Choice, Small Schools, and Trade-Offs
Today, Deborah Meier writes to Mike Klonsky, who joined her on the blog this week.
Dear Mike,
We most often argue about strategy rather than principles. But maybe there's a principle behind our differences in strategy. I've always had a hard time when asked, "Well. what would you do?" My answer is virtually always, "It depends." I need to hear as much of the story as possible, and then feel myself toward possible next steps. That's true whether we're discussing what to do about Johnny's behavior or how to help him learn his multiplication tables or make friends. Ditto for school reform.
Only by playing it out, observing, listening, and responding can I weigh the trade-offs that any particular step requires. If I do X, first, I can't do Y first. What we sometimes argue about is our relative fierceness—who should be attacked without mercy, and who ..., etc. But to argue that "in general" would be futile. So maybe we'll get into things sidewise, by figuring out some of our own dilemmas.
Thus my inconsistencies may be a form of consistency, given the circumstances. And, sometimes, however, it's because I discover a trade-off I hadn't previously thought about or a way I can have my cake and eat it, too.
I do see more merit than I once did—although I was always aware of its existence—between schools of choice vs. geographic neighborhood. I'm for neighborhood schools and I'm for schools of choice—that families can opt for based on their preferences—and I'm also for integration by class and race and ethnicity. I always both loved the idea of "neighborhood" and also recognized that it led to class and race and ethnic polarization, and as a result unequal schooling as well as Choice, Small Schools, and Trade-Offs - Bridging Differences - Education Week: