Let them eat cupcakes. Plus why Michelle Rhee is lawyering up.

[hay rick]

71. First, define the problem.

I accept the sincerity of your dissatisfaction with our educational system, but you haven't provided enough specifics or examples for me to understand the problem that you see.

On what I assume is your take on Michelle Rhee and "reformers" you say "If educators don't believe the system can improve; they will be pushed aside and people outside the system will try to improve it. I think that's what we're seeing here."

From what I have seen, the problem, according to Michelle Rhee and her allies, is mostly bad teachers. The solution to that problem is to take away tenure, and by extension, the union contracts and unions that make tenure possible. They seem to believe that if teachers are cowering, browbeaten "at will" employees, they will teach more effectively and the results will show up on standardized tests. By mere coincidence, such a regime will result in lower salaries and benefits for teachers and the money saved can be redirected to owners of charter school companies and large corporations providing educational services.

Obviously, I don't think the Rhees of this world are selfless saints trying to improve our educational system. I think they are mostly opportunists. I think it's unfair to teachers to characterize them as not believing the system can be improved just because they call bullshit on Race to the Top style "reforms." They see themselves as scapegoats for problems that are largely beyond their control.

My view:
The whole "fixing education" debate is misdirection. I don't think today's schools are significantly better or worse than they have been in the past. The real "education" problem is an economy that is changing in ways that ensure that most high school (and college) graduates face declining employment prospects. Our economy is a game of musical chairs where ever more players are competing for ever fewer "middle class" chairs. This problem can not be solved by adjusting the educational system. If our schools turned out nothing but PhDs, somebody would still have to flip burgers, change bed pans, and collect the garbage.