In Which I Debate Federal Ed Policy with a UFO
by Frederick M. Hess • Mar 12, 2014 at 11:30 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
Cross-posted from Education Week
I awoke with a start last night. Hovering above the floor, inches from the bed, was a figure. He wore a nice suit and avidly thumbed his iPhone, before glancing up at me.
"Uh, who are you? What's going on?" I asked. "And why are you hovering?"
"I'm an unidentified federal official. I'm here to chat. A bunch of us at the U.S. Department of Ed have been wondering why you're being such a pain. We used to think you were a friend. But now, it seems like you've blown a gasket. What gives?"
"You're a 'UFO'? Seriously?"
"Yep."
"And the hovering?"
"C'mon. What gives? Why've you turned into such a tosser?"
"Look," I said, "you guys ought to keep in mind that, on principle, I'm with you on a lot, like getting serious about teacher evaluation, embracing better assessments, promoting the smart use of ed tech, and expanding good charter schools. But, there are two big things. One, a bunch of this legalistic, OCR-driven stuff you guys are doing, on school discipline or teacher distribution, leaves me cold. I see lots of new rules, nervous educators, and mindless compliance, and no reason to believe it'll add up to anything but more bureaucracy
