My discussion with Matt Barnum Part 1
A few weeks ago I was invited by Matt Barnum to discuss various issues in education reform through a series of letters. Matt is a TFA alum who is now in law school. He has written several articles in various newspapers about the complexity of improving education. Most recently he wrote something about how it is time for TFA to fold.
My first thought was that since we have so much in common, these discussions would not have enough conflict to make them very interesting reading. Matt says that he is generally on the ‘reform’ side of these discussions, though, so I asked him to ‘start’ the exchange. It is interesting to be on the receiving end of one of these ‘open letters’ as I’ve initiated so many of them. I can see why so many people didn’t respond to mine. By the nature of the process, the recipient is likely to feel and seem like he is on the defensive.
Here is his letter, followed by my response:
3/29/2013
Dear Gary,
It was about two and a half years ago that I started reading your book, ‘Reluctant Disciplinarian’. I had just finished TFA’s institute and was a couple weeks away from my first day teaching English at a middle school in Colorado. I remember thinking your book was a bit cynical and a bit negative.
Fast forward a couple months. I wished I’d taken your book more seriously, and I realized the