What Would a Progressive Edu-ALEC Look Like?
Mention the word "policy" and most teachers' eyes glaze over. Actually, most Americans' eyes glaze over. Unless you can edit policy down into a catchy, snarky sound bite--effectively putting a face on a political dartboard--lots of folks just aren't interested. Pass the popcorn.
Until, of course, a new policy directly impacts their day-to-day living, their personal passion (like owning a gun)--or their children. At which point, the long process of making policy--who fed the sausage-makers, and why--is in the rear view mirror.
This is precisely the position American public school teachers find themselves in, at the moment. All the groundwork destabilizing America's best idea--a free, high-quality fully public education for every child--has been laid. Now it's just a matter of presenting a series of policy "options"--Parent "triggers?" "Enterprise Zones" for private-school vouchers? "Alternative certifications" to give new college grads a couple of resume'-boosting gap years before grad school?
Frankly, it's too late for educators to complain about not having a place at their own table. The table is in another room in another city--and teachers aren't invited. Policy controls their work to a