of Rhee I and so many others crave, but Stewart does take her on in a way the mainstream media - which has had a love affair with St. Michelle for quite some time - does not.
That said, I have a real problem with something Stewart states here:
That said, I have a real problem with something Stewart states here:
(6:25) STEWART: The school system seems to have moved away from any practical reality in the modern world -there really hasn't been any innovation in education since... I don't know, John Dewey. But there's that idea that we no longer have a connection to the way the real world works and the way schools should work in communities. It just seems like a much larger problem... teachers seem like one tool with which to get education in this country back on track. But they seem to be the only tool that ever gets... yelled at.
OK, Jon, look - I obviously agree with what you're saying about teachers getting all the blame for woes theydidn't create and can't be expected to fix. And if you're making the case that the testing regime has removed American education from relevance to the real world, I'd obviously agree with that as well. And if you're also making the case that schools should broaden their engagement in communities and provide wrap-around services, I'm with you on that, too.
But are you really saying that "there really hasn't been any innovation in education since... I don't know, John