Why we can’t all get along over school reform
Ali and Frazier in 1974. (AP)
Why can’t we all get along in the battle over school reform? Here is one view, from veteran educator Larry Ferlazzo, who teaches English and Social Studies at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He has writtenfive books on education, writes a teacher advice blog for Education Week Teacher, and has his own popular resource-sharing blog.
By Larry Ferlazzo
I hate tension. But I love what can come out of that tension.
When I reflect on the most important growth experiences in my life — whether it was the first kiss on a date, being invited into a new city to organize a powerful multiethnic community organization, or learning how to become a teacher — just to name a few — they were all filled with tension.
In the context of democratic public life, no significant change — none — ever comes without tension.There are profound differences about the future direction our public education system should take. This week there were two calls for those of us with those differing opinions to get along for the sake of the children. Both of those calls were from people and groups who are well-intentioned and whose work I respect: Elliot Haspel publishes an email newsletter that I receive and like about education research and wrote a piece in The Washington Post; Educate Our State, a parents group in California about whom I’ve previously posted, issued a call for cooperation between teachers and superintendents to implement the newly approved district waivers here from No Child Left Behind awarded by the U.S. Education Department.
However, both calls for cooperation indicate a lack of awareness of how tension is
