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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis explains my life...
...as a teacher:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/03/19/how-school-reform-became-the-cause-celebre-of-billionaires/
Excerpt:
The goal of universal educational excellence, regardless of students socioeconomic circumstances, soon took root in American school reform. Consequently, the most ambitious educational improvement efforts from coast to coast began to reflect a common desire to transform urban public schools into high-performing college preparatory academies. To be clear, education reform was no less diverse than in previous eras. But despite a variety of different visions, the most ambitious reformers were in agreement that the highest aim in American education was simple: excellence for all. Yet while motivated reformers were united by a common aim, no consensus existed about how it might be achieved.
Snip-----
Whatever the wishes of scale-obsessed educational entrepreneurs, schools still appear to improve slowly. There are no easy solutions and no quick fixes. But this cohort of reformers, led by a posse of assertive billionaires and their allies, is united in its faith and unprecedented in its influence. As such, setbacks alone are hardly enough to challenge the way they approach school reform. And thats a problem. Not just because they are so frequently wrong, but because each time they make the case for a new reform, they blast public school leaders, disrespect what teachers know about classrooms, disregard most of the research on school improvement, and frame our schools as failures. That isnt common sense; thats arrogance.
Edited to add...It also explains why teachers MUST BE included in the debate over education.
patrice
(47,992 posts)Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)Wounded Bear
(58,698 posts)in our society in general.